Bible Pathway - Sept. 8, 2010
Highlights:
Six of Judah's enemies are warned of their destruction by the Lord. Can you name them (Ezek. 25:1,8,12,15; 26:2; 28:2, 21)? What did they do against God? Read and learn (25:3,8,12,15; 26:2; 28:24).
Tyre was situated on the Mediterranean Sea and was one of the richest cities of the world. Its wealth was not gained from war, like that of Babylon, but from commercial business. Its fleet of ships was the greatest of all nations. Ezekiel prophesied: The Word of the Lord came unto me . . . I am against thee, O Tyrus (Ezek. 26:1,3). God foretold that Tyre would be fully destroyed, not only because of its immoral idolatry, but also because it was rejoicing over the downfall of Jerusalem and that its competition no longer existed. It was saying: Aha, she is broken . . . I shall be replenished (grow rich), now (that) she is laid waste (26:2).
Only God, who rules over every detail on earth, would be able to say: They shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea (26:4-5). Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the mainland city. During that long siege, the city's administration and wealth was moved to the offshore island section of the city. But, more than two centuries later, Alexander the Great besieged Tyre, which was then just an island city nearly half a mile from the mainland. Since Alexander had no fleet, his men used the stones from the walls of the ancient mainland city to build a causeway to reach the island and destroy it exactly as prophesied.
Knowing that God sees all things, the attitude of Tyre should be a warning to those who rejoice when their competition goes bankrupt, or to the "Christian" who resents the success of his "rivals" in the church or in the marketplace. Christians have much to repent of here. Our gossip does more damage than we can imagine when we rejoice over the so-called "failures" of others. Of course, with God, there is no failure.
Now the works of the flesh . . . are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (sensuality), Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (discord), emulations (jealousy), wrath, strife, seditions (dissensions), heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God (Gal. 5:19-21).
Thought for Today:
Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak (Matt. 26:41).
Christ Revealed:
As the One who will rule over the destruction of Satan at the end of time: Therefore will I bring forth a fire . . . it shall devour thee (Ezek. 28:18-19). As Jesus reigns following the Great White Throne Judgment, Satan, the devil . . . was cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:1-10,14).
Word Studies:
25:5 couchingplace =resting place; 26:9 engines of war =battering rams; 26:17 haunt it =dwell there.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for Government Officials: Sen. Bernard Sanders (VT), and Rep. Michael Simpson (ID) • Country: Austria (8.1 million) in central Europe • Major language: German • Religious freedom • 78% Catholic; 6% Protestant; 3% Other Christian; 2% Muslim; .1% Jewish; 1.9% Other • Prayer Suggestion: Pray not to be envious of others (Ps. 37:1).
Optional Reading: Revelation 13
Memory Verse for the Week: Philippians 1:29
