CHAPTER 26

(588 B.C.)

PROPHECIES AGAINST TYRUS

¹And 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 (the Holy Spirit devotes Chapters 26 through 28 to Tyre. We will find out the reason as we proceed),

²Son of man, because that Tyrus has 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 (according to Herodotus, Tyre was founded in 2700 B.C.; the city became prosperous and became the principal Phoenician port controlling the Phoenician coast; it was on the border of Israel to the north; the gates of the people, referring to Jerusalem, proclaimed the fact of Jerusalems supremacy; Tyre also rejoiced over her fall):

NEBUCHADNEZZAR WILL BE GODS INSTRUMENT OF DESTRUCTION

³Therefore thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against you, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes his waves to come up. (As the sea causes his waves to come up, refers to the first great wave of the Babylonians against Tyre, and the last, the Greeks; for the Prophecy of this Chapter embraces both destructions.)

⁴And 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. (The walls refer to the first destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, with the phrase, I will also scrape her dust from her, referring to Alexander the Great, who built a causeway to attack the new Tyre. History records that his soldiers, in order to complete the causeway, gathered the dust of old Tyre in baskets and emptied them into the waters, fulfilling this Prophecy.)

⁵It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it, says the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. (All of this was fulfilled in entirety.)

⁶And her daughters who are in the field shall be slain by the sword; and they shall know that I Am the LORD. (The daughters refer to the neighboring towns which were dependent upon Tyre.)

⁷For thus sa ys the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people. (Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus..., refers to the Lordship of Christ as Sovereign Ruler over all. One may notice that the title, a king of kings, is given to Nebuchadnezzar by the Holy Spirit. This was so, for many other kings submitted to him. However, Christ is The King of kings, and is the only One Who will ever serve in this capacity.)

⁸He shall slay with the sword your daughters in the field: and he shall make a fort against you, and cast a mount against you, and lift up the buckler against you. (This Verse proclaims the nature of the siege that Nebuchadnezzar would lay against Tyre. The siege lasted thirteen years before Tyre eventually fell.)

⁹And he shall set engines of war against your walls, and with his axes he shall break down your towers. (The engines of war consisted of huge catapults designed to hurl great stones at the walls in order to make a breach in them.)

¹⁰By reason of the abundance of his horses their dust shall cover you: your walls shall shake at the noise of the horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter into your gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach. (When the walls were finally breached by Nebuchadnezzar, the might and power of his army and cavalry quickly overran the city.)

¹¹With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down all your streets: he shall slay your people by the sword, and your strong garrisons shall go down to the ground. (The he and his of Verses 9 through 11 proclaim Nebuchadnezzar; the they of Verse 12, the soldiers of Alexander. The two invasions were separated by about 150 years.)

¹²And they shall make a spoil of your riches, and make a prey of your merchandise: and they shall break down your walls, and destroy your pleasant houses: and they shall lay your stones and your timber and your dust in the midst of the water. (As stated, the last phrase of this Verse, concerning the dust in the midst of the water, refers to Alexanders invasion.)

¹³And I will cause the noise of your songs to cease; and the sound of your harps shall be no more heard. (Tyre was eminent no less for its culture than for its commerce.)

¹⁴And I will make you like the top of a rock: you shall be a place to spread nets upon; you shall be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, says the Lord GOD. (You shall be built no more, speaks of this rock where old Tyre was located. Today, as for centuries past, the sight of the ancient city, as described here, is a bare rock upon which fishermen dry their nets. However, a short time before World War II, a new Tyre was built somewhat inland, but stretching to the sea. It presently has a population of 10,000 20,000.)

THE LAMENT OF THE SEAPORT RULERS OVER TYRUS

¹⁵Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the isles shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when the slaughter is made in the midst of you? (That which happened to Jerusalem would ultimately happen to Tyre.)

¹⁶Then 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 you. (Princes of the sea, referred to the merchant princes who had made Tyre one of the greatest centers of commerce in the world. Now they are astonished at the fall of Tyre, which they thought could not happen.)

¹⁷And they shall take up a lamentation for you, and say to you, How are you destroyed, that was inhabited of seafaring men, the renowned city, which was strong in the sea, she and her inhabitants, which cause their terror to be on all who haunt it! (Due to the riches and power of Tyre, the surrounding countries did not think she would fall, and especially considering that it took Nebuchadnezzar 13 years to subdue the city.)

¹⁸Now shall the isles tremble in the day of your fall; yes, the isles that are in the sea shall be troubled at your departure. (The troubling of the surrounding countries is due to the commerce of Tyre, which had contributed to their prosperity, but would now be lost.)

¹⁹For thus says the Lord GOD; When I shall make you a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I shall bring up the deep upon you, and great waters shall cover you (the city that had been so rich and prosperous now will be made desolate);

²⁰When I shall bring you down with them who descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set you in the low parts of the Earth, in places desolate of old, with them who go down to the pit, that you be not inhabited; and I shall set Glory in the Land of the Living (When I shall bring you down with them who descend into the pit, is actually a portrayal of Hell itself, and her shut up with the antediluvians, i.e., with the people of old time. And I shall set Glory in the Land of the Living, refers to the Messiah ultimately reigning in Glory in the Land of the Living, at Jerusalem, in the midst of the redeemed sons of Israel, which will take place in the coming Kingdom Age);

²¹I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more: though you be sought for, yet shall you never be found again, says the Lord GOD. (This Passage and all the information given about Tyre [which represents the system of this world] portray the fact that this system is going to ultimately perish, and Jesus Christ will reign supreme. In fact, that time is nearer now than ever!)