74. The Pride of All Glory

Hymns: RHC 532 Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us 531 Come Into My Heart 496 Jesus Breaks Every Fetter

Isaiah 23:1-18

¹ The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them. ² Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished. ³ And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. ⁴ Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins. ⁵ As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. ⁶ Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. ⁷ Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. ⁸ Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? ⁹ The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth. ¹⁰ Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. ¹¹ He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. ¹² And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest. ¹³ Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. ¹⁴ Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste. ¹⁵ And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. ¹⁶ Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. ¹⁷ And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. ¹⁸ And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

The Pride of All Glory

OUTLINE

Shaken by the LORD (v1-17)

Restored by the LORD (v18)

INTRODUCTION

It is said of the LORD “He hath done all things well”! He heals and He restores. With the LORD is life forevermore.

Mark 7:37 (KJV) And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

As we look back over the past days of our lives, from the hour of our conversion, let us say “The Lord hath done all things well.”

In first bringing us out of darkness into marvellous light – in humbling us and teaching us our weakness, guilt and folly – in stripping us of our idols, and choosing all our portions – in placing us where we are and giving us what we have – how well everything has been done! How great the mercy that we have not had our own way! [JC Ryle]

Let us remember it as we look forward to the days yet to come. We know not what they may be, bright or dark, many or few. But we know that we are in the hands of Him who “doeth all things well”. He will not err in any of His dealings with us. He will take away and give, He will afflict and bereave, He will move and He will settle with perfect wisdom, at the right time, in the right way. The great Shepherd of the sheep makes no mistakes. He leads every lamb of His flock by the right way to the city of habitation.

Likewise, the LORD sovereignly rules over the nations.

The first cycle of oracles closed by revealing that Egypt, the political oppressor of the Israelites, would come into equal status with Israel in the future (19:25).

Isaiah 19:25 (KJV) Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance.

The second cycle similarly closes by disclosing that Tyre, the materialistic corrupter of God’s people in the past, would come into a relationship of holiness (v18).

They were a bad influence on the people of God. Tyre is Phoenicia. The Phoenicians were merchants whose land is known as Lebanon today.

They sailed in the great sea of the Mediterranean receiving wealth from the many lands visited.

Ahab would marry the Phoenician princess Jezebel, who promoted Baal worship in Israel (1 Kings 16:29-33).

¹⁸ And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.

Thus, the climax of both revelations of judgment was the divine blessing of the Gentiles.

Shaken by the LORD (v1-17)

Tyre was the capital of Phoenicia, which also included such independent city-state as Zidon.

These were all Mediterranean ports and, together with the Philistines, the Phoenicians were the great merchant traders of the ancient Near East, deriving great wealth and also the source of their pride. Their wealth was their power and they felt infallible.

Returning from Tarshish (which probably means Spain here), seamen from Tyre receive news of the city’s fall when they reach Cyprus. With their houses destroyed and no harbour to return to, they howl in dismay.

The merchants of Sidon sit in stunned silence as they remember how their Tyrian neighbours had crossed the sea, bringing grain from the Upper Nile (Sihor), and how they had been the merchants of the nations.

Sidon, the mother city of Tyre, is ashamed as the waves beating against the ruins of Tyre seem to echo the city’s lament. It is as if Tyre never had any children to inhabit it! Egypt, too, is in agony at the report of the loss of her best customer. [Believer’s Bible]

⁶ Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. ⁷ Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn. ⁸ Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth? ⁹ The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.

Isaiah addresses the ships from Spain (Tarshish) that were docked in Cyprus (Chittim), telling their crews to weep and go home (v6) because Tyre was no more.

The Tyrians are told to seek asylum as far away as Spain (Tarshish). Once the inhabitants of an ancient prosperous city, their feet now carry them to far off lands.

And who brought this horror on Tyre, with all its power, riches, and glory? It was the Lord of hosts—determined to dishonour the pride of all human glory.

Tyre’s great shipping industry was gone and the Mediterranean economy had been devastated.

¹⁰ Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. ¹¹ He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. ¹² And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest. ¹³ Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. ¹⁴ Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste. ¹⁵ And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. ¹⁶ Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. ¹⁷ And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.

In view of Nebuchadnezzar’s attack on Tyre, the people are told to escape to other countries, spreading out like the River (i.e., the Euphrates River which flows through many countries).

The joyful citizens of Tyre (v7) would become refugees when Nebuchadnezzar conquered Phoenicia in 572 B.C.

God has roused Babylon to destroy the merchant city (Canaan). Even if the refugees flee to Cyprus (, they will find no rest. The prophet is amazed that an obscure nation with humble beginnings, founded by Assyria, should bring Tyre to ruin. Tyre will be forgotten during the seventy years of the Chaldean monarchy. At the end of that time, it will joyfully resume its commercial fornication with all the kingdoms of the world.

Restored by the LORD (v18)

Isaiah gives us a glimpse of things to come. He sees a day when Tyre’s earnings will be given to the Lord’s treasury. The psalmist has the same vision:

Psalm 72:10 (KJV) The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

74. The Pride of All Glory

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