Day 549: Ezekiel 26- Tyre-Rade

In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste,’ 3 therefore thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.4 They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. 5 She shall be in the midst of the sea a place for the spreading of nets, for I have spoken, declares the Lord God. And she shall become plunder for the nations, 6 and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar[a] king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. 8 He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. 9 He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. 10 His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached.11 With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. 12 They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. 13 And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 14 I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the Lord; I have spoken, declares the Lord God.
15 “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: Will not the coastlands shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan, when slaughter is made in your midst? 16 Then all the princes of the sea will step down from their thrones and remove their robes and strip off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground and tremble every moment and be appalled at you. 17 And they will raise a lamentation over you and say to you,
“‘How you have perished,
    you who were inhabited from the seas,
O city renowned,
    who was mighty on the sea;
she and her inhabitants imposed their terror
    on all her inhabitants!
18 Now the coastlands tremble
    on the day of your fall,
and the coastlands that are on the sea
    are dismayed at your passing.’
19 “For thus says the Lord God: When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities that are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you, and the great waters cover you, 20 then I will make you go down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you to dwell in the world below, among ruins from of old, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set beauty in the land of the living. 21 I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.”
 
Meditation
God’s love is greater than geo-political competition and international economic wars. God’s love is shown in delivering people from surprising places, even His enemies who appear destined for judgment. God loved us when we were His enemies (Romans 5:8-10) and calls us to love others the same way.
 
Tyre was an enemy of Jerusalem, a region to the northwest of Israel. Historically Tyre was an economic ally of Jerusalem (1 Kings 5) but the tide had turned. The region finding riches from the wealth of a sea faring economy had become economic competitors of Jerusalem, “the gate of the nations” (2). Tyre’s response to the fall of Jerusalem was arrogant and opportunistic, interpreting Judah’s demise as personal “replenishment.” The pride of Tyre (1-5) led to their demise (7-17) and regional disruption (18-21).
 
Judgment is never the end of the story in Scripture, even with enemies of God. God offers salvation to all who put their faith in the atoning work of Jesus.
 
Jesus went to the region of Tyre, an unlikely place for God to go. Jesus gave deliverance to an unlikely person, a Syrophonecian woman (Mark 7:24-30).  The faith of the woman in Jesus gave deliverance from demonic possession. Faith in the death of Jesus for our sin leads to deliverance from the penalty of sin, forgiveness for all who believe, even enemies of God.
 
God’s love is greater than the international, political, and economic wars of our day, too. God wants to reveal His love to unlikely people in unlikely places.
 
Richly Dwelling
-Are you bothered that God loves your political, international, and economic competitors (enemies)? Why?
 
-Tyre deserved judgment, but so do we. How does the love of God in Christ deepen your secure identity in Him. While you were His enemy Christ died for you! Making you a child of God.
 
-Jesus moves towards His enemies and offers salvation. This is amazing love! Who are enemies in your life or our world who need to see this sacrificial and selfless love? How can you show it to them?
 
Key Verse
21 I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord God.”