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!
Ezekiel's lament mourns Tyre as the renowned maritime merchant city, strong in the sea and inhabited by seafaring men whose terror fell on all around it, making its utter ruin especially striking. Its doom was declared after it rejoiced at Jerusalem's destruction and hoped to profit from it, foretelling its capture by the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar until the very site would become a place for the spreading of nets for fishermen. The word spoken nearly twenty-five hundred years ago has been literally fulfilled, and its fulfillment stands evident today among the prophecies against the nations. Its destruction was God's judgment for open, God-defying wickedness and pride, showing that even a renowned city is brought low and that cities answer to God to be judged, punished, or rewarded by Him. The warning is a lesson for cities and people that forget and defy God, applied to San Francisco as a modern thrifty Tyre in its catastrophe, and not to it alone but to New York, to Chicago, and to every other such place, calling not for mere impulse to do better but for principle to do right.
Lament Over Fallen Tyre
The verse belongs to the prophecies against foreign nations in Ezekiel 26 to 28, stirring prophecies that give the ruin of Tyre and the lamentation over her destruction. They predict her utter destruction, with the prophecy understood to foretell the destruction of Tyre and Sidon. This word against Tyre, the great commercial city of the world, was given while Ezekiel pleaded with Israel for twenty-two years to turn to God.
The lament mourns Tyre as the renowned city inhabited by seafaring men and strong in the sea. She was a powerful maritime and merchant city, a Mediterranean merchant city, one of the greatest and most famous cities of the ancient world and a major commercial center. Her inhabitants caused their terror to be on all that visited or lived around it, making her a source of terror to those around her. That a city so renowned, so strong at sea, and so feared should be destroyed and mourned makes its fall especially striking.
The doom was declared against Tyre after the city rejoiced at Jerusalem's destruction and expected to profit from its ruin. Its fall is therefore the judgment of a once-strong and renowned seafaring city brought low.
Prophecy Given and Fulfilled
The chapter foretells the destruction of Tyre by the Chaldeans, with Nebuchadnezzar capturing the great commercial city and utterly wiping it out of existence. The very place where Tyre stood was to become a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea, a place for fishermen. From Tyre he would conquer Jerusalem, as the prophecy joins the ruin of Tyre and Sidon to the wider dealing with the kingdoms on all sides of Israel.
Tyre was wealthy and strongly defended, and when Nebuchadnezzar besieged it his army endured great hardship yet found no reward when the city was taken. The people had moved their wealth by ship to Carthage, and many of the citizens escaped. A later island city of Tyre was built nearby, there was a restoration after seventy years, and after a later destruction the city never regained its former importance.
The word uttered nearly twenty-five hundred years ago concerning Tyre has been literally fulfilled. Its fulfillment is evident today among the fulfilled prophecies against other nations.
Judgment Warns Modern Cities
Tyre's ruin was God's judgment for open, flaunting, God-defying wickedness and pride amid widespread wrongdoing. It illustrates how God has dealt with the kingdoms on all sides of Israel to bring down their pride and will bring down remaining pride. Even a renowned city, strong in the sea and inhabited by seafaring men, is brought low with its inhabitants, showing that cities answer to God and may be judged, punished, or rewarded by him.
The destruction was a preliminary punishment, the fruit invited by wickedness, with mercy mingled in it rather than mere avenging vengeance. Though the catastrophe befell a proud city whose open wickedness invited judgment, it occurred within God's mercy.
The warning is a lesson for cities and people that forget and defy God, applied alongside other prophecies of judgment. San Francisco in its catastrophe is a modern thrifty Tyre and a modern proud and beautiful Babylon when it practices the same wickedness. The lesson-warning is not for San Francisco alone but for New York, for Chicago, and for every other such place, calling for more than impulse to do better but for principle to do right.