Introduction. Judgment of Tyre.
Ezekiel 26: 3 ,4.
“Therefore thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up. And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock.”
Tyre (now in Lebanon) was a Phoenician seaport on the Mediterranean Sea, located 35 miles north of Mount Carmel and 28 miles west of Mount Hermon. Tyre provided lumber for King Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 5) and sailors for his navy (1 Kings 9:26, 27).
Tyre’s judgment effects the whole Mediterranean region including the Nile area, Sudan, Tarshish, Canaan and Cyprus. Tyre’s close commercial relationship with Cyprus is evident in Ezekiel 27:6.
Tyre was besieged several times over a period of 400 years. The Chaldeans occupied it for twenty years. The city would then temporarily regain its previous prestige. The “harlotry” of Tyre was due to the city’s international trade which produced pride in its people (verses 9, 12, 14) and greed (verse 10). Tyre’s harbour would be destroyed as part of its judgment. Finally, Tyre would be “laid waste” by Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
In Isaiah chapter 23, we see two main sections. Verses 1 – 14, deal with the fall of Tyre. Verses 15 – 18 deal with restoration.
Chapter 23:1
“The burden against Tyre. Wail, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no harbour; from the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them.”
These ships belong to Tyre and are returning from Spain (Tarshish is often considered to be Tartessus in Spain.) When the ships stopover in Cyprus, they are told of the city’s fall. With the houses destroyed and no harbour to return to, they wail in dismay. Weary after a long and difficult journey, the sailors would find no customary haven of rest if they arrived in Tyre.
Chapter 23:2
“Be still, you inhabitants of the coastland, you merchants of Sidon, whom those who cross the sea have filled.”
“Sidon” was of course the other important Phoenician seaport. Here it represents the rest of Phoenicia, reflecting the country’s shocked response to Tyre’s overthrow. Like Tyre the region had acquired wealth through trade across the sea.
Chapter 23: 3
“And on great waters the grain of Shihor, the harvest of the River, is her revenue; and she is a marketplace for the nations.”
“Shihor” is a synonym for Egypt (in Jeremiah 2:18 it is rendered “Sihor”). It means “black” and refers to the River Nile (In scripture “The River” always refers to the Nile or the Euphrates).
Egypt sent its exported grain to Phoenicia in the ships of Tyre. This brought revenue to the city, making Tyre a “marketplace for the nations”. For a list of the nations trading with Tyre refer to Ezekiel 27: 3 –23. Tyre sold on many of the commodities which were landed in her harbour.
Chapter 23:4
“Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken, the strength of the sea, saying, “I do not labour, nor bring forth children; neither do I rear young men, nor bring up virgins.”
Sidon, as we have noted, was the other prominent Phoenician city. It was equally dependent on the Mediterranean for its livelihood. In this verse, the sea is personified as a bereft father. The sea bemoans the desolate state of the city; it is as though Tyre had never had any children to inhabit it.
Chapter 23:5
“When the report reaches Egypt, they also will be in agony at the report of Tyre.”
Egypt will also be in agony at the loss of her best trading partner and most profitable market.
Chapter 23:6.
“Cross over to Tarshish; wail, you inhabitants of the coastland!”
The sailors of Tyre are advised to seek asylum as far away as possible (Spain) and there to mourn for the fate of the city.
Chapter23:7
“Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is from ancient days, whose feet carried her far off to dwell?”
Tyre was a very old city, dating back some 2,000 years before the first coming of Messiah.
It had established various colonies sprinkled around the Mediterranean. They had been established to support their shipping empire. Refugees from Tyre would lament the city’s fall in these colonies of the once prosperous city.
Chapter 23:8
“Who has taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are the honourable of the earth?”
Isaiah poses the question; who brought this horror on Tyre, with all its power, riches, glory and international prestige. There is a note of sarcasm in referring to its merchants as “the honourable of the earth”. The reality of the situation is found in Ezekiel 28:2: “Because your heart is lifted up, and you say, “I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods, in the midst of the seas.”
Chapter 23:9
“The Lord of hosts has purposed it, to bring to dishonour the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.”
The Lord of hosts is behind the fate of Tyre, determined to dishonour the pride of all human self-satisfaction. The pride of the merchants of Tyre furnished the reason for Adonai’s action in overthrowing the city because of their foolish arrogance arising from the city’s prestige.
The attitude of Adonai to human pride is well documented.
Isaiah 13:11
“I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”
Job 40:12
“Look on everyone who is proud, and bring him low, tread down the wicked in their place,”
Daniel 4:37
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.”
Chapter 23:10
“Overflow through your land like the River, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no more strength.”
In view of attacks on Tyre, the people are told to escape to other countries, to spread out like an overflowing river (The Nile). The oracle invites the colonies of Tyre to take advantage of the city’s fall to take their freedom.
Chapter 23: 11
“He stretched out His hand over the sea, He shook the kingdoms; The Lord has given a commandment against Canaan to destroy its strongholds.”
The Lord had caused the downfall of the territory of Canaan which included Tyre and Sidon. He has aroused the nations in this cause.
Chapter 23: 12
“And He said, “You will rejoice no more, O you oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, cross over to Cyprus; there also you will have no rest.”
Even if the refugees cross over to Cyprus (Kittim), they will find no rest. The term “oppressed” suggests “crushed in war”.
There may be a note of sarcasm in the term “virgin daughter of Sidon”; Jerusalem is the Lord’s daughter, Tyre a mere pretender. A city noted for its freshness and revelry will become like a worn and old woman, piecing together what is left.
Ezekiel 26: 13,14. Concerning Tyre.
“I will put an end to the sound of your songs, and the sound of your harps shall be heard no more. I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,” says the Lord God.”
Chapter 23: 13
“Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, this people which was not; Assyria founded it for wild beasts of the desert. They set up its towers, they raised up its palaces, and brought it to ruin.”
The example of the Chaldeans (Babylon) should remind Tyre of the hopelessness of their situation facing Assyria, which ravaged Babylon in 689 BC. The Chaldeans had not escaped the siege towers of Assyria, nor could they protect their palaces being overthrown and made into ruins.
Chapter 23:14
“Wail, you ships of Tarshish for your strength is laid waste.”
The stronghold of Tyre has been laid waste, and its strength has been destroyed.
After the assault by the Assyrians, there was a long siege by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar (586 – 572 BC). Later the Persians conquered Tyre in 525 BC and Alexander the Great besieged the city in 332 BC.
Chapter 23 verses 15 – 18. The restoration of Tyre.
Chapter 23:15,16.
“Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot: “Take a harp, go about the city, you forgotten harlot; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that you may be remembered.”
“Seventy years” represents the span of one life. The time frame of this period is rather obscure; it may be the time between the Assyrian and the Babylonian attacks. However, after that period Tyre will be like a harlot who has been forgotten but who can now attract her lovers.
The destruction of Tyre would not be permanent at this time. Indeed, there is a village called Sur on the site of the city to this day.
In verse 16, the people of Tyre are invited to sing songs to draw attention to their former prosperity. Harlots sang to attract their clients. To sing songs “that you may be remembered” is a metaphor for the restoration of Tyre.
Chapter 23:17.
“And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her hire, and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.”
With the Lord’s help, the city will return. Tyre will resume her commerce with all the kingdoms of the world. She will “commit fornication” i.e., the city will form economic links will anyone who can enrich her, regardless of ethical considerations.
Chapter 23:18.
“Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the Lord; it will not be treasured nor laid up, for her gain will be for those who dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.”
The profits from Tyre’s prosperity will eventually be dedicated to the Lord; to feed and clothe those who minister for Adonai.
This must be looking forward to the Lord’s Second Coming when according to Psalm 45:12, “the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift”; an act of worship and holy offering for the Lord.