Ezekiel 26
The prophetic messages against
were comparatively short. That against
(ch.26:1-29:18). The special prominence thus given to the
latter
city was probably due to its political importance in
Ezekiel’s time, possibly
also to the personal knowledge which may be inferred from
his minute
description of its magnificence and its commerce. It is
ushered in with
special solemnity as “a
word of Jehovah.”
1 “And it
came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day of the
month, that the word of the LORD came unto
me, saying,”
In the eleventh
year, etc. The last date
given (ch.24:1)
was the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year (sc.
B.C. 590). We
have now come to the eleventh year, on which, on the ninth
day of the
fourth month,
seventh day of the fifth month (Jeremiah 52:6, 12). Here
the number of
the month is not given in the Hebrew or the Vulgate, while
the Septuagint
inserts the “first
month.” In ch. 32:17 we have a like omission, and
in both cases it is natural to assume an error of
transcription. The tidings of
the capture may have reached both
have heard of the temper in which the former had received
them, just as he
had heard how the nations named in the previous chapter had
exulted in the
fall, imminent and, as they thought, inevitable, of the
holy city.
2 “Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said
against
she is broken that was the gates of the
people: she is turned unto
me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid
waste:”
Because that Tyrus, etc. As the nearest great commercial
city,
the
and Solomon (I Kings 5:1) onward, had been prominent in the
eyes of the
statesmen and prophets of Judah; and Ezekiel follows in the
footsteps of
Joel 3:4; Amos 1:9-10; Isaiah 23., in dealing with it. The description in vs. 5
and 14 points, not to the city on the mainland, the old
Tyre of Joshua 19:29,
which had been taken by Shalmaneser and was afterwards
destroyed by
Alexander the Great, but to the island city, the new
time, the emporium of the ancient world. The extent of her
commerce will
meet us in ch.27. Here, too, as in the case of the nations
in ch.25.,
Ezekiel’s indignation is roused by the exulting selfishness
with which
had looked on the downfall (actual or imminent, as before)
of
“Now,” her rulers
seem to have said, “we shall be the only power in the
of
broken. The name thus given may imply either:
city, carrying on much
intercourse with the nations with which she was in
alliance, (ch.23:40-41; I Kings
9:26-28; 22:48; Isaiah 2:7; Herod., 3:5,
of Cadytis, i.e. probably
from the neighboring nations, as
in Psalm 87:4-6, and was looking
forward to a yet fuller
confluence of men of all races, as in the prophecies
of Micah 4:1-2 and Isaiah 2:2-3
— expectations which may well
have become known to a city like
“Now,” the Tyrians might say,
“that hope is shattered.” I shall be
replenished. The interpolated “now” indicates what is, of course,
implied,
that
and fall of
An Unworthy Anticipation
(v. 2)
The destruction of
mercenary Tyrians imagined that they would gain by the loss
of the Jewish
capital. This was an unworthy anticipation, and the event
proved that it
was founded on a delusion.
·
IT IS WICKED TO HOPE FOR GAIN THROUGH THE DISTRESS
OF OTHERS.
of adversity. But her commercial greed bears down all thoughts of
friendship and all feelings of
sympathy. She only looks at the direful
event as an opportunity for
enlarging her trade. Nations are guilty of this
wickedness when they exult in
the downfall and misery of their neighbors,
expecting to reap a harvest of
gain for themselves. Thus while two peoples
are in the agonies of war, a
third may be delighted at the opportunity of
coining wealth by seizing the
ground for commerce which the belligerents
have been forced to relinquish.
It may come more nearly home to us to see
the same greedy spirit in the
shopkeeper who inwardly rejoices over the
bankruptcy of his rival,
believing that now the custom will be all in his own
hands. The same miserable,
mercantile selfishness is even witnessed in
ecclesiastical regions, when one
Church takes pleasure in the misfortunes
of a neighboring Church,
expecting thus to have grist brought to its mill. In
this case there is far less
excuse, for Christians profess brotherhood, and a
true Church exists for the glory
of God, not for the pomp and
aggrandizement of its members.
God is not glorified when one Church
fattens on the wreck of another
Church.
·
THIS UNWORTHY ANTICIPATION IS DOOMED TO ULTIMATE
FAILURE.
contrary, she was swept away by
the same besom of destruction that she
had greedily rejoiced to see
turned against her ancient ally, We are
members one of another. What is
hurtful to one part of the body injures the
whole body. War brings nothing
but loss in the long run. Selfish commerce
does not ultimately pay. Greedy
competition overreaches itself and reaps a
Nemesis of general commercial
depression. It is often found that the ruin of
one house of business is
followed by that of others. A market is injured,
and all concerned with it
suffer. Selfishness,
envy, jealousy, and greed
destroy mutual confidence. They introduce a condition in which every
man’s hand is against his
fellow. This must be one of general disaster,
because it is one of general
distrust. We do not suffer in the end by being
magnanimous. Assuredly these
considerations apply with double force to
religious communities. The
Church that exults in the downfall of its rival
cannot truly prosper. Here,
indeed, what hurts a member of the body hurts
the whole body. Far wiser as
well as higher was the spirit of
rejoiced in the preaching of the
gospel by all means, even though, in some
cases, it involved enmity to
himself (Philippians 1:18).
The Jealousy
of
It is a singular fact that, in his reproaches and censures
directed against the
states and tribes by which
himself to a condemnation of their idolatries and their
vices and crimes
generally, but refers especially to the attitude these
peoples had taken
towards his own countrymen, their land, and their
metropolis. No doubt
there was patriotism in this way of looking at matters. But
the frequency
and evident deliberateness of such references show that it
was not mere
personal and patriotic feeling which animated Ezekiel. He
spoke as a
religious teacher and as the prophet of the Lord; and he
recognized, as
underlying hostility to
in the powerful and eloquent denunciation of
prediction of Type’s impending fate, which forms so
interesting and
instructive a portion of this book, Ezekiel puts in the
very forefront of his
indictment Type’s attitude towards
reasons for the Divine displeasure, and for the execution
of the sentence of
Divine condemnation. The proud queen of the seas was to be
smitten and
deposed, not only because of her luxury, pride, and
idolatry, but especially
because of her jealousy and malevolence towards the beloved
and chosen
city of
·
THE FACT UPON WHICH THIS JEALOUSY WAS BASED, i.e.
THE FORMER PROSPERITY OF JERUSALEM. According to the
poetical language of the
prophet,
peoples.” In the reign of Solomon especially, and to some extent
subsequently, the metropolis of
the Jewish people had been an emporium
of commerce. Its situation in
some degree fitted it to be the center of
communication between the great
Eastern countries, and
south, and the
accustomed to think of
prophecies brings before our
minds the unquestionable fact that there was a
time when this city was a mart
in which the surrounding nations were wont
to exchange their produce and
their commodities.
·
THE REJOICING TO WHICH THIS JEALOUSY LED, i.e. IN
THE
DOWNFALL OF JERUSALEM.
“She
is broken,” was the exulting
exclamation of
generous in Type thus to triumph
over the misfortunes and calamities of
her neighbor. The wealth and
prosperity of the Jewish capital was about to
end; the days of her glory were over;
her streets were to be forsaken; the
caravans of the merchants were
no more to thread their way through the
proud gates of the city. And in
this change, in these disasters,
rejoiced.
·
THE HOPE WITH WHICH THIS JEALOUSY WAS
ASSOCIATED, i.e. THE EXTENSION OF THE PROSPERITY OF
was about to lose: “I
shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste.” The
greatness, opulence, and renown
of
credible that her prosperity
could be affected by anything which could
happen to a small and inland
capital such as
that the Tyrian spirit was a spirit of selfishness, exclusiveness, and
grasping. Nothing was too great for
be beneath her notice and
covetnousness.
·
THE MEANNESS WHICH THIS JEALOUSY REVEALED. In what
follows Ezekiel displays the
pomp, splendor, and magnificence of the great
seaport of
address to
may be that the prophet spoke,
not only as a patriot who resented Type’s
jealousy, but as a religious
teacher for whom moral distinctions were all
important, and for whom a moral
fault was of more consequence than all
material splendor.
·
THE DISPLEASURE WHICH THIS JEALOUSY EXCITED IN THE
MIND OF THE DIVINE KING AND JUDGE. “I,” says God — “I
am
against thee, O
city which was pained by
the Most High. For dispositions
were revealed discreditable to human hate,
ire, and repugnant to Divine
purity. Because
the Lord God was against
3
“Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O
Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come
up against thee, as the
sea causeth his waves to come up. 4 And they
shall destroy the walls of Tyrus,
and break down her towers: I will also
scrape her dust from her, and make her
like the top of a rock.” As the sea causeth, etc. We note the special appropriateness
of the comparison to the position of the island city.
We have here an outline of the great, desolating judgment
that was to fall
upon
chapter, and lamented over in the next chapter.
There are several points in
the condition and history of
of this famous city; but the resemblance between Type and
England (USA)
is so striking, that we
may feel much more interest in Ezekiel’s utterances when
we consider their bearing on our own country in the
present day.
Ø
In wealth.
richest. Her splendor was
renowned, and the wealth of her merchants
was proverbial. Like
other peoples for her worldly prosperity.
Ø
Through commerce. The wealth of
or fertile soil of her own
territory. It was not booty taken in war, like that
of
she was like our “nation of shopkeepers” (or “stockholders – CY – 2014)
Ø
By seafaring. The early commerce of
over the desert (Genesis 37:28);
but the later and more profitable
commerce was over the waters
westward, round the coast of the
Mediterranean and to as far as
distant
times was the mistress of the
sea. Hence a certain cosmopolitan character.
Ø
With constructive art. The vast foundations of Baalbec tell of the
building powers of
Tyrian architecture, built with
Tyrian art. We do not equal those great
builders in originality. But
inventive genius and manufacturing energy
are characteristic of our race.
Thus the material splendor of
passed to
The splendor and prosperity
of
in her fall any hint
of a similar danger threatening our own country?
Consider both its immediate
cause and the providential necessity that lay
behind.
Ø
The immediate cause.
was not able to withstand the
terrific onward march of the Eastern
power. She was strong at sea, but feeble ashore. She
was not a
military power. She proves that wealth will not protect from ruin,
but will rather
invite it. The wealth of
temptation to the invader.
(Witness terrorism and immigration –
these threats just happens to
coincide with
her back on God. Let us remember “When a man’s ways
please the Lord,
He maketh even his enemies to be at peace
with him.” -
Proverbs 16:7 - CY – 2014). Prosperity
is not its
own security.
Ø
The providential necessity. Wealth enervates,
and no doubt
weakened by luxury. But behind such natural operations God, the
Judge of all the
earth, saw the sin of Tyre/England/USA. She/they
Was/were greedy and selfish (v.
2). Commerce does not always win
friends. By competition it stirs
up jealousy. When deceptive or
overreaching, it rouses the
antagonism of those on whom it preys.
shamefully
immoral. Though the
Tyrian artists, the worship of
Jehovah was not accepted by the
Tyrian citizens. Like
never worship in it ourselves.
We may patronize religion, and be
none the better for it. We may send the gospel to the heathen, and
BECOME PAGANS AT
HOME! The temple they
built for the
Jews did not save the Tyrians.
Nothing can save
The
personal
religion of her people.
Divine Antagonism (v. 3)
We have come to regard the
quarrel between man and God as one-sided.
Now, it is one-sided in its
origin, its evil, and its malice. God never
wishes
to be at war with men, and
never originates any breach of the peace. His
conduct
throughout is just, considerate, marvelously long-suffering. Even
when the conflict is forced on
to an extremity, God never ceases to love His
foolish, fallen children.
He is ever waiting to be gracious, longing for signs
of contrition and
a door of reconciliation. The origin of the quarrel, its evil,
and its malice are
ALL ON OUR SIDE!
But this does not mean that God
takes no part in it, that He
only stands before us as an impassive and immobile
granite wall that we may dash
our heads against, but that never moves an
inch against us; much less that
He gives way before our rebellious
onslaught, and weakly yields to
willful opposition on our part. We can
provoke the Lord to
anger (Psalm
78:58).
“God is angry with the
wicked every day” (Ibid. ch. 7:11). As
Lord and Judge, He executes
sentence. By necessity of righteousness, He sets himself in array
against His sinful
creatures.
with
that the greedy were rejoicing
over the calamities of their neighbors. All sin
rouses the anger
and active opposition of God. He is
not opposed to any
one from prejudice, as men are
too often opposed to their neighbors. But
sin, which is
opposition to the will of God, must needs be opposed by Him
if that will is
to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
This, then, is not a
question for a few rare souls in
the awful condition of victims of Divine
displeasure. EVERY
SINNER HAS GOD AS AN OPPONENT!
The fatal punishment
of others ought to be a warning. It
was not so taken
by
Tyrians rejoiced over it. Such
wickedness the more stirred up the antagonism
of God. Now, these Tyrians were
heathen people, judged only according to
their light. Yet they were
condemned, for the ground of judgment was
moral evil, not defective
theology. But much more must God be in
antagonism to those who have fuller
light and yet rebel against Him.
“Therefore thou
art inexcusable,” etc. (Romans 2:1).
ANTAGONISM. This does
not mean that God is reluctant to sheathe
His sword, till Christ succeeds
in persuading Him to do so; for our Lord was
sent by His
Father for THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF MAKING PEACE!
But the cause of the antagonism
had to be removed, and Christ came to
effect that end
by making HIS GREAT ATONEMENT FOR SIN!
Through this also He brought men
into a new state of repentance, and
reconciled them to God. Now,
we are under the doom of Divine
antagonism, so long as we live in UNREPENTED
SIN. But
the
offer of the
gospel shows the way of escape from it in FREE
FORGIVENESS AND
PERFECT RESTORATION TO THE
FAVOR OF GOD!
The Exultation of the World over the
Church (vs. 2-4)
“Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against
Jerusalem, Aha! she is
broken that was the gate of the peoples,” etc. Type is viewed by the
prophet, not merely in its literal aspect, but also in a
typical one. “
the prophets,” says Schroder, “comes into consideration,
not in a political
respect, but as the representative, the might, of the
world’s commerce.
Jehovah and mammon are the counterpart to
says Hengstenberg, “Along with
most glorious concentration of the worldly power. In the
queen of the sea,
the thought of the vanity of all worldly power was strikingly exemplified.
Hand-in-hand with this thought goes, in Ezekiel, that of the
indestructibleness
of the
representing the world with its riches and pomp and power,
and
the Church, the text gives us as a subject the exultation
of the world over
the Church. But it behooves us to be clear as to what we
are to understand
by the world — the world that is antagonistic to the
Church. It is neither
the material world, nor the human world — the world of men,
nor our
worldly or secular occupation. Very admirably has F. W.
Robertson, on
<1
John 2:15-17, brought out the meaning of the world which is
forbidden to Christians. “Now to define what worldliness
is. Remark, first,
that it is determined by the spirit of a life, not
the objects with which the
life is conversant. It is not the ‘ flesh,’ nor the ‘eye,’
nor ‘life,’ which are
forbidden, but it is the lust of the flesh, and the lust
of the eye, and the
pride of life.... Look into
this a little closer. The lust of the flesh. Here is
affection for the outward: pleasure, that which affects the
senses only: the
flesh, that enjoyment which comes from the emotions of an
hour, be it
coarse or be it refined. The pleasure of wine or the
pleasure of music, so
far as it is only a movement of the flesh. Again, the lust
of the eye. Here is
affection for the transient, for the eye can only gaze on
form and color; and
THESE ARE THE
THINGS THAT DO NOT LAST. Once more, the pride
of life. Here is
affection for the unreal — men’s opinion, the estimate which
depends upon
wealth, rank, circumstances. Worldliness,
then, consists in
these three things — attachment to the outward, attachment
to the transitory,
attachment to the unreal, in opposition to love for the inward, the eternal,
the true; and the
one of these affections is necessarily expelled by the
other.” In this view of worldliness, Type was
representative of the world.
She gloried in her secure situation, her commercial
prosperity, her great
riches, etc. We remark that the exultation of the world over the
Church —
·
IS BITTER AND BOASTFUL.
“Tyre
hath said against Jerusalem, Aha!
she is broken that
was the gate of the peoples” etc. (v.
2). As we have
already shown (in our homily on
the chapter as a whole), this unseemly
triumphing arose from the selfishness
which anticipated that the fall of
this was not the only reason for
the rejoicing of the Tyrians in the ruin of
the sacred city. The antagonism
between their religion and the religion of
the Jews would increase their
joy at the downfall of
destruction of the temple. “Only
thirty-four years before the destruction of
Josiah (B.C. 622). This
momentous religious revolution (II Kings 22., 23.)
fully explains the exultation
and malevolence of the Tyrians. In that
reformation Josiah had heaped
insults on the gods who were the objects of
Tyrian veneration and love; he
had consumed with fire the sacred vessels
used in their worship; he had
burnt their images and defiled their high
places — not excepting even the high place near
Solomon the friend of Hiram had built to Ashtoreth the queen
of heaven,
and which for more than three hundred and fifty years had
been a striking
memorial of the reciprocal good will which once united the
two monarchs
and the two nations. Indeed,
he seemed to have endeavored to exterminate
their religion, for in
altars of the high places all
their priests. These acts, although in their
ultimate results they may have
contributed powerfully to the diffusion of
the Jewish religion, must have
been regarded by the Tyriaus as a series of
sacrilegious and abominable
outrages; and we can scarcely doubt that the
death in battle of Josiah at
city and
instances of Divine retribution
in human affairs.” Moreover, it
is very
probable that some of the
predictions of the Hebrew prophets concerning
Tyro in its relation to
and increased the bitterness of
their joy over the calamities of the
Jews. “In the Messianic
announcements, the homage of
and its incorporation into the
(see, as examples, Psalm 45:12;
87:4; Isaiah 23:18). “Without
doubt,” says Hengstenberg,
“these bold hopes of
and caused much bad blood in the
proud queen of the sea.” And still there
are those who, worldly in spirit, are bitter against the
deride its noblest enterprises;
they ridicule its vital beliefs; they mock its
most cherished hopes. If Christians
are rigid and scrupulous in their
religious duties and observances, the world reproaches
them for their
narrowness and Pharisaism. If Christians stumble and fall, the world
rejoices in their overthrow and scoffs at their religion. But the exultation
of the world over the Church —
·
IS VAIN. The things
from which the world draws its satisfaction, and
upon which it rests its hopes,
are uncertain and delusive.
her security, her riches, her
commercial prosperity; but these things
failed
her in her time of
need. That these things are unstable, impermanent,
transient, is a
truth which no one attempts to deny. How vain, then, to
exult in the ascendancy which
such things give! The world’s triumph,
even
at the best, is more in
appearance than
reality. “The
world passeth away,
and the lust
thereof.” (I John 2:17) But the essential elements of the
Church’s life are
real and abiding verities. The Church may
be brought
down very low, but it shall rise again. Its course leads on to splendid triumph.
But the ungodly world shall sink. Its rank and riches,
its pomp and power
and pleasures shall
pass away as the dreams of night fade before the light
and the activities of day.
·
IS OBSERVED BY THE LORD GOD. He knew and took notice of
the cruel triumph of proud
the fact of that triumph to His
servant Ezekiel on the banks of the Chebar.
He still observes the attitude of the world towards His
Church. No persons
or powers can exalt themselves
against His people without attracting the
notice of His ever-watchful eye
(compare II Chronicles 16:9; Psalm 34:15-16;
1 Peter 3:12-13).
·
WILL BE PUNISHED BY THE LORD GOD. “Thus saith the Lord
God; Behold, I am
against thee, O Tyre,” etc. (vs. 3-4).
The Lord here
proclaims Himself against
boasted pomp, prosperity, and
power. He would break down her defenses,
level her to the ground, make an
utter end of her, leaving nothing but the
bare rock on which she had
stood. The defenses of the irreligious world are
subtle policies, material
riches, social power, etc. These are all
impermanent things. And should they
endure, the time comes when they
will fail to meet the needs of
those who put their trust in them. If no other
punishment awaited the votaries
of this world, surely this would be a heart
crushing, a heart-breaking one, to
awake to the sad realization of the stern
truth that the objects for which
they had striven in life, which they had
looked upon as their chief good,
and in which they had trusted, WERE
VAIN, having no power or fitness to answer the deep cravings of their souls,
or to help them in the awful needs of their being. “Whose
confidence shall
break in sunder, and whose
trust is a spider’s web;” (Job
8:14) “And their
hope shall be the giving up of the
ghost.” (ibid. ch. 11:20)
5 “It
shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea:
for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD:
and it shall become a
spoil to the nations.” It shall be a place for the
spreading of nets, etc. The
prediction is repeated in v. 14, and after many chances and
changes,
apparent revival followed by another period of decay, the
present condition
of
eighteenth centuries report that “its inhabitants are only
a few poor
wretches that harbor in vaults and subsist upon fishing”
(Mandrell, in
1697); that the number of those inhabitants was “only ten,
Turks and
Christians” (Hasselquist, in 1751); that there were, a
little later on, “fifty or
sixty poor families (Volney, in 1766). During the present
century there has
been a partial revival, and Porter, in 1858, estimates its
population at from
three to four thousand. The present state of its harbor, as
compared with
that of Beyrout, is against any future expansion of its
commerce (‘Dict.
Bible,’ s.v. “
6 “And her
daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the
sword; and they shall know that I am the
LORD.”
The daughters in the field are,
according to the usual
symbolism of prophecy, the subject or allied cities on the
mainland.
Collision Between Man’s Plans and God’s
Plans (vs. 1-6)
Appearance is never a safe guide. It might seem to a carnal
eye as if the
downfall of
prospect was soon overrun. Righteous
obedience is the only safe guide to
men. The path may
be, for a time, rough and dark, yet it will bring us
into a
individual persons. If the
leaders of a nation cherish evil purposes or pursue
evil plans, unchecked by the
subjects of the realm, the whole nation
contracts guilt.
Yet if one person or more, moved by
better feelings,
discountenances the national
deed, that person is exculpated from the
common blame, and shall be owned
by God. (Remember that God told
the man with the inkhorn “Go
through the midst of the city, through the
midst of
sigh and that cry
for all the abominations that be done in the midst
thereof.” -
ch. 9:4 – I believe that the same is happening in the United
States and the world today, in
preparation for the Return of Jesus Christ!
- CY – 2014). The protection of Noah and his family, of
daughters, amid the general
destruction, proves the fatherly care
of God
for individuals.
The single grain in a heap of chaff shall be cared for
by God.
GOD.
selfish advantage. The trade of
calamity in
Tyrian traders. What base ground
for jubilation! No matter what suffering
or humiliation the Jews may
endure,
and triumph. But God is not deaf.
Into His ears every sound of selfish
boasting came. He weighs every
thought and word of man in His balances
of justice. That selfish taunt
will not float idly on the summer gale. It is a
grief to Jehovah, and He will
repay. “The Lord executeth righteousness and
judgment for all that are oppressed” (Psalm 103:6). In all human affairs,
individual or national, God has
a real interest. He will never be left out of
the scenario.
shall be
replenished.” God said, “I will make her like the top of a rock.”
inundated with invasion. Instead
of wealth, there should be want. Instead
of glory, desolation. Her
selfish hope should burst like a bubble. The
golden eggs she expected soon to
be hatched proved to be the eggs of a
cockatrice. Selfish greed is a bad investment. The desire to promote our
national interests, to the
injury of another nation, is not patriotism; it is
selfish envy and pride. Triumph
over another’s fall is base, is diabolic.
know that I am
the Lord.” This is a gain of the
noblest kind — a gain that
is abiding and permanent. Such
knowledge is better than rubies. The bulk
of men will not learn this
lesson in the day of prosperity, but in the cloudy
days of adversity, when all
earthly good has vanished, the lesson stands out
clearly before their eyes. Some
earthly sciences are best learned in the dark.
This knowledge of God is best
learned in the dark hour of affliction. For
when all human calculations have
failed, and all human plans have
collapsed, men are compelled to
feel that an unseen hand has been
working, an
unseen Being has been presiding in their affairs. Of a truth,
“THE LORD REIGNETH!”
The Fate of
From such obscure peoples as the Ammonites, Moabites, and
Edomites,
who — except for their occasional association with
aside from the world’s history, the prophet passes to deal
with
the greatest and most commanding cities whose deeds and
fame adorn the
annals of mankind. The Ruler of men does not, indeed, allow
the meanest
to defy His authority with impunity; His sway extends to
the most
insignificant of peoples, of tribes. But on the other hand,
the proudest and
the mightiest are subject to His control, and, when
rebellious and defiant,
must feel the weight of His irresistible hand.
·
THE GREATNESS OF
causes which conspired to
produce it, were many and various. There may
be noticed:
Ø Its
commanding maritime situation. Partly upon a rock, partly upon the
mainland,
countries which
poured their produce into the Phoenician port; before her,
to the west,
were the waters of the
lay the great
states and cities of the ancient world.
of the nations.
Ø Its
commerce. This was
carried on with all the known countries
accessible to
the Tyrian fleets. Her supremacy upon the sea gave
foremost
position among the nations; her adventurous mariners not only
visited every
port of the Mediterranean, they passed the
and traded with
“the
islands of the West.”
Ø Its
wealth. Every nation paid
tribute to
the world, it
acquired and retained riches scarcely equaled.
Ø Its
splendor — such as is
described by Ezekiel — was the natural result
of the opulence
of its enterprising merchants and sea-captains.
Ø Its political power was out of all
proportion to its territory, its
population; its
alliance was sought, and its hostility was dreaded.
·
THE ENEMIES OF
sad symptom of human depravity that unusual prosperity
should excite
general dislike, jealousy, envy, and ill will. “Many nations came up against
adversaries
however, with
was no doubt exhibited in the
great kingdom of the East; but the
population and armies of
the kingdom all but
inexhaustible. When the King of Babylon turned his
arms against
there was no disguising the fact
that the time of trial and of danger had
come.
·
THE SIEGE AND CONQUEST OF
that the prophet’s predictions
were fulfilled. Nebuchadnezzar King of
impregnability, laid siege to it,
and directed against it all the vast military
resources of his kingdom. For
long years the siege was maintained. The
besieged, having open
communication by sea, were able to withstand the
assaults of the enemy; and it
was only the patience and indomitable
perseverance of the Babylonians
that gave them the final victory.
·
THE DESTRUCTION AND DESOLATION OF
striking and detailed prediction
than this was never uttered; and never was
prediction more strikingly and
literally fulfilled. The downfall of
complete. The walls and towers
of the city were broken down. The rock
upon which she stood — a
stronghold of defiance — was left bare and
desolate. The nets of the
solitary fisher were spread where magnificence
and revelry had reigned.
dependencies were vanquished and
destroyed with her; in her they had
trusted, in her favor they had
basked, and in her ruin they were
overwhelmed. The destruction and
desolation were in awful contrast to the
light and glory, the splendor
and power, of bygone days.
·
APPLICATION. The time of national greatness and prosperity is to any
people a time of trial. Then especially does it behoove a nation
to beware
of pride and self-confidence. For the rebellious, contumacious, and ungodly
there is assuredly retribution
prepared. The King of all is God of hosts, and
he never lacks means and agencies to carry out his own
righteous and
judicial purposes.
Resistance to God is vain; it can last but for a short time.
And EVERY NATION MUST LEARN THAT GOD IS LORD
ALONE!
7 “For
thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of
kings, from the north,
with horses, and with chariots, and with
horsemen, and companies,
and much people.” I will bring
against thee, etc. There is a special
emphasis
of abruptness in the way in which Ezekiel brings in the name
of the great
Chaldean conqueror (we note, by the way, that he adopts the
less common
spelling of the name), of whom he speaks as “king of
kings.” The title is
used by Daniel (2:37) of Nebuchadnezzar, and by Artaxerxes
of himself
(Ezra 7:12), by Darius in the Nakshi Rustam inscription
(‘Records of
the Past,’ 5:151), by Tiglatb-Pileser, with the addition of
“lord of lords”
(ibid., 5:8).
The
·
GOD EMPLOYS HUMAN AGENTS. He does not shatter
created the world, with a word.
Nor does He send Michael and the hosts of
heaven with flaming swords to
smite the devoted city. The devastating
conquests of
(Jeremiah 25:9). In the happier
work of bringing salvation to a ruined
world God uses human agents. God
appeared incarnate in a human form.
Apostles were next sent forth to
proclaim the glad tidings. In the present
day God uses human ministers of
justice and human ministers of mercy.
·
GOD EMPLOYS AS HIS AGENTS MEN WHO DO NOT KNOW
HIM. This is the
singular fact brought before us in relation to the use of
Nebuchadnezzar as a minister of
Divine judgment. The King of
was a heathen monarch, who did
not acknowledge the true God (see Daniel
3:15). Yet he was impressed into
the Divine service. We may serve God
unconsciously. It is possible to
be an instrument for effecting His purposes
even when we are thinking that
we are resisting them. The Jews who
crucified Christ were
unconsciously the means of leading His work on to
completion. Thus God controls
men. He claims all; he uses all. For He is
the God of all, though all do
not own or even know Him.
·
GOD EMPLOYS BAD MEN AS HIS AGENTS. The worst thing
about Nebuchadnezzar was not his
paganism, for which he was not
responsible, as he had inherited
it from his ancestors; but his
wickedness,
his cruelty, his ambitious greed and intolerant despotism. Yet not only was
this man unconsciously enlisted
in the service of God. His very wrath was
made to praise God, and the very
exercise of his wicked disposition was
just the thing that carried out
the Divine purpose. The nations were
chastised according to the ends
of Divine justice by the unjust and wicked
scourge of Nebuchadnezzar’s
invasions. This wonderful fact does not solve
the enigma of evil, but it helps
to lighten the burden of that great mystery.
We see that evil itself may be
turned into a ministry of good.
·
GOD’S EMPLOYMENT OF HUMAN AGENTS IS NO
JUSTIFICATION OF THEIR CONDUCT. The use of their action is no
defense for it. God does not
approve of Nebuchadnezzar because he seizes
that cruel monarch’s plans and
makes them to fall in with His own holy
purposes. Nebuchadnezzar must be
content to be judged by the moral
character of his deeds, not by
the unsuspected Divine issue of them. It is no
excuse for sin that God may
overrule it for good. The Jews were not
exonerated from blame in rejecting
Christ because this rejection was the
means of the world’s redemption.
We may be
used by God to high ends,
and then cast away as worthless souls unless we serve
Him consciously and
do His will from
our hearts.
8 “He
shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the field: and he shall
make a fort against thee, and cast a mount
against thee, and lift up
the buckler against thee. 9 And he
shall set engines of war against thy
walls, and with his axes he shall break
down thy towers.
10 By
reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover
thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of
the horsemen, and of the
wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall
enter into thy gates, as
men enter into a city wherein is made a
breach.” (For
the usual operations
of a siege, see notes on ch. 4:1-2) The buckler was the
roof of shields under
which the besiegers protected themselves from the missiles of the
besieged.
For engines of war, read battering-rams; for wheels, wagons.
The final result
will be that the breach will be made, with results such as
those described in v. 1.
11 “With
the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all thy streets: he
shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy
strong garrisons shall
go down to the ground.” Thy strong garrisons; literally, the pillars of thy
strength (Revised Version). So the Vulgate, nobiles statuae.
So the word is used in
Isaiah 19:19; Jeremiah 43:13; II Kings 3:2. The words
probably refer to the two
famous columns standing in the temple of the Tyrian
Hercules, one of gold and
one of emerald (possibly malachite or lapis-lazuli), as
symbols of strength, or as
pedestals surmounted by a statue of Baal (Herod., 2:44).
12 “And
they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy
merchandise: and they shall break down thy
walls, and destroy thy
pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy
stones and thy timber and
thy dust in the midst of the water.” Thy pleasant houses; Hebrew,
houses of desire. The
palaces of the merchant-princes of Tyro, stately as
those of
that it is the island city of which
the prophet speaks.
13 “And I
will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps
shall be no more heard.” There is a time
for everything, and singing is not always
seasonable. Nothing can be more unnatural than a forced
song. Now, there are
sorrows that quench the most vigorous soul’s delights, as
there are storms that beat
down the strongest wings. Such were the calamities that
accompanied
Nebuchadnezzar’s
invasion. Such too were the troubles of the
Jewish captives
when they hung their harps upon the willows, and refused to sing the
Lord’s song
in a strange land (Psalm 137:2-4). But there will be worse
causes of the
silence of old songs in God’s
future judgments on sin. Pleasure is
no refuge
from trouble. It tempts to hopes that are delusive. No one
is safe just
because he feels himself happy. Cheerful people may be in
as great danger
as despondent ones.
Songs
Silenced (v. 13)
Songs may be silenced either because they are found to be
unworthy to be
sung or because the singers are no longer able to sing
them. The harp may
be broken, or the minstrel may be in no mood to touch its
chords. Our old
joys may be given up for either of these reasons. We may
find them to be
unworthy, or, if no fault is discovered in them, sorrow may
extinguish
them.
·
SONGS ARE SILENCED BY THE DISCOVERY OF THEIR
UNWORTHINESS. The
songs of
Heathen songs are too often
degrading to the singers of them, because
false religion and immoral
conduct are therein celebrated. There are
pleasures of sin which it is a
shame to permit unchecked. The awakening of
conscience necessarily
extinguishes such pleasures and stills their
accompanying songs. In this way the thoughtless world may be brought to
regard religion as a gloomy,
repressive influence, hateful to joy, and
therefore very unattractive. We
should look a little deeper. The wicked
song must be stopped at any
cost. But it need not be followed by a reign of
perpetual silence. A new song
may follow, and this may be as joyous as it
is innocent. Christianity is
not the enemy of gladness, it is only the
enemy
of wickedness; and when joy is
purged from evil, joy is found to be deeper,
stronger, and sweeter than ever it was while
intoxicated with the old
corruption.
·
SONGS ARE SILENCED BY SORROW. There is a time for
everything, and singing is not
always seasonable. Nothing can be more
unnatural than a forced song.
Now, there are sorrows that quench the most
vigorous soul’s delights, as
there are storms that beat down the strongest
wings. Such were the calamities
that accompanied Nebuchadnezzar’s
invasion. Such too were the
troubles of the Jewish captives when they
hung their harps upon the
willows, and refused to sing the Lord’s song in a
strange land (Psalm 137:2-4). But there will be
worse causes of the
silence of old songs in God’s future judgments on sin. Pleasure is no refuge
from trouble. It tempts
to hopes that are delusive. No one is safe just
because he feels himself happy.
Cheerful people may be in as great danger
as despondent ones.
·
SONGS ARE SILENCED TO SAVE THE SINGER.
desolate utterly and eternally.
The songs of her gay citizens are no more
heard. Her very rocks are
scraped bare, and the fisherman spreads his nets
on her once populous places.
Thus cities are doomed to irretrievable ruin.
But it is not so with souls. There are
restoration and redemption for
individual men. At
all events, though a dark shadow of mystery hangs over
the grave, this is the case on
earth. Now, it would be best for the singer to
silence his old thoughtless song
in the sober reflection of repentance. The
silence may be a first step to
better things. We are too noisy and too
superficial. The hush
of demonstrative life gives us an opportunity of
hearing the still
small voice of God. (Psalm 46:10)
When our songs are
silenced we may listen to the
songs of the angels. Then that heavenly music
may teach us to tune our harps
to its higher melody and inspire our souls
with new songs of redemption
(Revelation 5:9-12).
14 “And I
will make thee like the top of a rock: thou shalt be a place to spread
nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for
I the LORD have spoken it, saith
the Lord GOD.” The noise of thy
songs. As in the imagery,
of Isaiah 23:16,
of the ancient world — eminent no less for its culture than
its commerce
(compare ch.28:13). The
description of the desolation of the captured city is
summed up once more in the words of v. 5. It shall be a
place to
“spread nets upon.”
A Miracle of Foreknowledge (vs. 7-14)
False prophets discourse only in general terms and in
ambiguous language.
Their announcements may have the most contrary meanings. At
best they
are happy conjectures, fortunate guesses. But the
prophecies of Scripture
are like sunlight compared with such a phosphorescent
flame. The
clearness and fullness of these prophetic utterances can
be accounted for
only as A REVELATION FROM AN OMNISCIENT GOD!
SUBSTANCE. The predictions
of pretentious men are usually trivial —
the effect of a prurient
curiosity. God’s revelations of the future are always
concerned in the rebuke of sin and in the furtherance of righteousness. As
in the manufacture of cordage in
our Government arsenals a worsted
thread of a distinct color runs
through every yard of rope, so through all
God’s dealings with men this
principle of righteousness is ever prominent.
What does not
serve a righteous end IS NOT OF GOD!
ANNOUNCEMENTS. There is no ambiguity, no double meaning, here.
No one is left in doubt whether
the event to happen is to be favorable or
unfavorable. No one is left in
doubt what place or people is the subject
matter of the prophecy. In this
case every circumstance is narrated with as
much minuteness of detail as if
it were a piece of history acted before the
eye of the speaker. The place to be overthrown, its peculiar situation and
structure, its
former greatness and splendor, the name of the invader, all his
military enginery
and tactics, the steps by which he should proceed, and the
extent of his
triumph, are announced beforehand with a dearness and
definiteness THAT CAN ONLY
COME FROM A SUPERNATURAL
SOURCE! The contents of the prophecy are often so unlikely
in themselves
that no human foresight, however
shrewd, would conceive such issues; and
the fulfillment of such
improbable predictions most plainly indicate the
operation of A
DIVINE MIND!
FULFILMENT. “I the Lord have spoken it, saith the Lord.” The true
prophet of Jehovah is modest and
self-oblivious. He does not speak in his
own name. He keeps himself in
the background. His object is to exalt his
Master and to gain homage for
Him. The predictions of God always take
effect. For with God there is no
future. He sees things distant as though
they were near. Looking along
the vista of ages, He perceives how every
event unfolds from preceding
event. The history of men and of nations is,
to His eye, drawn out in long
perspective. And His word is the
mightiest
force in the universe. “He spake, and it was done” (Psalm 33:9);
“By the word of the Lord were the heavens made” (Ibid. v. 6);
“By the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked.” (Isaiah 11:4)
INTENTIONS.
Wherefore did God declare beforehand this coming
suffering and disaster? Was it
not enough to endure the calamity when the
destined hour came? As the main design was to promote righteousness,
this shall be done, if possible,
in a way of mercy. The prediction would
serve to instruct and console
the Jews in captivity. It would be beneficial
for them to be convinced that Jehovah ruled in all the affairs of men. If the
prophecy reached the ears of the
King of Babylon, it would serve a good
purpose for him to know that he
was a servant of the King of heaven, that
his army was under the control
of God, and that the success of his military
expeditions depended on the good
will of Jehovah. And if the prophecy
should be repeated in the ears
of the Tyrians, who can tell that some
among them may repent and
opportunely escape from the catastrophe?
To
foreshadow the dread event is an
act of kindness, which the humble and
teachable would
appreciate.
The Besieging of
The fate foretold for the famous city is here related, so
to speak,
beforehand, with singular copiousness and exactness of
detail.
·
THE ENEMY — THE KING OF
at most of them she could afford
to laugh, for they had no power to carry
their hostility into effect. But
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of kings, was an
enemy that none could despise.
His power and his resources were such as
to render him formidable even to
the mightiest. Flushed with previous
successes, confident in the
irresistible force of his arms, this puissant
monarch, in unconscious
obedience to Divine behests, turned his sword
against the proud mistress of
the seas.
·
THE HOSTILE ARMY AND THE APPARATUS OF WAR. Ezekiel
describes, with the accuracy and
minuteness of one who beheld it, the force
which the King of Babylon
directed against
conqueror of the nations advance
from the north-east “with horses, and
with chariots, and with
horsemen, and a company of much people.” The
undertaking was only possible to
a power which commanded abundance of
military resources, and which
was able to bring up successive
reinforcements, and to continue
warlike operations through the changing
fortunes and the long delays
often incident to ancient campaigns. All that
was necessary for his purpose,
Nebuchadnezzar knew, before he
commenced operations, that he
could command.
·
THE SIEGE. The several
stages of this enterprise are described as by
an eyewitness. First,
engagements take place with the neighboring powers
dependent upon and in alliance
with
opposition is subdued. Then
forts are constructed and a mount is raised
from which the besiegers can
direct their attack against the beleaguered
city. Further, battering-engines
are brought forward to play against the
walls, and the towers are
assaulted by the battle-axes of the besiegers. The
dust raised by the galloping
horses marks where the cavalry repel the sally
from the garrison. The sights of
warfare rise before the eye, its sounds
salute and deafen the ear.
Through long years these military maneuvers go
forward with changing fortune;
yet leaving the city weaker and less able,
even with the open communication
seawards, to sustain the siege.
·
THE ASSAULT, CONQUEST, AND SUBJUGATION. At length the
fatal breach is made in the city
wall, and we seem to see the victorious
army rush forward to overpower
the gallant but now disheartened
defenders. The walls shake at
the noise of the horsemen, the wagons, and
the chariots, as the conquerors
pour into the streets of the city. The
conquering troops, mad with
long-delayed success, ride over and cut down
every armed man they meet, and
even slay the defenseless inhabitants with
the sword. The famous city,
which had boasted itself invincible and
impregnable, is taken and
occupied by the Babylonian forces.
·
THE SPOILING AND DESTRUCTION. The riches and merchandise
fall a prey into the hands of
the victors, who are satiated with booty. The
monuments of Tyrian pride and
grandeur are leveled in the dust. The
fortifications are demolished,
the pleasant houses, luxurious abodes of
merchant-princes, are pulled
down, and the stone and timber are flung into
the sea. Precious goods are
appropriated or wantonly destroyed. As ever in
warfare, so here, the spoils go
to the conquerors, Vae victis! (Woe to the
vanquished)’
·
THE DESOLATION AND WASTE. In those palaces and halls were
once heard the songs of joy and
of love, of feasting and of mirth — the
strains of music vibrating from
harp and lyre, and breathing from the
tuneful flute. Now a mournful
silence reigns, broken only by the cry of the
sea-bird or the plash of the
wind-smitten waves. In those harbors rode but
lately the fleets laden with the
commerce of the world, and Tyrian
merchants gazed with pride upon
their noble and richly laden argosies.
Now the fisherman spreads his
nets upon the deserted rocks, and looks
wistfully over the forsaken
roadsteads and the waste of waters where no
sail curves before the wind or
glitters in the sunshine. “The Lord has
spoken it,” and what he has said
has come to pass. The Tyrian splendor
and opulence were of this world,
and they are no more. Sic transit
gloria
mundi! (So passes away worldly
renown).
15 “Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not
the isles shake at the
sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry,
when the slaughter is
made in the midst of thee?” Shall not the isles, etc.? The Hebrew
word is
used in a wider
sense, as including all settlements on the
sea-coast as well
as islands. So it is used of
of Asia Minor (Daniel 11:18), of the east and south coasts of
(ch.27:15). Looking to the extent of commerce described in
ch.27., it probably
includes all the Mediterranean settlements of the Tyrians,
possibly also those
in the Indian Ocean and the
to spread far and wide.
16 “Then
all the princes of the sea shall come down from their thrones,
and lay away their robes, and put off their
broidered garments: they
shall clothe themselves with trembling;
they shall sit upon the
ground, and shall tremble at every moment,
and be astonished at
thee.” The princes of the sea are not the kings of the isles, but the
merchant-princes of the city (Isaiah 23:8). They shall lay
aside their
robes of state — Tyrian purple embroidered with gold and
silver — and
shall put on the garments of mourners. Jonah 3:6 presents
an
interesting parallel. The word thrones is used, as in I Samuel 4:13, for
any chair of state, as that of priest or judge (Proverbs
9:14; Esther 3:1),
as well as for the specifically kingly throne. For the,
most part,
however, the later meaning is dominant.
The Princes of the Sea (v. 16)
The Tyrians were a seafaring people on a large scale.
Unlike the poor
Philistines, who did not go beyond the fisherman’s simple
toil, those
adventurers swept the
to distant shores of the
great maritime nation.
·
THE PRINCES OF THE SEA GATHERED RICHES, The merchants
of
Thus the Tyrians anticipated the
good fortune of the English. Prosperity is
not often won except by means of
energy and adventure. When the spirit
that urges on daring attempts is
enervated by luxury, the success that it
once achieved is surely doomed.
It is happy when that spirit is transformed
into a higher character, and
seeks for better returns than bales of
merchandise. We cannot but feel
that the voyages of the Beagle and the
Challenger are nobler in this respect, as their aim was to gather
treasures
of knowledge. But better still
is it when the command of the waters is used
for the promotion of peace, the
extension of liberty, and the check of the
slave trade, and above all, the propagation
of Christianity.
·
THE PRINCES OF THE SEA UNITED RACES. In ancient times the
Tyrians were the great link of
connection between the East and the West.
Through them the venerable
civilization of
alphabet to
started European literature on
its wonderful course. She gave more than
she took. Immense and untold
good comes from the peaceful
inter-communication of races.
·
THE PRINCES OF THE SEA RAN GREAT RISKS. They trusted
their wealth to the treacherous
waves. The Merchant of Venice finds
himself beggared by unexpected
calamities. The greatest wealth is usually
won by the most uncertain means,
i.e. by foreign trade and home
speculation. This is a warning
to the prosperous not to put their trust in
riches which so easily take
wings and fly away. The fate of
drive us further to seek those
better riches in the heavenly treasury, where
neither moth nor rust corrupt,
nor thieves break through and steal
(Matthew 6:20). If even the
princes of the sea were ruined, who can be
satisfied to rest in the
greatest earthly success?
·
THE PRINCES OF THE SEA LIVED LOW LIVES. Princes they
were, but not saints. Their
mercenary character was not hidden by all the
splendor of their surroundings.
In their gorgeous palaces, among their
well-stocked bazaars, with their
heavy-laden ships on many waters, they
were the focus of every eye. Yet
in God’s sight they were “miserable,
and blind, and
naked,” for they were but
mammon-worshippers. More
enlightened than the Tyrian
merchants, Englishmen will be guilty of greater
sin and folly if they fall down
and worship the same image of gold.
17 “And
they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and say to thee, How
art thou destroyed, that wast inhabited of seafaring
men, the
renowned city, which wast strong in the
sea, she and her
inhabitants, which cause their terror to be
on all that haunt it!”
Inhabited of
seafaring, etc.; Hebrew, from the seas. The
sense is the same, but we lose the poetry of the original
in the paraphrase.
Possibly, however, the phrase may represent the position of
out of the sea or as deriving its wealth from it.
18 “Now
shall the isles tremble in the day of thy fall; yea, the isles that
are in the sea shall be troubled at thy
departure.” It
is noticeable that the
commercial policy of
isles do not exult in their deliverance,
but mourn over the captured city whose
commerce had contributed to their prosperity. The “terror” of v. 17 is rather
the impression of awe and wonder made on all who came to it.
A Lamentation Over
Fallen Greatness (vs. 15-18)
“Thus saith the Lord God to Tyrus; Shall not the isles
shake at the sound
of thy fall,” etc.? These verses suggest the following observations.
·
THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD ARE SOMETIMES SO AWFUL AS TO
FILL THE EXALTED AND MIGHTY WITH AMAZEMENT AND
DISMAY. (vs. 15-16;
compare Jeremiah 4:7-9.) The isles are the islands
of the
The princes are those of the
various island and sea-board settlements, and
the wealthy merchant-princes of
prosperous commercial centers. Thus it
was said of
honorable of the
earth” (Isaiah 23. 8). The fall of
extreme astonishment and
trembling for their own safety. The Divine
retributions sometimes appall
even the stoutest hearts, and lead the highly
placed and powerful to realize
(at least for a time) their weakness.
·
THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD SOMETIMES AWAKEN THE
LAMENTATIONS OF THOSE WHO BEHOLD THEM. “They shall take
up a lamentation
for thee,” etc. (v. 17). This verse
seems to suggest that
the fall of
instructive to notice what it
was which the neighboring states lamented in the
downfall of the island-city. The
things which are particularized in the text are
such as these: the eclipse of
brilliant renown, “How art thou destroyed… the
renowned city!”
the destruction of distinguished power, “which was strong
in the sea;” the overthrow of one which had been so formidable to
others,
“which caused
their terror to be on all that haunt it.” Worldly minds mourn
the loss of worldly
prosperity. “When
destroyed” says Matthew Henry, “there were no such lamentations for it; it
was nothing to those that passed by (Lamentations 1:12); but
when
have the world in their hearts
lament the loss of great men more than the
loss of good men” But the pions
patriot and prophet Jeremiah bewailed the
destruction of
“Never did city suffer a more
miserable fate, never was ruined city
lamented in language so
exquisitely pathetic”
·
THE JUDGMENTS OF GOD SHOULD LEAD THOSE WHO
BEHOLD THEM TO EXERCISE SERIOUS REFLECTION.
Catastrophes like the fall of
concern or even alarm. They
ought to lead to sober thought and
earnest self-examination. They
are fitted to impress beneficial lessons and to
direct to a salutary course of
action. May we not say that they are designed
to do so? “When God punishes, He
does it not merely on account of the
ungodly, who must feel such
punishment, but also on account of other
ungodly persons, that they
may become better by such examples.” This
judgment upon
Ø The limitation of human greatness. Unquestionably,
she was not
great enough to stand against the forces of Nebuchadnezzar,
or, in
after-times, against the might of Alexander. The greatest of human
states is pitiably
small when God arrays Himself against it (compare v. 3).
Ø The
uncertainty of secular prosperity.
city; but where
now are its riches, its great commerce, etc.? Fresh
illustrations
arise almost daily of the unreliableness of secular success, and
the uncertain
tenure of temporal possessions. “For riches certainly make
themselves
wings, like an eagle that flieth toward heaven.” (Proverbs 23:5)
Ø The
insecurity of those who seem most firmly established. The proud
island-city
seemed most securely founded and fortified. Her situation was a
source of great
strength and safety against any adversary. She was able to
offer long and
stubborn resistance to the powerful and victorious King of
very
strongest and most stable of cities or empires may slowly, decline into
insignificance
and feebleness, or speedily reel into ruin.
Ø The ruinousness of sin. The intense selfishness and cruel
boasting of
strong apart from righteousness. Vice, injustice, oppression, cruelty,
will
bring the
mightiest city or empire to ruin.
o
“The
throne is established by righteousness;” (Proverbs 16:12)
o
“Take
away the wicked from before the king, and his
throne
shall be established in righteousness;” (ibid.
ch. 25:5)
o
“The
king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be
established
forever.” (ibid.
ch. 29:14)
Lessons such as
these the fall of
who were
affected by it. Others’ miseries should be our monitors.
When God’s judgments are in the earth, the
inhabitants of the world
should learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9).
19 “For
thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make thee a desolate
city, like the cities that are not
inhabited; when I shall bring up the
deep upon thee, and great waters shall
cover thee;” When I shall bring up
the sea. The
picture of desolation is completed. The sea washes over the bare
rock that was once covered with the palaces of the merchant-princes.
20 “When I
shall bring thee down with them that descend into the pit,
with the people of old time, and shall set
thee in the low parts of
the earth, in places desolate of old, with them
that go down to the
pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I
shall set glory in the land of
the living;” When I shall bring
thee down, etc. The pit is sheol,
Hades,
the unseen world of the dead. The image may have been
suggested by
Isaiah 14:9, where it is used of
the mind of Ezekiel dwelt, and is reproduced in
ch.32:17-32.
Here, apparently, the sinking in the depth of the waters
(v. 19) is
thought of as leading to that world of the dead that lay
beneath them. The
people of old time may possibly include
the races of the old world that
were submerged in the waters of the Flood. The imagery of
Psalm 88:3-7
seems to have been floating before the prophet’s mind. I shall set
glory; better, will set. The contrast drawn is that
between the shadow-
world of the dead, and the earth with its living
inhabitants. There Jehovah
would establish His glory, would, sooner or later, manifest
His kingdom,
while
Conjectural readings and renderings have been suggested as
follows:
An Encouraging Assurance
for a Depressed People
(v.
20)
“And I shall set
glory in the land of the living.”
Accepting this rendering as
expressing the meaning of the original, and as applicable
to
in it:
·
A REMARKABLE DESIGNATION OF THE
called “the land of the living.” Hengstenberg views “the land of the
living”
as standing in “contrast to Sheol, the land. of the dead, to
which in the
foregoing the inhabitants of
refer particularly to
land of the living is the land of the true God, as opposed to
the land of the
dead, to which
is gathered the glory of the world.”
And Matthew Henry,
“The holy land is the
land of the living; for none but holy souls are properly
living souls.” There was
propriety in applying this designation to that land,
because there:
Ø
The living God was known and
worshipped. “In
his Name is great
in
God, for the
living God,” ( ibid. ch. 42:2). The people of other lands
had riches, honors, power; but
they were idolaters. Their gods were no
gods, but dead idols. In the highest
sense no land can be called living
whose deity or deities are dead,
unreal, mere human inventions. To the
people of
Himself through law-giver,
prophet, and. poet, and through His hand
in their history as a nation.
Ø
The living Word was possessed. The sacred writings
of the Jews are far
superior to those of heathen
nations.
o
They were true: “the
Word of truth” (Psalm 119:43, 142, 160).
o
They were vital and
lasting: “living oracles” (Acts 7:38);
“the Word of the
Lord endureth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23).
o
They were life-giving .
“Thy
Word hath quickened, me”
(Psalm 119:50, 93). Moreover,
o
their Scriptures were light-giving: “Thy Word is a
lamp unto my feet, and a light unto
my path”
(Psalm 119:105, 130).
Ø
The living ordinances were observed. The pure worship
of the living and
true God was instituted and
practiced there, and, after the return from the
Captivity, without any admixture
of idolatry. Worship, when it is
directed to the true Object and offered in a true spirit,
develops and
strengthens the noblest life of the worshipper. To the pious Jews the
means of grace were as “wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3)
In these
respects, then,
living.” And with even greater fullness and force may the
designation
be applied to this favored land of ours.
·
AN ENCOURAGING ASSURANCE CONCERNING THE HOLY
LAND. “I
shall set glory in the land of the living” Let us look at this
assurance:
Ø In its primary signification. By the side of the utter overthrow of
Ezekiel
predicts the renewal of the Divine favor and of prosperity to
Judah from captivity to their own land,
the rebuilding of the temple of
Jehovah, the re-establishment of
religious ordinances, and the restoration
of the sacred city. And all these things were in due season
accomplished.
And thus
interpreted, the assurance given in the text is the more significant
from the fact
that, after their return home, the
Jews never obscured
the
Divine glory by
the practice of idolatry. They neither gave God’s
glory to
another nor His
praise unto graven images.
Ø In its other and grander signification. The text prophetically points to
the coming of
the Messiah and the proclamation of the glorious gospel. In
the work of redemption by Jesus Christ we
have a much more illustrious
display of the glory of God than in the
return of the exiles from
increasing amongst men as the triumphs of
the gospel are multiplied.
The
enemies of the
cause of God are being vanquished by truth and love, and
His true kingdom is constantly being
established more and more deeply and
widely in this world. And at length “all the earth shall be filled
with the
glory
of the Lord.” (Numbers 14:21-23;
Habakkuk 2:14; Isaiah 11:9)
·
CONCLUSION. Even in the darkest seasons of its history there is always
a bright and
inspiring hope for the true
unfaithfulness it may bring upon itself severe
chastisement from its great
Head; but it shall arise from
the dust purified and strengthened, and go
forward in its glorious course, “fair
as the moon, clear as the sun, terrible
as an army with
banners.” (Song of Solomon 6:10)
21 I” will
make thee a terror, and thou shalt be no more: though thou
be sought for, yet shalt thou never be
found again, saith the Lord GOD.”
I will make thee a
terror. Ewald translates,
“To sudden death will I bring thee,”
which corresponds with the margin of the Revised Version, I
will make thee
a destruction.
The
Sin and Doom of
“And it came to pass in the eleventh year, in the first day
of the month, that
the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,” etc.
·
THE SIN OF
turned unto me: I
shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste.” The sin
which is here charged against
is no evidence in this chapter
that the Tyrians were animated by any hostile
feelings towards the Jews, as
the Ammonites, Edomites, and Philistines
were. But
inhabitants thereof rejoiced in
the destruction of
thought that they should profit
thereby. This is made quite clear in the
verse before us. The Tyrians are
represented as speaking of
“she that was the
gate of the peoples.” The plural
expresses the fact, says
the ‘Speaker’s Commentary,’
“that many peoples passed through
eminently the case in the reign
of Solomon, when for the time
became the mart to which was
gathered the trade of
East. The fame of its early
greatness as the emporium of Eastern commerce
still clung to
its original trade to be viewed
with jealousy
by
greatness to the same cause, and
in the true spirit of mercantile competition
exulted in the thought that the
trade of
into her markets.” Their greed
of gain had rendered them unfeeling and
even cruel in their attitude
towards their suffering neighbors, with whom in
former times they had been in
friendly relations. They rejoiced at the
calamity of others because they
believed it would contribute to their
prosperity. They exulted in the
downfall of others if it was likely to
promote their own rise. This
spirit is unbrotherly, selfish, mean, cruel. It is
utterly opposed to the Divine
will, and awakens the stern displeasure of the
Almighty. Here is solemn
admonition to persons, companies, societies, and
nations, who would secure
prosperity without regarding the means which
they employ to do so. Are there
not many today who care not who is
impoverished if only they are
enriched, who suffers if only they succeed, or
who sinks provided that they
rise? However their spirit may be tolerated
or
even approved by men, it is
abhorrent unto God.
·
THE JUDGMENT OF GOD.
Ø
Its Author. “Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Behold,
I am against
thee, O
the sea causeth
his waves to come up.” God Himself in
His providence
brought upon
boastings against fallen
the Lord against it.
Ø
Its instruments. “I will cause many nations to
come up against thee
… I will bring
upon Tyre Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon,” etc. (v. 7).
Nebuchadnezzar had conquered
many kingdoms. He was a “king of
kings,” and the army which he led against
“many nations.” He was the first instrument employed by God to
punish
forces inflicted terrible
sufferings and losses upon the people of the
proud city.
Ø
Its nature. Several features of
the punishment of
the prophet.
o
Siege. “They shall destroy the walls of
towers…
and he shall make forts against thee,” etc. (vs. 8-10).
Nebuchadnezzar
besieged insular
must have been
the miseries of the people during those weary years.
o
Spoliation.
“She shall become a spoil of the nations…
and they shall
make
a spoil of thy riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise,” etc.
(v. 12). The
riches in which they had prided themselves, and in the hope
of the increase
of which they had exulted in the downfall of
would be seized
and possessed by others. The beautiful houses of their
merchant
princes would be destroyed and their city ruined.
o
Slaughter. “Her daughters which are in the field shall
be slain with
o
the
sword…
he shall slay thy people with the sword.” The daughters in the
field are the
cities on the mainland which were dependent on
submitted to
her supremacy, with special reference, perhaps, to
Palaetyrus, or
Old Tyre, “the suburb of the insular
on the shore.”
We are not aware of any record of the extent of the
slaughter by
Nebuchadnezzar and his army. Probably it was very
great. When
Alexander besieged
of the
inhabitants thereof. “Besides eight thousand men slain in
the attack, two thousand were crucified
after the city was taken”
(Kitto).
o
Complete and irretrievable overthrow. “They shall destroy the walls
of
her,
and make her a bare rock,” etc. (vs. 4-5,14, 19-21). This part of
the prophecy
was not fully accomplished until centuries had passed
away. Nebuchadnezzar,
as we have said, besieged
years. He would
be able soon to take Palaetyrus, on the mainland,
which was dismantled,
if not entirely destroyed, by him. Whether
at the end of
the
thirteen years he took the island-city is uncertain.
The suggestions
of the ‘Speaker’s Commentary’ on the point seem
to us very
probably correct: “Nebuchadnezzar was indeed determined
not to leave
this city, once the vassal of the Assyrian, independent,
and persevered
until
insisted upon
his right, as a conqueror, of entering the island-city
with his army;
but the conquest was probably barren of the fruits
he had expected
so far as spoil was concerned (compare ch. 29:18),
and
Nebuchadnezzar, having asserted his majesty by reducing the
city to
vassalage, may have been content not to push matters further,
and have
willingly turned his forces in another direction.” More
than two
centuries later, Alexander besieged
“was completely
surrounded by prodigious walls, the loftiest portion of
which, on the
side fronting the mainland, reached a height of not less
than a hundred
and fifty feet.” The island on which it was built was
nearly half a
mile from the mainland. And as Alexander had no fleet,
its situation made
his task a difficult one. The difficulty was thus
overcome: The
the Cyprians,
and that to the south by the Phoenicians,” afforded
Alexander an
opportunity for constructing the enormous mole, or
breakwater,
which joined the island to the mainland. This mole was
two hundred
feet wide, and was composed of the ruins of Palaetyrus,
the stones and
the timber and the dust of which were thus laid
in the midst of
the waters (v. 12). Across the mole Alexander marched
his forces, and
soon made himself master of insular
so, in addition
to the ten thousand who were slain, thirty thousand of the
inhabitants,
including slaves, free women, and free children, were sold
for slaves. But
even after the Chaldean invasion under Nebuchadnezzar,
Persian, Greek,
and Roman masters.... It was never again a world
power, capable
of raising itself again in its own might against the
fulfillment of
Ezekiel’s predictions. In A.D. 638 it formed part of
the conquests
of Khalif Omar, who, however, dealt leniently with
the
inhabitants, and the city for many years enjoyed a moderate degree
of prosperity.
The ruin of
in the year
A.D. 1291, took possession, the inhabitants (who were
Christians)
having abandoned it without a struggle. The Saracens
thereupon laid
it in ruins, and did not allow the former inhabitants to
return. In the
first half of the fourteenth century it was visited by
Sir John
Mandeville, who found it in that state of desolation in which it
has remained
ever since” (‘Speaker’s Commentary’). Of modern
travelers we
quote the testimony of M. Renan as to its present state:
“No great city
which has played so important a part for centuries
has left fewer
traces than
he said of
no
more’ (v. 21). A
traveler who was not informed of its
existence might
pass along the whole coast, from La Kasmie
to Ras-el-Ain,
without being aware that he was close to an
ancient
city....
·
THE LAMENTATION FOR
Ø
The deep and widespread
impression made by her destruction. “Thus
saith the Lord God
to
fall,” etc.? (v. 15). The coasts and islands of the
represented as shaking at the
fall of the proud city, because her fall would
denote the instability of all
things. When
can be deemed secure?
Ø
The consternation produced by
her destruction. “Then all the princes
of the sea shall
come down from their thrones,” etc.
(v. 16). By “the
princes of the sea,” we should
probably understand the chief men in “the
settlements of the Phoenicians
in the Sidonian and Tyrian period along
the various coasts, in
etc. These are represented as
changing their splendid robes for the garb
of mourners, as coming down from
their exalted and luxurious seats and
sitting upon the ground. Persons
in great affliction or sorrow are
frequently represented as seated
or prostrate upon the ground
(compare Job 2:8, 13; Isaiah
3:26; 47:1; Lamentations 2:10).
Shakespeare, in ‘King John,’
makes
“My grief’s so great,
That no
supporter but the huge firm earth
Can hold
it up: here I and sorrow sit;
Here is my
throne, bid kings come bow to it.”
These great men, moreover, were
seized with amazement and continual
trembling.
Ø
The lamentation awakened by her
destruction. “And they shall take
up a lamentation
for thee, and say to thee, How art thou destroyed,”
etc.! Thus would the fall of the
prosperous island-city be bewailed
by neighboring peoples.
·
CONCLUSION. Certain lessons stand out with impressive clearness and
force.
1. The insecurity of worldly
greatness, glory, and power.
2. The heinousness of the sin of
selfishness.
3. The fleetness of the prosperity
which is attained without
regard to the rights or interests of
others.
Glory Departed (vs. 15-21)
A more imaginative and pathetic picture than that painted
in these words
will scarcely be found in revelation, or indeed in all
literature. The
anticipation of
the prophet’s nature. And no wonder; for never was a
contrast more
marked and more significant than that between:
The isles shake with the resounding crash of the city’s
fall. The groans of the
wounded and the dying are heard afar. Princes exchange
their splendor for
trembling and astonishment. The city strong in the sea has
fallen weak and
helpless in the day of Divine judgment. And the seamen who
were
glory and security are no more to be found. (In the end there will be
tsunamis – “the sea and the waves roaring” –
Luke 21:25 - CY - 2014).
Terror and trembling are upon those who dwell in the
islands of the deep.
Where
upon the deserted rocks, and upon the ruins strewn in
disorder by the
lonely shore. The waters engulf the merchants, the seafaring
men, and all
those who minister to the pomp and pleasures of a wealthy
and luxurious
city.
found.
THE CITY’S PROSPERITY AND GREATNESS, AND WHO LOSE
AND SUFFER BY ITS FALL.
Some survived the destruction of
cherish the memory of days of
wealth and feasting, haughtiness and
boasting. Some escaped with
life, but with the loss of all which to them
made life precious. And others, who
had brought their merchandise to the
great Phoenician emporium, now
found no market for the commodities
they produced. For all such material loss gave sincerity and even
bitterness
to their mourning and woe. (Since
one of the gods which she has espoused is MATERIALISM. A
characteristic of mankind, prior to Christ’s Second Coming, will be
accepting the “mark of the beast” – Revelation 13:16-18 – In my
opinion, the current wide acceptance of tattoos is a softening predecessor
of this! – CY – 2014)
WITNESSED THE CITY’S DESTRUCTION, AND WHO WERE
IMPRESSED AND APPALLED BY THE SPECTACLE. Ezekiel himself
was one of these. Even the
conquerors could scarcely fail to feel the pathos
of the situation, and to cherish
some sympathy for the city whose splendor
and power their arms had brought
to an end. The ruin of
the nations of
the world. (The nations are dealt with
in ways in which they
fully understand! “They shall know that I am God” - I recommend
Ezekiel – God’s Use of the Word Know – this website – CY – 2014)
Embodying, as the city did, THE WORLD SPIRIT – (Dear Reader,
have you ever heard of the term “Global
Economy?” - CY – 2014),
civic and commercial greatness,
it must needs have awakened poignant
feelings of desolation in the
hearts of many who had no personal,
material interest in Tyrian
commerce. The lesson of the frailty and
perishableness
of earthly greatness, even if its moral
side was missed,
could not but impress the historical
imagination.
INQUIRE FOR THE CITY WHOSE GREATNESS AND
SPLENDOR ARE RECORDED IN TRADITION AND IN HISTORY.
The traveler who, impelled by
curiosity or by historical interest, seeks
for
the site of
vanished. Some ruined, deserted
cities, famous in story, leave behind them
some ruin, some memorial, to
which imagination may attach the traditions
of the past. But for
beat upon the shore, from the
rocks where the fishermen spread their nets.
“Though thou be
sought for, yet shalt thou never be found again, SAITH
THE LORD GOD.”
SUGGEST BY CONTRAST
ETERNAL AND UNFADING GLORY.
Who can contemplate the ruin of
such a city as
reminded of “the city which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is
God”? (Hebrews 11:10) which the glory of
God illumines with nightless
splendor, and into which are
brought the glory and honor of the nations?
(Revelation 21:23-24
National Disaster Becomes a Public Lesson (vs. 15-21)
The world of men is one, although nationalities are many.
There is a thread
of unity on which the separate jewels of humanity are
strung. What affects
one affects, in some
measure, the whole.
·
THERE IS MUTUAL INTERDEPENDENCE OF NATIONS. Nations,
like individuals, have been incarnations of selfishness. They have tried to
aggrandize for self alone, but
they have failed, and in most cases the failure
has been a disaster. In respect
to material property obtained through
commerce, it is emphatically
true that the prosperity must be shared by
others. God will not allow any
nation to retain every particle of its riches
within itself. To be most
prosperous, it must make others partakers of its
wealth. The real welfare of one
nation may be the welfare of all. Stable
prosperity is diffusive.
·
MATERIAL PROSPERITY IS POWER. It brings position, honor, and
extensive influence. The isles
and lands with which
high repute. Many of the traders
in other parts grew rich, gained powerful
influence, became in their
circles princes, and sat upon thrones. It is power,
less potent than knowledge —
power of an inferior sort — yet it is a
perceptible power. It gives
leisure for investigation and discovery. It can
purchase stores of good. It can
be converted into various forms of utility.
·
MATERIAL PROSPERITY IS VERY INSECURE. It often
awakens the envy and the
cupidity of others. It germinates pride
in its
possessor, and not pride only, but also arrogance and
oppressiveness. In
the natural course of things reaction appears. The oppressed classes
combine and rise. Offence given
to another nation in a spirit of overbearing
arrogance awakens resentment,
provokes vengeance. The wealthy nation is
over-confident in its security
and in its natural defenses. But a little
shrewdness or contrivance
undermines every natural defense, or else
confidence in men disappoints,
and in an hour the fancied security is
dissipated.
·
THE FALL OF ONE NATION IS A GRIEF TO MANY NATIONS.
“They shall take
up a lamentation for thee, and say, How art thou
destroyed, that
wast inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city!” Some
selfish peoples would rejoice
that a rival and a menace was overthrown.
But others would be plunged into
profound grief. Their traffic would be
diminished, perhaps destroyed.
Still worse, if
defended, be overthrown, what
security have we? The downfall of
shook the foundations of other
empires, shook the hearts of many
thoughtful men. It was evident
that every kind of material defense was a
broken reed.
·
TRUE LIFE IS THE ONLY TRUE GLORY. “I shall set glory in the
land of the
living.” The only permanent life is a
righteous life. Other life is
ephemeral. This abides, this is
eternal. Righteousness not only “exalts a
nation,” it consolidates and establishes it also. The “land
of the living” is
the empire of righteousness — the true holy
land. The kingdom which is
built on righteous principles is the
has wood and hay and stubble
intermixed with the gold and silver of
sterling goodness. So far as
righteous life prevails in any land on earth, so
far will true and permanent
glory abide there. All other foundations, all
other defense, can and will be shaken.
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