The Old Testament prophets occasionally used “funeral dirges” in a satirical manner to ridicule their enemies, and you find something of that spirit in this lament over the fall of Tyre. Neither the prophet nor the Jewish nation was grieved over Tyre’s destruction, but the event gave Ezekiel opportunity to express spiritual truth in this song. Since Tyre was a maritime city, the chapter compares the city and its business to a beautiful ship that eventually sinks and brings great grief to merchants and customers alike. This image is what is called “an extended metaphor,” not unlike our “ship of state.” A nation or a city isn’t really a ship, but there are many points of comparison that can help us better understand the nation and the city. The words “merchant” and “merchandise” are used twenty-one times in this chapter, because Tyre was a mercantile city. The ship metaphor included all that was a part of the city of Tyre, its agents and customers, its business, and all the network it had developed in the Mediterranean world.
Building the ship (vv. 1–7). This was not only a useful ship that brought wealth to the city, but it was a beautiful ship that the nations admired (vv. 3, 11; see 28:12). Tyre was proud of its beauty and its success but didn’t give any praise to the Lord for His goodness. The very best materials went into the building of the ship, starting with great fir timbers from Mount Hermon for the hull and deck, and cedars of Lebanon for the masts. They made the oars of oak from Bashan and the deck from pinewood from Cyprus, inlaid with ivory (see niv and nlt). A large Phoenician ship would have as many as fifty oarsmen in a crew of two hundred. Egypt provided embroidered linen for the sail and banner, and from Cyprus came the cloth to make the beautiful awnings for the decks.
I once heard a sincere but ill-informed TV preacher declare that the United States should quit doing business with nations that espouse wrong political beliefs and the denial of human rights. His motives were right but his comprehension limited. He couldn’t hear me, but I said out loud, “If we did, you wouldn’t have either a microphone or a television camera!” I’m told that the familiar telephone has material in it from at least twenty different countries! Tyre’s “ship of state” reminds us that the world is growing smaller and that nations that disagree still depend on one another for what they need. “Internet” is short for “international network,” that invisible electronic system that ties together millions of computers and the minds and hearts of the people using them.
Manning the ship (vv. 8–11). In describing the ship’s crew, Ezekiel was actually naming some of the nations that made it possible for Tyre to become such a great success. Oarsmen came from Sidon and Arvad, two other cities in Phoenicia, but the skilled mariners, the people who really managed things, came from Tyre. Veteran shipwrights from Gebal, another coastal city, traveled on board to caulk the seams and keep the ship in good repair.
Briefly, the image shifts from the ship metaphor to the actual city itself (vv. 10–11). Tyre had a paid army, mercenary soldiers from Persia, Lydia (Asia Minor), Libia (North Africa), Arvad (Phoenicia), Cilicia, and Gammad. These mercenaries sold their services to protect the city and its shipping enterprise. It doesn’t appear that the soldiers anticipated any danger because they hung up their helmets and shields on the walls as decorations to add to the city’s beauty. The coastal city of Tyre was a strong fortress, so much so that Nebuchadnezzar needed fifteen years to break through the defenses.
We shouldn’t carry a metaphor too far, but it is significant that Ezekiel brought in the army and navy as necessary parts of the business enterprise of Tyre. Certainly national defense is as important to the success of business as it is to the safety of the private citizen, and sometimes “national interest” and “business” become intertwined. “Big business” always appreciates a foreign policy that opens new markets and protects them.
Sailing the ship (vv. 12–25). The beautiful and impressive ship of state was made for the waters, not for the wharf, so Ezekiel described how the city of Tyre did business along the Mediterranean coast. The word merchant, used thirteen times in the KJV, means “to do business, to trade.” The nations named here bought merchandise from Tyre and sold products to Tyre. It was a business partnership that benefited all that were involved. Silver, iron, tin, and lead came from Tarshish, which was probably in Spain. Slaves and bronze implements came from Greece and Turkey (Tubal). Also from Turkey came horses, chariot teams, and mules. But there were luxury items as well: ivory and ebony from Rhodes; and turquoise, coral, rubies, and fine fabrics from Jordan.
Tyre did business with the Jews and bought various foods from them. They also got wine and wool from Syria, and lambs, rams, and goats from Arabia. Also from Arabia came exotic spices, gold, and precious stones. Other nations supplied barks, perfumes, and manufactured products such as fabrics, wrought iron objects, and rugs. The people of Tyre would take the raw materials and manufacture various useful items and sell them to their agents and their customers. Along with bartering, money and credit were involved in these many transactions, so there were plenty of opportunities for moneylenders and brokers to make profits. Thanks to the business network of Tyre, luxuries and necessities, jobs and income were available to the nations of the known world.
Sinking the ship (vv. 26–36). Admiration turns to desolation. “But look! Your oarsmen are rowing your ship of state into a hurricane! Your mighty vessel flounders in the mighty eastern gale. You are shipwrecked in the heart of the sea!” (v. 26 nlt). The storm arrives that was promised in 26: and 19, and the great ship is shattered in the mighty waters. The “east wind” speaks of the invasion of the Babylonian army (17:10; 19:12). The valuable cargo, the beautiful ship, and the capable crew are all lost in the heart of the sea.
But that isn’t all: Tyre’s agents, brokers, traders, and customers will feel the repercussions of the sinking of the ship. People will stand on the shore and lament the end of the vast mercantile system that gave them jobs, income, and security. Some of the merchants will “whistle” or “hiss” when they hear the news (27:36), probably as a shocked response to the tragedy. However, the word can mean “to hiss in scorn or derision,” suggesting that some of the leaders in the business network are happy to see Tyre fall. They cooperated in the system because they had to, but now perhaps they would have opportunity to build their own network and make a greater profit. This great lamentation is an advance demonstration of what the whole world will do when Satan’s system, “Babylon the great,” collapses before the Lord returns to establish His kingdom (Rev. 18:17–19).
No matter how efficient, rich, and beautiful the “ship of state” might be, when the Lord decides to sink it, nothing can stay His hand. When Queen Victoria celebrated her “Diamond Jubilee” in 1897, Rudyard Kipling published his poem “Recessional,” which sounded a quiet word of warning to a great nation somewhat intoxicated by its vast empire. When people read the third verse, we wonder if any of them thought of Ezekiel’s description of “the ship of state”:
Far-call’d our navies melt away— On dune and headland sinks the fire— Lo, all our pomp of yesterday Is one with Nineveh and Tyre! Judge of the nations, spare us yet, Lest we forget, lest we forget!