#985 Isaiah 23 From a Sharp Rock

 

The oracle concerning Tyre.

Wail, O ships of Tarshish,

for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!

From the land of Cyprus

it is revealed to them.

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 over the report about Tyre.

6 Cross over to Tarshish;

wail, O inhabitants of the coast!

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,

to dishonor all the honored of the earth.

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.”

13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not; 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.

15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days 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.”

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. Isaiah 23 ESV

Isaiah 23 Burden of Tyre and Sidon

1-5. Wail, O ships of Tarshish - Tarshish is a port brought up in several instances in the Bible, thought to be somewhere around Gibraltar in Spain. When Jonah was told to go to Nineveh, in Assyria, he instead hopped on a boat going in the opposite direction, to Tarshish. Far away from Tyre, the sea traders of Tarshish will lament the news of Tyre and Sidon's destruction.

From the land of Cyprus it is revealed to them - Traders from Cyprus bring news of Tyre's destruction. This is an economic blow to the region. Israel has no great ports, and so it was from here that Hiram, the king of Tyre, supplied David with cedars and other materials for the building of the Temple. Tarshish feels the strain of this from the far other side of  the Mediterranean. One commentator describes Tyre as the Babylon of the Sea; it has a mainland portion north of Israel and also an island stronghold. The Assyrians captured the mainland, and later, Alexander the Great, in 332 B.C. would build a bridge to take the island. One of Israel's worst imports from Tyre was Jezebel, who married into the northern kingdom, becoming the wife of Ahab during the time of Elijah. Her violent legacy would extend into Judah.

You were the merchant of the nations - She will be missed like Babylon, for her commerce, materialism.

…10In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.” 11And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo— 12cargo of gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; of fine linen, purple, silk, and scarlet; of all kinds of citron wood and every article of ivory, precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble;… Revelation 18: 10-12

Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken -

Zidon--called on, as being the parent country of Tyre ( Isaiah 23:12 ), and here equivalent to Phoenicia in general, to feel the shame (as it was esteemed in the East) of being now as childless as if she never had any. "I (no more now) travail, nor bring forth," &c. "Strength of the sea," that is, stronghold, namely, New Tyre, on a rock (as "Tyre" means) surrounded by the sea ( Ezekiel 26:4 Ezekiel 26:14-17 ; so Venice was called "Bride of the sea"; Zechariah 9:3 ). - Bible Study Tools

6-9. Is this your exultant city - The triumphant city, the pride of the coastal nations. With great riches comes many diversions, much greed, pride and entertainment. Everyone wanted to be in league with her. Go to New York, if you can make it there you can make it anywhere. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. I am going to find my star in Holly Wood. 

Whose traders were the honored of the earth - Money made men princes here. Their rise to honor was not from being honorable, not for the sake of their integrity, but their wealth. Not much has changed, if you are a famous actor or actress then I am supposed to believe that your opinion is something to be sought and cherished. If you are a billionaire then I am supposed to take your word over my doctors as it relates to health. The discovery of oil in the Arab nations made many princes, but He who never needed any man's money, the Lord of Hosts, He brought this calamity upon them, for He looks at the heart. The rich are revered, then envied, and when men want their power and influence, their greed will compel them to take it by force. The proud eat each other, and to whom much is given much is required, everyone from the least to the greatest will give account. What did you do with God's provision? What kind of steward were you? Men have used money to raise themselves up and dominate in churches, have used it to influence politics, hence the "swamp" we have here. 

15-18. O forgotten prostitute - At the end of 70 years Tyre will be remembered again.

And will prostitute herself - She will return to her materialism.

Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord - God will take what she did not want to give, set it apart to His own work.

“Tyre, after its destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, recovered, as it is here foretold, its ancient trade, wealth, and grandeur; as it did likewise after a second destruction by Alexander. It became Christian early with the rest of the neighboring countries. St. Paul himself found many Christian there, Acts 21:4. It suffered much in the Diocletian persecution. It was an archbishopric under the patriarchate of Jerusalem, with fourteen bishoprics under its jurisdiction. It continued Christian till it was taken by the Saracens in 639; was recovered by the Christians in 1124; but in 1280 was conquered by the Mamelukes and afterwards taken from them by the Turks in 1517. Since that time it has sunk into utter decay; is now a mere ruin, a bare rock, ‘a place to spread nets upon,’ as the Prophet Ezekiel foretold it should be, chapter 26:14.” (Clarke)