Getting the Nets Ready “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, Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken that was the gates of the people: she is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, now she is laid waste: 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. 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. 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. And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I am the Lord. 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. 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. And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with his axes he shall break down thy towers. 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. 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. 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. And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard. 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” (Ezekiel 26:1-14). Please pay close attention to the phrases in bold type, about making Tyre a place to spread nets for fishermen. God never forgets. In the instance of Tyre, He was marking them out for judgment because of their joy over the downfall of Jerusalem. It was the Word of God that we should, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee” (Psalm 122:6). The shout of joy in Jerusalem’s downfall, coming from Tyre, was heard by God Himself, and He would remember His promises in time to come. But He remembered another thing. “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:3). God had made an unconditional covenant with Abraham, and He always keeps it. He has judged Israel for their sin, and has removed them from the land He gave them, on more than one occasion. But He allows no one to mock them when they are being chastised by Him. Tyre would be no exception. Tyre had once been a strong city, and was at one time the property of Egypt. It was not a city that ever came into possession of Israel. David and Solomon, Kings of Israel, had very warm relations with the King of Tyre, Hiram (II Samuel 5:11), and he had even furnished building materials for the Temple (I Kings 5:1; 9:10-14; II Chronicles 2:3, 11). Tyre was not a warrior city. Instead, they concentrated on business, colonization and manufacturing. In the 9th century BC, it was Tyre that took the lead to establish Carthage, the only major rival to Rome. In later years, Jesus once came to the coast of Tyre (Matthew 15:21-31), and Paul spent time in Tyre with a group which had formed a Christian church. Yet, all this was after the destruction and rebuilding of Tyre, with a new people. It was originally a Phoenician city, which was completely destroyed in 332 AD. No, God had not forgotten even three centuries later. God does not always work immediately according to our calendar. He waits and has patience. But He does remember, and He does fulfill His Word. In the Grecian Empire period, under the reign of Alexander the Great, the city was marked for destruction. Tyre sat on an island, and Alexander’s forces conquered it by calling in ships from his allies and previously conquered nations. As the citizens of Tyre mocked Alexander, he patiently began to build a land bridge out to the city, with bits and pieces of wood and anything else that could be found on Lebanon’s coastland. Daily the bridge was constructed. Tyre fought, but Alexander conquered them. When Alexander stormed the island, many were killed, some were taken captive, and some were crucified on the outer edges of the island as a warning. When Tyre was completely subdued, the forces of Alexander began to dump everything into the Mediterranean Sea, which surrounded the island. There was nothing left of the memory of Tyre, except its form and what Alexander needed. Tyre had become a barren rock, and a popular stopping spot for fishermen, who would land their crafts, and set out their nets to dry before launching on to their next journey. “I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. 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” (Ezekiel 26:4-5). This is the memory of God.
Posted on: Mon, 04 Nov 2013 22:47:06 +0000
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