Gracious God, your love and power are beyond measure. Thank you that I see them expressed in your grace and mercy toward me each day.
Read ISAIAH 23
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
A Prophecy Against Tyre
23 A prophecy against Tyre:
Wail, you ships of Tarshish!
For Tyre is destroyed
and left without house or harbor.
From the land of Cyprus
word has come to them.
2 Be silent, you people of the island
and you merchants of Sidon,
whom the seafarers have enriched.
3 On the great waters
came the grain of the Shihor;
the harvest of the Nile[a] was the revenue of Tyre,
and she became the marketplace of the nations.
4 Be ashamed, Sidon, and you fortress of the sea,
for the sea has spoken:
“I have neither been in labor nor given birth;
I have neither reared sons nor brought up daughters.”
5 When word comes to Egypt,
they will be in anguish at the report from Tyre.
6 Cross over to Tarshish;
wail, you people of the island.
7 Is this your city of revelry,
the old, old city,
whose feet have taken her
to settle in far-off lands?
8 Who planned this against Tyre,
the bestower of crowns,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traders are renowned in the earth?
9 The Lord Almighty planned it,
to bring down her pride in all her splendor
and to humble all who are renowned on the earth.
10 Till[b] your land as they do along the Nile,
Daughter Tarshish,
for you no longer have a harbor.
11 The Lord has stretched out his hand over the sea
and made its kingdoms tremble.
He has given an order concerning Phoenicia
that her fortresses be destroyed.
12 He said, “No more of your reveling,
Virgin Daughter Sidon, now crushed!
“Up, cross over to Cyprus;
even there you will find no rest.”
13 Look at the land of the Babylonians,[c]
this people that is now of no account!
The Assyrians have made it
a place for desert creatures;
they raised up their siege towers,
they stripped its fortresses bare
and turned it into a ruin.
14 Wail, you ships of Tarshish;
your fortress is destroyed!
15 At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the span of a king’s life. But at the end of these seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute:
16 “Take up a harp, walk through the city,
you forgotten prostitute;
play the harp well, sing many a song,
so that you will be remembered.”
17 At the end of seventy years, the Lord will deal with Tyre. She will return to her lucrative prostitution and will ply her trade with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth. 18 Yet her profit and her earnings will be set apart for the Lord; they will not be stored up or hoarded. Her profits will go to those who live before the Lord, for abundant food and fine clothes.
Footnotes
- Isaiah 23:3 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scrolls Sidon, / who cross over the sea; / your envoys 3 are on the great waters. / The grain of the Shihor, / the harvest of the Nile,
- Isaiah 23:10 Dead Sea Scrolls and some Septuagint manuscripts; Masoretic Text Go through
- Isaiah 23:13 Or Chaldeans
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘… my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.’1 Thank God for how he has provided for you.
Think Further
Because of my work with Scripture Union and other ministries over the years, I have come to know some wealthy people and had the opportunity of inviting them to contribute to God’s work. Most are humble and generous stewards of their resources, but I’ve noticed that some, especially those who attain wealth early in their careers, develop a curious kind of pride: their fast success makes them believe they are experts in everything. In such cases I’ve found it challenging to build a genuine relationship.
The people of Tyre seem to have developed some of this same tendency. Known as the ‘market-place of the nations’ (v. 3), its merchants were princes, ‘renowned in the earth’ (v. 8): young and rich. We often think that the main temptation associated with money is greed, and the Bible gives us ample evidence of this,2 but another and arguably more powerful temptation of wealth is pride: ‘I’m rich, therefore I’m great.’ As Isaiah makes clear, God was planning to bring an end to both errors (v. 9). For those of us who live in relatively wealthy Western countries, the message to Tyre, with a look back on history, leads us to a sobering conclusion: wealthy, proud nations rise and fall. That is one more reason to set our minds and hearts on things above.3
There’s an overlooked detail in Jesus’ parable about the rich fool.4 Jesus starts, ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest’ (italics added). What he’s saying is God gives us even the opportunity and ability to produce wealth, so the attitude that ‘I did it all myself’ is completely wrong. If God has entrusted you with wealth, a prerequisite to good stewardship is the ability to avoid greed and pride.
Apply
Which is a greater challenge for you, avoiding greed or pride? Why? Where are you being tested in these areas now? Ask for God’s help.
Closing prayer
Gracious Father, everything I have comes from you, everything I have achieved has been because of you. Help me to make that truth my constant reality, ready to give generously to others out of what you have so freely given me.
Last Updated on November 16, 2024 by kingstar
