Introduction

A brief outline of this chapter will be useful.

Prediction of Tyre’s doom, broken and destroyed. Ezekiel 26:1-6
Nebuchadnezzar will bring about their destruction. Ezekiel 26:7-14
The people will mourn their princes. Ezekiel 26:15-18
Tyre will be totally destroyed. Ezekiel 26:19-21

JUDGMENT AGAINST TYRE, MISTRESS OF THE SEA

‘In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me: ‘Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gate to the nations is broken, and its doors have swung open to me; now that she lies in ruins, I will prosper,’ therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea, she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD. For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: From the north I am going to bring against Tyre Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, with horsemen and a great army. He will ravage your settlements on the mainland with the sword; he will set up siege works against you, build a ramp up to your walls and raise his shields against you. He will direct the blows of his battering rams against your walls and demolish your towers with his weapons. His horses will be so many that they will cover you with dust. Your walls will tremble at the noise of the warhorses, wagons, and chariots when he enters your gates as men enter a city whose walls have been broken through. The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground. They will plunder your wealth and loot your merchandise; they will break down your walls and demolish your fine houses and throw your stones, timber, and rubble into the sea. I will put an end to your noisy songs, and the music of your harps will be heard no more. I will make you a bare rock, and you will become a place to spread fishnets. You will never be rebuilt, for I, the LORD, have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD.’ Ezekiel 26:1-14

Here we read the prophecy against Tyre. Their sin was that they sought to prosper from Judah’s downfall and pride, Ezekiel 26:1-2 / Isaiah 23 / Jeremiah 47:4 / Ezekiel 26:1-28:19 / Ezekiel 28:20-24 / Amos 1:9-10 / Zechariah 9:3-4. They rejoiced at Jerusalem’s destruction, Ezekiel 26:2 / Ezekiel 25:3 / Genesis 12:3 / Proverbs 15:5.

Feinberg, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Though Tyre and Israel were friendly in the reigns of David and Solomon, they drifted apart later. Tyrians sold Jews as slaves to the Greeks and Edomites, Joel 3:4-8 / Amos 1:9-10.’

Tyre and Sidon were prominent gateway seaport cities, Ezekiel 26:2. Palestine and the nations immediately east of Palestine were able to trade with the Mediterranean cities through the ports of these two cities.

The Israelites evidently functioned as ‘customs control’ when nations such as Syria, Ammon and Moab to the north, and cities to the east and south, traded with the coastal cities of the Mediterranean Sea, Ezekiel 27:5-25. But when Judah fell, the traders had free access to these nations.

However, such was not to be for God was against Tyre and will bring many nations against her, like the sea casting up its waves, Ezekiel 26:3. These nations would destroy Tyre’s defensive systems and would scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock, Ezekiel 26:4.

Because of their strategic location and trade with many nations, the people followed after the pride of their King Ithobaal II, Ezekiel 28:12. They lifted themselves up, but they would be brought down.

According to Josephus, Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Tyre for thirteen years, 586-573 B.C. Once he conquered the city, the port came under Babylonian control, but never functioned as it had prior to the Babylonian destruction.

The Persians then came and conquered Tyre around 525 BC. Years later, Alexander the Great also besieged the city in 332 B.C. During the siege by the Greeks, a remnant of the people of Tyre fled from Alexander to a small island off the coast of the mainland city.

In order to completely devastate the city, however, the army of Alexander built a causeway with the remains of the coastal city by throwing stones into the sea. A causeway was thus made in order to access the small island. The city was never rebuilt in ancient times to the former glory that it enjoyed prior to its destruction by the Babylonians.

Tyre was to become a fishing city where fishermen could dry their nets, Ezekiel 26:5. Tyre will be plundered by the nations, Ezekiel 26:5, and the settlements will be ravaged by the sword, Ezekiel 26:7. Then they will know that He is the LORD, Ezekiel 26:7.

Cooper, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Babylon is a byword for godless government, and Tyre is a byword for pride and self-sufficiency.’

Constable, in his commentary, says the following.

‘The Lord Jesus ministered in Tyre, Matthew 15:21 / Mark 7:24-31 / Luke 6:17, and the residents responded positively to Him, Matthew 11:21-22 / Luke 10:13-14.

Notice that Ezekiel, for the first time, mentions who it is that God is sending from the north: it is Nebuchadnezzar, Ezekiel 26:7 / 2 Kings 25:21 / Jeremiah 52:9. He is described as the king of kings, Ezekiel 26:7, only because many people were under his rule, Daniel 2:37. This is the first wave of conquest.

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.

‘First, there was Nebuchadnezzar, 586-573 B.C; the Persians next subjugated Tyre in 525 B.C.; then, there was Alexander the Great, 332 B.C. and Tyre’s remaining history continued to show the ‘continuing waves’ of destruction.’

Notice that Nebuchadnezzar would come against Tyre with a great army, attack the city, break down its walls, and kill many of them, Ezekiel 26:8-9. He will have so many horses that they will cause a lot of dust, and they will make a lot of noise as they breach the walls. As he entered the city, he would trample the streets, Ezekiel 26:10.

Many people will die, and Tyre’s strong pillars will fall, Ezekiel 25:11 / 1 Kings 7:15. The enemies of Tyre will take a lot of spoil and push whatever remains there were left into the sea, Ezekiel 26:12 / Zechariah 9:3-4.

Feinberg, in his commentary, says the following concerning the word, they, Ezekiel 26:12.

‘Commentators have long noticed the change of pronoun from the ‘he’ of the previous verses to the ‘they’ of verse 12. It is rightly understood that Ezekiel was carrying the picture beyond Nebuchadnezzar to other invaders as well, who would complete what he began.’

God was bringing an end to their singing and music, Ezekiel 26:13 / Isaiah 23:16 / Revelation 18:22. Tyre was going to become a fishing place where fishermen can dry their nets, Ezekiel 26:14 / Ezekiel 25:5-6, and it would never be rebuilt, Ezekiel 26:14.

Stuart, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Shall never be rebuilt’ might be better translated ’will not be built-up again,’ that is, ’will not go back to its former state,’ and does not imply that the island of Tyre would never again have any buildings or inhabitants at all.’

Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.

‘That part of the city that lay on the rocky island, recovered after a lapse of seventy years, as predicted by the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah 23:17-18.’

‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Tyre: Will not the coastlands tremble at the sound of your fall, when the wounded groan and the slaughter takes place in you? Then all the princes of the coast will step down from their thrones and lay aside their robes and take off their embroidered garments. Clothed with terror, they will sit on the ground, trembling every moment, appalled at you. Then they will take up a lament concerning you and say to you: ‘How you are destroyed, city of renown, peopled by men of the sea! You were a power on the seas, you and your citizens; you put your terror on all who lived there. Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; the islands in the sea are terrified at your collapse.’ ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: When I make you a desolate city, like cities no longer inhabited, and when I bring the ocean depths over you and its vast waters cover you, then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of long ago. I will make you dwell in the earth below, as in ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, and you will not return or take your place in the land of the living. I will bring you to a horrible end, and you will be no more. You will be sought, but you will never again be found, declares the Sovereign LORD.’ Ezekiel 26:15-21

When news about Tyre reached other nations, they would tremble and give up their thrones and submit to the enemy, Ezekiel 26:15-16.

Feinberg, in his commentary, says the following.

‘Tyre had colonies in many Mediterranean coastal regions: Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta, Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands, and Africa.’

The kings of all the Mediterranean coastal nations would lament the fall of Tyre simply because they would lose a very strategic trade port to the Near East nations, Ezekiel 26:17-18 / Job 2:11-13 / Jonah 3:6 / Revelation 18:9.

They would be economically devastated by the demise of a great amount of trade. Tyre had rejoiced when Jerusalem fell, Ezekiel 26:2, and so these other nations were indirectly being judged by God, too.

Wiersbe, in his commentary, says the following.

‘In Ezekiel 26:17-18 we have a brief lamentation over the fall of the city. Keep in mind that in ancient days, the prophets sometimes used funeral lamentations in a satirical manner to poke fun at the enemies of God.’

Not only would the city fall, but the unrighteous would be brought down to the pit, Ezekiel 26:20 / Ezekiel 26:3. What is symbolised in Ezekiel 26:20 is not a location of the dead, but a metaphorical understanding in reference to the beliefs of the people.

Shrines and temples were built on high places because of the people’s belief that God could be better accessed on hills and mountains. The opposite of such locations would be the depths of the earth.

This was the location, therefore, where it was believed that demons existed. Trye is promised a horrible ending, the city would cease to exist and not be found by anyone, Ezekiel 26:21 / Ezekiel 27:26-35.

Smith, in his commentary, says the following.

‘The point is that Tyre would disappear from the land of the living—from the stage of history—and never be found again.’

Barlow, in his commentary, says the following.

‘It is true that the insular Tyre afterwards attained some distinction, but the ancient continental city never recovered from her ruin.’

Go To Ezekiel 27