Bible Studies

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MAKING SENSE OF THE BOOK OF ISAIAH

 

Lesson 67- 69

 

 

ISAIAH: CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

 

By Henry Jaegers

 

 

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_TkO3B3k32sXG7zXLWDFzCKbGwWWp9BA/view?usp=sharing

 

 

Future Disappointments

 

 The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou went up to the housetops? Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.  All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. (Isaiah 22: 1-3)

 

At the outset, God addresses the first disappointment that the people faced. They trusted that their leaders would stand in battle against the invading enemies. They are forced to the housetops to find their own safety. Their leaders have fled and left the people defenseless.

 

Instead of fighting with their weapons against the enemy, They have fled and in their fleeing have been taken captive by the enemy without any resistance.

 

The whole message of Isaiah seems to address the problem of leaning on the arm of flesh to find peace and security. So in this address, God deals with this first security as a disappointment.

 

 And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.  Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago. (Verses 10, 11)

 

We are told that the enemy has searched out the vulnerable points of their defenses, and now in a form of Panic, they have torn down the houses to construct a further defense. But no matter how great may be their efforts, they're fighting the battle against the Lord. The reason is that these invading armies for the time are God’s means of chastening His disobedient and backsliding people.

 

 So, we see another disappointment. That is discovering that whatever they had, could not withstand this invading army.

 

Note the reasons that God gives for their failure:  but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it. For some strange reason, they forgot to seek the Lord’s help and found out that this is the reason for their disappointment.

 

 

And in that day did the Lord God of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and baldness, and to girding with sackcloth: And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die. (Verses 12, 13)

 

 

God has begun to offer a solution to their disappointment by calling forth a fast and a time for mourning over their sin. But they refused God’s offer and chose to live it up for the moment and ignore the mercy of God to bring healing.

 

 

Thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,  What hast thou here? and who hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulcher here, as he that heweth him out a sepulcher on high, and that graves a habitation for himself in a rock? (Verses

 

15,16)

 

Now, the focus is placed on the one who is in charge of keeping the treasury. At once is noticed one who has erected some kind of sepulcher. Is he planning to stay there permanently? Does he think that having a large amount of money t buy a burying place will assure him of a permanent dwelling place? Is he placing his hope for survival on this?

 

If that is so, consider what God has to say about that:

 

 Behold, the Lord will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.  He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house. (Verse 17,18)

 

So, now another disappointment shall take place. But we are not finished.

 

 A Final Disappointment

 

 

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah: 20.

N this verse, God announces a future king that will arrive. He is the son of King Josiah, who was slain by the Egyptian King Pharouh Neco. Eliakim was placed on the throne of Israel and given a new name.

 

God promised that this king will give the people some encouragement. God describes him as a nail fastened in a secure place, but he also will prove to be a disappointment. His name was Jehoiakim, and because of his pride and wickedness, was taken into Babylon and slain by King Nebuchadnezzar. Placing their trust in the king, proved to be a terrible disappointment, as Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and captivity was the result.

 

Are we learning from this about the futility of placing our trust in human resources? Remember the words of the hymn: "The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own.  (George Duffield Jr.  1858)

 

 

ISAIAH: CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

 

Lesson 68

 

A Message to the Merchants of the Sea

 

 

 The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste so that there is no house, no entering in from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.. Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished.  And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations. (Isaiah 23: 1-3)

 

At first, this message appears to be sounded forth to the nation of Tyre. But on closer examination, we find it is a message to those nations who depended on her for their source of wealth. The message to these is that “Tyre has fallen”.

 

 

The fall of both Tyre and Damascus was due to their providing a foundation of faith that kept them from trusting God alone. God intends to remove these false dependencies, and thus provide one that would result in their reconciliation with God.

 

Perhaps, we might suggest that this fall is a precursor similar to that described in Revelation chapter 18, to a  kingdom mentioned as Mystery Babylon, as  

 Her fall also brought about a great lamentation as it happened in relation to Tyre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first question we want to address, is, who is  Tyre? Sheas become a rich nation due to her various accesses to the sea. We might say that the sea has made her rich and successful.  Do you remember Hiram? He was the king of Tyre, and was responsible for sending skilled workers from Tyre, to help Solomon build the temple.

 

 

So, this gives you some idea of How great Tyre was at that time. Notice how our chapter describes that City.

 

 Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.  Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honorable of the earth? (Isaiah 23: 7,8)

 

Of course, we cannot dismiss the problem of pride associated with her greatness, but the message is to those nations who depended upon her, and in a secondary matter, her providing that system of dependency. But to get the full picture of the fall of Tyre, we must read carefully, Ezekiel chapter26 through 28. Tyre was a wicked city indeed as she has been influenced by Satanic powers in coming to her greatness.

 

But these messages in Isaiah seem to give only a summary of her fall, and not the specific reasons. In our next lesson, I will try to reference what Ezekiel has to say.

 

But now, briefly, I will summarize these remaining verses in Isaiah. Isaiah goes on to tell us that she shall fall, and after seventy years some effort will be made to try to retain her former glory. Although she may attain some success in her efforts, God declares that all of her acquired wealth would be given to the people of God. Notice these closing words

 

And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the Lord: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing. (Verse 18)

But we cannot leave the matter here. We must see what other prophets have to say.  In our next lesson, e shall consider in more detail on the 'rise and fall of Tyre.

 

 

 

 

ISAIAH:

 

 Lesson 69

 

 

THE RISE AND FALL OF TYRE AND ZIDON.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18st8cvEgYYFiUW33wxByHmLCvbmQX1pb/view?usp=sharing

 

 

Ezekiel Chapter 26 through 28

 

 

In presenting this message concerning the fall of Tyre, in addressing this message as given by Isaiah, it is more of a summary than a detailed description of her fall. Ezekiel, as is the manner of his prophesying, tends to elaborate more distinctly on the cause and effect of the various judgments.

 

So such is the case concerning Tyre and Zidon. Isaiah does not mention Zidon, but her destruction is included in her judgment.

 

In case we are tempted to think that these judgments are far off and have no relationship to the times in which we live, we must not forget that this is not a message conjured up in the mind of Ezekiel, it is a message from the Living God to a nation who failed to consider that He is “The Lord God. And after each chapter, God reminds them “That they may know that I am the Lord thy God. We must not forget that.

 

For now, I will leave off the application and present to you the message as given by Ezekiel. Each of these chapters forms a natural division, although their chronology may appear to be turned upside down. But I will present them aS they appear before us.

 

 

Chapter 26, gives to us the prophecy concerning the devastation that will take place. Chapter 27 speaks of the glory to which she has attained. Finally, in Chapter 28, we have the cause of her fall.

 

And although they are presented in Ezekiel as prophecy, we also have a history that reminds us of their reality. In presenting this material, because of the many verses involved, I have decided to put this in the form of a narrative rather than an exposition. One could write a complete book on the number of details found in these three chapters. So in order to keep it into one chapter, I am presenting it in this manner.

 

1. The Extent of Her Fall (Chapter 26)

 

 

In this chapter, is given the extent and cause of her destruction. They could never imagine that such a thing could happen to her. This great metropolis is declared to be like a bare- rock where fisherman lay their nets in order to dry them.  She will be overflown by the Ocean and no trace of her greatness could be found.

 

We are told also, that Babylon would be the instrument used by God to accomplish these deeds. To the people of Tyre, that would seem far-fetched, because, at the time that this prophecy was given, Babylon was not even a consideration. But this presently is a prophecy, and as we view it from a historical standpoint, it is a prophecy fulfilled.

 

 

2. A Description of Her Greatness (Chapter 27)

 

 

 

Consider these verses:

 

  Now, thou son of man, take up a lamentation for Tyrus;  And say unto Tyrus, O thou that art situate at the entry of the sea, which art a merchant of the people for many isles, Thus saith the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast said, I am of perfect beauty.  Thy borders are in the midst of the seas, thy builders have perfected thy beauty. (Ezekiel27: 2-4)

 

Tyre, because of its location on the borders of the sea, as been a convenient place for the various nations of the world to export and import many of her riches. The nations depended upon her greatness in order for them to share in that. But the problem lies here. If she were to fall, so would the nations who contributed to her greatness. There is no doubt that Tyre has become a rich and flourishing city. Her ships, her navy, and her defenses have become a source of admiration to those around her. She has made those nations to be admired as well.

 

 

3.  The Cause of Her Fall (Chapter 28)

 

 

Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee:  With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:  By thy great wisdom and by thy traffick hast thou increased thy riches, and thine heart is lifted up because of thy riches:  Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast set thine heart as the heart of God;  Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee, the terrible of the nations: and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness.  They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas.  Wilt thou yet say before him that slayeth thee, I am God? but thou shalt be a man, and no God, in the hand of him that slayeth thee. Thou shalt die the deaths of the uncircumcised by the hand of strangers: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 28: 2-10)

 

 

When it addresses the Prince of Tyrus, God is addressing a condition of the City who has become arrogant, and fails to consider there is a God at all. She has become lifted up in her pride, thinking that her greatness came as a result of her own merits, But her pride, like that of Babylon in Isaiah chapter 14, has been the reason for her fall.

 

There contains, in this chapter a reference to the rise and fall of Satan.  We find that to be true in Isaiah chapter 14 as well. In Isaiah, he is called “Lucifer, Son of the Morning. Now in Ezekiel, he is referred to as “The king of Tyre. But he is the same person referred to as Lucifer. But Ezekiel gives further details in regard to his fall. In both cases, he is used as an illustration of where men’s pride will eventually fall. If Satan through his pride and former position could not escape the consequences of his pride, neither shall the pride of Babylon and Tyre escape the consequences of their sin.

 

As many preachers like to use these chapters as an exposition on the fall of Satan, the intent of Ezekiel and Isaiah is to present him as an illustration of where their pride will eventually lead.

 

This gives a Birds-eye- view of the rise and fall of Tyre and Zidon. But now I would like to present an application that we must consider for the times in which we live.

 

As a means of a present-day situation, regarding what Tyre must have been like, consider two cities in the United States closely aligned and related to each other as Tyre and Zidon. I refer to two cities in the state of Nevada. Los Vegas and Reno, Nevada. Reno can be seen as the lesser daughter of her mother Las Vegas. And likewise, Zidon can be seen in the same manner in her relationship with Tyre. I am not trying to make a prediction concerning these Cities in Nevada, but they serve as an illustration in trying to understand the former greatness of Tyre.

 

Tyre, in her greatness, made available everything one might wish to have in order to fulfill the desires of the fallen heart. Las Vegas is the same place where men go to fulfill all the desires of the flesh. (And who knows if such judgments may happen to her.

 

We have before us a prophecy and history of what happens when men refuse to acknowledge the reality and the sovereignty of God.  Their history reveals that God makes good in His judgments.

 

Today, we are witnessing in our world, lands devastated by war, States experiencing invasions by unwanted enemies, Lands and countries experiencing many natural disasters caused by fire, hurricanes, drought, and extreme temperatures causing food sources to disappear. and in just a couple of days, the destruction of a whole city, caused its inhabitants to run to the Oceans to find refuge from the heat and smoke that had driven them there.

 

 

I am reminded of the verse that tells us: Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. (Psalm 33: 12)

 

There are Christians and sometimes others who cry individually for God’s mercy. But in these books of Isaiah and Ezekiel, He is addressing the nations. Where are the nations today who call on God? I know of none. Perhaps if nations believed and recognized the reality of God and gave prominence to his word, some of these disasters might be avoided. I speak of one who understands the reality of God and the importance of recognizing the means by which He  speaks to us.

 

The message that these words convey to us, is that we have a living God who is in control of Prophecy and History. He is also in control of our destiny, and if we turn our hearts back to Him, our destiny will change. Do you believe that? What changes do we need to make for our lives to reflect the Glory of God to a fallen world?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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