Ezekiel 27:12-25 reads like a manifest of a very prosperous shipping company. The one item on their list that caught my eye was the human traffic trade in verse 13.
The introduction to one of my commentaries on Amos said, “We’re able to put a man on the moon, but our morality hasn’t changed since the 7th Century BC.”
How true that is today of materialism and human trafficking in particular.
The U.S. Department of State’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report estimates that approximately 27 million people worldwide are subjected to forced labor, services, and commercial sex. This is the lowest estimate of people who are trafficked.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) reports that 49.6 million people are in modern slavery globally, with 12 million being children.
God is not vindictive in His judgment. Instead, as the just Judge of all the earth, He ensures that the scales of justice are balanced. The countless children and women trapped in a $150 billion-a-year human trafficking industry can trust that God will address the injustices committed against them.
Tyre’s involvement in human trafficking was a stark example of the all-too-common practice of the powerful exploiting the vulnerable.
Following the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BCE, the Babylonians turned their attention to Tyre. Ezekiel prophesied the consequences of the nation’s downfall, foretelling the impact of its demise.
Your rowers have brought you
into the high seas.
The east wind has wrecked you
in the heart of the seas.
At the sound of the cry of your pilots
the pasturelands shake,
The sailors and all the pilots of the sea
stand on the shore
and wail aloud over you
and cry bitterly.
They throw dust on their heads
and wallow in ashes;
they make themselves bald for you
and put on sackcloth,
and they weep over you in bitterness of soul
with bitter mourning.
In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you
and lament over you:
“Who was ever destroyed like Tyre
in the midst of the sea?” (Ezekiel 27.26-32)
God’s Counsel
The behavior exhibited by Tyre was common in the ancient world, but the spirit of Tyre persists even today. The New Testament delivers a clear and consistent message about the dangers of wealth and its misuse.
James would have found himself aligned with God’s message through Ezekiel, as both addressed the exploitation and injustices tied to materialism and greed.
Come now, you rich people, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming to you. Your riches have rotted, and your clothes are moth-eaten
Your gold and silver have rusted, and their rust will be evidence against you, and it will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure for the last days (James 5:1-3).
The message of Hebrews and Colossians outlines how we can respond to material possessions.
Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never leave you or forsake you’ (Hebrews 13:5).
Colossians 3:5 – Put to death, therefore, whatever in you is earthly: fornication, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).
God’s perspective is unmistakable: devastating judgment came upon the prosperous city of Tyre. In contrast, God’s blessing is reserved for those who live free from the love of money, having put to death any inclination toward greed.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby and I discussed this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 