Day 135: Isaiah 23- Eternal Wealth

The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!
From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them. 2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you. 3 And on many waters
your revenue was the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile;  you were the merchant of the nations. 4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the stronghold of the sea, saying: “I have neither labored nor given birth, I have neither reared young men nor brought up young women.” 5 When the report comes to Egypt, they will be in anguish over the report about Tyre.

6 Cross over to Tarshish; wail, O inhabitants of the coast! 7 Is this your exultant city  whose origin is from days of old, whose feet carried her to settle far away?
8 Who has purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? 9 The Lord of hosts has purposed it, to defile the pompous pride of all glory, to dishonor all the honored of the earth. 10  Cross over your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint anymore. 11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea; he has shaken the kingdoms; the Lord has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds.
 
12 And he said: “You will no more exult, O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;
arise, cross over to Cyprus, even there you will have no rest.” 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin. 14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish, for your stronghold is laid waste. 15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: 16 “Take a harp; go about the city, O forgotten prostitute! Make sweet melody; sing many songs, that you may be remembered.”
 
17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.
 
Meditation
I am praying for someone being cannibalized by greed. He is worth millions but wants billions and is on the verge of losing everything. Greed for more wealth only leaves you wanting more, never content. How can we find contentment?
 
God’s people can be free from self-cannibalizing coveting and freed for seeking the Kingdom of God by seeing the sovereignty of God over all wealth.
 
Tyre was an economic powerhouse. Known for their abundant affluence Tyre horded wealth and lusted for more and more. Isaiah prophesizes the judgment of God laying Tyre to waste along with the fall of all who depended on Tyre, like the ships of Tarshish (modern Spain).
 
What will happen to the wealth of Tyre? After prostituting herself to all the kingdoms of the world (17) Tyre will give her wealth to the Lord to be distributed to His people (18).
 
All wealth and material goods belong to God (Haggai 2:8) and God distributes all wealth in the world (Deuteronomy 8:18). Worshipping wealth is a trap causing grief (1 Timothy 6:9-10). We cannot serve Jesus and money (Matthew 6:4). The grace of God awakens us to celebrate the sovereignty of God over the wealth of the world through giving us contentedness with Jesus (Hebrews 13:5) and freeing us to seek first His kingdom.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Are you content with what you have, satisfied in Christ, or are you greedy for more wealth?
 
-The gospel reveals the love of God seen in the work of Christ who left the wealth of Heaven to enter into poverty so those who believe can have the riches of His grace. (2 Corinthians 8:9) How does the trajectory of Christ’s love in relation to wealth affect your perspective on worldly wealth in loving others?
 
-A life free from the love of money is free for loving God with all our hearts, seeking first His Kingdom knowing all else will be added. How can you seek first the Kingdom of Jesus today over and above seeking the wealth of the world?
 
Key Verse
18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.