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Matthew Henry |
E Z E K I E L.
CHAP. XXVI.
The prophet had soon done with those four nations that he set his face
against in the foregoing chapters; for they were not at that time very
considerable in the world, nor would their fall make any great noise
among the nations nor any figure in history. But the city of Tyre is
next set to the bar; this, being a place of vast trade, was known all
the world over; and therefore here are three whole chapters, this and
the two that follow, spent in the prediction of the destruction of
Tyre. We have “the burden of Tyre,”
It is but just mentioned in Jeremiah, as sharing with the natives in
the common calamity,
ch. xxv. 22; xxvii. 3; xlvii. 4.
But Ezekiel is ordered to be copious upon that head. In this chapter we
have,
I. The sin charged upon Tyre, which was triumphing in the destruction
of Jerusalem,
II. The destruction of Tyrus itself foretold.
1. The extremity of this destruction: it shall be utterly ruined,
2. The instruments of this destruction, many nations
(ver. 3),
and the king of Babylon by name with his vast victorious army,
3. The great surprise that this should give to the neighbouring
nations, who would all wonder at the fall of so great a city and be
alarmed at it,
| The Burden of Tyre. | B. C. 588. |
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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,
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:
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.
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.
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.
6 And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by
the sword; and they shall know that I am the LORD.
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.
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.
9 And he shall set engines of war against thy walls, and with
his axes he shall break down thy towers.
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.
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.
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.
13 And I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease; and the
sound of thy harps shall be no more heard.
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 prophecy is dated in the eleventh year, which was the year that
Jerusalem was taken, and in the first day of the month, but it
is not said what month, some think the month in which Jerusalem was
taken, which was the fourth month, others the month after; or perhaps
it was the first month, and so it was the first day of the year.
Observe here,
I. The pleasure with which the Tyrians looked upon the ruins of
Jerusalem. Ezekiel was a great way off, in Babylon, but God told him
what Tyrus said against Jerusalem
(v. 2):
“Aha! she is broken, broken to pieces, that was the gates of
the people, to whom there was a great resort and where there was a
general rendezvous of all nations, some upon one account and some upon
another, and I shall get by it; all the wealth, power, and interest,
which Jerusalem had, it is hoped, shall be turned to Tyre, and so
now that she is laid waste I shall be replenished.” We do
not find that the Tyrians had such a hatred and enmity to Jerusalem and
the sanctuary as the Ammonites and Edomites had, or were so spiteful
and mischievous to the Jews. They were men of business, and of large
acquaintance and free conversation, and therefore were not so bigoted,
and of such a persecuting spirit, as the narrow souls that lived
retired and knew not the world. All their care was to get estates, and
enlarge their trade, and they looked upon Jerusalem not as an enemy,
but as a rival. Hiram, king of Tyre, was a good friend to David and
Solomon, and we do not read of any quarrels the Jews had with the
Tyrians; but Tyre promised herself that the fall of Jerusalem would be
an advantage to her in respect of trade a commerce, that now she shall
have Jerusalem’s customers, and the great men from all parts that used
to come to Jerusalem for the accomplishing of themselves, and to spend
their estates there, will now come to Tyre and spend them there; and
whereas many, since the Chaldean army became so formidable in those
parts, had retired into Jerusalem, and brought their estates thither
for safety, as the Rechabites did, now they will come to Tyre, which,
being in a manner surrounded with the sea, will be thought a place of
greater strength than Jerusalem, and thus the prosperity of Tyre will
rise out of the ruins of Jerusalem. Note, To be secretly pleased with
the death or decay of others, when we are likely to get by it, with
their fall when we may thrive upon it, is a sin that does most easily
beset us, but is not thought to be such a bad thing, and so provoking
to God, as really it is. We are apt to say, when those who stand in our
light, in our way, are removed, when they break of fall into disgrace,
“We shall be replenished now that they are laid waste.”
But this comes from a selfish covetous principle, and a desire to be
placed alone in the midst of the earth, as if we grudged that
any should live by us. This comes from a want of that love to our
neighbour as to ourselves which the law of God so expressly requires,
and from that inordinate love of the world as our happiness which the
love of God so expressly forbids. And it is just with God to blast the
designs and projects of those who thus contrive to raise themselves
upon the ruins of others; and we see they are often disappointed.
II. The displeasure of God against them for it. The providence of God
had done well for Tyrus. Tyrus was a pleasant and wealthy city, and
might have continued so if she had, as she ought to have done,
sympathized with Jerusalem in her calamities and sent her an address of
condolence; but when, instead of that, she showed herself pleased with
her neighbour’s fall, and perhaps sent an address of congratulation to
the conquerors, then God says, Behold, I am against thee, O
Tyrus!
v. 3.
And let her not expect to prosper long if God be against her.
1. God will bring formidable enemies upon her: Many nations shall
come against thee, an army made up of many nations, or one nation
that shall be as strong as many. Those that have God against them may
expect all the creatures against them; for what peace can those have
with whom God is at war? They shall come pouring in as the waves of
the sea, one upon the neck of another, with an irresistible force.
The person is named that shall bring this army upon
them–Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, that had
many kings tributaries to him and dependents on him, besides those that
were his captives,
He is that head of gold. He shall come with a vast army,
horses and chariots, &c., all land-forces. We do not find that
he had any naval force, or any thing wherewith he might attack it by
sea, which made the attempt the more difficult, as we find
where it is called a great service which he served against
Tyrus. He shall besiege it in form
(v. 8),
make a fort, and cast a mount, and
(v. 9)
shall set engines of war against the walls. His troops shall be
so numerous as to raise a dust that shall cover the city,
They shall make a noise that shall even shake the walls; and
they shall shout at every attack, as soldiers do when they enter a
city that is broken up; the horses shall prance with so much
fury and violence that they shall even tread down the streets
though so ever well paved.
2. They shall do terrible execution.
(1.) The enemy shall make themselves masters of all their
fortifications, shall destroy the walls and break down the
towers,
v. 4.
For what walls are so strongly built as to be a fence against the
judgments of God? Her strong garrisons shall go down to the
ground,
v. 11.
And the walls shall be broken down,
The city held out a long siege, but it was taken at last.
(2.) A great deal of blood shall be shed: Her daughters who are in
the field, the cities upon the continent, which were subject to
Tyre as the mother-city, the inhabitants of them shall be slain by
the sword,
v. 6.
The invaders begin with those that come first in their way. And
(v. 11)
he shall slay thy people with the sword; not only the soldiers
that are found in arms, but the burghers, shall be put to the
sword, the king of Babylon being highly incensed against them for
holding out so long.
(3.) The wealth of the city shall all become a spoil to the conqueror
(v. 12):
They shall make a prey of the merchandise. It was in hope of the
plunder that the city was set upon with so much vigour. See the vanity
of riches, that they are kept for the owners to their hurt; they
entice and recompense thieves, and not only cease to benefit those who
took pains for them and were duly entitled to them, but are made to
serve their enemies, who are thereby put into a capacity of doing them
so much the more mischief.
(4.) The city itself shall be laid in ruins. All the pleasant
houses shall be destroyed
(v. 12),
such as were pleasantly situated, beautified, and furnished, shall
become a heap of rubbish. Let none please themselves too much in their
pleasant houses, for they know not how soon they may see the desolation
of them. Tyre shall be utterly ruined; the enemy shall not only pull
down the houses, but shall carry away the stones and the timber,
and shall lay them in the midst of the water, not to be
recovered, or ever made use of again. Nay
(v. 4),
I will scrape her dust from her; not only shall the loose dust
be blown away, but the very ground it stands upon shall be torn up by
the enraged enemy, carried off, and laid in the midst of the
water,
v. 12.
The foundation is in the dust; that dust shall be all
taken away, and then the city must fall of course. When Jerusalem was
destroyed it was ploughed like a field,
Mic. iii. 12.
But the destruction of Tyre is carried further than that; the very soil
of it shall be scraped away, and it shall be made like the top of a
rock
(v. 4, 14),
pure rock that has no earth to cover it; it shall only be a place
for the spreading of nets
(v. 5, 14);
it shall serve fishermen to dry their nets upon and mend them.
(5.) There shall be a full period to all its mirth and joy
(v. 13):
I will cause the noise of thy songs to cease. Tyre had been a
joyous city
with her songs she had courted customers to deal with her in a way of
trade. But now farewell all her profitable commerce and pleasant
conversation; Tyre is no more a place either of business or of sport.
Lastly, It shall be built no more
(v. 14),
not built any more as it had been, with such state and magnificence,
nor built any more in the same place, within the sea, nor built any
where for a long time; the present inhabitants shall be destroyed or
dispersed, so that this Tyre shall be no more. For God has
spoken it
(v. 5, 14);
and when what he has said is accomplished they shall know
thereby that he is the Lord, and not a man that he should lie
nor the son of man that he should repent.
| The Burden of Tyre. | B. C. 588. |
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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?
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.
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!
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.
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;
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;
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.
The utter ruin of Tyre is here represented in very strong and lively
figures, which are exceedingly affecting.
1. See how high, how great, Tyre had been, how little likely ever to
come to this. The remembrance of men’s former grandeur and plenty is a
great aggravation of their present disgrace and poverty. Tyre was a
renowned city
(v. 17),
famous among the nations, the crowning city (so she is called
a city that had crowns in her gift, honoured all she smiled upon,
crowned herself and all about her. She was inhabited of seas,
that is, of those that trade at sea, of those who from all parts came
thither by sea, bringing with them the abundance of the seas and
the treasures hidden in the sand. She was strong in the
sea, easy of access to her friends, but to her enemies
inaccessible, fortified by a wall of water, which made her
impregnable. So that she with her pomp, and her
inhabitants with their pride, caused their terror to be on all
that haunted that city, and upon any account frequented it. It was
well fortified, and formidable in the eyes of all that acquainted
themselves with it. Every body stood in awe of the Tyrians and was
afraid of disobliging them. Note, Those who know their strength are too
apt to cause terror, to pride themselves in frightening those they are
an over-match for.
2. See how low, how little, Tyre is made,
This renowned city is made a desolate city, is no more
frequented as it has been; there is no more resort of merchants to it;
it is like the cities not inhabited, which are no cities, and
having none to keep them in repair, will go to decay of themselves.
Tyre shall be like a city overflowed by an inundation of waters, which
cover it, and upon which the deep is brought up.
As the waves had formerly been its defence, so now they shall be its
destruction. She shall be brought down with those that descend into
the pit, with the cities of the old world that were under water,
and with Sodom and Gomorrah, that lie in the bottom of the Dead
Sea. Or, she shall be in the condition of those who have been long
buried, of the people of old time, who are old inhabitants of
the silent grace, who are quite rotted away under ground and quite
forgotten above ground; such shall Tyre be, free among the dead, set
in the lower parts of the earth, humbled, mortified, reduced. It
shall be like the places desolate of old, as well as like
persons dead of old; it shall be like other cities that have formerly
been in like manner deserted and destroyed. It shall not be
inhabited again; none shall have the courage to attempt the
rebuilding of it upon that spot, so that it shall be no more;
The Tyrians shall be lost among the nations, so that people will look
in vain for Tyre in Tyre: Thou shalt be sought for, and never found
again. New persons may build a new city upon a new spot of ground
hard by, which they may call Tyre, but Tyre, as it is, shall
never be any more. Note, The strongest cities in this world, the
best-fortified and best-furnished, are subject to decay, and may in a
little time be brought to nothing. In the history of our own island
many cities are spoken of as in being when the Romans were here which
now our antiquaries scarcely know where to look for, and of which there
remains no more evidence than Roman urns and coins digged up there
sometimes accidentally. But in the other world we look for a city that
shall stand for ever and flourish in perfection through all the ages of
eternity.
3. See what a distress the inhabitants of Tyre are in
(v. 15):
There is a great slaughter made in the midst of thee, many
slain, and great men. It is probable that, when the city was taken, the
generality of the inhabitants were put to the sword. Then did the
wounded cry, and they cried in vain, to the pitiless conquerors;
they cried quarter, but it would not be given them; the wounded
are slain without mercy, or, rather, that is the only mercy that
is shown them, that the second blow shall rid them out of their
pain.
4. See what a consternation all the neighbours are in upon the fall of
Tyre. This is elegantly expressed here, to show how astonishing it
should be.
(1.) the islands shall shake at the sound of thy fall
(v. 15),
as, when a great merchant breaks, all that he deals with are shocked by
it, and begin to look about them; perhaps they had effects in his
hands, which they are afraid they shall lose. Or, when they see one
fail and become bankrupt of a sudden, in debt a great deal more than he
is worth, it makes them afraid for themselves, lest they should do so
too. Thus the isles, which thought themselves safe in the
embraces of the sea, when they see Tyrus fall, shall tremble and
be troubled, saying, “What will become of us?” And it is well if
they make this good use of it, to take warning by it not to be secure,
but to stand in awe of God and his judgments. The sudden fall of a
great tower shakes the ground round about it; thus all the islands in
the Mediterranean Sea shall feel themselves sensibly touched by the
destruction of Tyre, it being a place they had so much knowledge of,
such interests in, and such a constant correspondence with.
(2.) The princes of the sea shall be affected with it, who ruled
in those islands. Or the rich merchants, who live like princes
and the masters of ships, who command like princes, these shall condole
the fall of Tyre in a most compassionate and pathetic manner
(v. 16):
They shall come down from their thrones, as neglecting the
business of their thrones and despising the pomp of them. They shall
lay away their robes of state, their broidered garments,
and shall clothe themselves all over with tremblings,
with sackcloth that will make them shiver. Or they shall by their own
act and deed make themselves to tremble upon this occasion; they shall
sit upon the ground in shame and sorrow; they shall tremble
every moment at the thought of what has happened to Tyre, and for
fear of what may happen to themselves; for what island is safe if Tyre
be not? They shall take up a lamentation for thee, shall have
elegies and mournful poems penned upon the fall of Tyre,
How art thou destroyed!
[1.] It shall be a great surprise to them, and they shall be affected
with wonder, that a place so well fortified by nature and art, so famed
for politics and so full of money, which is the sinews of war, that
held out so long and with so much bravery, should be taken at last
(v. 21):
I make thee a terror. Note, It is just with God to make those a
terror to their neighbours, by the suddenness and strangeness of their
punishment, who make themselves a terror to their neighbours by the
abuse of their power. Tyre had caused her terror
(v. 17)
and now is made a terrible example.
[2.] It shall be a great affliction to them, and they shall be affected
with sorrow
(v. 17);
they shall take up a lamentation for Tyre, as thinking it a
thousand pities that such a rich and splendid city should be thus laid
in ruins. When Jerusalem, the holy city, was destroyed, there were no
such lamentations for it; it was nothing to those that passed
by
(Lam. i. 12);
but when Tyre, the trading city, fell, it was universally bemoaned.
Note, Those who have the world in their hearts lament the loss of great
men more than the loss of good men.
[3.] It shall be a loud alarm to them: They shall tremble in the day
of thy fall, because they shall have reason to think that their own
turn will be next. If Tyre fall, who can stand? Howl, fir-trees, if
such a cedar be shaken. Note, The fall of others should awaken us
out of our security. The death or decay of others in the world is a
check to us, when we dream that our mountain stands strongly and
shall not be moved.
5. See how the irreparable ruin of Tyre is aggravated by the prospect
of the restoration of Israel. Thus shall Tyre sink when I shall set
glory in the land of the living,
v. 20.
Note,
(1.) The holy land is the land of the living; for none but holy
souls are properly living souls. Where living sacrifices are offered to
the living God, and where the lively oracles are, there the land of
the living is; there David hoped to see the goodness of the
Lord,
Ps. xxvii. 13.
That was a type of heaven, which is indeed the land of the
living.
(2.) Though this land of the living may for a time lie under disgrace,
yet God will again set glory in it; the glory that had departed
shall return, and the restoration of what they had been deprived of
shall be so much more their glory. God will himself be the glory of the
lands that are the lands of the living.
(3.) It will aggravate the misery of those that have their portion in
the land of the dying, of those that are for ever dying, to behold the
happiness of those, at the same time, that shall have their everlasting
portion in the land of the living. When the rich man was himself in
torment he saw Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, and glory set for him
in the land of the living.
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