Ezekiel 27
COMMENTARY:
: 4 Your borders are in the midst of the seas, your builders have perfected your beauty. (3308 “beauty” [yophiy] means desirability, or attractive appearance.)
DEVOTION: The word is used three times in relationship to this nation. The nation of Tyre thought they had everything. They had wealth. They had buildings that others only wished they had. They had a market where everyone traded their merchandise. They had it made.
Ezekiel was told by the LORD to sing a funeral song for the nation. It was so wrapped up in all its wealth and attractive appearance that it forgot about the LORD.
Everything the LORD did was to show the nations that HE was in control. So often they thought they were in control of their own destiny. They acted independent of the LORD. The nation of Israel was to be a witness to the world for the LORD. They were to worship only HIM. There were many religions but they were all false. The LORD wanted the world to know that HE was exclusive. HE would accept no blending of false religion with the TRUE revelation of HIM.
Tyre was going to be judged for their treatment of Israel. They thought they were on top of the world and could never be defeated. They were going to be judged and their appearance to the world would be forgotten. They would become a place where their entire merchant would cry over in the future. First their merchants would cry but then they would move on to other places.
We can observe this in our world. There are nations who seem to have everything. They have the wealth. They have beautiful houses, cars and possessions. But then something happens and they lose it all. Their so-called friends from other nations move on to other people. Allies only last for a short time. All nations are still just looking out for themselves.
This is true of individuals as well. If we are counting on people staying with us when things get rough, we need to think again. Only those who are true friends stick around during the hard times. Many of us have those kinds of friends. Some don’t!!
The LORD is always faithful to HIS children. We need to be faithful to our friends. However, we need to be faithful to the LORD first and foremost. Do each of us trusting in the LORD or are we trusting in others? Let us not fall into the trap of the people of Tyre.
CHALLENGE: We shouldn’t trust in our exterior but check out our interior. This applied to a nation and to an individual. Our beauty should be internal first.
: 13 Javan, Tubal, and Meshech, they were your merchants; they traded the persons of men and vessels of brass in your market. (5414 “traded” [nathan] means give, deliver, to transfer possession of something concrete or abstract to somebody, to hand down, to surrender, sell, or yield produce.)
DEVOTION: Here we find in Tyrus that they had a place where they set up a fair or market place for the purpose of trading with people from other countries. This was the place to go to find whatever you wanted from whomever you wanted for a price.
There were even people for sale for a price. They were called slaves or merchandise. Human trafficking is not something new to our day and age it has been going on since the beginning of time.
Joseph was traded by his brothers for a price and then sold in Egypt for another price. Today we have people who are sold for other purposes around the world. There are men and women who are sold for sexual purposes at most large events in every country of the world.
We need to realize that this is wrong and that the LORD was going to judge this nation for its sins. We are going to be judged for our sins as well. One of our sins is the abortion of babies for profit by organizations that claim they are just giving women a choice.
I had a young lady in one of my churches that had three abortions and really never got over the guilt that it caused in her. She would call me and talk about how it bothered her. Some women feel no guilt at all but others do.
The LORD is going to have judge each nation for their sins. One of ours is shedding innocent blood. There should be no trading of innocent blood whether it is babies or older human beings. God created us to help one another not to use one another for our personal profit.
We need to value all human life. All lives matter to the LORD. HE is going to hold each of us accountable for how we treat our fellow human beings. One of the sins is to not share the truth of the GOSPEL with those that we love.
CHALLENGE: We need to realize that we are accountable to the LORD for our contacts with other human beings.
: 27 Your riches, and your fairs, your merchandise, your mariners, and your pilots, your calkers, and the occupiers of your merchandise, and all your men of war, that are in you, and in all your company which is in the midst of you, shall fall into the midst of the seas in the day of your ruin. (4658 “ruin” [mappeleth] means overthrown, carcass, what falls down, collapse, fall, downfall, or shipwreck.)
DEVOTION: The pilots of the nation were those who were wise. Some people are very smart in the book sense but not in the life sense.
The people of Tyre were depending on what the wise scholars of the nation had to say regarding their future and beliefs. They were basing their wisdom on false religion and wealth. They instructed the people that everything was good because they had businesses that were growing and religion that could help them live their life.
This was a wrong basis for living. They advised their leaders to mistreat the children of Israel. They knew that the LORD was judging them for their sins but they were not afraid of the LORD.
Today we can find people who are religious who trust in their wealth to get them through life. They are not thinking about the future just the present.
Christians should not fall into this trap. We should not settle into a lifestyle with our possessions and occupation that leaves out the LORD. Both of these things can be taken from us and then what will we do? Will be blame God for being unfair to us? Or will we realize that the LORD is using those occasions to get our attention.
Our responsibility is to praise the LORD for all that is happening in our life. We should not depend on our own talent or possessions but be totally dependent on the LORD for our future and hope.
Any nation or people who leave the LORD out of the equation there will be judgment coming. Our nation needs to realize this truth but it is dependent on believers to lead those around them in the right direction regarding proper thinking.
CHALLENGE: Watch who you are listening to in your daily life. Meet with the LORD for your daily wisdom that comes from above.
: 36 The merchants among the people shall his at you; you shall be a terror, and never shall be any more. (1091 “terror” [ballahah} means horror, an entity that causes terror or pain, dreadful event, calamity, destruction, or an emotion or attitude that causes great distress or fear, possibly with some implication of a startling or suddenness of terror.)
DEVOTION: Here we have something happening to a nation that others have traded with for many years. The LORD judged the nation and everyone was stunned. They didn’t know what to think of a nation all of a sudden no longer being in existence.
They didn’t realize how powerful God was and when HE worked it surprised them that HE was that powerful. They had hurt the children of Israel and the LORD was dealing with them.
God used the nation of Babylonians to judge Tyre for their actions against Israel. We have to remember that the LORD can use anyone and anything to judge those who are disobedient to HIS commands. HE will judge those who have mistreated believers in the end times with a final judgment into Hell for eternity.
When Christ comes back in the end times HE will defeat any and all nations that have been disobedient to the LORD to set up HIS reign on earth.
Judgement is coming to any nation that is disobedient to the commands of the LORD. HE will even judge our nation for their treatment of believers.
CHALLENGE: We need to trust in the LORD to judge those who mistreat us and allow HIM to do it in HIS time and in HIS way. Our prayers should always be for the salvation of our enemies.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Word of the LORDverse 1
Lamentationverse 2
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal)verse 1
Lord – Adonai (Owner, Master)verse 3
GOD – Jehovahverse 3
Lord GODverse 3
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Tyrusverses 2-36
Merchants of the people for many isles
Said I am of perfect beauty
Borders are in the midst of the seas
Builders have perfected your beauty
Made all ship boards of fir trees of Senirz
Made masts of cedars from Lebanon
Oars of Bashan
Benches of ivory from Ashurites
Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt
Persia and Lud and Phut were their army
Mariners
Cry bitterly, cast up dust on their heads
Wallow themselves in the ashes
Make themselves utterly bald
Gird them with sackcloth
Weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing
destroyed in the midst of the sea
All the inhabitants of the isles shall be
astonished at you- their kings
shall be sore afraid
Never shall be any more
Senirverse 5
Lebanonverse 5
Bashanverse 6
Ashuritesverse 6
Isles of Chittimverse 6
Egyptverse 7
Isles of Elishahverse 7
Zidon (mariners)verse 8
Arvad (mariners)verses 8, 11
were walls for Tyrus
Wise men of Tyrus (pilots)verse 8
Ancients of Gebalverse 9
wise men were in your calkers
mariners
Persia (army)verse 10
Lud (army)verse 10
Phut (army)verse 10
Gammadims – in towers of Tyrusverse 11
they made your beauty perfect
Tarshish (merchants)verses 12, 25
Traded in their fairs
Javan – traded personsverses 13, 19
Tubal – traded personsverse 13
Meshech – traded personsverse 13
House of Togarmahverse 14
Traded in their fairs with horses
And horsemen and mules
Dedanverses 15, 20
brought horns of ivory and ebony
precious clothes for chariots
Syriaverse 16
brought emeralds, purple, broidered
work and fine linen, coral and
agate
Minnithverse 17
Pannagverse 17
Damascusverse 18
wine of Helbon and white wool
Javan – occupied in fairs, bright iron, cassia
calamusverse 19
Arabiaverse 21
Princes of Kedarverse 21
lambs, rams and goats
Shebaverses 22, 23
occupied fairs with chief of all spices,
and with all precious stones,
and gold
Raamahverse 22
Haranverse 23
Cannehverse 23
Edenverse 23
Asshurverse 23
blue clothes, broidered work, chests
of rice apparel, bound with cords,
and made of cedar
Chilmadverse 23
Kings of the earthverse 33
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Prideverse 3
Trade the persons of menverse 13
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Son of man = Ezekielverse 2
Lamentation for Tyrus
Judahverse 17
Brought wheat of Minnith and
Pannag – honey, oil and balm
Land of Israelverse 17
Danverse 19
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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