Ezekiel 26:11, commentary and pictures

Ezekiel 26:11 foretells the utter ruin of Tyre, with invading horses trampling every street, its people killed by the sword, and its strong defenses brought down to the ground until its site becomes a bare place for spreading nets. It stands among the judgments pronounced against Tyre and Sidon and the surrounding nations that rejoiced over the destruction of Jerusalem and the humiliation of Judah. That overthrow came through Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, who after a thirteen-year resistance reduced the mainland city in the height of its power, trampled its streets and broke down its walls and towers. What remained was completed afterward, when Alexander used the ruins of old Tyre to reach and destroy the island city, leaving the former metropolis barren and desolate, so that the word spoken nearly twenty-five hundred years ago has been literally fulfilled and stands as sure evidence of the divine origin of prophecy. The punishment of Tyre for open, proud, God-defying wickedness shows that cities are accountable to God and may be judged by Him, standing as a warning not for one modern city alone but for New York, Chicago and every place forgetting God, since calamity is the fruit invited by wickedness yet mingled with mercy and calls everyone to repent and do right from principle before judgment falls.

Tyre's Destruction Foretold

Ezekiel 26:11 belongs to the prophecies against the nations in Ezekiel 26 to 28, which give the ruin of Tyre and lamentation over her destruction. It is part of the prophecy foretelling the destruction of Tyre and Sidon, one of the judgments pronounced against nations that rejoiced over Jerusalem's destruction and Judah's humiliation. The verse predicts the utter destruction of Tyre. With the hoofs of his horses he will tread down all its streets, slay its people by the sword, and bring its strong garrisons, defenses and strongholds down to the ground, leaving its site as a place for spreading nets.

The fall was to come through the power of Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans, whose prediction that Tyre would be destroyed by them was fulfilled. His campaign reduced the great city of Tyre to subjection as one of his glorious triumphs alongside routing the Egyptians and destroying Jerusalem and carrying the Jews into captivity, victories celebrated in splendid friezes throughout the interior of his huge palace in Babylon. According to Tyrian historians the city resisted his power for thirteen years in a prolonged siege.

These details were fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar besieged and ruined the mainland city in the height of her power. He trampled every street with his horses and destroyed the walls of Tyrus and broke down her towers, bringing its strong defenses to ruin and killing its people. Apart from this, the scraping of her dust to make her like the top of a rock and the laying of her stones and timber and dust in the midst of the water remained unfulfilled by his work.

The prophecy was also fulfilled by later conquerors and ruins, with the city's destruction carried out by conquerors beyond Nebuchadnezzar. Alexander used the ruins of old Tyre to reach and destroy the island city, while Ezekiel 26 particularly describes Nebuchadnezzar's work against Tyre. The old city on the seashore, the former metropolis of Phoenicia, lies barren and desolate, a striking fulfilment, while the present inhabited town stands on what was formerly an island but is now connected with the mainland by a narrow stretch of sand. The word uttered concerning Tyre nearly twenty-five hundred years ago has been literally fulfilled, with a fulfillment evident today and in history, presented as the sure word of prophecy and as evidence of the divine origin of prophecy.

Warning to Modern Cities

Tyre's trampling by horses' hoofs, slaying by the sword, and leveling of strong garrisons was its preliminary punishment for open, flaunting, God-defying wickedness and proud defiance. It belongs among the judgments that come upon nations and cities for their wrongs. Cities are accountable to God and may be judged and punished by him.

Proud, God-defying cities face judgment in this same pattern. Catastrophe is the fruit invited by wickedness and by perverted law, mingled with mercy, not simply an act of vengeance. Calamities do not prove that those who suffer are worse sinners than others.

The judgment of Tyre stands as a warning lesson not for San Francisco alone as a modern proud and beautiful Babylon and modern thrifty Tyre, but for New York, Chicago, and every other place and people forgetting and defying God. The warning calls everyone to repent and to do right from principle rather than mere impulse to do better. God warns individuals to get out before the judgment falls.