EZEKIEL LESSON 28
We will begin this lesson in Ezekiel 26:1 "And it came to pass in
the eleventh year, in the first [day] of the month, [that] the word of
the LORD came unto me, saying,"
We have now passed the destruction of Jerusalem, and
Nebuchadnezzar has moved on to other countries to conquer. This is a
new prophecy, and a more extensive explanation than the countries we
have just read of.
Ezekiel 26:2 "Son of man, because that Tyrus hath said against
Jerusalem, Aha, she is broken [that was] the gates of the people: she
is turned unto me: I shall be replenished, [now] she is laid waste:"
Just before her destruction, Tyre was one of the richest cities
in the east. We find they were a land of merchants. Their wealth came
from their trade. Tyre was like the others, who were pleased to see
the fall of Jerusalem. God will not bless anyone who is opposed to
Jerusalem. They were proud of their wealth, and did not want to be
second to Jerusalem in popularity.
Ezekiel 26:3 "Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I [am]
against thee, O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against
thee, as the sea causeth his waves to come up."
They were a land of merchant ships. Tyre was an ancient city
located on the Mediterranean Sea. They were actually on an island just
off the coast. The warning is given to Tyre, as it had been given to
Jerusalem, before their fall. It will seem like waves of the sea, when
the great Babylonian army, with many nations as fellow soldiers, come
against Tyre.
Ezekiel 26:4 "And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and
break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make
her like the top of a rock."
It was difficult to attack her, and bring her walls down, because
of the lack of land for the soldiers to come on to attack her. It
matters not, how great Tyre is in the sight of mankind, she will fall
when the judgement of God comes upon her. This verse is speaking of a
devastation that leaves her pretty desolate.
Ezekiel 26:5 "It shall be [a place for] the spreading of nets in
the midst of the sea: for I have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD: and
it shall become a spoil to the nations."
This is speaking of the great habitation leaving here, and it
becoming a fishing village. It was never completely annihilated, but
it was devastated to the point of not becoming a great city again. God
had spoken a curse upon her, and that is what really happens to her.
Ezekiel 26:6 "And her daughters which [are] in the field shall be
slain by the sword; and they shall know that I [am] the LORD."
This is speaking of some cities on the coast who have had
friendly relations with her.
Ezekiel 26:7 "For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will bring
upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the
north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and
companies, and much people."
The cities on the coast will be no match for this vast army of
Nebuchadnezzar's, who is equipped with horses, and chariots, and
everything an army of that day needs. Tyre had not spent their money
on the military. They had gotten rich with their trade, but had not
put together an army to protect themselves. The king of Babylon had a
reputation to go with his military might.
Ezekiel 26:8 "He shall slay with the sword thy daughters in the
field: and he shall make a fort against thee, and cast a mount against
thee, and lift up the buckler against thee."
The army from Babylon will destroy anything standing in its way,
including the cities in alliance with Tyre. The army of Nebuchadnezzar
has no compassion. They just kill anyone who gets in their way.
Ezekiel 26:9 "And he shall set engines of war against thy walls,
and with his axes he shall break down thy towers."
They tore down the walls and gates with battering rams, and cut
down the towers with axes.
Ezekiel 26:10 "By reason of the abundance of his horses their
dust shall cover thee: thy walls shall shake at the noise of the
horsemen, and of the wheels, and of the chariots, when he shall enter
into thy gates, as men enter into a city wherein is made a breach."
This is speaking of a vast army of mounted soldiers. There were,
possibly, thousands of horses and chariots. There were enough to shake
the wall from the noise of the hoofs of the horses. They will break
through where the battering rams broke the wall, and enter in. It will
be like night, because of the dust from the horses' hoofs.
Ezekiel 26:11 "With the hoofs of his horses shall he tread down
all thy streets: he shall slay thy people by the sword, and thy strong
garrisons shall go down to the ground."
After the wall is broken down, the horses will trample down
everything in their way. There will be much death. This affluent
society has not prepared for war, and the army of Nebuchadnezzar will
have no problem killing whoever they see with the sword.
Ezekiel 26:12 "And they shall make a spoil of thy riches, and
make a prey of thy merchandise: and they shall break down thy walls,
and destroy thy pleasant houses: and they shall lay thy stones and thy
timber and thy dust in the midst of the water."
All of their accumulated wealth will, now, go to these captors.
There will be nothing of value left. Their beautiful homes will be
destroyed, and the trash from the destruction will go into the water
surrounding this island.
Ezekiel 26:13 "And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease;
and the sound of thy harps shall be no more heard."
Songs and harps are sounds of merriment. There will be no joy in
this city after this.
Ezekiel 26:14 "And I will make thee like the top of a rock: thou
shalt be [a place] to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more:
for I the LORD have spoken [it], saith the Lord GOD."
This just speaks of the total desolation. A net must be spread
where there is nothing at all left.
Ezekiel 26:15 "Thus saith the Lord GOD to Tyrus; Shall not the
isles shake at the sound of thy fall, when the wounded cry, when the
slaughter is made in the midst of thee?"
We know that this city had been a place of maritime trade. Not
only will Tyre suffer, but all who traded with her. The cities on the
coast, and the islands they served, will suffer, because of their
loss.
Ezekiel 26:16 "Then all the princes of the sea shall come down
from their thrones, and lay away their robes, and put off their
broidered garments: they shall clothe themselves with trembling; they
shall sit upon the ground, and shall tremble at [every] moment, and be
astonished at thee."
This is not speaking of the king, but of the wealthy merchants,
who wore the purple and finery they sold to others. When they see the
destruction from the war, they know there will never be another
merchant fleet to go from here to the world. Their grief will be so
great, they will tremble greatly.
Ezekiel 26:17 "And they shall take up a lamentation for thee, and
say to thee, How art thou destroyed, [that wast] inhabited of
seafaring men, the renowned city, which wast strong in the sea, she
and her inhabitants, which cause their terror [to be] on all that
haunt it!"
This "lamentation" is like a funeral for the death of this city
and all its wealth. They had been a city of renown.
Ezekiel 26:18 "Now shall the isles tremble in the day of thy
fall; yea, the isles that [are] in the sea shall be troubled at thy
departure."
Their life line to merchandise they need will be no more. They
tremble realizing that they, too, will suffer from this fall.
Ezekiel 26:19 "For thus saith the Lord GOD; When I shall make
thee a desolate city, like the cities that are not inhabited; when I
shall bring up the deep upon thee, and great waters shall cover thee;"
This is speaking of total destruction. There are no walls left.
There are no buildings left. The great population is gone. Now, the
waves of the sea just come up, and wash the debris into the sea.
Ezekiel 26:20 "When I shall bring thee down with them that
descend into the pit, with the people of old time, and shall set thee
in the low parts of the earth, in places desolate of old, with them
that go down to the pit, that thou be not inhabited; and I shall set
glory in the land of the living;"
The "pit", here, is speaking of sheol, or Hades, the unseen world
of the dead. Wealth and fame do not keep a person out of hell. They
were in good shape, as the world was concerned, but their souls were
lost. The "people of old time" are, probably, speaking of the people
who died in the flood. It appears from this, that they nearly all die.
They will not remain in the land of the living. Glory, in this
instance, is like life. Life is for the living.
Ezekiel 26:21 "I will make thee a terror, and thou [shalt be] no
[more]: though thou be sought for, yet shalt thou never be found
again, saith the Lord GOD."
This is speaking of death and destruction in the most horrible
sense.
Ezekiel 28 Questions
1. When did Ezekiel receive this prophecy?
2. What had Tyrus said against Jerusalem?
3. Tyre was one of the ___________ cities in the east.
4. They were a land of ____________.
5. Who will God cause to come against them?
6. Where was Tyre located?
7. They were actually on an ___________.
8. What is compared to the waves of the sea in verse 3?
9. Why was it difficult to attack her?
10. What is verse 5 speaking of?
11. God had spoken a __________ upon her.
12. Who are her daughters speaking of?
13. What king's army comes against Tyrus?
14. Why had they not built up their military?
15. What were the engines that the walls and gates were brought down
with?
16. What made the walls to shake?
17. Where did all the dust come from?
18. What will become of their riches?
19. What will become of the trash from the destroyed homes?
20. Songs and harps are ________ of ____________.
21. What is verse 14 saying?
22. Why do the isles shake at hearing the news of their destruction?
23. Who are the princes of the sea?
24. What is "lamentation"?
25. They shall descend to the _______.
26. What is the "pit" speaking of?
27. The "people of old time" are speaking of whom?
28. Quote Ezekiel chapter 26 verse 21.
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