Ezekiel 26:3-5

‘Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh, “Behold I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes his waves to come up. And they will destroy the walls of Tyre, and break down her towers. I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock, she will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken it,” says the Lord Yahweh.'

But she had overlooked the fact that Jerusalem was Yahweh's own special possession. These ideas are important in that they reveal that Yahweh was still caring for His own even while He was chastising them severely, and that as the Lord of the whole earth He could summon nations to do His bidding.

The picture of the sea crashing against the shore is a vivid one. The sea was ever seen by Israel as an alien element, a destructive and powerful force. And it would overwhelm Tyre in the form of powerful armies, leaving it deserted and barren. The prophecy was literally fulfilled through the activities of Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great and others.

‘I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock, she will be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea' This powerful fortress would be levelled to the ground and disappear under the sea. This eventually became literally true.

‘For I have spoken it,” says the Lord Yahweh.' And it was all to be the result of Yahweh's word. What He says, happens.