A Net in Time

Curriculum and book reviews, faith, homeschooling and more!

Ezekiel

King of Tyre, lamented, destroyed

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Last time we met, we lamented the Prince of Tyre due to his need to see that he was not God.  It’s a  important lesson to learn. 

Today we lament the King of Tyre. Today’s reading is from Ezekiel 28:11-19

First we are told who the King is, who the king was MEANT to be.   The king was meant to be: 

  • the signet of perfection
  • full of wisdom
  • perfect in beauty
  • covered with a variety of precious jewels
  • an anointed guardian cherub
  • blameless in his ways.
 “You were the signet of perfection,
    full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
    every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
    beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle;
    and crafted in gold were your settings
    and your engravings.
On the day that you were created
    they were prepared.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub.
    I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God;
    in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
15 You were blameless in your ways
    from the day you were created,

BUT THEN …unrighteousness was found in him. 
So much trade, the abundance of it changed him (or at least that’s what I am implying from text).
Violence was part of that trade.   So violence became a part of the King of Tyre. 
The King sinned.
So God took action: 

  • casting him down from his holy mountain
  • destroying the guardian cherub

The king has corrupted his wisdom for the sake of spendor.   His beauty and riches were too important to him..

So the Lord continued to take action, casting the King down, exposing him before other kings.

This king who had everything and was meant to be so much more than what he was, has now had fire brought into his midst.   A fire that consumed him, so that all who caught a glimpse were dismayed, appalled actually.  The King of Tyre is God and that’s the end of him forever.

 
16 In the abundance of your trade
    you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
    and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub,
    from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
    you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
    I exposed you before kings,
    to feast their eyes on you.
18 By the multitude of your iniquities,
    in the unrighteousness of your trade
    you profaned your sanctuaries;
so I brought fire out from your midst;
    it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
    in the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who know you among the peoples
    are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end    and shall be no more forever.”
It’s so easy you know… to get caught up in the things you have and to forget what you are supposed to be doing.   The King of Tyre had a heady responsibility.  God set him in place to be a shining light, and the King of Tyre (to me it seems) got distracted by the costs of doing business and let himself get caught up in it.   His name in essence became violence.
I’m imaging (hoping actually) that the change was gradual, that he just didn’t see what was happening until he was immersed it in.   BUT a part of my brain niggles that he discovered this way of doing business and leaped right into action.
Either way… the position that God had placed in him, the position he was to have filled became dreadfully sullied, so God needed to remove him.   God showed the world what he had become.
So be careful.  Watch what he do and how you act.  God sees it. 

Who is God? Not the Prince of Tyre

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 You can read Ezekiel 28-1-10 HERE.

The lament against Tyre continues.   This time specifically against the Prince of Tyre.

The Prince of Tyre is judged because 
“Because your heart is proud,
and you have said, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods,
in the heart of the seas,’
I have to admit, part of me is astounded that a person could think that way.   To think of themselves as a god, yet I am really not surprised.  As the lad and I go through our history books there are many nations whose leaders were actually considered to be gods, or who when individuals gained leadership they said they were a god and could do or command anything they wanted.   So this time it’s the Prince of Tyre who has this false notion.
God reminds him clearly.  He is a MAN.  Not a GOD.

 

God admits that he’s a smart enough fellow, with a wisdom beyond Daniel, keeper of secrets, and full of understanding.    He recognizes this about the Prince. 
3 you are indeed wiser than Daniel;
no secret is hidden from you;
4 by your wisdom and your understanding
Through his wisdom he has been able to make himself wealthy…and so has become proud of himself, proud in his heart of all his accomplishments 
and your heart has become proud in your wealth—
The Lord can’t have this you know.  He can’t have a proud man thinking of himself as a god.
 6 therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you make your heart
like the heart of a god,
This man will be humbled.  Consequences are sure.   The means by which this chastisement will occur is through attack.  Foreigners will fall upon his nation.   
7 therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you,
the most ruthless of the nations;
and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
and defile your splendor.
8 They shall thrust you down into the pit,
and you shall die the death of the slain
in the heart of the seas.
So God asks this 
9Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’
in the presence of those who kill you,
though you are but a man, and no god,
in the hands of those who slay you?
The Prince will be brought down.   His proud heart is his downfall.
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.”
I have to admit, right now I am wondering…what do I take out of this?   I know that I fight against pride in my life (who doesn’t right?)   You do something well and it’s easy to be proud of that.   It’s not always easy to keep a level head.   This Prince of Egypt lacked that level head, the leavening to keep his place.   I don’t know if it was his upbringing (for instance in the eyes of my mother-in-law my son is a perfect kid) or if was the culture of the day or the mindset of the people that didn’t help this fellow realize that important truth…. he wasn’t GOD.
He wasn’t
I am not.
You are not.
God is.
Do we truly recognize that?
How often do we show it?
When things go well how often do we point out that it was God’s doing?
When things aren’t going so well, how often we point out God’s mercies to us during that time?
It’s so easy to not point these things out isn’t it?   To not really see God as God in all types of situations in life
Let us see God more clearly eh?
And ourselves…. let us keep ourselves to the humble position of servant, of inheriting children, and not that of being God….cause we most certainly are not that!  🙂 
 

The Merchants Hissed…Tyre Lamented

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Now it is time for Tyre to be lamented.  When I read the words of this lamentation what I hear is Tyre being very full of herself.

       ‘I am perfect in beauty.’
    [4] Your borders are in the heart of the seas;
        your builders made perfect your beauty.
   ….
    [7] Of fine embroidered linen from Egypt
        was your sail,
        serving as your banner;
    blue and purple from the coasts of Elishah
        was your awning.
    [8] The inhabitants of Sidon and Arvad
        were your rowers;
    your skilled men, O Tyre, were in you;
        they were your pilots.
    [9] The elders of Gebal and her skilled men were in you,
        caulking your seams;
    all the ships of the sea with their mariners were in you
        to barter for your wares.

All these beauty and perfection that comes with loads of peoples from other nations in service to her.  Elishad, Arvad, Sidon, Persia and Lud and so many other places.   All these places working for her and giving her beauty.   Such was Tyre.   Even Judah and Israel traded with her.

So much of Tyre was caught up in the peoples that came to her and her beauty.   The seas were hers.  But all this is to be destroyed.

    [27] Your riches, your wares, your merchandise,
        your mariners and your pilots,
    your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,
        and all your men of war who are in you,
    with all your crew
        that is in your midst,
    sink into the heart of the seas
        on the day of your fall.
 …..
    [31] they make themselves bald for you
        and put sackcloth on their waist,
    and they weep over you in bitterness of soul,
        with bitter mourning.
    [32] In their wailing they raise a lamentation for you
        and lament over you:
    ‘Who is like Tyre,
        like one destroyed in the midst of the sea?
    [33] When your wares came from the seas,
        you satisfied many peoples;
    with your abundant wealth and merchandise
        you enriched the kings of the earth.
    [34] Now you are wrecked by the seas,
        in the depths of the waters;
    your merchandise and all your crew in your midst
        have sunk with you.
    [35] All the inhabitants of the coastlands
        are appalled at you,
    and the hair of their kings bristles with horror;
        their faces are convulsed.
    [36] The merchants among the peoples hiss at you;
        you have come to a dreadful end
        and shall be no more forever.’”

Tyre is mourned. Her ships are lost, her merchandise destroyed, her power over the seas… gone. 
She was part of the lives of so many.
It is time of mourning for all who dealt with her.

Sadness and lamentations.

But we are not told why this happened to Tyre?   Was it her pride and greatness that caused her destruction?   She was of use to so many peoples and nations.  And now she is gone and “shall be no more forever.”.

Makes me feel sad.

Why were they destroyed?
The implication is they trusted in their ability to be excellent merchants and travellers of the seas.
That they put their trust in their own beauty, and abilities to trade with so many different people groups above that of anything.   They gave no thought to matters of faith or of the Lord.

Tyre is a warning to us.   We need to see beyond our daily life here.  We need to see to matters of faith as well.
 
Faith matters.   It matters more than our smarts, more than our beauty, more than our ability to turn a clever buck, more than our ability to provide goods and services that others want to have.   Faith matters and we forget that at our peril.

God’s Response to Tyre

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Today the whole chapter is one section, called prophecy against Tyre. Rather than print it all out, I’ve included a youtube video so you can listen to it being read. 🙂

 As always I will be using the ESV translation to actually do my study.  You can find that printed here.

Today it is Tyre’s turn to face the Lord.  Why? “because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gate of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste”

In essence Tyre said “WOOT WOOT… here’s our chance to grab some goods while they are down and out!!!”

Not good form.
Seriously.

Makes me think of looters after a city gets devastated by hurricanes or floods or fire.   How the nastiness just comes out of the wood work.

God’s response is clear:  “Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.”

I’ve been to the lake.. and it’s not the same as a sea I’m sure… but at the lake the waves keep coming.  Roll , after roll, after roll.  They simply don’t stop.  The only thing that changes is their intensity.   Those waves change landscapes… rolling aside all the the loose stuff, making bare rock, depositing garbage, smoothing and changing the very land it rolls over.

Now image that it a country.. with nations rolling over it like the sea.. all those waves and changes that will be made as a result of it.

This whole chapter speaks to the devastation those waves will cause.

A land plundered, her people killed, the dust that will billow, riches gone, goods taken, buildings destroyed,  and more.

Finally God says:  “And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. I will make you a bare rock. You shall be a place for the spreading of nets. You shall never be rebuilt, for I am the LORD; I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD.”

The nations that surround the land of Tyre will be appalled at the devastation that will occur.  They will cry about it and raise a lamentation.
   ….. and say to you,
    “‘How you have perished,
        you who were inhabited from the seas,
    O city renowned,
        who was mighty on the sea;
    she and her inhabitants imposed their terror
        on all her inhabitants!
   Now the coastlands tremble
        on the day of your fall,
    and the coastlands that are on the sea
        are dismayed at your passing.’

 The Lord God promises “I will bring you to a dreadful end, and you shall be no more. Though you be sought for, you will never be found again, declares the Lord GOD.”

 I have to admit, I read these words and I’m thinking to myself… I AM SO GLAD I didn’t live in Tyre those days..but what can I take out of this?  Other than the addage of “don’t kick a dog when it’s down or laugh at his folly”.

When God is angry….he acts.  He makes it really clear why things are happening.   Babylon didn’t chose to fall upon Tyre… it was the Lord’s directing.

Oh… when I think of that … I think of some of the atrocities that are happening in the world today…and I wonder…how will God act out against them?   What will he do with the nations that slaughter believers?   Will he do the same?

What will he do with people who laugh when believers are taken down?   I think of Christian businesses who are deliberately targeted and put out of work because they won’t support the LGBQT movement.   Of nations that mock those of faith.   How will the Lord response?

I have to admit… the idea of seeing total devastation, deserved or not… causes me concern…and I could see myself responding as that nations around Tyre did….with fear and trembling and lamentations of sorrow.

The Lord is God.  Oh… we must remember this.   Turn to him today.  KNOW who he is!!  It’s rather kinda important you know?

 Find the rest of my devotional series on Ezekiel.

God’s Job, Not Mine

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    [15] “Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, [16] therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. [17] I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”
(Ezekiel 25:15-17 ESV)

 The Lord has already called to account the Moabites, the Ammonites and the folks from Edom and Seir.  Now it is the turn to the Philistines.

The Philistines have long been the enemy of the Israelites and God says because they “acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity,” that he will correct their behaviour.   He will cut them off, he will destroy them, he will execute his vengeance upon them with wrathful rebukes.   WHY?    So they will know that HE IS THE LORD.

That’s what it always seems to come down to eh?

The need for the Lord to protect his people from the wrath of others… and to show them that HE is the Lord God.  None other.   

Their need for vengeance, their pettiness, their whatevers it might be against his people is NOTHING compared to the fact that HE is Lord God.  ONLY HE.

Makes me think eh?
About me and my stuff…how if someone does wrong against me sometimes all I want to do is get back at them (I see the same in my lad which helps me see what it looks like in me).

BUT that is not our job.

It isn’t.

Vengeance is all the hands of our Lord and God.  HIS hands, not mine. 

He knows the heart of the person who hurt me and knows the full story.   It’s in his hands to monitor and wreak vengeance if it is justified.  

My job is just to get on with being who God has called me to be… one seeking after his perfection.  One who draws other people into the joy of knowing who the Lord God is.   How does getting revenge fit into that?   It doesn’t really.

This passage just helps cement that notion into my head.   It’s God’s job not mine, and when the time is right, he will mete out the vengeance that is required.  But he won’t do it to make ME look good.  He will do it so that folks know that HE is God.   This is what it all comes down to … the earth and it’s peoples needing to know that God is …. GOD.   Lord of all. 

Find the rest of my devotional series on Ezekiel. 

Edom is warned for their revenge

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Continuing my studies in Ezekiel 25, today we do the next few verses.   Verses 1-7, and verses 8-11.

    [12] “Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Edom acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them, [13] therefore thus says the Lord GOD, I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off from it man and beast. And I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they shall fall by the sword. [14] And I will lay my vengeance upon Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they shall do in Edom according to my anger and according to my wrath, and they shall know my vengeance, declares the Lord GOD.
(Ezekiel 25:12-14 ESV)

 So far, each land/people group that God is correcting has been so for a different reason.  Edom is being disciplined because she “acted revengefully against the house of Judah and has grievously offended in taking vengeance on them.”

You know that saying… Vengeance is Mine Says the Lord.

I think it holds true eh?   We shouldn’t be in the business of handling vengeance.  We don’t know the whole story behind things anyways.     Each situation in life has it’s own subplots.  There is no way we can truly know them all. 

BUT the fact is this.  Edom acted out in vengeance against the Lord’s people, therefore the Lord will stretch out his hand against them and make is a desolate place.   Its people and animals cut off.   He will do this by using the people of Israel.

I find it interesting in these verses that God doesn’t add “so they will know that I am the Lord”.    I wonder why they are not here.   He has the people of Israel act out his anger and wrath upon Edom because they sought vengeance on his people.   This is as far as these verses take God’s discipline.
 

Moab and Seir corrected for wrong assumption

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Continuing my studies in Ezekiel 25, today we do the next few verses.

    [8] “Thus says the Lord GOD: Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’ [9] therefore I will lay open the flank of Moab from the cities, from its cities on its frontier, the glory of the country, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim. [10] I will give it along with the Ammonites to the people of the East as a possession, that the Ammonites may be remembered no more among the nations, [11] and I will execute judgments upon Moab. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
(Ezekiel 25:8-11 ESV)

Do you remember that yesterday the Ammonites were disciplined for laughing at the Israelites for beginning disciplined by God for their scandolous ways before the Lord.   The Lord wanted the Ammonites to know that he is the Lord God.

Today we find Moab and Seir the object of God’s attention. Again, the Lord God wants these people to know that “I am the Lord.”

Why is Moab and Seir being disciplined?   Because they didn’t see that Israel was different than the other nations around them.  They said “Behold, the house of Judah is like all the other nations”.   So just like Ammon was given over to the peoples of the East, so will Moab and Seir.

How does this apply to me?
Moab and Seir said things that were untrue about Israel (at least they should have been untrue.   They should have been seen as a special people of God. 

So how am I seen?   Will I cause people to make false assumptions about me or will I stand out as one of God’s own?

What do you see in this passage?