seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ezekiel 26 :1 In the eleventh month of the twelfth[a] year, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me: 2 “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,’ 3 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. 4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. 5 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, 6 and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the Lord.
7 “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar[b] king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army. 8 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. 9 He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons. 10 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. 11 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. 12 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. 13 I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more. 14 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.
15 “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? 16 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. 17 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.
18 Now the coastlands tremble
on the day of your fall;
the islands in the sea
are terrified at your collapse.’
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.
18 Now the coastlands tremble
on the day of your fall;
the islands in the sea
are terrified at your collapse.’
19 “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, 20 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[c] in the land of the living. 21 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.”
a. Ezekiel 26:1 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text does not have month of the twelfth.
b. Ezekiel 26:7 Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, of which Nebuchadnezzar is a variant; here and often in Ezekiel and Jeremiah
c. Ezekiel 26:20 Septuagint; Hebrew return, and I will give glory
This is from Bible-studys.org.
This is speaking of Tyre just before her destruction. Tyre was one of the richest cities in the east. We find they were a land of merchants. Their wealth came from their shipping trade. Tyre was like the others, who were pleased to see the fall of Jerusalem. God will not bless anyone who is opposed to Jerusalem. They were proud of their wealth, and did not want to be second to Jerusalem in popularity.
Tyre was an ancient city located on the Mediterranean Sea. They were actually on an island just off the coast. The warning is given to Tyre, as it had been given to Jerusalem, before their fall. It will seem like waves of the sea, when the great Babylonian army, with many nations as fellow soldiers, come against Tyre.
Tyre had a vast fleet of trade vessels and was very wealthy from their trade. These are destroyed, as well as the city being destroyed. It matters not, how great Tyre was in the sight of mankind, she will fall when the judgment of God comes. This verse is speaking of a devastation that leaves her desolate. Afterwards, she would never be the great city of trade again.
Tyre extended out into the water from the mainland. Tyre had built a land bridge to the mainland and at some points it grew to be a half mile in width, by debris and sand sticking to it. It was difficult to attack her, and bring her walls down, because of the lack of land for the soldiers to come on to attack her. Plus, they had built a fortification wall 150 feet high.
Shalmaneser had sieged Tyre for 5 years unsuccessfully and Nebuchadnezzar for 13 years. In only 7 months Alexander made a giant mound from the main inland to the island of Tyre, breached the walls and killed thousands of defenders. This giant mound was 30 stadia or 700 paces which depending on whose measurement you use, is approximate 3-1/2 miles from the mainland.
Afterwards, it was never rebuilt. Alexander burned the city to the ground. There were tens of thousands killed in the siege, and the women and children were carried into slavery.
The cities on the coast will be no match for this vast army of Nebuchadnezzar's, who is equipped with horses, and chariots, and everything an army of that day needs. Tyre had not spent their money on the military. They had gotten rich with their trade, but had not put together an army to protect themselves. The king of Babylon had a reputation to go with his military might.
So important was Tyre as a center of commerce, it could not be destroyed without affecting all of the nearby nations. We know that this city had been a place of maritime trade, so not only will Tyre suffer, but all who traded with her because of their loss.
This is from the easy English site.The 11th year of the exile was April 587 to March 586 BC. This was after the Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem. That happened in the summer of 587 BC. Therefore, the date of this prophecy was after that event, but still during the 11th year.
Tyre was a city in Phoenicia, which was to the north of Samaria. It was on the Mediterranean Sea. Tyre was both on the coast and on an island. Tyre was a great commercial city and port. From its trade, it had become wealthy.
The inhabitants of Tyre thought that the defeat of Jerusalem was good news. Jerusalem had been a city of trade. It had controlled the trade routes from Egypt and Arabia to the north. Tyre saw an opportunity to take that trade. By this, the people in Tyre would earn more wealth. They desired the wealth that would come from Jerusalem. That was an awful attitude to have after the terrible events in Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Tyre did not care that such a disaster had come to Jerusalem. Because of this attitude, God was angry with Tyre.
From 586 to 573 BC, the Babylonians fought against the city. They defeated Tyre. And they forced the city to serve them. Afterwards, for a brief time, Tyre became free again. Then in 525 BC, the Persians (people from Persia) took control of it. Then in 332 BC the Greeks (people from Greece) under Alexander the Great came. They knocked down all the buildings on the shore. They pushed all that remained of the buildings into the sea. This made a road of about half a mile to the island that they destroyed. The road became a place to dry fishing nets. Later, near to that place, there was another small city called Tyre. After that, the Romans came and they ruled that city. In the 14th century AD, the Saracens (Arabs) destroyed the city. There is now a town called Tyre but it is not at the original place.
My dad loved to fish. He taught me. The first couple times he tried.... they were a fiasco. The first time I remember going fishing with Daddy.... I fell in the water off the side of the pier...... I didn't fall far.... and Daddy fished me right out..... but it ruined the day. Another time I remember makes me giggle. I must have been a toddler.... cause I can remember my sister's stroller getting loose and rolling toward the water.... I remember seeing my dad..... running behind the stroller and yelling..... "I'm coming... hang on". My sister must have been a baby... I don't think she knew what "hang on" meant. I'm surprised I didn't run after them both.... but I remember "stand right here!". My dad loved fishing.....Whenever Daddy went fishing.... he cleaned his tackle right after. Daddy said the salt in the water would destroy his gear. He would rinse everything and lay it out to dry. Then he would pack it away for next time. My dad loved fishing.... but I don't remember eating a single fish he caught. I don't think my mother liked cooking fish.
My point is..... Tyre was a beautiful city on the shore..... second only to Jerusalem.... and when Jerusalem fell.... it was "good" for Tyre. The competition was destroyed and the people in Tyre said.... "isn't that a shame..... now we'll need more nets to serve the new customers".
I don't think I laughed when my sister's stroller got loose...... I don't remember getting a spanking for that..... I wonder if giggling about it now counts. The point is.... Tyre was happy at the demise of God's city, Jerusalem. God didn't like that rude behavior at all.
