Ezekiel 26-28 Tyre’s Fall
Tyre was ready to plunder Judah after her fall. “Let’s replenish our storehouses!” So, God tells Ezekiel of Tyre’s fall for her attitude.
An image popped into my mind as I thought about Tyre’s response to Israel’s distress. I’m reminded of videos of rioters. When the riots are at their highest point of madness, people will ‘go shopping’. They will break into stores and take whatever they can get. Some do it just to be destructive while others do it out of want or need. I’ve even seen rioters break into stores just so they can smash the merchandise.
Tyre was ready to ‘go shopping’ after Jerusalem fell. God did NOT appreciate their attitude. They would instead be plundered. A portion of their city would be lost forever. It is the portion that actually reached out into the sea. The portion on the seacoast, after being destroyed, was rebuilt. The island portion never rebuilt. Nebuchadnezzar besieged the land based portion for 13 years. Alexander the Great took the island fortress by using rubble from the city to build a causeway out to the fortress. God’s word, once again, fulfilled.
This prophecy is actually a double prophecy. I say this because Jerusalem hadn’t fallen yet when this prophecy was given. So, not only is this a message about Tyre’s punishment, but one predicting what they would do wrong to begin with. Maybe they were already ‘rubbing their hands together’ in anticipation for what was to come. Many of the prophecies against the other nations are this way; spoken before the sin was even committed.
Let’s rejoin Ezekiel as God pronounces judgment on Tyre and her king. Holy Spirit, please guide this journey today. Show me what You would have me learn from God’s word and how to apply it to my life.
♥ ♦ ♥
Ezekiel KNOWS the days of Jerusalem are numbered. He doesn’t know what that number will be though. He was told to mark down the nineth year, tenth month, tenth day as the beginning of the final end for Jerusalem. He has continued to share God’s word regarding the coming defeat.
As Ezekiel is spending time with the Lord today, he hears His voice. Ezekiel perks up and listens closely.
“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,’ 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. 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. 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, and her daughters on the mainland shall be killed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 26:2-6).
“Jerusalem has fallen! When did this happen Lord? I thought the fugitive would bring me word on that day. Have I missed him? Is he waiting outside at this very moment?”
“No, son of man. The walls have not fallen, yet.”
“But You said that Tyre said…”
“Tyre WILL say it on that day. And this will be even more proof that I am God.”
“Alright Lord. I understand.”
“Speak to Tyre and say; ‘I am sending Nebuchadnezzar to plunder and bring you to ruin. He will come with horses, chariots, horsemen, and MANY soldiers. He will kill the sons and daughters, break down her walls, and lay waste to her city. “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. 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. 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. And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. 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” (Ezekiel 26:10-14).’”
Ezekiel’s face pales. “This is a severe judgment” he thinks to himself.
“The coastland will shake with the fall of Tyre and all the kings of the coastland will step down from their thrones and moan in distress. They will pour out a lament for Tyre. To Tyre, ‘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, 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. 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’ (Ezekiel 25:19-21).
Ezekiel sits in stunned silence. He will proclaim this in front of his people. He wonders at the reaction of his people. Will they rejoice over Tyre’s defeat or mourn for her.
‘“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’ (Ezekiel 27:2-4). You were made with the finest woods from your planks to your rower’s oars. The finest embroidered linen is your sails. Your riches and merchandise ALL the nations came seeking to trade with you. Nations served you as your men of war and crew for your ships.”
Ezekiel thinks about the stories he has heart about Tyre. How grand and wealthy it is. “All their wealth means nothing when they face the Lord.”
“Your rowers have brought you out into the high seas. The east wind has wrecked you in the heart of the seas. Your riches, your wares, your merchandise, your mariners and your pilots,
your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise, and all your men of war who are in you, with all your crew that is in your midst, sink into the heart of the seas on the day of your fall. At the sound of the cry of your pilots the countryside shakes, and down from their ships come all who handle the oar. The mariners and all the pilots of the sea stand on the land and shout aloud over you and cry out bitterly. They cast dust on their heads and wallow in ashes; they make themselves bald for you and put sackcloth on their waist, 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 is like Tyre, like one destroyed in the midst of the sea?
When your wares came from the seas, you satisfied many peoples; with your abundant wealth and merchandise you enriched the kings of the earth. Now you are wrecked by the seas, in the depths of the waters; your merchandise and all your crew in your midst have sunk with you. All the inhabitants of the coastlands are appalled at you, and the hair of their kings bristles with horror; their faces are convulsed. The merchants among the peoples hiss at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever’ (Ezekiel 27:26-36).
“Will the king of Tyre hear of Your words Lord? If he does, will he change his ways before it is too late for his people? Will he call for his people to change their ways?”
“Did Israel or Judah change their ways, when they heard My words?”
“Point taken.”
“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. They shall thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas. Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you? You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Lord God” (Ezekiel 28:2-10).
“The prince of Tyre actually believes himself to be a god? I thought that was a trait reserved for the Pharoah’s in Egypt. But what of the king of Tyre?”
“Unfortunately, many nations are deceived and deceiving themselves. The king of Tyre has a special history.”
“What kind of history, Lord?”
“One that reaches back through time. One that mirrors another’s history.”
“Whose history does the king mirror?”
“Listen to what I have to say against him and see if you can identify his ‘example’.”
Ezekiel is ready. He wants to see if he can figure this out on his own.
“Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him, Thus says the Lord God: “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering, sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle; and crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. On the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities, in the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries; so I brought fire out from your midst; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you; you have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever” (Ezekiel 28:12-19).
Ezekiel sits for a minute thinking. “Could this actually be who I think it is? The deceiver of man?”
God doesn’t answer right away but allows Ezekiel to thinks a little longer. He wants him to notice a few things.
“Lord, You said that he shall come to a dreadful end and be no more. Is this only for the physical king of Tyre or for the deceiver of man as well?”
“It is for both. There is coming a day when the deceiver of man will not be allowed to work on the hearts of man. And at the Judgment Seat, he will be no more.”
“I look forward to that day Lord!”
“As do I, son of man. But there is work for you to do today.”
Ezekiel rouses himself from his contemplation and readies for his day. He will take this message, including this lament, to the people. “Will they recognize the comparison” he wonders.
Ezekiel is soon standing atop his favorite stone. He proclaims the Lord’s message against Tyre, the prince of Tyre and the king of Tyre. He calls out each message three times during the day.
The crowds wonder if Jerusalem has indeed fallen. They haven’t had word that it has yet. Ezekiel cannot explain the truth of this message yet because the fugitive hasn’t come and released his tongue yet. When that day comes, he hopes that the people will want to hear his thoughts on the prophecies. “Maybe they will ask about this lament for the king of Tyre.”
After delivering the Lord’s message, Ezekiel returns to his home. It is still too quiet without his wife, but he spends time with the Lord instead. “I will continue to share this message with my fellow exiles, Lord, until You tell me different.
(to be continued)
I recognized Satan in the description of the king of Tyre. You probably didn’t need me pointing it out. I had to look up if Tyre actually had kings or were only ruled by princes. They had a king. So, I’m curious as to why God made a distinction. Is it because God was truly judging Tyre on two levels?
Father God, I don’t know exactly what the future holds, but I DO know that Satan is defeated. Just like You told Ezekiel what the prince of Tyre would proclaim before Jerusalem even fell; You have told me of Satan’s ultimate fate, LONG before it takes place. I trust You to do EVERYTHING You have said in Your word. Thanks for opening my eyes to this comparison. I pray that I have not overstepped in pointing it out, instead of simply telling the story.
