Isaiah 23:1

The Bible says in Isaiah 23:1-9, “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. Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken, even the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth children, neither do I nourish up young men, nor bring up virgins. As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre. Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle. 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 honourable of the earth? The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.” As we continue reading about the judgments that came upon the nations surrounding Israel, and upon Israel itself; we now read about the judgment that came upon Tyre and Sidon. The region of Tyre and Sidon was a region in what is now called Lebanon. Tyre and Sidon were very wealthy city-states because of the lucrative trade businesses they were involved in. That is why this passage speaks of the “merchants of Zidon,” and “the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.” Other nations that God had judged had been nations of great military might or great size; but Tyre and Sidon were known for their great wealth.

When God decides to bring judgment against a nation, that nation’s strengths will not be enough to resist what God has decided to do. Notice that it says in Isaiah 23:9, “The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.” God has given free will to man, but there are still some things that happen because God decided it will happen no matter what man decides. For example, God has given free will to mankind in regards to salvation. That is why the gospel of Christ has “whosoever” in it. “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That means that God has given each person the choice to accept Christ or to not accept Him. Of course, as with many choices in life even this choice has its limits. With this particular choice there is only one option: to accept Jesus Christ as your Savior or to have no Savior. There are not many roads to heaven. There is only one road to heaven, because that is the way that God purposed it. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

The Bible says in Isaiah 23:10-18, “Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength. He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof. And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest. Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth. 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.” In this part of Isaiah chapter 23 the Lord continues to tell us what will happen to Tyre and Sidon because of God’s judgments against it. It is interesting to note that there would be a time when these cities would be overthrown, but would eventually be allowed to be re-constituted. It says in Isaiah 23:17, “And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire.” After telling us this, the Word of God uses language that has a clear tone concerning the last days. When it says that Tyre “shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth,” it is using the same language that is used of the Kingdom of Babylon in the book of Revelation. It says in Revelation 17:1-5, “And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” We see in the book of Revelation that certain things about ancient Babylon are symbolic of the kingdom of the last days that will be ruled by the antichrist. We also see in the book of Isaiah that the city of Tyre was also symbolic of the “Babylon” of the last days. Tyre was known for its great commerce and the fact that all of the countries of the known world did commerce with Tyre and were dependent upon Tyre commercially and financially speaking. The kingdom of the antichrist will be known for its great economic strength and influence.

The Bible says in Isaiah 24:1-16, “Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word. The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish. The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof; because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left. The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh. The mirth of tabrets ceaseth, the noise of them that rejoice endeth, the joy of the harp ceaseth. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it. The city of confusion is broken down: every house is shut up, that no man may come in. There is a crying for wine in the streets; all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone. In the city is left desolation, and the gate is smitten with destruction. When thus it shall be in the midst of the land among the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea. From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous. But I said, My leanness, my leanness, woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.”

Often when sorrows come upon the earth, the rich and the privileged citizens avoid the suffering. For example, when there is a war, the rich and the privileged usually find ways to keep their sons and daughters from the fight, and therefore from the bleeding and the dying and the mourning. But the judgment that is described in Isaiah chapter 24 will reach every citizen. No one will escape God’s righteous judgment against sin. The rich, and the poor, and the middle class will all suffer terribly in the day of God’s wrath against sin. It says in Isaiah 24:2-3, “And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the servant, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the taker of usury, so with the giver of usury to him. The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the LORD hath spoken this word.” The same message is given in Revelation 6:15-17 about the Great Tribulation. It says, “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

Something wonderful follows the chastisement and the judgment. God does not enjoy punishing the people that He has placed upon the earth. It must cause Him great sorrow. He placed mankind upon the earth so that He would have fellowship with mankind, and manifest His great love. So when judgment does come from God, it comes with a purpose and with an intended effect. Some people are led to Christ because God’s hand of judgment brought them to their knees. Others have come to faith in Christ after thinking about how terrible the judgment will be should they die in their sins without a Savior. All judgment from God has a good purpose. The judgment that comes at the end times will be followed by the establishment of the Kingdom of God. That is why it says in Isaiah 24:14-16, “They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the LORD, they shall cry aloud from the sea. Wherefore glorify ye the LORD in the fires, even the name of the LORD God of Israel in the isles of the sea. From the uttermost part of the earth have we heard songs, even glory to the righteous.”

But until that kingdom is established by Christ, along with the blessings of God, we still must deal with the difficulties of living in this world. There may be no greater difficulty than dealing with difficult people. That is why it says in Second Timothy 3:1-5, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” The Bible says in Isaiah 21:16, “woe unto me! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously.” A “dealer” is a salesman. If you want to have a miserable experience in life, then go bargain with a “treacherous dealer.” Unfortunately, it is difficult to find an honest dealer sometimes. At least we know that in our dealings with Jesus we are always treated honestly.

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