Archive for month: August, 2020

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 27:1-24.  Let’s go!

Ezekiel 27:1-24 (NIV) 
1  The word of the LORD came to me:
2  “Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre.
3  Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “‘You say, O Tyre, “I am perfect in beauty.”
4  Your domain was on the high seas; your builders brought your beauty to perfection…….

On verses 1-24:  Here in these verses we really get a sense of how prosperous, beautiful and sophisticated was the city of Tyre.  Verses 4 through 7 speak of Tyre’s asthetic beauty.  Verses 8 through 11 speak of how Tyre attracted the best and the brightest, making their shipping industry and military very powerful.  Verses 12 to 24 speak of Tyre’s extensive trade relationships and burgeoning economy.  As powerful, prosperous and beautiful as Tyre was, the one problem we see in Tyre — which would prove to be her fatal flaw — was her pride.  In verse 3, God quotes Tyre as saying, “I am perfect in beauty”.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 26:1-21.  Let’s go!  

On verses 1-21:  Tyre was a prosperous coastal city in the ancient Middle East, with the older part of the city (“old Tyre”) situated on the mainland and the newer part situated on an island.  Known as one of the great economic centres of the ancient Middle East, Tyre was a significant port city.  In addition, Tyre was famous for its purple dye used most famously to make royal robes.  It is for this reason that, according to some scholars, the people in the region of Phoenicia, where Tyre was located, became known as “the purple people”.

In verses 1-6 God goes after the people of Tyre for trying to capitalize on the misfortune of the people of Jerusalem (v2).  In response to their attitude God says that He will bring down the prosperous, powerful “city of renown” (v17) that is Tyre and turn it into “a desolate city” (v8) and “plunder for the nations” (v5).  God would reduce Tyre to “a place to spread fishnets” (v6) (i.e. where fishermen wash their nets) and a city that is “never to be rebuilt” (v6).  In verse 14 when God says of Tyre, “I will make you a bare rock” (v14), this is a play on words, since Tyre’s name literally means “rock”.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 25:1-17.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-11:  After previously prophesying at length about the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem and such destruction coming to pass, Ezekiel here receives messages from the Lord for nations that were historically enemies of Judah and Jerusalem.   The first nation God has a message for is the Ammonites.  Because the Ammonites gloated and rejoiced over the deportation of the Israelites, the desecration of the temple and the destruction of the land of Israel, God will cause the Ammonites to be cut off and exterminated.

The second nation was Moab.  Because Moab looked down on Israel and spoke with contempt about Israel’s downfall, God would punish the Moabites and give them over to other nations.

What can we learn from this?  God watches how we respond to the misfortune or loss of others.  When others suffer loss, including people you would consider your enemies or your competitors, do not gloat boastfully about it.   Rather, have a heart of humility and compassion toward them.

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Ezekiel 24:15-27.  Let’s go!

On verses 15-27:  Here, in one of the most heartbreaking moments in the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel’s beloved wife passes away.  It is not 100% clear whether Ezekiel’s wife was already sick or she was in good health immediately before her tragic death.  In any event, God commands Ezekiel not to publicly mourn his wife’s death in the traditional Jewish way, which in addition to weeping, wailing and shedding tears, would involve tearing one’s clothes, taking off one’s turban and sandals, covering the lower part of one’s face and eating certain foods designated for mourners (v16-17).  Instead of mourning publicly, Ezekiel was to groan quietly (v17).  When Ezekiel’s wife does indeed die, Ezekiel does as God commands (v18).  Taking notice, the Israelites ask Ezekiel what this has to do with them (v19).  Ezekiel responds that just as Ezekiel kept his feelings of grief bottled up inside when his wife passed away, so the Israelites would do the same when they receive the news that Jerusalem – the stronghold they took pride in, the delight of their eyes, and the object of their affection (v21) – would be taken away as well as their sons and daughters (v20-24).

Did God cause Ezekiel’s wife to die just so that Ezekiel would have a sermon illustration?  I don’t believe so.  I think more probably God, who works in all things and who uses even the most tragic, heartbreaking situations in our lives for a greater purpose, was teaching Ezekiel a spiritual lesson that would speak to others, even as he was going through tremendous personal loss.