Ezekiel 26

Introduction 

Ezekiel 26-28:19 contains a series of oracles against the Phoenician city of Tyre. Tyre is believed to be one of the oldest cities in the world, established prior to Israel entering the land of Canaan. Tyre was a wealthy seaport city located on the coast of the Great Sea, north of Israel. Tyre still exists today, and is the fourth largest city in Lebanon. 

Tyre was included among the region of land that was given to the Israelite tribe of Asher as its inheritance when Israel conquered Canaan (Joshua 19:29). However, the Israelites did not completely drive out the people of Tyre, and therefore the city did not remain under their control. 

After King David conquered Jerusalem, Hiram the king of Tyre sent him messengers, laborers, and materials to build his house. This affirmed to David that God had established him as king over Israel, and that He had exalted His kingdom for the sake of His people Israel (2 Samuel 5:12).

When Solomon became king of Israel, King Hiram sent messengers, materials, and labor to help construct the temple because he had always loved David, and because he had observed from Solomon that God had given him a wise son to reign over "this great people" (1 Kings 5:1-11).

Tyre worshiped false gods which infiltrated Israel and led to their idolatry against the one true God. Ahab, king of Israel, married Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Tyre and Sidon. Jezebel is described in the Bible as being exceedingly wicked, and a murderer of the prophets. She inspired Ahab to also be wicked and to lead Israel in Baal worship (1 Kings 16:31; 18:4; 21:25-26). To correct the problem, God sent prophets, including Ezekiel, to warn Tyre that He was going to destroy them because of their wickedness. 

During Nebuchadnezzar's conquest, he laid seige against Tyre for thirteen years (586-573 B.C.). Evidently Tyre was not easy for Babylonian troops to overthrow. This was because Tyre was comprised of two parts - the mainland, and a small island about half a mile off shore. The island portion was fortified with high walls around it, making it difficult to capture by land or sea. Nebuchadnezzar attempted to cut off Tyre's supply of food and other provisions in order to starve them into submission. They finally surrendered, but not by military conquest, and at great expense to the Babylonians. 

It is uncertain if King Ithobaal III of Tyre died at some point during the siege, or if he was replaced as part of the terms of their surrender. His son, Baal II succeeded him as king and became a vassal to Babylon.

After Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians in 539 B.C., the Achaemenid Empire controlled the region including Tyre for two centuries. During this time, the scattered Israelites were released from captivity and were permitted to return to Judah if they wished. Initially, about 50,000 Judeans returned. Later, an unknown number returned, including Ezra and Nehemiah. Those who returned rebuilt the city, the walls, and the temple. 

During this time, Judah was once again profaning the Sabbath by treading wine presses, bringing in sheaves, loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and "all kinds of burdens" which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. Men of Tyre are mentioned as one of the merchants who were bringing fish and other goods into Jerusalem to sell to the Judeans. Nehemiah rebuked Judah for the evil they were committing, and ordered that the city gates be shut on the Sabbath, in order to keep the merchants out of the city. The merchants encamped outside of the gates a couple of times, until Nehemiah threatened them not to do so or else he would lay hands on them (Nehemiah 13:15-21).

Later, Alexander the Great of Macedonia rose to power, taking control of most of the Achaemenid Empire. However, Tyre remained outside of his control. In an attempt to avoid an attack, Tyre sent a delegation to meet with Alexander to propose an alliance. However, Alexander countered their offer by requesting that they allow him to offer a sacrifice to their god, Melqart, whom the Greeks identified with the god, Hercacles, whom Alexander claimed he was descended from.

The temple of Melqart was located within the fortified city on the island, therefore the Tyrians were concerned about allowing Alexander and his troops into the city, for fear that he would not leave and that he would overtake the city. When Tyre declined his request and suggested that he could offer his sacrifice in the old city on the mainland, Alexander became outraged and threatened to lay siege them. 

Tyre continued to refuse Alexander and they killed the envoys he sent, so using the rubble from the ruins of the old city from Nebuchadnezzar's destruction two centuries earlier, he built a causeway to the island, which he used to penetrate the walls of the city by land. With the aid of King Cyrus of Persia who joined him, and the other Phoenician cities that had surrendered to him, Alexander was able to build a navy of 223 ships, which he used to surround the island. Alexandrian troops slaughtered 6,000 Tyrian defenders, and 2,000 who had survived were nailed to trees and posts on the beaches until they died. The Romans later adopted this same method of crucifixion to prosecute criminals and rebels.

30,000 Tyrian citizens were sold into slavery by Alexander, and an estimated 15,000 were secretly smuggled out of the city during the attack by Phoenicians who were believed to have been relatives or friends of the Tyrian citizens, who were forced to serve in the Alexandrian military when they surrendered to him. 

Alexander leveled Tyre, reducing it to a pile of rubble. It later became an important commercial center under the Romans, however Carthage became the primary city of the Phoenicians, and a rival of Rome for dominance of the Mediterranean region. 

During Jesus's ministry, He proclaimed judgement upon several Jewish cities for their rejection of Him, saying that if His mighty works would have been done in the pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago. He continued by saying that it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgement than it will be for them (Matthew 11:21-22).

Matthew 15:21-28 provides an account of Jesus going to the region of Tyre and Sidon, where He healed a Canaanite's daughter who was demon possessed. The reason that He healed her was because the Canaanite had faith like Abraham, showing herself to be of "the lost sheep of Israel ", whom Jesus was sent for. Her faith was evidence to Jesus that she was a child of God, and an heir of the promise, as defined in Galatians 3:26-29.

When the early church scattered from Jerusalem because of Jewish persecution, some of the Christians went to Tyre (Phoenicia) and likely planted a church there (Acts 11:19).

Paul visited Tyre on his third missionary journey and found disciples there, whom he stayed with for seven days, proving that the church did in fact exist in Tyre. 

In the 7th century A.D., Tyre was conquered by Islamic invaders. During the First Crusade in 1124 A.D., the Latin church defeated the Muslims, taking Tyre, and it remained in their control until 1291 when Islamic forces drove out the Crusaders. Tyre remained desolate and uninhabited for the next several centuries.

Late in the 19th century, descendants of the Arabs who settled the land after the death of Muhammad, returned and began to rebuild the population. Throughout the late 1900's and early 2000's, the region was devastated by continuous war, with the Lebanese Civil War from the mid 1970's to 1990, and then the Lebanon War in 2006.

Today, Tyre is the fourth largest city in Lebanon, and it is the capital of the Tyre District in the South Governoret. In 2016, there were an estimated 200,000 inhabitants within the urban area of Tyre. Three of the twelve Palestinian refugee camps are in Lebanon. 

Ezekiel 26:1-2

"In the eleventh year, on the first day of the month" (Ezekiel 26:1) - 

The fifth date given in Ezekiel. The eleventh year of the exile. The number of the month is not given, therefore the given dates range from April 23, 587 B.C. to April 13, 586 B.C. These dates pose a problem, because the reason that is given for Tyre's judgement is that they were gloating because Jerusalem had been destroyed, yet it did not fall until July 18, 586 and it was not burned until August 14, 586, several months after the timeline that is given. Scholars believe that the text was possibly miscopied, and should read, "In the eleventh month of the twelfth year, on the first day of the month", which would be February 3, 585, six months after the temple was burned. However, if the dates given are correct, then God is prophesying through Ezekiel what Tyre's response will be when Jerusalem falls, and how God, in turn, will judge them.

"the word of the Lord came to me, saying..." (Ezekiel 26:1)

Ezekiel begins with this phrase in each of the seven oracles against the nations in chapters 25-32.

Ezekiel was a true prophet of God through whom the Lord spoke, and His word will not return to Him void, but it accomplishes what He pleases, and it prospers in the things for which He sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

'“Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! She is broken who was the gateway of the peoples; now she is turned over to me; I shall be filled; she is laid waste.’' (Ezekiel 26:2).

Tyre was happy to see Jerusalem fall and laid waste. Jerusalem is called "the gateway of the peoples" here because of its geographical location, its political importance, and the central role it played in international trade.  

"Aha!" is used again here in Ezekiel 26:2, just as it is used in Ezekiel 25:3 against Ammon, in Psalm 40:15, and in Psalm 70:2-3: 

'Say to the Ammonites, ‘Hear the word of the Lord God ! Thus says the Lord : “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into captivity, ' (Ezekiel 25:3).

'Let them be confounded because of their shame, who say to me, “Aha, aha!”' (Psalms 40:15).

'Let them be ashamed and confounded Who seek my life; Let them be turned back and confused Who desire my hurt. Let them be turned back because of their shame, Who say, “Aha, aha!”' (Psalms 70:2-3)

We are given an explanation of what "Aha!" means in Proverbs 17:5:

'He who mocks the poor reproaches his Maker; He who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.' (Proverbs 17:5).

Because these nations were glad to see calamity come upon Judah, they were going to be punished.

We are warned not to rejoice when our enemy falls, or God may be displeased and turn His wrath from him: 

'Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart be glad when he stumbles; lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away His wrath from him.' (Proverbs 24:17-18).

Under the new covenant, the ekklesia is  commanded by their King to "love your enemies", and to "love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 5:44; Matthew 22:39).

The apostle Paul's teaching of love agrees with Jesus's, as well as the Old Testament passages above:

[4] 'Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. [6] Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. [7] It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. ' (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

"Love" used in these passages is the Greek word "agape," which is well defined by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. As we see there, agape is not a feeling, but an act of will. It involves faithfulness, commitment, and sacrifice. 

The ekklesia, who are Jesus's disciples, are to commit to faithfully, and sacrificially show preference to what God wants, preference to their neighbor in the same way they want their neighbor to show preference to them,  and preference to their enemies, whether they feel love or not. Agape love is not a feeling but an action, and in order to agape love, we do not have to like the person or their behavior. We choose to love because God loves us and Jesus is our model, "but God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).

Prayer for our enemies, and for those who persecute us is agape love, because we may not like the person or the group we are praying for, and we may not want to pray for them, or feel like praying for them, but if we choose and commit to do it anyway, then we are sacrificing our desires for God's and being faithful to Him by doing what He wants us to do, rather than what we want to do. This is the first and the second Greatest Commandments.

Sadly, many people within churches today, hope and pray for the demise of opposing nations and people groups by way of war and destruction, rather than praying that they are transformed by Christ who has all authority in heaven and on earth . There is clear evidence of this among Christians as the war in Israel continues, and both Jews and Palestinians are killed. Many Christians believe that the land that is currently occupied by the Palestinians belongs to the Jews, and that this war is fulfilling prophecy and ushering in the coming of the long awaited Antichrist. Due to this belief, many Christians are in support and have hopes of Israel destroying the Palestinian people in order to gain control of the entire region. This is not a Biblical response, and in fact, according to Scripture, it displeases the Lord and it will not go unpunished.

Even if the support is for Israel to destroy Hamas because they are a terrorist organization, Christians should not say, "Aha!", and hope for their calamity, or rejoice and be glad if calamity comes upon them, because it does not matter who the enemy is, according to Scripture, it displeases the Lord, and it will not go unpunished. Christians are commanded by their King to love their enemies and to love their neighbors as themselves. Vengeance is the Lord's (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30), and the Lord will judge His people (Deuteronomy 32:36; Hebrews 10:30).

A Christian response is to pray and seek the Lord. It is to abhor what is evil; to hold fast to what is good; to love one another with brotherly affection; to outdo one another in showing honor; to serve the Lord; to rejoice in hope; to be patient in tribulation; to be constant in prayer; to contribute to the needs of the saints, to show hospitality; to bless those who persecute you; to rejoice with those who rejoice; to weep with those who weep; to live in harmony with one another; to not be haughty but to associate with the lowly; to never be wise in your own sight; to repay no one evil for evil; to give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all; to do whatever you can to live peaceably with all; to never avenge yourself, but leave it to the wrath of God; to feed and give a drink to your hungry and thirsty enemy; and to not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:9-21).

Ezekiel 26:3-6

'“Therefore thus says the Lord God : ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre’' (Ezekiel 26:3).

Because Tyre was rejoicing in the destruction of Jerusalem, God said, "I am against you, Tyre." He had made them His enemy. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Joel, Amos, and Zechariah also prophesied against Tyre. 

When the disciples came to Jesus because someone other than them were casting out demons in His name, He said to them not to forbid him from doing so, because if they are doing miracles in His name, then they are unable to speak evil of Him. Therefore, he was not against Jesus and His disciples, but was on their side. If someone gives them a cup of water because they belong to Christ, Jesus promises that he will not lose his reward (Mark 9:38-40). 

If that is what Jesus said about those who are not against us, but are on our side, then rationally speaking, those who do not belong to Christ are against Him/us, and are not on His/our side. They are His enemies. It is frightening to think about God being against you and being an enemy of God.

"and will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea causes its waves to come up" (Ezekiel 26:3).

Babylon will be one of many nations throughout history whom God would cause to come against Tyre. The fortified city was an island, therefore the many nations coming against her likened to the waves constantly beating against its walls. 

"And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock" (Ezekiel 26:4). 

The many nations will eventually break through the city walls and bring her to ruin. 

"It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord ; ‘it shall become plunder for the nations" (Ezekiel 26:5).

The Lord spoke it, or promised that it would be, and therefore it was going to happen. This prophecy was likely fulfilled after the Muslims drove the Crusaders out of the region in 1291 A.D., because it was uninhabited for several centuries after that, and only occupied by fishermen. According to one article, "the economy of the town was upset by the unrest of the late 20th century. Fishing remains a major source of income", indicating that fishing within the region, was and still is, important to Tyre's economy.

"Also her daughter villages which are in the fields shall be slain by the sword. Then they shall know that I am the Lord ’' (Ezekiel 26:6).

The many allies of Tyre including, Cyprus, Rhodes, Malta, Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, the Balearic Islands and Africa, would also be slaughtered in judgement. They viewed Tyre as their headquarters, and offered sacrifices to Hercacles.

When the sword of judgement comes upon Tyre and her allies, then they would recognize that God is the Lord. 

[7] “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers. [8] He will kill with the sword your daughters on the mainland. He will set up a siege wall against you and throw up a mound against you, and raise a roof of shields against you. [9] He will direct the shock of his battering rams against your walls, and with his axes he will break down your towers. [10] His horses will be so many that their dust will cover you. Your walls will shake at the noise of the horsemen and wagons and chariots, when he enters your gates as men enter a city that has been breached. [11] With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your mighty pillars will fall to the ground. [12] They will plunder your riches and loot your merchandise. They will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses. Your stones and timber and soil they will cast into the midst of the waters. [13] And I will stop the music of your songs, and the sound of your lyres shall be heard no more. [14] 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"  (‭‭Ezekiel 26:7-14).

These verses describe Nebuchadnezzar, and how he is going to lay siege and conquer Tyre.

Nebuchadnezzar was the instrument that God used to judge and destroy the nations described in Ezekiel. God described him here as "king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen, and a host of many soldiers." God had exalted him to this position of power, and had given him a nearly invincible army, in order to fulfill His purposes.

Nebuchadnezzar laid seige against Tyre for thirteen years (586-573 B.C.), after which time Tyre surrendered because Nebuchadnezzar had cut off their food and water supply. Nebuchadnezzar gained control over Tyre, but it seems that the city was not totally destroyed and made into "a bare rock" until Alexander the Great conquered it 241 years later in 332 B.C. 

The prophecy that Tyre "shall never be rebuilt" in verse 14 is difficult because it was rebuilt by the Romans and then again later by descendants of Muhammad after the Crusades. Today it is the capital of Lebanon, and the fourth largest city in Lebanon. 

Just speculation, but perhaps the meaning is that Tyre will never again become the wealthy, commercial,  merchant seaport, or stronghold, that it once was. What was once a fortified island that defended itself against two of the most powerful empires in the world, Babylonian and Alexandrian armies, is now a peninsula that is largely marketed for tourism, and fishing is one of its primary industries. The city has never again achieved the power or wealth that it once had. 

Ezekiel 26:15-21

[15] “Thus says the Lord God to Tyre: ‘Will the coastlands not shake at the sound of your fall, when the wounded cry, when slaughter is made in the midst of you? [16] Then all the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones, lay aside their robes, and take off their embroidered garments; they will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble every moment, and be astonished at you. [17] And they will take up a lamentation for you, and say to you: “How you have perished, O one inhabited by seafaring men, O renowned city, Who was strong at sea, She and her inhabitants, Who caused their terror to be on all her inhabitants! [18] Now the coastlands tremble on the day of your fall; Yes, the coastlands by the sea are troubled at your departure.” ’ (‭‭Ezekiel 26:15-18)

Being a major seaport and trade center, Tyre's fall would greatly impact the region. Neighboring cities, as well as travelers and merchants who came to Tyre for trade, would have to go elsewhere. Furthermore, when they saw Tyre fall by the sword, they would be terrified and astonished because she was strong and renowned. The entire region would be troubled by her departure. 

Ezekiel 26:19-21

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[19] “For thus says the Lord God: ‘When I make you a desolate city, like cities that are not inhabited, when I bring the deep upon you, and great waters cover you, [20] then I will bring you down with those who descend into the Pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lowest part of the earth, in places desolate from antiquity, with those who go down to the Pit, so that you may never be inhabited; and I shall establish glory in the land of the living. [21] I will make you a terror, and you shall be no more; though you are sought for, you will never be found again,’ says the Lord God” (Ezekiel 26:19-21).

God promises that He will make Tyre a desolate city, bringing it down into the Pit, the lowest part of the earth. The Pit is the dwelling place of the dead, the grave, used to describe the utter destruction of the city, which was fulfilled by Alexander the Great.