Tyre

 Ezekiel 25:1-26:21
 

Welcome! Today we continue in our study of Ezekiel, looking at Chapters 25 and 26. These chapters represent an important turning point in the book of Ezekiel, not just literarily speaking but in terms of the events that happened in Ezekiel’s life and in the events of his people. To better understand this change, I want to talk a bit about the end of Chapter 24.
 
First, as an overall reminder, recall that Ezekiel was living far away from Israel, taken into captivity along with a group of his own people by the Babylonians. The Babylonians now allowed them some degree of autonomy, but they mixed them in among people taken from other nations in the hope and plan of getting the people to forget about their distinct heritage, culture, and objects of worship and instead come to accept the Babylonian ways and religion. In this foreign location, God called Ezekiel to become a prophet, and over the years, Ezekiel had faithfully carried out God’s instructions. The prophecies God gave Ezekiel warned of the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, a final end to centuries of patience while God watched His people practice ever-increasing idolatry and commit worse and worse sins. Through Ezekiel, God also warned the people living there with Ezekiel to repent of their own sins. These prophecies were often illustrated first not with words, but with strange actions that Ezekiel would perform among his people. He would then explain what these actions were meant to illustrate.

In Chapter 24, we see God give Ezekiel what I believe was his most difficult assignment. In devastating news, God told Ezekiel that He was about to take away from him “the delight of his eyes,” his wife. How much advance notice did God give Ezekiel? The Hebrew indicates the event was imminent, and the passage later indicates that the time was no more than 24 hours. I cannot imagine what this was like. Did he tell his wife? We aren’t told. But we are told that after being given this news, Ezekiel, shockingly, did not appear to take time off to be with his wife full-time; instead, we are told that that morning he went to the people and spoke with them, apparently like a normal day. He did this presumably because that is what the Lord led him to do. That very evening his wife died.
 
When God gave Ezekiel this terrible news, He also gave Ezekiel instructions about how he was to conduct himself after she died. He was told to “groan quietly,” not doing any of the customary things that the Jewish people would do at the death of a loved one. He was not to weep openly, or speak lamentingly, or even give outward signs of mourning, which would normally include wearing particularly drab clothes (like out of burlap), tearing those clothes, and covering oneself in dust. He was not to eat “the customary food of mourners,” or do other traditions that would identify him as a mourner.
 
At the beginning of his ministry, God had said He would make Ezekiel harder than flint, and at no time was this more apparent than here. The reason Ezekiel was to do these things, not allowing his people to console and comfort him, was because God wanted these actions to be one last prophetic warning to his people of the judgment that was about to come. When the people asked Ezekiel why he was doing all these shocking things, Ezekiel gave them God’s words one last time.  He explained that He was about to take away the delight of their eyes, the Sanctuary, the Temple of Jerusalem. And in this action, many people living in Jerusalem would also die, and those who remained would likewise be unable to mourn because they would be dealing with capture or running for their lives and in general would be just trying to survive.
 
Ezekiel was to be silent to the Israelites from this time until the time when the event happened, and a fugitive came to tell them. Only at that time would God again speak to Israel through Ezekiel. Chapter 24 of Ezekiel concludes here.
 
Beginning in Chapter 25, we see God continue to speak to Ezekiel, but not about Israel. Instead, God gave Ezekiel prophecies about the other nations around Israel. It’s not entirely clear how these prophecies were delivered, but one possibility is that Ezekiel spoke the prophecies out in public in their multi-cultural community where they lived, and people from these other cultures, the ones being addressed, heard them.

The first of these prophecies is given to the Ammonites.
 
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them. Say to them, ‘Hear the word of the Sovereign Lord. This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you said “Aha!” over my sanctuary when it was desecrated and over the land of Israel when it was laid waste and over the people of Judah when they went into exile, therefore I am going to give you to the people of the East as a possession. They will set up their camps and pitch their tents among you; they will eat your fruit and drink your milk. I will turn Rabbah into a pasture for camels and Ammon into a resting place for sheep. Then you will know that I am the Lord. For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet, rejoicing with all the malice of your heart against the land of Israel, therefore I will stretch out my hand against you and give you as plunder to the nations. I will wipe you out from among the nations and exterminate you from the countries. I will destroy you, and you will know that I am the Lord.’” – Ezekiel 25:1-7
 
The Ammonites have a long history in the Bible, going all the way back to Genesis 19, in the account of Lot. In the Exodus, they denied the Israelites passage through their lands. And throughout Biblical history they harassed and attacked Israelite communities. The Ammonite threat was, at least on the surface, the reason why the Israelites demanded to have a king (leading to the establishment of the kingdom, with Saul the flawed first king).
 
Interestingly, the modern-day city of Amman, Jordan is named after the Ammonites, and indeed, this general area was their home prior to the fulfillment of this prophecy. Although the modern city is named after the Ammonites, the Ammonites as a nation basically ceased to exist in the centuries after the time of Ezekiel, although some Ammonites did fight against the Jewish people at the time of the Maccabees around 100 BC. A group of Ammonites living together are also mentioned by Justyn Martyr around 100 AD. But today, they are no longer a people, in contrast to the people of Israel.
 
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, Judah has become like all the other nations,” therefore I will expose the flank of Moab, beginning at its frontier towns—Beth Jeshimoth, Baal Meon and Kiriathaim—the glory of that land. I will give Moab along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, so that the Ammonites will not be remembered among the nations, and I will inflict punishment on Moab. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’” – Ezekiel 25:8-11
 
The Moabites also go back to the time of Lot, in Exodus 19. Their land was also east of the Jordan river, directly south of Ammon. Moab’s history with Israel was sometimes hostile and sometimes peaceful. Ruth was a Moabite, so there is some Moabite blood in David, and Jesus is descended from David. But Moab was hostile to Israel at the time of Ezekiel, and prophetic punishment of Moab is mentioned by other prophets including Isaiah, Amos, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah.
 
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because Edom took revenge on Judah and became very guilty by doing so, therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and kill both man and beast. I will lay it waste, and from Teman to Dedan they will fall by the sword. I will take vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom in accordance with my anger and my wrath; they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign Lord.’” – Ezekiel 25:12-14
 
Edom had been a territory south of Moab, but when Judah became weakened in the years immediately before the events of Ezekiel, they also moved into parts of Judah and overtook it. The Hebrew word Edom means red, and the Edomites are descendants of Esau, who Genesis says was “born red all over”. The Edomites were repeatedly hostile to Israel over its history. The descendants of Edom were known as the Idumeans, and the land Idumea (a land south of Judah) is mentioned in the book of Mark. Like the other nations, they too, as a people group, later disappeared from history.
 
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: ‘Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with malice in their hearts, and with ancient hostility sought to destroy Judah, therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will wipe out the Kerethites and destroy those remaining along the coast. I will carry out great vengeance on them and punish them in my wrath. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I take vengeance on them.’” – Ezekiel 25:15-17
 
The Philistines had land to the east of Judah, along the coast. The Philistines aggressively attacked Israel on multiple occasions, many of which are described in I Samuel at the time of King Saul. The Philistines captured the Ark in I Samuel 4, but they soon returned it as it caused plagues to come against them. Goliath was a Philistine champion. And the Philistines killed Saul and his three sons in a battle on Mount Gilboa. Later battles include one with King Ahaz and one with King Hezekiah. The Kerethites were a Philistine clan. Interestingly, King David had a personal guard made of foreign mercenaries from the Kerethites and Pelethites. David and other kings used foreign mercenaries as guards because it was felt they were less likely to betray the king. It is possible that the Kerethites were a separate people group from the Philistines who lived in the same land, and that the Pelethites were another name for the Philistines. Some think that one group originally came from Egypt and the other originally came from Crete, Cyprus, and/or the area known as Asia Minor. As long-term enemies with Israel, Scripture is not clear exactly what they did in the present conflict, except that they “sought to destroy Judah.”
 
This brings us to Chapter 26, and a longer prophecy against Tyre.
 
In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins I will prosper,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord. – Ezekiel 26:1-6
 
Tyre was a coastal city, a shining jewel of the land known as Phoenicia, a land north of Israel and west of the land of Aram. Aram was directly north of Ammon, bringing us full circle. Quite literally, Israel and Judah were surrounded by enemies. Note how these prophecies move us in clockwise fashion around Israel and Judah.
 
Tyre was a city-state, mostly at peace with the other Phoenician city-states, but yet having its own independent government and military. One of the reasons Tyre became rich is that it produced an extraordinarily expensive purple dye exploited from two varieties of Murex shellfish. This was so important to them that they became known even by name by this product; the Greek word Phoenician means purple. This dye was so valuable that only royalty could afford it, and great pains of secrecy and security were taken to ensure that the production methods could not be reproduced anywhere else.  Experts have calculated that 8000 Murex had to be crushed to produce 1 gram of the dye, and some ancient accounts of Tyre talk about the stench caused by this processing. After a period of Egyptian control, Phoenecia became an independent collection of city-states, and it was during this time that King Hiram of Tyre forged relationships with David and Solomon, providing both cedar wood and workers for the construction of the Temple in Jerusalem. But with the rise of the Assyrians, Tyre made agreements with them that slowly led to the loss of their independence.
 
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army. He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons. His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through. – Ezekiel 26:7-10
 
This is indeed what happened; when the Babylonians rose to power, Nebuchadnezzar’s forces laid siege to Tyre. It was a long siege, lasting years, and although they did not overcome the city, they turned it from a center of wealth to a place of abject poverty. Finally, Tyre submitted, allowing Nebuchadnezzar’s forces to enter and agreeing to pay a tribute tax going forward.
 
The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber and rubble into the sea. I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more. I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. – Ezekiel 26:11-14
 
I think the fulfillment of the final parts of this prophecy occurred more than two centuries later. Due to changing requirements for the port and changes to the geography of the area, the Babylonian city of Tyre was abandoned and a new port city was built up. Over the years, the Babylonians eventually fell to the Persians, and the Persians then fell to the Greeks under the leadership of Alexander the Great. It appears that it was during the time of Alexander the Great that the rest of this prophecy became fulfilled. Alexander sent his armies to the Phoenician city states, expecting tribute, and the other city states, tired of the oppressive tributes and heavy-handed treatment from Persia, readily agreed. Tyre, however, refused. Alexander then came to Tyre with his fleet and asked to make a sacrifice to Heracles in the city; the oldest temple of Heracles happened to be in Tyre. Tyre, however, refused, and suggested the use of another nearby, newer temple. Alexander sent out a delegation to try again, but Tyre responded by killing the king’s representatives and throwing them from the walls of the city into the sea. An enraged Alexander then began a siege.
 
I’m not going to go into all the details of the siege except to say that, in order to bring his military down on the now coastally isolated city, Alexander built a massive land-bridge (a full kilometer long) across an area of shallow water. What did he build this bridge out of? All the old stone ruins he could find; that is, he used the last remains of the old city of Tyre that Nebuchadnezzar had sieged 200 years earlier. These ruins can be seen in the water to this day.  The location of the old city is indeed now bare rock, a perfect location for a sea-faring people to spread their nets out to dry.
 
I want to point out the change in pronouns from “he” to “they” in this passage. This is in the Hebrew as well. If you back to the first part of the chapter, this change in pronoun makes sense:
 
I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord. She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword.
 
The many nations is fulfilled not by many nations attacking at one time, but by a sequence of nations over time, particularly, the sequence from Babylon, Persia, and then the Greek empire, led by Alexander the Great. 
 
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you? Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you. Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you: “‘How you are destroyed, city of renown, peopled by men of the sea! You were a power on the seas, you and your citizens; you put your terror on all who lived there. Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.’ – Ezekiel 26:15-18
 
At the time of Nebuchadnezzar, if there ever was a place that was considered unassailable, it was the city-state of Tyre. Nobody would have believed this prophecy. Indeed, even Nebuchadnezzar was unable to directly overtake the city – he had to wear it down with an incredibly long siege, year after year. But the end result was victory; he had the old leadership killed and replaced it with a puppet government that answered to him.
 
But as to fulfilled prophecy, it is the following verses that amaze me the most:
 
“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you, then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place in the land of the living. I will bring you to a horrible end and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign Lord.” – Ezekiel 26:19-21
 
Quite literally, the ruins of Tyre are covered by ocean waters! For such a thing to happen is unimaginable, yet it has indeed happened.
 
Why did God punish Tyre? In the first few verses of the passage, it states that Tyre was rejoicing in Jerusalem’s downfall. That’s it. Tyre did not directly attack Jerusalem. Indeed, at the time of David, the relationship was great, as it says in I Kings 5:1 that King Hiram “always loved David.” This situation is not unique to Tyre; the same kind of response for a similar action (but to a different nation) is given in Obadiah 1. I feel like this is a feature of the character of God that we do not often talk about. For those whom God loves, His love is so great that He is roused to anger when others rejoice at their troubles.  
 
Indeed, we find this a pattern throughout Scripture, going all the way back to Genesis. To Abraham in Genesis 12, God says, “I will bless those who bless you, and those who dishonor you I will curse.” Through repeated covenants, this promise was handed down to Jacob, who was renamed Israel; the promise is handed down further to the nation/people of Israel. Does this mean that the promise applies to Israel today? I believe it does. But the promise doesn’t end there. Because the promises to Israel find their full fulfillment in Jesus, as those who belong to Jesus, we too partake in these promises. Believers in Christ are those who are “grafted in” to the olive tree that symbolizes Israel, as explained in Romans 11.
 
God punished all these nations because they betrayed, attacked, or even simply dishonored God’s beloved, Israel. Now the people of Israel sinned greatly, for centuries, almost completely forgetting God altogether, committing myriad kinds of terrible sins. But even still, God’s love for Israel did not disappear. From the beginning, God’s love for His created people, starting with Adam, who sinned, eventually to Noah, who sinned, to Abraham, who sinned, to Jacob, who sinned, to the entire people of Israel, who sinned, to all the followers of Christ, including you and me, who sin – God’s love for all of these people, including us, is, well, the word that comes to mind, is fierce. How God deals with us in this life is conditional, but His love is unconditional, and it is so strong that it’s a little scary.   
 
The gospel is the ultimate example of this. God loves us so fiercely that He gives us that which is most precious to Him, His only Son, and He lets us treat Him terribly, ultimately concluding with unimaginable death on the cross, and experiencing not only the physical pain, but the emotional/spiritual pain that comes from receiving the just wrath of a holy God that was meant for us but instead poured out on Him, on Jesus. This is the fierce love that God has for us.
 
And I don’t know about you, but I find this incredibly reassuring and encouraging, especially when the world seems out of control, which it mostly seems all of the time, these days. If you find yourself discouraged, by the resurgence of the virus, or by seeing the failure of institutions, or by the betrayal of individuals, or simply by events not going as you had hoped, cling to the knowledge that God loves you fiercely.
 
I have had an exceptionally hard week, with epic conflicts at work, and personal disappointments, but hard most of all with the sad news of the passing of Mimi’s mother, who asked me to call her “Mom” even before Mimi and I were engaged. I know it is a thousand times harder for Mimi, but I have grieved this week, and I am glad that God has not given me a task like He gave Ezekiel, like I mentioned at the beginning of this message. I have grieved, but I have also been happy, because Mom knew and loved the Lord. She had some measure of understanding of the gospel when I first met her, but it was when Mimi’s brother Phil died unexpectedly that she finally rejected completely the superstitions of her upbringing and put her faith fully in Christ. Mimi’s Mom had always been one of the most caring and self-sacrificial people I have ever known, but when she put her faith fully in Christ, she also became one of the happiest, or if you prefer, most joyful, people I have ever known. I don’t think she ever developed a deep intellectual knowledge of the details of Christianity, but her faith was real, and she knew, deep down, He who loved her fiercely. And, despite my sadness that she is gone from this world, I have joy deep down knowing that she is out of pain and that we will see her again in the next. I pray that you too would know Christ deeply, that you would cling to His fierce love for you, and that you would experience the joy that transcends circumstances and draws others who witness this joy to give their own lives to Christ.