Reflections on Ezekiel 26

Ezekiel 26 (Contemporary English Version)
1. Eleven years after King Jehoiachin and the rest of us had been led away as prisoners to Babylonia, the LORD spoke to me on the first day of the month. He said:
   
2. Ezekiel, son of man, the people of the city of Tyre have celebrated Jerusalem's defeat by singing, "Jerusalem has fallen! It used to be powerful, a center of trade. Now the city is shattered, and we will take its place."
   
3. Because the people of Tyre have sung that song, I have the following warning for them: I am the LORD God, and I am now your enemy! I will send nations to attack you, like waves crashing against the shore.
   
4. They will tear down your city walls and defense towers. I will sweep away the ruins until all that's left of you is a bare rock,
   
5. where fishermen can dry their nets along the coast. I promise that you will be robbed
   
6. and that the people who live in your towns along the coast will be killed. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
   
7. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia is the world's most powerful king, and I will send him to attack you. He will march from the north with a powerful army, including horses and chariots and cavalry troops.
   
8. First, he will attack your towns along the coast and kill the people who live there. Then he will build dirt ramps up to the top of your city walls and set up rows of shields around you.
   
9. He will command some of his troops to use large wooden poles to beat down your walls, while others use iron rods to knock down your watchtowers.
   
10. He will have so many horses that the dust they stir up will seem like a thick fog. And as his chariots and cavalry approach, even the walls will shake, especially when he proudly enters your ruined city.
    
11. His troops will ride through your streets, killing people left and right, and your strong columns will crumble to the ground.
    
12. The troops will steal your valuable possessions; they will break down your walls, and crush your expensive houses. Then the stones and wood and all the remains will be dumped into the sea.
    
13. You will have no reason to sing or play music on harps,
    
14. because I will turn you into a bare rock where fishermen can dry their nets. And you will never rebuild your city. I, the LORD God, make this promise.
    
15. The people of the nations up and down the coast will shudder when they hear your screams and moans of death.
    
16. The kings will step down from their thrones, then take off their royal robes and fancy clothes, and sit on the ground, trembling. They will be so shocked at the news of your defeat that they will shake in fear
    
17. and sing this funeral song: "The great city beside the sea is destroyed! Its people once ruled the coast and terrified everyone there.
    
18. But now Tyre is in ruins, and the people on the coast stare at it in horror and tremble in fear."
    
19. I, the LORD God, will turn you into a ghost-town. The ocean depths will rise over you
    
20. and carry you down to the world of the dead, where you will join people of ancient times and towns ruined long ago. You will stay there and never again be a city filled with people.
    
21. You will die a horrible death! People will come looking for your city, but it will never be found. I, the LORD, have spoken.
    
    

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    Ezekiel began addressing judgment against the nations surrounding Judah who gloated over her destruction. Four of these nations were addressed in the previous chapter, and the fifth, Tyre, is the focus of this chapter. Tyre and Jerusalem were rivals for control of the trade routes between Egypt and the rest of the Middle East. While Tyre dominated the sea routes, Jerusalem controlled the caravan routes. With the destruction of Jerusalem, much of the caravan trade would be diverted to Tyre's sea routes. Thus Tyre's sin was her rejoicing over the fall of Jerusalem.
    
    But Tyre's fall was next. After defeating Jerusalem, Nebuchadnezzar and his army moved on to besiege Tyre. Tyre would be so decimated that fishermen could spread their nets over her, as over the rocks, to dry their nets. Besides the prediction of Tyre's fall, God also predicted that she would never be rebuilt, which also came true. Though the surrounding area has been rebuilt, still today Tyre lies in ruins. The fall of this great commercial center sent shock waves throughout the maritime communities who were dependent on Tyre for their trade and commerce.
    
    Was gloating over Jerusalem's fall such a great sin deserving of such great destruction? Such would be the question raised in our finite minds. But our problem is that we don't have all the information. Nor is our sense of justice as complete as is God's. We consider events such as the fall of Tyre and pass judgment on God for allowing or causing such destruction, forgetting our lack of understanding. As Paul pointed out in his letter to the Romans, "You will say to me, therefore, "Why then does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?" But who are you--anyone who talks back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?" Or has the potter no right over His clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor? (Romans 9:19-21) As clay, we are in a poor position to be questioning the judgments of the potter.