It appears that two different persons are addressed in these verses: the prince of Tyre (vv. 1–10) and the king of Tyre (vv. 11–19). The first speech is a declaration of divine judgment, while the second is more of a lamentation. Both of these persons were guilty of great pride because of their wisdom and wealth, and both abused their privileges and offended the Lord. In fact, the prince of Tyre even claimed to be a god! However, foreign invaders would destroy the prince of Tyre (vv. 7–10), while the Lord Himself would judge the king of Tyre (vv. 16–19). The prince is called “a man” (v. 2), but the king is called “the anointed cherub” (v. 14). More than one student has identified the prince of Tyre as the ruler of the city when Nebuchadnezzar invaded, but they see the king of Tyre as Satan, the enemy of God and of the Jewish people, who energized the prince and used him to accomplish his own evil purposes.
Judgment on the prince of Tyre (vv. 1–10). The issue here is pride, a sin that God hates (Prov. 6:16–17). This ruler was proud of his wisdom and his wealth (Ezek. 28:3–5), and because of this pride, he exalted himself as a god. However, God would demonstrate that he was but a man, for the prince of Tyre would be slain and die like any other man. When you read Scripture, you find occasions when God judged arrogant rulers, such as Pharaoh, whom the Egyptians treated as a god (Ex. 5:2), Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4), and Herod Agrippa (Acts 12). World leaders who ignore the Lord and act as if they are gods will all be exposed and judged.
Judgment on the king of Tyre (vv. 11–19). The previous declaration was one of Ezekiel’s “because … therefore” (vv. 6–7) statements, such as you find in chapters 25 and 26, but this paragraph is simply a statement of God’s intention to judge the king of Tyre and destroy him. As you read these verses, you get the impression that this “king” is much more than a human regent and that this could be a description of Satan. That Satan wants to control nations and their leaders is clear from 1 Chronicles 21 and Daniel 9, and Matthew 4:8–10 states that he has delegated authority to dispose of the nations.
The use of the word cherub (Ezek. 28:4, 16) suggests that we’re dealing here with an angelic creature, also the fact that he had been “upon the holy mountain of God” (v. 14). This sounds a great deal like the description in Isaiah 14:12ff. Satan began as an obedient angel but rebelled against God and led a revolt to secure God’s throne. The text describes his great beauty and names nine jewels that were a part of that beauty. All of these jewels were also found in the breastplate of the Jewish high priest (Ex. 28:17–20). This suggests that in “Eden, the garden of God” and upon “God’s holy mountain,” this person had special priestly functions to perform for the Lord. The settings and mountings for these jewels were of the finest gold. His pride and selfish ambitions led him into sin, and God judged him by casting him out. While the original description refers to the ruler of Tyre, it certainly applies to the god of this age, Satan, the enemy of the Lord.
The prince of Tyre, motivated and energized by the devil, engaged in business and also in violence (Ezek. 28:16), for he considered himself a god (v. 2). His way of doing business was also dishonest, for verse 18 speaks of “dishonest trade” (niv). Satan’s boast was, “I will be like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14), and his promise to Eve was, “[Y]ou will be like God” (Gen. 3: nkjv). The prince of Tyre accepted Satan’s offer and it led to his downfall, just as it led to Satan’s downfall. But during the career of the prince of Tyre, he was used of Satan to defile and destroy. The nations would be appalled at the judgment of the prince of Tyre and his city, but they had no idea that Satan was behind the city’s success and Jehovah was behind the city’s destruction. It reminds us of the ministry of the apostles in Luke 10:1–24. God used the apostles to heal the sick, cast out demons, and proclaim the message of the kingdom; but Jesus saw in their victories the fall of Satan (vv. 18–19).