A Lament for Tyre

 

Ezekiel 27:1-11

 

December 30, 2023

 

A Lament for Tyre

The word of the Lord came to me:  “Now you, son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre, and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says the Lord God:

“O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’  Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders made perfect your beauty.  They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.  Of oaks of Bashan, they made your oars; they made your deck of pine from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory.  Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail, serving as your banner; blue and purple from the coasts of  Elishah, was your awning. The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you; they were your pilots. The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you, caulking your seams; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you
to barter for your wares.

“Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor. Men of Arvad and Helech were on your walls all around, and men of Gamad were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around; they made perfect your beauty.

 

We see Tyre depicted as a beautiful ship, on the coastline, she was the pride of a merchant fleet of ships.  She was a very prosperous and very proud city, on the Mediterranean Sea.  Tyre was so prosperous that she would go to great expenses to see that all her ships and buildings were of the best materials and it was all about looks.

 

She only used the best, in all areas of workmanship and construction materials.  In that her fleet of ships did business in all ports, she had the best of everything.   When you have that kind of resources you not only believe you are in charge and you become proud and arrogant.  The nations she did business with were impressed to say the least, at her beauty, she was what all people wanted to be like.

 

Tyre was a strong nation with a strong military and the best of everything, but God.  The Phoenician people had little need of God, they had become gods in their pride, and as my dad often said we learn nothing from history or we would not keep repeating it.

 

I see our nation is a lot t like Tyre, we have been so blessed by God following in the footprint of Tyre.  Arrogant, sinful, full of self, with wealth, and very prideful.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice

The word of the Lord came to me:  “Now you, son of man, raise a lamentation over Tyre, and say to Tyre, who dwells at the entrances to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, thus says the Lord God:

“O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’  Your borders are in the heart of the seas; your builders made perfect your beauty.  They made all your planks of fir trees from Senir; they took a cedar from Lebanon to make a mast for you.  Of oaks of Bashan, they made your oars; they made your deck of pine from the coasts of Cyprus, inlaid with ivory.  Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail, serving as your banner; blue and purple from the coasts of  Elishah, was your awning. The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad were your rowers; your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you; they were your pilots. The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you, caulking your seams; all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you
to barter for your wares.

“Persia and Lud and Put were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and helmet in you; they gave you splendor. Men of Arvad and Helech were on your walls all around, and men of Gamad were in your towers. They hung their shields on your walls all around; they made perfect your beauty.

 

We see Tyre depicted as a beautiful ship, on the coastline, she was the pride of a merchant fleet of ships.  She was a very prosperous and very proud city, on the Mediterranean Sea.  Tyre was so prosperous that she would go to great expenses to see that all her ships and buildings were of the best materials and it was all about looks.

 

She only used the best, in all areas of workmanship and construction materials.  In that her fleet of ships did business in all ports, she had the best of everything.   When you have that kind of resources you not only believe you are in charge and you become proud and arrogant.  The nations she did business with were impressed to say the least, at her beauty, she was what all people wanted to be like.

 

Tyre was a strong nation with a strong military and the best of everything, but God.  The Phoenician people had little need of God, they had become gods in their pride, and as my dad often said we learn nothing from history or we would not keep repeating it.

 

I see our nation is a lot t like Tyre, we have been so blessed by God following in the footprint of Tyre.  Arrogant, sinful, full of self, with wealth, and very prideful.

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice