Isaiah 23:1-18

We have all heard about stories of people who have gone from rags to riches.  Today’s is a story of a nation that would go from riches to rags.  Wealth and prosperity are very dangerous because they tend to foster pride and independence from God.  The key to our well-being is humility and dependence upon God so it is easy to see why prosperity can be very dangerous.  I find it very ironic that there is so much teaching today about the blessings of prosperity when the Scriptures know nothing of this doctrine. 

TYRE WILL BE FALLEN: Tyre was a wealthy and powerful nation.  Her relationships with the surrounding nations were great and notorious.  Isaiah foresees the fall of Tyre as well as the lament of the nations who were trading with her and prospering with these trade agreements.  There are many people and nations that are affected by the prosperity or the demise of another nation.  Our lives and the decisions that we make in our lives have consequences that are far beyond ourselves and our immediate family.  Tyre was prosperous, powerful and prideful but soon she would be brought down.  Prosperity and power are not wrong in and of themselves but they become very dangerous when we allow them to lead us into pride.

TYRE WILL BE FORGOTTEN:  The Lord would use the Chaldeans to defeat Tyre.  They would be taken captive, the nations would be destroyed and they would simply be forgotten.  Pride builds a sense of immortality to our lives.  We think that we are so important and that we will be remembered forever.  The truth is that people live in the present and have very little interest or recollection of the past.  Nations and rulers who were once great but then fell are soon forgotten.  Isaiah speaks of the nation being forgotten for 70 years.  This is a time that is similar to the captivity that Israel would experience so it seems like the conquest of Tyre and Israel would coincide with one another.  It is delusional to think that we will be immortal or that our memories will be immortal.  The only means by which we can attain immortality is through faith in Christ and He grants us eternality.


TYRE WILL BE FORGIVEN: Perhaps the most glorious truth in all of Scripture is the promise that we have of forgiveness.  God delights in forgiving His people and He loves us very deeply.  The 70 years of being forgotten would be followed by forgiveness and restoration and Tyre would then use the blessings of her prosperity for the purpose of worshiping God.  God is in the business of transforming lives.  He takes that which is broken and hurting and restores it so that He will be glorified through it.  We were all created to worship the Lord and we can only find true joy and fulfillment in life when we are accomplishing this purpose.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Isaiah 54:1-17

Hope is a wonderful blessing from God, without which we would be vulnerable to all kinds of destructive tendencies in our lives.  Today’s society is marked by depression, anger, fear, anxiety and self-righteousness, in large part, because of the sense of hopelessness that prevails in our culture.  Isaiah writes to a people who are about to be taken into captivity because of their sin.  God knows that they will feel rejected, threatened and hopeless so He reveals His future plans for the nation in order to give them hope in the midst of the coming trial.  Hope is the expectation of good based upon the promises of God.  Many times when our lives are marked by the sins mentioned above it is because we have forgotten or failed to focus upon the promises of God’s Word. THE PROMISE OF GOD: From the very first day that God revealed His plan for the nation of Israel, He promised numerous descendants.  God chose Abraham, not because he was more righteous than any of the other people of his
Read more

1 Timothy 2:11-15

Let a woman learn quietly   with all submissiveness.    I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.    For Adam was formed first,   then Eve;   and Adam was not deceived, but   the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.    Yet she will be saved through   childbearing—if they continue in   faith and love and holiness, with self-control. There is certainly controversy and confusion about this passage in many churches today.  The idea of a distinction between men and women and their roles in the family and church certainly goes against the flow of many cultures around the world.  Some would argue that the literal and plain teaching of this passage is no longer applicable to today’s culture.  However, it is always dangerous to discard biblical teaching or try to interpret Scripture based on the cultures in which we live.  Certainly, the Spirit who inspired this text was aware of the many changes that would occur in future cul
Read more

1 Timothy 2:1-7

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and   dignified in every way.    This is good, and   it is pleasing in the sight of   God our Savior,   who desires   all people to be saved and   to come to   the knowledge of the truth.    For   there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,   who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is   the testimony given   at the proper time.    For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying),   a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.   Prayer is one of the greatest privileges believers have and it should be one of our greatest priorities.  Too often our lives are more often marked by complaining about our circumstances and our political leaders than by prayers for them.  The government in Paul’s day
Read more