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Monday, June 13, 2011

Isaiah 23: A prophecy against Tyre

      Isaiah's prophecy against Tyre in Phoenicia, ended the series of prophecies which began with Babylon in the east. Tyre was one of the most important trading cities of the ancient world, with a large seaport. It was very wealthy and, as so often is the case where great wealth exists, it was also very evil. Isaiah warned that God would destroy Tyre because of the people's pride which separated them from Him.There was anguish in Egypt due to the fact that Tyre was a very important trading partner, carrying Egyptian goods to other parts of the world, and so with the destruction of Tyre would come a trading calamity for Egypt.
      Pride is one of the seven deadly sins, and it is hated by God. Our lesson to learn is that we must always remember that the credit for all the accomplishments in our lives belongs to God, and we have no reason for pride and boastfulness in ourselves. As Paul said, if we must boast then let us boast in the Lord (1 Corinthians 1:31).
      Verses 15 to 18 prophecy that Tyre would not remain cast away from the Lord, but that He would show her mercy after a time in the wilderness. The reference to seventy years may be taken literally, but it's more likely that the figure is used to indicate a long time. Isaiah prophecies that even after God has bestowed His mercy upon the city they would soon return to their old ways.
      A lesson to be learned from this prophecy is that the wealthy should use their wealth in the service of God, and not hoard it away. Christians need to always remember that they are God's servants, and as such they should set the wealth that He bestows on them to work for Him.


1 A prophecy against Tyre:
   Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
   For Tyre is destroyed
   and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
   word has come to them.
2 Be silent, you people of the island
   and you merchants of Sidon,
   whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
   came the grain of the Shihor;
the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre,
   and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea,
   for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;
   I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
   they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish;
   wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,
   the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
   to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
   the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants are princes,
   whose traders are renowned in the earth?
9 The LORD Almighty planned it,
   to bring down her pride in all her splendor
   and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
10 Till your land as they do along the Nile,
   Daughter Tarshish,
   for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The LORD has stretched out his hand over the sea
   and made its kingdoms tremble.
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
   that her fortresses be destroyed.
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,
   Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed!
   “Up, cross over to Cyprus;
   even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,
   this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians have made it
   a place for desert creatures;
they raised up their siege towers,
   they stripped its fortresses bare
   and turned it into a ruin.
14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish;
   your fortress is destroyed!
15 At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
   you forgotten prostitute;
play the harp well, sing many a song,
   so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.
18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothes.

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