“Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
A new message comes to Ezekiel, and with it a new title: the "king" of Tyre, not the "prince" of the earlier verses. The praise that follows is far too large for any human ruler, which raises two questions: who is God speaking to, and why a funeral song?
Prince and King: Two Addresses, Not One
The chapter opens with a ruler judged for saying he sits in the seat of God. From verse 12 the wording shifts. One writer marks the difference by time: the first address is about what the figure became, the second about what he was.
The Bible TreasuryTyre, the prince of Tyre, and the king of Tyre, in Ezekiel's prophecy are distinct. The city is judged in common with other cities. But the prince and the king have each a lamentation apart from the city... The word to the prince of Tyre is what he has become in his pride, after he is prince. The word to the king is what he was before he is king — before iniquity was found in him.
Not everyone separates the two figures. Another writer keeps the same man of history in view, and finds a deeper subject woven into the words:
William KellyIs it the same person or a different one? I think it is the same person in history, but with a deeper reference to Satan's fall built into it. This may be one reason why the Spirit of God changes "prince" into "king."
Why the Description Outgrows Any Man
"Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty" — the praise is total. That is the problem if the words describe only a man.
The Bible TreasuryThe words spoken to the king of Tyre do not fit a mere man, however much power he might hold. Some of the qualities listed here could fit Adam. But there is a glory here that cannot all apply to Adam before he fell... This is not eastern poetic exaggeration. The Holy Spirit is using human things and words to picture past glories and magnificence. They belong to the one who now seeks to use his wisdom and power to lead the world against Him who created it.
What "Sealing Up the Sum" Means
Older translations read "you seal up the sum" where the ESV has "signet of perfection." The picture is of a closed account: every created glory added up in one creature.
The Bible TreasuryThe king seals up the sum: all angelic, all created glory was in him. He is called the covering cherub, the anointed cherub, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty, and God set (created) him so... Fulness of wisdom in the king, delegated wisdom in the prince... Satan is the real king, and the source of the wisdom and riches of Tyre. The prince is the human agent through whom the king shows his power.
Gifts That Became the Occasion of the Fall
One writer links each part of this description to something of God that the creature displayed. Then he shows how those same gifts became the trap.
J. N. DarbyHe wears the moral beauty that reflects, in many ways, the character of God as light... He walked where God displayed His moral perfections in their glory, a glory before which evil could not stand — "the stones of fire." His ways had been perfect. But all these advantages were the occasion of his fall, and marked its character. For the privileges we enjoy always mark the character of our fall.
A Lamentation, Not a Sneer
God does not order a taunt but a funeral song. Read of the man himself, the verse still describes a height no one could pass.
Numerical Bible NotesStill, for such a one there is a lamentation. If God must carry out judgment, He does not strike without recognising the sorrow of it. Judgment is always His "strange" work, even when it is needed. Here was the man enriched with everything his hand could gain — with all the beauty God had filled the earth with... He had "sealed up the sum" of perfection, and it seemed impossible for a mere man to go beyond him.
The Warning Carried Into Christian Life
The same writer turns the verse on the reader, reading verse 12 together with verse 17.
Frederick W GrantGod testified of one creature, "You seal up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty." To that same one He had to say, "Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom because of your brightness" (Ezek. 28:12, 17). The Lord does not lead His own people into any such dangerous path. He cannot trust us with such perilous self-contemplation. He has made Christ to be our sanctification as much as our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30), and the way of it is occupation with Christ, and with Christ alone.
Summary
- Title — "Prince" becomes "king" because the subject changes. One address is about what he became in his pride, the other about what he was before iniquity was found in him.
- Sum — To "seal up the sum" is to close the account. All created glory met in him, and God set him there.
- Reach — The praise is too large for any man. Commentators differ over how far the human king is still in view. All point past him to Satan, who now leads the world against its Creator.
- Turn — Every advantage listed became the occasion of his fall. The privileges we hold always shape the character of our ruin.
- Rescue — God laments even as He judges. The cure for the self-contemplation that wrecked this creature is occupation with Christ, our sanctification as well as our righteousness.