What is the meaning of Ezekiel 29:18? Son of man • The LORD again addresses Ezekiel with the familiar title “Son of man” (Ezekiel 2:1; 3:1). • This reminds us that the message comes from God Himself, not Ezekiel’s imagination (2 Peter 1:20-21). • By calling the prophet this way, God stresses His own authority and Ezekiel’s human limitation, preparing the reader to receive an inspired, literal word. Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon caused his army to labor strenuously against Tyre • The siege of Tyre lasted thirteen grueling years (Ezekiel 26:7; Jeremiah 27:6). • God had earlier declared He would bring Nebuchadnezzar against Tyre as His instrument of judgment, showing divine sovereignty over nations (Isaiah 23:1; Proverbs 21:1). • Though Nebuchadnezzar’s motives were political and economic, the ultimate purpose was the fulfillment of God’s prophecy against Tyre’s pride (Ezekiel 28:2-8). • This real historical campaign illustrates that when God speaks, literal events follow—just as foretold. Every head was made bald and every shoulder made raw • Helmet straps chafed heads bare; heavy loads of siege materials stripped soldiers’ shoulders—graphic proof of exhausting labor (Lamentations 3:27; Isaiah 3:24). • The line underscores the physical cost of resisting God’s plan: prolonged hardship for both besiegers and besieged. • It also shows that God notices human toil, even among pagan armies, reinforcing that nothing is hidden from His sight (Psalm 33:13-15). But he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the labor they expended on it • After all that effort Tyre surrendered on negotiated terms, not by total conquest, so its wealth escaped by sea (Ezekiel 27:25-36). • Nebuchadnezzar left empty-handed—no plunder, no pay—fulfilling God’s precise word and proving that human reward is never guaranteed apart from God’s allowance (James 4:13-16). • Because God is just, He later promises Egypt to Babylon as compensation (Ezekiel 29:19-20), demonstrating His right both to judge and to reward (Daniel 4:34-35). summary Ezekiel 29:18 recounts a literal, historical siege in which God used Nebuchadnezzar to humble proud Tyre. The Babylonian army’s exhaustive effort—bald heads and raw shoulders—brought no immediate spoil, showing that human plans cannot force success when God withholds it. Yet the same God who governs judgment also governs reward, promising Babylon recompense elsewhere. The verse therefore teaches God’s sovereignty over nations, His faithfulness to every detail of His word, and the futility of striving for gain apart from Him. |
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