[Sailboat & Island, Bar Harbor, 2009, JAVanDevender]
Ezekiel 26:15-17 " Thus says the Lord GOD to Tyre: 'Will the coast lands 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!
Ezekiel Chapters 26-28 are a fascinating glimpse into an intriguing and little discussed ancient civilization. Tyre was a mercantile city built on a geographic island and on economic might of its sea-faring merchants. In these chapters we hear of their wealth, the fabulous trade for exotic goods, the sensuous commerce and cultivation of money as the source of power. Strategically positioned she was the natural intersection of land & sea for trade from both East and West. Here was sophistication and hard-edged business. Here was elementary 'capitalism' and the idea that 'business is business.'
Thus, in many ways, Tyre had much in common with the modern United States. As an intersection and way point for goods... as a commercial power unequaled (still, though losing fast) in the world... our culture hinges on "the Almighty Dollar" and its range of impact. We, like those of Tyre, have grown accustomed to always coming out on top... that the economic dependency on our markets by other nations will mean that we are "too big to fail.'
But aside from false optimism, the sensuous culture inherent in a warped "commerce" mentality separates people from the truth of their own deviancy. As goods and comforts increase there is less and less satisfaction in them. The human spirit is restless... always looking for its eternal home. Thing purchased with money never satisfy and when that hunger drives a spiral of ever increasing sensuousness, it is not too far down the path to where the true spirit, not of Tyre, but Babylon emerges.
In Rev. 18 the words of Ezekiel are not repeated verbatim, but so closely paralleled that their interdependence seems obvious.
Revelation 18:9-13 " The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, "standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.' ¶ "And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: "merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; "and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men.
Tyre was "Babylon" in her day... Babylon became "Babylon" in hers... Rome became "Babylon" in her time... and we may be living in "Babylon" today. If so, the hand of judgment will come upon us in the same manner as it came upon our predecessors. Only a wholesale turning to the Lord our God can offer hope. He is faithful and just to forgive, both men and nations. May He show mercy on us.
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