Isaiah 23:8-14

b. SHAKEN

TEXT: Isaiah 23:8-14

8

Who hath purposed this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth?

9

Jehovah of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.

10

Pass through thy land as the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; there is no restraint any more.

11

He hath stretched out his hand over the sea, he hath shaken the kingdoms: Jehovah hath given commandment concerning Canaan, to destroy the strongholds thereof.

12

And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon: arise, pass over to Kittim; even there shalt thou have no rest.

13

Behold, the land of the Chaldeans: this people was not; the Assyrians founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness; they set up their towers; they overthrew the palaces thereof; they made it a ruin.

14

Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for your stronghold is laid waste.

QUERIES

a.

Why the question about the author of Tyre's judgment?

b.

Who were the people who were not (Isaiah 23:13)?

c.

Where is Kittim?

PARAPHRASE

Who has the power to plan such a thing against Tyre, the founder of so many colonies and crowner of so many kings, whose merchants were equal in influence to princes, and whose traders were honored throughout the world. The Lord God Jehovah has planned it to desecrate the most magnificent pride and show His contempt for all the haughty greatness of proud men everywhere. Now, O people of Tarshish, you may flow over the world and trade as you like for there is no longer a restraining force in Tyre. The Lord God Jehovah stretches out His hand over the seas; He shakes the kingdoms of the earth; He is not a provincial GodHe is God of all creation and judge of all men. Therefore, He has spoken out against Phoenicia and her strongholds will be destroyed. Furthermore, He says, You will never again rejoice, O Tyre, you raped virgin, daughter of Sidon. Even if you flee to Cyprus you will find no rest. It will be the Babylonians, not the Assyrians, who will make the territory of Tyre a habitation for wild beasts! They will besiege it, tear down its palaces and make it a heap of ruins. Wail, you ships that take trade to Tarshish, your home port is destroyed!

COMMENTS

Isaiah 23:8-11 AUTHOR OF JUDGMENT: HOW shall the great fall of Tyre be explained? It will be of such magnitude and so far-reaching in its consequences something beyond what the eye can see must be the cause. Tyre, market place of the world, hub of the world's commerce, builder of colonies, destined to be reduced to almost nothing? Impossible as it appears to the human eye! Tyre became a bestower of crowns, through founding of other city-colonies such as Carthage, etc. She also built up quite an aristrocracy of merchants known throughout the world as princes-of-all-traders. It would appear nothing human or natural could so completely erase Tyre's hold on the commerce of the world. The answer comes from the prophet who asked the question. The answer isJehovah of hosts hath purposed it! The Lord God of Israel is the God of all nations. He is King of all kings. He purposed it. Tyre's destiny is controlled not by chance, fortune, accident, coincidence, but by the will of the Omnipotent Creator of all mankind. It is one of the main emphases of the prophets that Almighty God enthrones and dethrones earth's rulers in all ages. Jehovah, in His own good time and according to His eternal wisdom and purposes, permits nations and races to flourish and diminish. He governs the ups and downs of potentates and populations according to certain standards of justice, righteousness, morality and truth. In other words, His governing principles are not capricious or frivolous. Any ruler or people or nation who will make their main concern human dignity, freedom and justice will find God's approval. But of course, human dignity, freedom and justice cannot be built on any foundation other than truthtruth about God, His identity, His nature, His revealed will. Any nation accepting falsehood about God as a national policy will find all other national structures crumbling into ruin upon such a ruinous foundation. This was the cause for the judgment of God upon one pagan ruler and nation after another. This was the cause for the judgment of God upon Israel and Judah. They did not govern themselves according to divine principles because they denied the Divine Author of those principles. Jehovah brought Tyre down for her pride. When the successful grow proud, they grow contemptuous and corrupt. Inevitably the exploitation of human beings by one another follows pride. So God has chosen to govern the world by bringing the proud downby humiliating those who exalt themselves.

Tyre's colonies (such as Tarshish) would be hampered in their own freedom by the mother city as long as she maintained such a strangle-hold on their economy. But when Tyre is defeated, Tarshish will be free of her restraint and will be able to expand its trade. Tarshish will be able to flow through her own territory as the Nile inundates the valley of Egypt. Isaiah emphasizes again in Isaiah 23:11 that this great, world-shaking upheaval was from the hand of the Lord. God creates both weal and woe (Isaiah 45:7). Evil does not befall a city unless the Lord does it (Amos 3:6).

Isaiah 23:12-14 AGENT OF JUDGE: Jehovah is the author of Tyre's destiny but He usually employs human agents in carrying out both His deliverances and His judgments. When Tyre's great devastation comes it will be as shocking and traumatic as a virgin ravished (raped). Even if she flees to Cyprus (Kittim) she will find no relief from the pain of her experience. But who shall ravish her? It will be the Chaldeans! The Babylonians are predicted to be Tyre's assailants. When Isaiah first made the prediction of Tyre's downfall the Assyrians would seem to be the most likely agents of God's judgment but the prophet makes it clear the Chaldeans are to execute His punishment. So it was in 585 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, emperor of Babylon, laid siege to Tyre. The siege lasted 13 years and in 572 the city was overrun. From that time her stranglehold on the world's trade was broken. However, her citizens escaped Nebuchadnezzar and fled to the islands a mile or more off shore and formed a new colony. The Babylonians, without much of a navy, could not conquer that stronghold. So Tyre remained at least a fortress protecting any advance of conquering armies down through Phoenicia enroute to Egypt and other points south. Alexander the Great, on his way to conquer the world in 322 B.C., conquered Tyre once and for all. His conquest fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah 23, Ezekiel 26-28, and Zechariah 9, in minute detail, as follows:

1.

He used the captured fleets of other cities and attacked the new island city by taking the ruins of the old city Its timbers and stones and casting them into the sea and building a causeway out to the island.

2.

Other neighboring cities were so frightened they opened their gates to Alexander without opposition.

3.

The old city site was scraped flat like the top of a rock and today you may go there and find fishermen spreading their nets on its ruins.

4.

There are great artesian wells there that would supply a city with water (10 million gallons daily) yet the city has never been rebuilt on the old location. Sidon, a city just a few miles from Tyre, has been destroyed and rebuilt many times over!

There remains a small city of no international significance (not on the original site) on the island. Travelers today may walk over the very causeway Alexander's armies constructed to give them access to the once proud and internationally powerful Tyre. God said it, and it was so! The mills of God's justice may grind slowly but they grind exceedingly fine! God oft-times uses human agents to execute His judgments (Cf. Isaiah 10:5-19; Isaiah 44:23 to Isaiah 45:7; Jeremiah 27:1-11).

The English translation of our text makes it appear almost as if Isaiah were looking back on an event that has already transpired. However, the use of the past tense in the Hebrew language often is what we call the prophetic perfecta past that is the equivalent of a very assured future. Tyre's destiny is certainso certain it may be looked upon as having already happened. So, though the past tense is used, this whole passage should be regarded as a prophecy which tells of the future overthrow of Tyre.

QUIZ

1.

Who is the author of Tyre's destiny?

2.

What are God's principles of governing rulers and peoples?

3.

What means does God usually employ in executing His principles of human government?

4.

Tell some of the subsequent history of Tyre.

5.

What do we mean by the prophetic perfect?