{"id":74656,"date":"2020-05-13T18:10:09","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T15:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=74656"},"modified":"2020-05-13T18:10:09","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T15:10:09","slug":"cutting-the-deified-king-down-to-size","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/cutting-the-deified-king-down-to-size\/","title":{"rendered":"Cutting The Deified King Down To Size\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ezekiel opens chapter 28 by censuring Tyre\u2019s royalty for the extreme arrogance of self-deification, for \u201cyou have said \u2018I am a god\u2019\u201d (v.2), reflecting a feature endemic to ancient Near Eastern cultures whose kings were considered divine. The Egyptian Pharaohs for example were thought to descend from their pagan deities. Political corrosion compounds its abhorrent pagan theology. The state and its population are there to worship and promote the interests of king and, therefore the deified king easily becomes a tyrannical oppressor rather than a public servant. Deuteronomy\u2019s unique law of the king (Deut. 17) which prohibits the king from accumulating gold and silver, horses, and wives – i.e. empowerment through wealth, armaments, and alliances – precisely prevent the king from becoming an all-powerful despot.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though Ezekiel prophesies an ignominious end for Tyre\u2019s prince at the \u201chands of strangers.\u201d (v.9), he concludes the chapter predicting a bright future for the Israelites who will be repatriated to their homeland from the diaspora. The two prophecies bracket the chapter, inviting us to contrast Tyre\u2019s and Israel\u2019s destinies. Yet there is a profoundly subtle symmetry between the two suggesting a deeper theological and political message.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tyre\u2019s ruler proclaims \u201cI sit in the seat of God\u201d, that is he claims a divine throne, while Israel is destined to \u201csit on their own soil\u201d (25). Israel thus understands its place and limitations on earth as opposed to Tyre\u2019s king who believes he occupies the heavens. Tyre\u2019s prince dedicates his skills to increase <\/span>his <\/span><\/i>wealth and inflate <\/span>his<\/span><\/i> treasuries while Israel as a collective will \u201cbuild houses and plant vineyards.\u201d (26) Tyre\u2019s self-aggrandizing delusions will be terminated by an onslaught of \u201cstrangers\u201d who will strike down Tyre\u2019s king (7,10) while Israel\u2019s future follows a reverse direction back to their land from dispersion and subjugation to other nations (25). Israel will \u201csit\u201d securely on its land (26) while Tyre\u2019s human \u2018god\u2019 will be \u201cbrought down to the Pit \u201d (8). The term \u2018Pit\u2019 (<\/span>shachat)<\/span><\/i> appears often as a synonym for the netherworld (eg Ps. 16:10). Thus, he is dethroned from his seat above all other living human beings and plunged to the very depths beneath them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, the prophecy moves from the social\/political to the spiritual ramifications of the Tyre\/Israel divide. Those \u201cstrangers\u201d literally \u2018desecrate\u2019 Tyre\u2019s monarch culminating in bringing down to earth the one who thought himself a deity: \u201cYou will be proven a man and not a God at the hand of those who desecrate you.\u201d (v.9). The root of the term desecrate (<\/span>chalal<\/span><\/i>) bears assonance with the terms signifying his previous wealth\/strength (<\/span>cheyl-v.4,5<\/span><\/i>) and the corpse he will become (<\/span>chalal-v.8<\/span><\/i>), dashing his sense of immortality. In direct contrast, Israel\u2019s collective nation building will \u201csanctify\u201d God (25) and lead other nations to \u201cknow\u201d God as the Lord (26). In other words, the deified tyrant whose subjects are instruments for his personal glory ends in desecration while the community that comes together to build a homeland for the benefit of all ends in sanctification.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":74657,"id":74657,"title":"ez28-king","filename":"ez28-king.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/ez28-king.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/cutting-the-deified-king-down-to-size\/ez28-king\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"ez28-king","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":74656,"date":"2020-05-13 15:09:29","modified":"2022-03-24 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