EzekielStudy Guide

Chapter 27

Themes, discussion questions, Christ connections, and denomination lenses.

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Scripture

KJV

1The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,

2Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;

3And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord GOD; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.

4Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty.

5They have made all thy ship boards of fir trees of Senir: they have taken cedars from Lebanon to make masts for thee.

6Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.

7Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt was that which thou spreadest forth to be thy sail; blue and purple from the isles of Elishah was that which covered thee.

8The inhabitants of Zidon and Arvad were thy mariners: thy wise men, O Tyrus, that were in thee, were thy pilots.

9The ancients of Gebal and the wise men thereof were in thee thy calkers: all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in thee to occupy thy merchandise.

10They of Persia and of Lud and of Phut were in thine army, thy men of war: they hanged the shield and helmet in thee; they set forth thy comeliness.

11The men of Arvad with thine army were upon thy walls round about, and the Gammadims were in thy towers: they hanged their shields upon thy walls round about; they have made thy beauty perfect.

12Tarshish was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and lead, they traded in thy fairs.

13Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were thy merchants: they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in thy market.

14They of the house of Togarmah traded in thy fairs with horses and horsemen and mules.

15The men of Dedan were thy merchants; many isles were the merchandise of thine hand: they brought thee for a present horns of ivory and ebony.

16Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of the wares of thy making: they occupied in thy fairs with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and coral, and agate.

17Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm.

18Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.

19Dan also and Javan going to and fro occupied in thy fairs: bright iron, cassia, and calamus, were in thy market.

20Dedan was thy merchant in precious clothes for chariots.

21Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in these were they thy merchants.

22The merchants of Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with all precious stones, and gold.

23Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, were thy merchants.

24These were thy merchants in all sorts of things, in blue clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy merchandise.

25The ships of Tarshish did sing of thee in thy market: and thou wast replenished, and made very glorious in the midst of the seas.

26Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters: the east wind hath broken thee in the midst of the seas.

27Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.

28The suburbs shall shake at the sound of the cry of thy pilots.

29And all that handle the oar, the mariners, and all the pilots of the sea, shall come down from their ships, they shall stand upon the land;

30And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall cry bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wallow themselves in the ashes:

31And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gird them with sackcloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing.

32And in their wailing they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What city is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the sea?

33When thy wares went forth out of the seas, thou filledst many people; thou didst enrich the kings of the earth with the multitude of thy riches and of thy merchandise.

34In the time when thou shalt be broken by the seas in the depths of the waters thy merchandise and all thy company in the midst of thee shall fall.

35All the inhabitants of the isles shall be astonished at thee, and their kings shall be sore afraid, they shall be troubled in their countenance.

36The merchants among the people shall hiss at thee; thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt be any more.

Key VerseEzekiel 27:27

Thy riches, and thy fairs, thy merchandise, thy mariners, and thy pilots, thy calkers, and the occupiers of thy merchandise, and all thy men of war, that are in thee, and in all thy company which is in the midst of thee, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of thy ruin.

Overview

Ezekiel sings a lamentation over Tyre, depicting her as a magnificently crafted ship made with the finest materials from nations across the known world. Every detail of the ship — fir planks from Senir, cedars from Lebanon, oaks from Bashan, ivory from Chittim — illustrates Tyre's vast commercial network. But the east wind will break this glorious vessel in the midst of the seas, and all her merchandise and mariners will sink to the depths.

Key Themes

1

The Beauty of Human Achievement

Tyre's ship is breathtakingly beautiful, crafted from the finest materials of the ancient world — human commercial and cultural achievement at its pinnacle.

2

The Interconnected Ancient Economy

The detailed trade list reveals a sophisticated global economy spanning from Tarshish to Arabia, from Persia to Africa — the ancient world was far more interconnected than often assumed.

3

Splendor Sunk in the Sea

All the glory of Tyre's commerce ends at the bottom of the sea — the most magnificent human achievements are not immune from God's judgment.

Study Questions

1.

What does the ship metaphor reveal about the nature and extent of Tyre's commercial power?

2.

How does the detailed catalog of trading partners (vv. 12-24) illustrate the complexity of the ancient economy?

3.

What is the significance of the east wind that breaks the ship (v. 26)?

4.

How does the lamentation of the surrounding peoples (vv. 29-36) mirror the mourning over Babylon in Revelation 18?

5.

What does Tyre's story teach about the ultimate fragility of economic empires?

Connection to Christ

The wealthy trading ship that sinks directly parallels the fall of Babylon the Great in Revelation 18, where merchants mourn their lost commerce. Christ establishes a kingdom whose riches are imperishable, where moth and rust do not corrupt and thieves do not break through and steal (Matthew 6:20).

Personal Reflection

Take time to journal or meditate on what God is teaching you through Ezekiel 27. How can these truths transform your thinking and actions today?

Ezekiel

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