The great ancient city of Tyre was located on an island just offshore of the current city of Tyre, Lebanon. This global powerhouse was once the center of commerce for Phoenicia, dominating trade on the seaways of the Mediterranean and beyond, perhaps even to England and West Africa. Centuries before the empires of Greece and Rome came on the scene, Tyre had a corner on the maritime trade. But Tyre was blocked from achieving dominance on land by Judah, which possessed the crossroads for the land trade routes.
God’s judgment of Jerusalem through King Nebuchadnezzar presented a new opportunity for Tyre – it would now be able to move in to absorb Israel’s abandoned land trade routes, prospering now by both land and sea.
But Israel was still the apple of the Lord’s eye. His judgment was meant to correct them and get them back on the right track, not to destroy them. Other nations that sought to capitalize on God’s judgment to enrich themselves at Israel’s expense would find themselves under an even harsher wrath than Israel’s. Ezekiel writes of this:
1 On February 3, during the twelfth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, this message came to me from the Lord: 2 “Son of man, Tyre has rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Ha! She who was the gateway to the rich trade routes to the east has been broken, and I am the heir! Because she has been made desolate, I will become wealthy!’
3 “Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am your enemy, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the waves of the sea crashing against your shoreline. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down its towers. I will scrape away its soil and make it a bare rock! 5 It will be just a rock in the sea, a place for fishermen to spread their nets, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign Lord. Tyre will become the prey of many nations, 6 and its mainland villages will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
14 I will make your island a bare rock, a place for fishermen to spread their nets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the Lord, have spoken. Yes, the Sovereign Lord has spoken! Ezekiel 26:1-6,14 (NLT)
Ezekiel spoke this prophecy against Tyre twelve years after Jehoiachin, Judah’s final king in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, had been carried off into Babylon. From here until it’s restoration at Christ’s birth, this line would be sustained by governors and laborers, not by kings.
The declared prophecy against Tyre came to pass over time, in waves. First, Nebuchadnezzar would come against the island state and greatly weaken, but not destroy it. Forced to pay Babylon tribute, Tyre survived for another couple of centuries until Alexander the Great of Greece came against it. Alexander’s forces built an isthmus out to the island and totally destroyed it, leveling it and, as prophesied through Ezekiel, left it a scraped rock in the sea, a state in which it remains, even to this day.
What are the lessons here for us today?
First, storms may blow against us and we may suffer heartache, pain, and loss, but God will never leave nor abandon us. He will watch over us and hold us up, even in our darkest hour. Those who would take advantage of us in our times of weakness will ultimately pay a dear price for it.
Second, God’s word is true. When Nebuchadnezzar failed to level Tyre down to bare rock, many likely doubted the accuracy of Ezekiel’s prophecy. But God said in the prophecy that He would use many nations to come against Tyre, and that could come in waves rather than all at once. Two hundred years later, Tyre’s final wave came through the siege of Alexander, and the ancient island fortress fell, never to be rebuilt. It remains as a flooded ruin today, offshore of its onshore replacement in Lebanon.
Is there a word from the Lord in your life that has not yet been fulfilled? We can trust that the answer will come in the God’s time. His word is a Rock, and will never be moved or overthrown.
Reflection
Has God made a promise to You in the past that has not yet fully come to pass? What remains of it to yet be fulfilled?
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your unending care for me. Your love is so far beyond anything that I deserve. Help me to walk in Your light, fully forgiven, and filled with Your Holy Spirit. Grant me compassion for others and help me to act upon it for their benefit and to bring You glory. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Have a blessed and beautiful day in the Lord today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 