Ezekiel 26:1-21

Ezekiel: “They shall know that I am God”

God’s Plans for *Israel and the Nations

Ezekiel Chapter s 25 to 39

Ian Mackervoy

Chapter 26

The punishment of Tyre – Ezekiel 26:1-14

v1 The *LORD spoke to me on the first day of the month in the 11th year during our *exile. v2 ‘*Son of man, the inhabitants of Tyre have spoken against Jerusalem. “When a gate is broken, its doors swing open. Jerusalem used to be a great city, which traders from the nations would enter. But now, Jerusalem is a broken city. So, we have new opportunities to trade. We can make money because the nations have ruined Jerusalem.” v3 Therefore, this is what the *LORD your King says to Tyre. I am against you, Tyre. I will cause many nations to go up against you. They will be like the waves of the sea that flood your shores. v4 They will destroy the walls of Tyre. They will break down its strong buildings. I will remove all its soil and I will make it a bare rock. v5 Tyre will be a place by the sea where people dry their fishing nets. I have spoken, says the *LORD your King. The nations will destroy Tyre. v6 And they will kill the people who live in its towns along the coast. Then they will know that I am the *LORD.

v7 This is what the *LORD your King says. I will bring a king from the north against Tyre. He is Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He is the most powerful king. He will come with his horses, carts, horsemen and a large army. v8 He will kill the people who live in the country. Then he will prepare to attack you, Tyre. He will build a road of earth to the top of the walls. His army will raise their *shields against you. v9 He will beat holes in the city walls with poles. And with axes, he will destroy your strong buildings. v10 He will have so many horses that the dust from their feet will cover you. The walls will shake at the noise of the horses, the wagons and the carts. The king of Babylon will enter your gates as men enter a city through holes in the walls. v11 The feet of his horses will run over all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword. And your strong buildings will fall to the ground. v12 The soldiers will take away your wealth. They will steal your goods. They will break down your walls and they will destroy your nice houses. They will throw the stones, the wood, and all that remains of the houses into the sea. v13 So, I will stop your noisy songs. Nobody will hear the sound of music from you. v14 I will make Tyre a bare rock. It will be a place to dry fishing nets. Nobody will build Tyre again because I, the *LORD, have said so. That is what the *LORD declares.’

Verses 1-14 The 11th year of the *exile was April 587 to March 586 *BC. This was after the *Babylonians had destroyed Jerusalem. That happened in the summer of 587 *BC. Therefore, the date of this *prophecy was after that event, but still during the 11th year.

Tyre was a city in Phoenicia, which was to the north of Samaria. It was on the Mediterranean Sea. Tyre was both on the coast and on an island. Tyre was a great commercial city and port. From its trade, it had become wealthy.

The inhabitants of Tyre thought that the defeat of Jerusalem was good news. Jerusalem had been a city of trade. It had controlled the trade routes from Egypt and Arabia to the north. Tyre saw an opportunity to take that trade. By this, the people in Tyre would earn more wealth. They desired the wealth that would come from Jerusalem. That was an awful attitude to have after the terrible events in Jerusalem. The inhabitants of Tyre did not care that such a *disaster had come to Jerusalem. Because of this attitude, God was angry with Tyre.

God would punish Tyre. He would bring the nations against it and they would destroy it. They would come like the waves of the sea upon the shore. The nations would break the walls of Tyre and they would destroy all the buildings. The land of the city would become just bare rock where men would dry their nets.

From 586 to 573 *BC, the *Babylonians fought against the city. They defeated Tyre. And they forced the city to serve them. Afterwards, for a brief time, Tyre became free again. Then in 525 *BC, the Persians (people from Persia) took control of it. Then in 332 *BC the Greeks (people from Greece) under Alexander the Great came. They knocked down all the buildings on the shore. They pushed all that remained of the buildings into the sea. This made a road of about half a mile to the island that they destroyed. The road became a place to dry fishing nets. Later, near to that place, there was another small city called Tyre. After that, the Romans came and they ruled that city. In the 14th century *AD, the Saracens (Arabs) destroyed the city. There is now a town called Tyre but it is not at the original place.

The *Lord told Ezekiel that he would bring the king of Babylon from the north. This king, Nebuchadnezzar, would attack Tyre with a vast army. The *Lord told how Nebuchadnezzar would break into Tyre. He would kill the people in Tyre and in the country. He would destroy the city.

All the action in verses 7 to 11 is the attack by Nebuchadnezzar. In verse 12, the passage uses the word ‘they’. It is describing the actions of many soldiers. These will include the armies from Persia and the Greece. Together, these armies brought about the results in verses 13 and 14.

The fear of the people who live near Tyre – Ezekiel 26:15-18

v15 ‘This is what the *LORD the King says to Tyre. The people who live along the coast will hear about your defeat. They will hear the screams of people in Tyre. People there will suffer and die. The people who live along the coast will tremble because of their fear. v16 And all the rulers of the coast will get down from their *thrones. They will strip off all their fine clothes. They will tremble because of fear and they will sit on the ground. They will be so afraid. When they see you, Tyre, it will be a terrible shock for them. v17 They will sing a funeral song about you. “Tyre, you were a famous city. The armies have destroyed you. You used to control the trade on the sea but you have lost that power. Those who lived by the sea were afraid of you. v18 You have *fallen. Now the people who live by the coast tremble because of fear. And the people who live on islands in the sea are afraid because of your defeat.” ’

Verses 15-18 Many small states along the coast and on the islands depended on Tyre. Tyre was protecting those states for its own benefit. The news of the defeat of Tyre would make them afraid. They would not know what would happen to them. Their rulers would give up their power. It seems that they would not even try to oppose the *Babylonians. They would give in without a fight.

They will be sad at the loss of Tyre. They will sing this funeral song about Tyre.

The final end of Tyre – Ezekiel 26:19-21

v19 ‘This is what the *LORD your King says. I will make Tyre an empty city. Nobody shall live there. I will bring the deep water over it. The sea will cover it. v20 I will send you (Tyre) down to the place of dead people. You will join those people who died long ago. You will stay below the earth with the dead people. It will be as in places that someone has ruined. You will not come back from there. You will never live again. v21 I will bring great terror upon you and I will destroy you. People will look for you, but they will never find you again. That is what the *LORD your King says.’

Verses 19-21 God will make sure that Tyre will never be strong again. It will never be such an important place for trade as it once was. Tyre will be a dead city. And nobody will live there again. Its situation will be as hopeless as the situation of a person in hell. People would not live in Tyre again. Even its land will not still exist. The sea will cover all that remains of the city.

Israel ~ Israel is the nation whose ancestors were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The country in which they live is called Israel. Israel became the name of the northern nation when it separated from Judah. However, Ezekiel sometimes uses the word ‘Israel’ to refer to Judah.
ancestors ~ people in history from whom your family has come.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
exile ~ When people have to live in a foreign country they are in exile. Such a person is called an exile.'son of man ~ Ezekiel. ‘Son of man’ was the title that God used for Ezekiel. It emphasised that Ezekiel was a mere man. Ezekiel would have to depend on God’s Spirit to make him strong. Only then could Ezekiel do what God told him to do.
shields ~ Soldiers carried these in their hands for protection in battle. They used them like covers, so that swords or other weapons could not hit the body.
weapon ~ a tool of war. People use weapons for attack or defence when they fight. For example, swords, spears or (today) guns.
spears ~ long sticks with sharp ends that soldiers used as weapons of war.
BC ~ years before Christ was born.
Babylonian ~ a person from the nation called Babylon or anything that has a relationship with Babylon.
prophecy ~ a message from God; a gift of the Holy Spirit.
disaster ~ when something very bad happens.
AD ~ years after Christ was born.
Lord ~ a title for God, to show that he is over all people and things.
LORD ~ ‘LORD’ is the special name that God gave to himself. It probably means ‘always God’. This name has a relationship with the special promises that God gave to his people.
throne ~ the special chair for the king.