Ezekiel · chapter 26 of 48
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Ezekiel 26 announces judgment on Tyre, the great Phoenician trading city that celebrated Jerusalem's fall because of the profit it expected. The Lord promises to bring many nations against it like waves of the sea, and specifically Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who will besiege it. The city will become a bare rock where nets are spread, and the coastlands will tremble.
Tyre was a Phoenician port city, with its main part built on an island near the coast, famous for its trade and wealth. After chapter 25, which judged Judah's immediate neighbors, Ezekiel devotes three chapters to Tyre (26 to 28), the longest oracle against any nation. The reason is clear: when Jerusalem fell, Tyre saw a business opportunity, not a cause for sorrow.
The oracle is dated to the eleventh year, on the first day of the month, probably soon after Jerusalem's fall. Tyre had said with satisfaction that the gateway of the peoples was broken and that it would now grow rich from the ruin of the holy city. The Lord answers that he is against Tyre and will bring up many nations against it, as the sea raises its waves.
Its walls will be torn down, its very dust scraped away, and it will become a bare rock, a place where fishermen spread their nets. Then the Lord names the instrument: Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, king of kings, who will come from the north with horses, chariots and a vast army. He will attack with battering rams, build siege ramps and enter the gates like a conqueror. He will plunder its wealth and tear down its luxurious houses.
The coastlands and the princes of the sea will come down from their thrones and tremble, and they will raise a lament over the mighty city that has fallen. At the end the Lord brings Tyre down to the pit with the dead of ancient times, never to be inhabited again; then they will know that he is the Lord.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Tyre rejoiced that Jerusalem had fallen because it saw a chance to get rich. This is one reason for the judgment: not so much cruelty as greed that profits from other people's pain.
The Lord declares that he is against Tyre and will bring many nations up against it like waves of the sea. Its walls will fall and the city will be left a bare rock. The picture of the sea sweeping everything away shows that no one, however rich, is stronger than God.
God names Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, as the one who will come against Tyre with a great army. A pagan king becomes the instrument of God's judgment, showing that the story of the nations is in his hands.
Tyre will become a bare rock, a place for spreading nets, and will not be rebuilt, because the Lord has spoken. In its context the prophecy announces the end of the city's power and wealth before the judgment of God.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: It rejoiced because it expected to grow rich at the fallen city's expense. — Ezekiel 26:2
Answer: To waves of the sea that rise one after another. — Ezekiel 26:3
Answer: Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who comes from the north. — Ezekiel 26:7
Answer: A bare rock, a place where nets are spread. — Ezekiel 26:4-5
Answer: They come down from their thrones, tremble and raise a lament over it. — Ezekiel 26:16-17
Answer: To the pit, with the dead of ancient times. — Ezekiel 26:20
Ezekiel 26 invites us to examine where we find security. Tyre trusted its wealth, its harbor and its alliances, and all of it vanished before God's judgment. In a class or small group you can ask: what makes me feel invincible, such as my job, my savings or my position? None of these can take the place that belongs to the Lord alone.
It also warns against the temptation to see other people's misfortune as an opportunity. A Christian who works in business or any trade is called not to profit from someone's pain but to help the person going through a crisis.
Ezekiel 26 describes in detail the end of Tyre as a proud commercial city. Chapter 27 continues with a funeral lament, the picture of Tyre as a magnificent ship that ends up sunk in the sea.
Historians report that Nebuchadnezzar besieged Tyre for many years, and that centuries later Alexander the Great took it in 332 BC. Interpreters discuss how to relate the chapter's details to those events, but agree that the city lost its power and its place in history. The oracle is best read as an announcement of God's judgment rather than a precise timetable.
In the prophets God directs empires as instruments of judgment without approving their conduct. The same kings who carry out his will will also answer to him. It is a way of saying that history is not out of control.