Journey Through Ezekiel and Danielಮಾದರಿ

Ezekiel’s Distinctive Message: Behind the Text

Every nation had its own version of royal pretense and flagrant self-centeredness. Let’s visit two in Ezekiel’s view.

Egypt, the Monster in the Sea

Tyre’s International Trade Record

Tyre is one of several empires that thought they were at the center of world power in Ezekiel’s day. Their control of maritime trade across the Mediterranean fed their presumption. Ezekiel 27:12-25 provides such a thorough account of Tyre’s imports and exports that we can reconstruct a view of their international trade.

For a more complete list of the trading partners and materials traded in Tyre, see the table below.

Tyre’s International Trade Record (Ezekiel 27:12-25)

The costly items being provided by the trading partners are not matched by the cheap essentials provided by Tyre. Tyre is a superpower, getting the best end of every deal. They have economic rights on everyone and are able to exploit their neighbors in trade. They’re able to enrich themselves at the expense of their weaker nations, and what we see in this table may look like a collection of mutual exchanges, but it’s basically a sophisticated form of piracy. This kind of exploitation would have made Tyre a necessary but resented trading partner for smaller states who were dependent on it to trade with global markets. With all this in mind, it’s no wonder the God of Israel “calls them out.”

The Ethnocentrism of Empires