Welcome to the MHB Podcast. This is Michael Baun. And welcome to my eighty fifth episode. Tonight we are returning to our study of the book of Isaiah. This episode will be on chapter twenty three. This chapter is an oracle of judgment against the cities of Tyre and Sidon. These two cities, particularly Tyre, were economic powerhouses because of their location on the coast of the Mediterranean sea. Sailors from all over the ancient world would come here to trade for their goods and use their services. Tyre’s wealth seemed unlimited. As we’ve worked through Isaiah we’ve watched Assyria grow in power. This chapter brings us into the era in which the Assyrian Empire was at its peak strength. Many nations, including Judah, had accepted vassalage to Assyria because they knew they could not resist them. Being a vassal just meant you paid tribute to the Empire in exchange for not being conquered. Things remained rather quiet for these vassal states so long as they paid their dues and did not rebel.
But this awkward stability changed when Esarhaddon became the new Assyrian King. He brought a much more aggressive policy to the affairs in West Asia. Egypt, the other superpower, had managed to stay out of Assyria’s way up to this point – but this new expansion of Assyria meant these two nations would clash for the next decade and a half. Judah was able to stay on the side lines for these battles – but Egypt’s Phoenician allies Tyre and Sidon were not. Tyre and Sidon took the brunt of Assyria’s advance in 677 B.C. Sidon was destroyed and Tyre was subjugated. After Tyre and Sidon, Assyria continued their march to invade Egypt. Manasseh, who was king of Judah, was forced to supply troops to participate in this invasion. Assyria’s invasion was successful and they occupied Egyptian territory for the next ten years.
In the year 664 B.C., Egypt launched an ill-advised rebellion against Assyria. Tyre’s king, Baal I, made the mistake of supporting it. Assyria’s new king Ashurbanipal crushed this rebellion and then captured Tyre on his return trip. Ashurbanipal turned the entire Phoenician area into Assyrian provinces and he put severe restrictions on Tyre’s ability to profit from the sea trade which had traditionally been her exclusive province. The fall of Tyre marked the collapse of the final resistance to imperial tyranny. The entire land, all of the city-states, and even the sea with its channels of commerce and power, had come under rule of Assyria, “the rod of God’s anger.” And that brings us to verse 1 of chapter 23:
23 The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!
From the land of Cyprus[a]
it is revealed to them.
This first verse is instruction for the sailors of Tyre’s fleet to weep and lament the loss of the city. Word of Tyre being conquered must have reached them. This would be devastating news. It’s important to understand that Tyre was an ancient city that was well-known throughout the world. It was built on a rocky island about six hundred yards off shore and roughly twenty five miles south of Sidon. The city’s name, Tyre, actually means rock. The people of Tyre – who were called Phoenicians – didn’t allow this geographic location to limit them. They actually took advantage of it and used the Mediterranean like a highway to transport goods. These people transported everything from purple cloth to timber and glassware – as well as the grain of Egypt. Their mighty ships of Tarshish were even able to carry mineral ores mined in northern Greece, Spain, and as far as the shores of the Black Sea. Tyre was the hub of international commerce. So you can only imagine how terrible the news must have been that this place had fallen under control of the Empire. Let’s look at verses 2-6:
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;
the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.
3 And on many waters
your revenue was the grain of Shihor,
the harvest of the Nile;
you were the merchant of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,
the stronghold of the sea, saying:
“I have neither labored nor given birth,
I have neither reared young men
nor brought up young women.”
5 When the report comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish[b] over the report about Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish;
wail, O inhabitants of the coast!
These verses are explaining what it will be like when Tyre’s trading partners find out that the city has fallen to the Assyrians. In the ancient world, Tyre functioned like a mother-city. It’s wealth and transport of goods gave birth to other cities and nurtured them into strong states. This is why Tyre is called the merchant of the nations in this passage. Her wealth and her capability of taking advantage of the free market made many other nations wealthy as well. You can imagine the Assyrians being tempted by the markets at Tyre. They wanted this wealth for themselves. But all of this prosperity came to halt when the Assyrians put their hands on it.
Notice in verse four how the sea is lamenting the fact that sailors would no longer be raised on it. Sea trade was a way of life for Tyre – it’s just what you did. Many people would go from having bright futures imbued with meaning and purpose to being cast into depression and aimless servitude. This is what happens when you look to your career as the purpose of your life. It’s okay to enjoy your work and to labor at doing a good job – but you must always remember that even your career is just part of the grand narrative of your life. You don’t want to place your career in the top spot where God should be – because your career can be taken from you. If you get laid off or fired, you’ll be cast into the same depression the sailors of Tyre were when they lost their trade to the Assyrians.
This actually works both ways as well. Imagine you’re stuck at a job that you don’t find meaningful. This doesn’t have to mean that your life isn’t meaningful. If you make it your own mission to seek God and advance His Kingdom, then you’ll feel a strong sense of meaning despite the fact that your job isn’t doing it for you. This is in part why men and women who have made more money than they know what to do with will take up philanthropy. Even if they aren’t religious, it still makes them feel good to do philanthropic work because doing it still advances God’s Kingdom – even if they won’t admit that.
So Tyre’s prosperity was making everyone else prosperous. The United States is in a similar position today. As the world’s foremost superpower, the U.S. functions as a massive consumer for the world’s goods – generating prosperity for its own people as well as for people of other nations. We would do well to learn two things from history: first is that markets which produce wealth should be left alone to do so, second is that markets which produce wealth attract tyrants who desire that wealth. Let’s look at verses 7-9:
7 Is this your exultant city
whose origin is from days of old,
whose feet carried her
to settle far away?
8 Who has purposed this
against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants were princes,
whose traders were the honored of the earth?
9 The Lord of hosts has purposed it,
to defile the pompous pride of all glory,[c]
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.
One of the questions that confused the people of this time was who would want to destroy Tyre? It didn’t make any sense to cripple a powerful merchant city like this. Losing the commerce of this Phoenician city would be bad for pretty much everyone. It was God who purposed it. It was God who brought them down. God will never make peace with human pride, and the people of Tyre were proud. To have so much wealth would mean that nations all around you would honor you and try to imitate your ways.
The city of Tyre had become an idol to many who desired her riches. A simple change in attitude may have saved the entire city. Instead of believing their own hype, they should have given God the glory. You must always remember to give God the glory when you accomplish great things. To do otherwise is to fall into yourself and raise yourself up in your own mind until you believe that you are like God. God desires humility and He levels judgment against the proud. Let’s move on to verses 10-12:
10 Cross over your land like the Nile,
O daughter of Tarshish;
there is no restraint anymore.
11 He has stretched out his hand over the sea;
he has shaken the kingdoms;
the Lord has given command concerning Canaan
to destroy its strongholds.
12 And he said:
“You will no more exult,
O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;
arise, cross over to Cyprus,
even there you will have no rest.”
There’s a few things to notice in this passage. First is that Tyre had a monopoly on trade. Since Tyre was brought low, the people of Tarshish are encouraged to act to take advantage of the situation. But it’s not going to do any good. Tarshish was far too invested in Tyre’s sea trade and they can’t overcome the losses. This is still a problem today. Free markets give rise to monopolies and monopolies gather so much investment that losing the monopoly would hurt everyone.
Good modern examples of this are the tech giants. You’re probably listening to this podcast on some application that can be traced back to Alphabet – the parent company of Google. And so even if Google decides to do some sketchy things, I still have to use their services to bring you this podcast. Same goes for companies like Apple, Twitter, Facebook, and all the rest. We are all so heavily wrapped up in these companies that to regulate or dismantle them would ruin many of our own small businesses.
Also notice how this passage says the Lord has given command concerning Canaan to destroy its strongholds. The fall of Tyre is part of God’s plan stretching way back into the Old Testament before the Israelites even came into the Promised Land. Before the land belonged to the Israelites it belonged to the Canaanites. The Canaanites were pagan people who worshiped false gods and had all manner of sex cults and child sacrifice. God warned Israel not to adopt any of their practices – but Israel went ahead and did it anyway. Tyre was one of the last Canaanite cities that was still a stronghold. It was always God’s plan to rid the world of their primitive customs and pathological beliefs. Let’s look at verses 13 & 14:
13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;[d] Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin.
14 Wail, O ships of Tarshish,
for your stronghold is laid waste.
Babylon is held up as an example of what will happen to Tyre or any other nation that has the pride to defy God. The fall of Babylon to Assyria was a death knell for many other nations. It’s like when your enemy wipes out your best soldier as soon as he takes the field. What do you do now? How can you possibly stop them now? In verse 14 there’s another call on the ships of Tarshish to wail in sorrow at the news of Tyre. Let’s read verses 15 & 16:
15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days[e] of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take a harp;
go about the city,
O forgotten prostitute!
Make sweet melody;
sing many songs,
that you may be remembered.”
After it falls, Tyre will go through an extended period of being forgotten to the world stage. The figure of 70 years is meant to represent a full generation. After this generation, the city will begin trying to charm its trading partners into doing business with them once again. The analogy to a prostitute is meant to convey the anything-for-money attitude that was characteristic of the people in Tyre. The final two verses in this chapter show us an interesting turn of events. Let’s read verses 17 & 18:
17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. 18 Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.
These verses are a prophecy from Isaiah that Tyre will become a redeemed city. We know this because verse 17 explicitly shows Tyre falling back into its old habits of doing anything for money. But verse 18 explicitly shows that one day they will use their economic prowess to glorify and worship God. Deuteronomy 23:18 forbids the wages of a prostitute from being consecrated – so the fact that we see such a sudden reversal here is an indication that some time in the future Tyre will be redeemed and become holy to the Lord.
There are a couple things that we should take from this chapter. First is that money and wealth on their own are not evil things. But money and wealth can make you extraordinarily vulnerable to evil things. Many people say that money is the root of all evil. This is not true. The truth is that the love of money is the root of many evils. Jesus said that we cannot serve two masters – we cannot serve both God and money. So if you’re in a position in life where you are doing really well – the best action you can take is to thank God and glorify Him. You must remain humble. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
The second thing we can learn from Tyre is that you are never beyond redemption. Just think of a city like Tyre. Always bustling and constantly filled with new people. Money all over the place and an exuberant night life. A cultural melting pot with many different customs and systems of morality. It was probably pretty chaotic and a lot of very horrible things probably happened there. But that didn’t take away God’s love for them. He still loved them enough to bring them down from their own heights so that their eyes would be open and they could see Him.
The same thing can happen for you. If it feels like you are going through a judgment on your life – the best thing you can do is remain humble and seek God. Keep your eyes open for little acts of redemption in your life. The simpler joys, the small things, you get the idea. The worst thing you can do is use your pain as an excuse to become absorbed in yourself. The worst thing you can do is declare that you, in fact, are righteous and that Being itself is unfairly against you. Even if you can’t see God right now – remember that Tyre was left forgotten to the world for 70 years after Assyria stormed through. But they were never forgotten to God. God never left them and God plans to redeem them. In the same way, you are not alone – He is with you and He has plans to redeem you.
If you find this content valuable, feel free to share it and to use it in your own studies. If you’d like to support this podcast, you can do so at http://www.patreon.com/michaelhbaun. There is a link in the description. Your generosity goes a long way to promoting the growth of this enterprise and the cause of free speech. Thank you all for joining me this evening, and I will see you in the next episode.
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