Daily Devotions
Ezekiel
"Tyre has said against Jerusalem"
Text: Ezekiel 26:2
AN ANCIENT SEA-POWER
The Phoenecians were famous for their maritime strength. Tyre was essentially Phoenecian. It was a mighty nation though it was rather small in size.
“And it came to pass in the eleventh year,
on the first day of the month,
that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
‘Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem,
‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples;
now she is turned over to me;
I shall be filled; she is laid waste.””
Ezekiel 26:1-2
1. Close ties with Israel in the past.
a) King Hiram of Tyre was a close friend of David.
b) He was there to support Solomon when he began the building of the Temple in Jerusalem (2 Chronicle 2).
2. Falling out.
a) After the reign of King Solomon the relationship between Tyre and Israel soured.
b) Tyre became a hostile rival and enemy.
3. A word of warning to Tyre.
a) A lengthy word of warning was given against Tyre (Ezekiel 26-28).
b) The prophecy was given after the word concerning the fall of Jerusalem.
c) Two prophecies were dated:
i) The prophecy of the fall of Jerusalem was given on the 9th year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 24:1).
ii) The prophecy of the fall of Tyre was given on the 11th year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar (Ezekiel 26:1).
4. The occasion for this prophecy against Tyre.
a) Tyre rejoiced when Jerusalem fell.
b) She uttered these words.
i) Jerusalem was once the gateway of the peoples.
ii) She was now broken and laid waste.
iii) Her trade was now given to Tyre.
iv) Tyre would now be filled.
5. An ancient proverb.
“He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker;
He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.”
Proverbs 17:5
a) Tyre mocked the poor and thus “reproached” the Lord.
b) She was glad at the calamity of Jerusalem and would thus not go unpunished.