Ezekiel 27:7

From verse 4 the allegory of a ship is before us, and it is a striking fit for the particular character of Tyre… So the description follows. Embroidered fine linen or cotton from Egypt for sails; blue and purple covering from the isles or coasts of Elishah. Such were the adornments of the vessel.

The ship here pictures Tyre for us, a most natural figure, and one we still use when we speak of the "ship of state"… We may say that man has been working at this ship ever since, doing his best to perfect its beauty. We see how attractive it can be in the constant displays it gives us of all the products of nature and of man which it brings together. The ship embodies, as it were, the restless, ever-craving spirit of man, the untiring energy that works in him.

Next we have either the sail or the ensign, and most probably the sail which is at the same time the ensign; this gives the fullest moral significance. Egypt provides the fine linen for it. Linen everywhere speaks of practical righteousness — here it must mean righteousness as the world recognises it. And it is put on show as "embroidered," to attract the eye. Your personal interests, it would say, will be cared for with complete honesty. And here is just what the vessel needs to catch the wind and serve its own ends at the same time. Is it not, in fact, in its own interest to serve you? How can you separate the two?

Last of all the good ship needs a covering, and the idea is to protect it from the sun. The isles of Elishah supply this in the purple colours, which speak of dominion on earth. This may point to the powers of the world, whose protection she can justly claim as the servant of all their interests. Or it may point to her own claim to dominion, since her power roots itself so firmly in the interests of the many. In the language of our day, she is fully insured this way. But whether she insures herself by men or by measures, see how far her motto is taken up: the principle held in secret, if not openly, that "God has forgotten." This seems to be the meaning of Elishah here.

In the Word Tyre is a type of the world with all its riches and desirable things. In Ezekiel 27 we see what Tyre was in ancient times. Her commerce spread over all the earth, and the resources of the whole world flowed in to her from every direction. Fine linen, white wool, embroidered work, blue and purple… you could obtain there everything the human heart could desire on earth.

Tyre made everything contribute to her, and she loved to gather the most distant peoples under her banner.

Now comes the end of all this glory. The very hands that carried the good ship along now bring her into great waters. There the east wind of adversity breaks her, helpless, "in the heart of the seas." No skilful management helps any more. No one can even try to stop the leaks… Where will anyone find a security that Tyre did not find? God seals all this lamentation with one single, emphatic word: "you have become a terror, and you shall be no more forever."