Thursday, September 17
Read Ezekiel 26
Think About It:
During their reigns, both David and Solomon were friendly with Hiram, king of Tyre, and Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, a latter king of Tyre.
God was angry at Tyre for rejoicing at Jerusalem’s destruction and seeing it as an opportunity for Tyre to prosper even more. The city of Tyre was situated partially on the Mediterranean Coast and partially on an island about ½ mile from the coast. The Lord announced that the nations would come like successive waves of the sea and bring Tyre to ultimate ruin.
Tyre was able to survive the Assyrian conquest, but when Babylon came to power, Nebuchadnezzar sieged the coastal city for 15 years (586-571 B.C.) and overcame it, but he did not conquer the island city. In 322 B.C. Alexander the Great besieged Tyre for seven months, built a causeway to the island, and was able to conquer that city.
Fun fact: Re-read verse 4: And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre, and breakdown her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of our rock. Alexander the Great fulfilled this prophecy when he scraped all of the earth from the mainland city, and built the causeway to finally defeat that island city. These are the successive waves of destruction Tyre would see.
Since Tyre was at the center of all merchandising along the Mediterranean Coast and did business with every known country, her fall was devastating to the economy. There wasn’t a ripple effect; there was a tidal wave! People along the coast trembled as they wondered what would happen to the economy now that the great mercantile network was destroyed. There were tragic consequences to the pride of Tyre in their evil attitude toward the Jewish people.
Our world today is united in a series of Electronic Networks that can transfer information, money orders, and orders for merchandise with such speed that it’s scarcely possible to register them. Imagine what would happen in the world’s economy if all these electronic business connections in New York City alone were dissolved. This reminds us that in the end times, when the Antichrist has organized his great world network called “Babylon,” the Lord will destroy the whole thing and leave the businesspeople desolate and mourning (Revelation 18).
Family Time:
- Read verse 2. What was the first word Tyre spoke against Jerusalem? Read Proverbs 16:18 and look up the definition of ‘haughty’.
- How does God’s proclamation against Tyre relate to this proverb?
