Isaiah 23
Before engaging “The oracle
concerning Tyre” it may be helpful to know more about this famous seaport. “Tyre is the most
famous seaport of ancient Bible lands, was located twenty miles south of Sidon,
on an island three quarters of a mile from the mainland. It had two harbors, one on the north and one
on the south, and its walls were exceedingly high, especially on the landward
side. Here artisans made bronze, silver,
and other artistic wares, and here was manufactured the purple dye that made
Tyre famous. Its merchants trafficked
with the many lands of the Mediterranean and even with the far away British
Isle. Tyre became a “city of renown,
peopled by men of the sea” (Eze 26:17).
Kings and military men from many countries laid siege to Tyre, but were
unable to take the city until, in 333 B.C., Alexander the Great besieged and
took it after seven months.” (The
Thompson Chain-Reference Bible page 1697)
The Lord spoke these words
through His prophet Ezekiel over 100 years later, as Ezekiel’s prophecy against
Tyre, in Ezekiel chapters 26, 27, and 28.
It will give you a much better picture of the leaders and people of
Tyre.
This island nation was so
strong and its population grew to the point that it overflowed to the
mainland. One of the impressive things was
the ships they made and their ability to travel so far between ports. History tells us that the Assyrians tried to
take Tyre many times, in both the latter part of the eighth and seventh century
B.C. History tells us Nebuchadnezzar’s
attack on Tyre lasted thirteen years in the sixth century and some time even
till the finial destruction of Tyre by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.
Can you imagine how the
world we know would react if God removed a great trading partner, one who they
exported food to in exchange for their merchandize that only came from that
area. Then you grasp verses 3 and 5,
for Egypt was a trading partner with Tyre, Egypt had grain and Tyre had goodies
others could not make; it would be like losing your best supplier. It seems the overflow from Tyre established
Tarshish and after Tyre is destroyed its people flee to Tarshish. Verse nine is a question, Isaiah does not
tell us it’s source, maybe it was the people of Tyre, or it may have been one
or many of its trading partners. The
question: “Who planned this
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are
princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth?” Isaiah
the prophet is quick with the answer; “The LORD Almighty
planned it, to bring low the pride of all glory
and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.”
If you are
wondering why would God do this to a people, a nation, go over to Ezekiel the
28th chapter and you will find the answer.
These are the words God spoke to Ezekiel: “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: “Because
your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the
gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you
make your heart like the heart of a god—you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no
secret is hidden from you; by your wisdom and your understanding you have made
wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by
your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart
has become proud in your wealth—therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you make your heart like the heart of a
god, therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of
the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
and defile your splendor.”
How
many people have taken credit for the success God has blessed them with? My hope is that those who read this will give
God credit for all the blessings and all that the world calls success, for this
teaching is clear that only God is sovereign over all the nations. (Note many of the
points of history were taken from the Holman Study Bible).
From
the Back Porch,
Bob
Rice
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