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BIBLE
STUDY LESSON
For
the week beginning Sunday February 22, 2015
A MESSAGE FOR TYRE
(The end of Tyre’s glory)
Ezekiel 26-28
“Tyre”, which means “rock”, was a city on the central coast of
Phoenicia that was noted for its commercial activity and success. It was
located between Accho and Sidon, north of Palestine, and was the principal
seaport of Phoenicia. Tyre actually consisted of two cities, one of which was a
rocky coastal city on the mainland and the other, a smaller island city just
off the shore. It was a city that was difficult to attack or invade, as it was
strategically situated with its rear set against the mountains of Lebanon to
the east, and the sea served as protection at its front on the west.
Tyre was a very ancient city that was founded circa 2750 B.C.,
however, it was not as old as her sister city, Sidon. In fact, for many years
Sidon had ruled over Tyre after it successfully besieged the city in 1400 B.C.
It was not until sea raiders left the city of Sidon in ruins, some 200 years
later, that Tyre was able to regain her independence from Sidon.
Over the next 400 years, as Phoenicia gained more and more
independence, so too, Tyre would become more powerful, particularly under the
rule of King Hiram I (980-947 B.C.), who got along famously with both King David
(1 Kings 5:1 & 1 Chronicles 14:1) and King Solomon (1 Kings 9:26-28). Hiram
also fortified Tyre’s two harbors on the north and the south with walls. From
that point on, Tyre began to dominate Mediterranean commerce. In fact, the
prophet Isaiah says that “Tyre’s merchants were princes, the honorable of the
earth” (Isaiah 23:8).
Here in Ezekiel chapters
26-28 we find a rather extensive oracle against the city of Tyre that foretells
and details her destruction by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian forces. This already
fabulously wealthy city had applauded the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., and
were enthusiastically looking forward to gaining even more dominance in the
Mediterranean area by taking over land trade routes to the east, that had been
controlled by Judah (Ezekiel 26:2) since the time of King David.
In verses 7-14 the
prophet Ezekiel predicts that Babylon will begin a process that will ultimately
result in the total destruction of Tyre down the line. The city was located
only 100 miles from Jerusalem, and just 35 miles from the Sea of Galilee, and
sure enough, after he destroyed Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar put a 13-year siege
on Tyre’s mainland city, literally ruining its influence as a world trade
leader. However, because he had no navy, Nebuchadnezzar could not destroy the
island city of Tyre.
History now records,
however, that some 150 years after Ezekiel utters this prophecy (322 B.C.), Alexander
the Great and his Greek forces totally demolished mainland Tyre and threw all
the stones, timber, and rubble out into the sea (v.12), using the debris, and
timber from Lebanon, to build a causeway between the mainland and island
sections of the city, and then crossed over to conquer and destroy it also. And
thus no more music ever came out of the once bustling city of Tyre, and
Ezekiel’s entire prophecy was fulfilled, just as the LORD had spoken (Vs13-14).
The effects of Tyre’s
destruction are summed up in the “funeral song” composed in verses 17-18, and
Tyre was made into an uninhabited place, sunken beneath the waves of the wrath
of GOD, and deposited in the pits of Sheol, where the dead will never be
allowed to leave and return to the land of the living (Vs.19-21).
In Ezekiel 27 another
message from the LORD came to Ezekiel concerning Tyre, “the mighty gateway to
the sea”, the trade center of the world. It is a “funeral song”, a lament that
sings of the death of this beautiful and glorious seaport to the kings. Verses
4-24 are dedicated to giving us a vivid description of Tyre’s massive trading
and bartering with nations around the world, including Judah and Israel.
This poetic description
of the fall of a city is one of the most powerful to be found anywhere in world
history, and it sums up just how the world, was and is, preoccupied with
material wealth and prosperity that cannot help but breed pride that is out of control.
Clearly GOD is seeking to show us how vulnerable all material wealth is, to
destruction.
Here in this chapter
Tyre is compared to a soundly constructed, beautiful world-class luxury ship
(Vs.1-9) that is about to sink into Hades. She has had many trading partners
over the years (vs.10-25), but now was about to experience a catastrophic
shipwreck at sea that she will never be able to recover from (Vs.26-36). Ironically,
her destruction would come in an atmosphere where she was most comfortable,
that of the open sea.
In Ezekiel 28 we see
yet a third message from the LORD to Ezekiel, this time, a message to the
“ruler”, or “head prince” (in the Hebrew “Nagid”- “man at the top”). Here GOD
is singling out the city of Tyre and Sidon’s leader, who at that time was
Ethbaal III, the father of Jezebel (1 Kings 16:31). He ruled from 591-572 B.C.,
and because of his pride, he viewed himself as a god, and not as a man (v.2).
In fact, many people also believed that he was “the idol god Baal” himself, and
he regarded himself as being wiser than Daniel the prophet, whom GOD allowed to
know secret things (v.3).
Even though Ethbaal’s
worldly wisdom had made him very rich, his riches had made him very proud, and
here in verses 6-10 GOD delivers this personal message to him, through Ezekiel:
“Therefore, this is what the
Sovereign Lord
says:
Because you think you are as wise as a god,
I will now bring against you a foreign army,
the terror of the nations.
They will draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom
and defile your splendor!
They will bring you down to the pit,
and you will die in the heart of the sea,
pierced with many wounds.
Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!’
to those who kill you?
To them you will be no god
but merely a man!
Because you think you are as wise as a god,
I will now bring against you a foreign army,
the terror of the nations.
They will draw their swords against your marvelous wisdom
and defile your splendor!
They will bring you down to the pit,
and you will die in the heart of the sea,
pierced with many wounds.
Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!’
to those who kill you?
To them you will be no god
but merely a man!
You will die like an outcast
at the hands of foreigners.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (NLT)
at the hands of foreigners.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (NLT)
Beginning
in verse 11 we see Ezekiel’s final prophecy against Tyre (Vs.11-19).
Then this further message
came to me from the Lord: “Son of
man, sing this funeral song for the king of Tyre. Give him this message from
the Sovereign Lord:
“You were the model of perfection,
full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty.
You were in Eden,
the garden of God.
Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone—
red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone,
blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper,
blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald—
all beautifully crafted for you
and set in the finest gold.
They were given to you
on the day you were created.
I ordained and anointed you
as the mighty angelic guardian.
You had access to the holy mountain of God
and walked among the stones of fire.
full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty.
You were in Eden,
the garden of God.
Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone—
red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone,
blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper,
blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald—
all beautifully crafted for you
and set in the finest gold.
They were given to you
on the day you were created.
I ordained and anointed you
as the mighty angelic guardian.
You had access to the holy mountain of God
and walked among the stones of fire.
“You were blameless in all
you did
from the day you were created
until the day evil was found in you.
from the day you were created
until the day evil was found in you.
Your rich commerce led you
to violence,
and you sinned.
So I banished you in disgrace
from the mountain of God.
I expelled you, O mighty guardian,
from your place among the stones of fire.
Your heart was filled with pride
because of all your beauty.
Your wisdom was corrupted
by your love of splendor.
So I threw you to the ground
and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.
You defiled your sanctuaries
with your many sins and your dishonest trade.
So I brought fire out from within you,
and it consumed you.
I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
All who knew you are appalled at your fate.
You have come to a terrible end,
and you will exist no more.” (NLT)
and you sinned.
So I banished you in disgrace
from the mountain of God.
I expelled you, O mighty guardian,
from your place among the stones of fire.
Your heart was filled with pride
because of all your beauty.
Your wisdom was corrupted
by your love of splendor.
So I threw you to the ground
and exposed you to the curious gaze of kings.
You defiled your sanctuaries
with your many sins and your dishonest trade.
So I brought fire out from within you,
and it consumed you.
I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
All who knew you are appalled at your fate.
You have come to a terrible end,
and you will exist no more.” (NLT)
The
use in verse 12 of the Hebrew word “melek” for “king”, instead of “nagid” for “ruler”
is significant in light of the content of these final two prophecies. Whereas
Ezekiel rebuked the “ruler”, Ethbaal III for falsely claiming to be a god in
the previous prophecy, here Ezekiel describes a king in terms that cannot apply
to a mere man. Here he describes a king who appeared in the Garden of Eden
(v.13), and had been a “guardian cherub” (v.14a), and also had had, at one time
in the past, free access to GOD’s Holy Mountain (v.14b). Ezekiel also says that
this king had been sinless from the time he was created (v.15).
Here
in this passage (Vs.11-19) we see a depiction that clearly fits “Lucifer”, the
once glorious archangel who had been expelled from Heaven because of his pride
and sin against GOD. It does not at all seem to depict the earthly mortal ruler
Ethbaal III of Tyre mentioned in the previous verses, 1-10, nor does the
language used here depict Adam in the Garden of Eden as some scholars have
suggested. Here in verses 11-19 Ezekiel is describing satan who is the true
king of Tyre, the demon who is influencing and motivating the human ruler,
Ethbaal III.
Although
there is, admittedly, strong metaphoric, and poetic interpretational references,
to the human ruler of Tyre, Ethbaal III, in this passage, the message is
clearly aimed at the spiritual ruler and prince of the demons of this world, who
is satan.
In
verses 20-24 we see a message of doom for Tyre’s older sister city, and former
ruler, Sidon. Sidon was located just 20 miles north of Tyre, along the
Mediterranean coast, and except for brief periods in history, had always been
closely allied with Tyre, especially at that time, since both cities were ruled
by the same man, Ethbaal III. GOD’s judgment against Sidon would be both, “a
plague”, and “war” (v.23). This judgment would have two results. First, it
would compel Sidon to acknowledge GOD’s “righteous character” (v.22), and
secondly, GOD’s judgment would remove Sidon’s influence as an obstacle to
Israel’s walk with HIM (v.24). Many of the Israelites had begun worshiping “Baal”
since the time of King Ahab (Israel’s king), who’s wife was the infamous
Jezebel.
Finally
this chapter ends on an encouraging note, a message of “restoration for Israel
(Vs.25-26 - NLT).
“This
is what the Sovereign Lord
says: The people of Israel will again live in their own land, the land I gave
my servant Jacob. For I will gather them from the distant lands where I have
scattered them. I will reveal to the nations of the world my holiness among my
people. They
will live safely in Israel and build homes and plant vineyards. And when I
punish the neighboring nations that treated them with contempt, they will know
that I am the Lord their God.”
A Sunday school lesson
by,
Larry D. Alexander
LARRY D. ALEXANDER-
Official Website
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