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Who will be a witness for the Lord?

2012-05-25T10:59:00Z

As we have seen, Israel was a poor witness for the glory of the Lord. She was rebellious, disobedient and idolatrous and had been so throughout most of her history from the time she was in Egypt. Nevertheless, the Lord used her and worked through her so that He was able to proclaim and demonstrate His greatness. He performed mighty acts for His chosen ones. Isaiah describes these in terms that remind us of the exodus from Egypt. The descriptions of walking through the fire and wading through he deep waters refer also to the future obstacles the Jews will face when they will be sent off to exile in Babylon and when they will return. The Lord will always care for those He loves.

Like Israel, we believers are far from perfect. We are often rebellious, self-centered and unjust but the Lord loves us and still chooses to call us His redeemed. As Isaiah says in verses 1 and 25, He has redeemed us for His own sake, for His own glory. We benefit from His acts and favor and this too magnifies that glory for it shows how loving and kind He is. He forgives us our sins and forgets them. None of the gods of the world are this kind nor are human beings most of whom seldom forget any sin or wrong suffered and who usually seek vengeance and restitution. People and false gods hold so much to wrongs that they require those who wrong them to work to atone for them. The Lord knows that in His case, it is impossible for any human being to atone for sin. Therefore He has made it possible for Him to forgive all those who turn to Him for mercy: through Jesus. No other religion can make such a claim. If God forgives us so, how can we withhold forgiveness from those who have wronged us?

The mission of the Servant of the Lord.

2012-05-24T10:59:00Z

Isaiah 42

Although Israel is specifically called the Servant of the Lord in the preceding chapter, here the Servant is a specific person who will come to fulfill the mission Israel had been called to. This chapter contains one of what scholars call “The Servant Songs” which develop the theme of servanthood. The servant of the Lord is totally committed to do God’s will, to perform His mission completely with gentleness, meekness, humility and patience. He will preach the word of the Lord that will enlighten those living in darkness and free those trapped in the bondage of Satan, idolatry and sin. He will uphold and fulfill God’s law.

The mission of the servant was the one that the Lord chose Israel to perform, but which she failed to carry out. Israel failed to give praise to Yahweh for all the blessings He had showered upon them and became deaf to His words and commands. We who are believers are called to the same mission because we are the servants of the Lord. Too often, especially here in the USA we get mixed up with political discussions and causes and pay more attention and honor to the constitution than to the word of God. We neglect to preach the good news that Christ came to heal and save those who are weak, powerless, poor and in the darkness of sin. It is our mission to preach to the lost as well as love the poor and oppressed. Salvation is a gift meant to be shared with everyone.

The only true God is Yahweh.

2012-05-23T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 41

Isaiah continues to encourage the future exiles of Judah so that they will hold fast to their faith in the Lord even in the midst of dire circumstances. Then the Lord presents His case for His greatness as if He were in court in order to build up that faith. The first testimony is provided by a future deliverer. He will send some 150 years later. He will testify to the Lord’s greatness as well as His omniscience. The second witness is that of the gods of the pagans themselves. These are the works of human minds and hands. The gods of all religions are fabrications. They are imaginary, fake, fraudulent and so utterly useless.

For these reasons, we who worship the one true God, Yahweh, have nothing to fear from other religions or nations. We have nothing to fear from pagan gods or even Satan and his demonic hordes and the billions of humans he holds enslaved. The Lord God is Almighty. We who worship Him worship the only God who exists, and thus is the only God who can bring real peace and comfort.

In our world there are billions of people who seek this same comfort in other religions, in material goods, in relationships and in the pleasures of the flesh. How any one can maintain that all religions are equal is ridiculous since God Himself tells us that it is He who lives and it is He we should worship and adore. Though it may seem for a time that those who oppose Yahweh have the upper hand, this does not reflect reality. He will surely vindicate His loved ones and enforce true justice on all the earth.

Soothing words of comfort.

2012-05-22T11:01:00Z

Isaiah 40

This chapter celebrates the coming of our King, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. What a great comfort to know that our God is in control of all things. Isaiah wrote this for the Jews who would go into exile 100 years later. He wanted to comfort them in the midst of their afflictions and pain, to let them know that their trials would only be temporary. Deliverance was a sure and certain event that would take place when the Lord came. The Lord God is almighty, the one who created all things and sustains them by His word. No nation can stand in His way for He controls the flow of history.

And we too should remember that the Lord cares for each one of us. He is a mighty warrior but also a tender shepherd who cares for each lowly member of His flock. We might, like many in our world today, tend to forget that in the light of all the terrorism and violence we see all about us. Many people think that based on what they experience or see with their eyes that God is powerless or unfeeling or even cruel. The words of Isaiah assure us that He is not. The words of the gospel bring comfort to those in turmoil. You can just feel the comfort and peace flooding your being as you read these wonderful words. That is the peace and love of the Holy Spirit that fills you and testifies to the reality of the good news of peace and salvation in Jesus Christ. We cannot restrain ourselves from sharing such words of comfort with the people in the world.

Misplaced trust.

2012-05-21T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 38-39

These chapters tell of events that took place some years prior to the attack by Assyria. Isaiah placed them here to highlight the fact that the destruction of Judah may have been delayed but not halted. Hezekiah’s terminal illness caused him to utter a weak but effective prayer of repentance and sorrow over his sin. The Lord gave him a reprieve and he was healed. Sometime later, the King received ambassadors from Babylon, at that time a small kingdom trying to throw off the yoke of the Assyrians. They came seeking to stir up Judah to resist as well. The mistake Hezekiah made was to take pride in the treasures of the Temple and palace as if they were his own. He did not consult the Lord or Isaiah when he displayed them to the Babylonians. The Lord then revealed to the king that though Judah would not fall to Assyria, she would fall a century later to Babylon.

The lesson here is that the Lord often withholds judgment to spare the righteous but for other reasons as well, reasons which He is not obligated to disclose to us. The Lord keeps His own counsel. We know that His justice and His decisions will surely be carried out according to His plan. Therefore in every situation, in every crisis or dilemma we are to trust Him and seek His guidance so we can make godly choices.

Many people even believers fail to trust God. They choose people or idols or things that will prove false and lead then away from God. Many people (yes believers too!) put great faith and trust in the words of psychics, mediums, fortunetellers and media marketing gurus who tell people what they want to hear. In the long run such advice will lead them away from God into the arms of Satan.

Effective prayer.

2012-05-18T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 37

Hezekiah prayed for deliverance in the face of the Assyrian threat. In this prayer he placed all of his faith, though somewhat belatedly, in the Lord. He acknowledged that the Lord alone is the only true God. He realized that Yahweh reigns over all the nations of the earth. The Lord is touched by his prayer even though it was late because it was marked by repentance and humble faith. Yahweh indeed rules over all the nations, but Sennacherib and his followers did not fully understand how complete His rule is. They failed to realize that the victories and triumphs they have experienced have been given them by God. Instead, they think that these were all their own doing, their own achievements.

The prideful attitude of Sennacherib was his downfall for pride always insults the Lord. Many people in our world today are guilty of such pride. Those who are rich and powerful do not usually thank the Lord for His gifts. If they do so verbally, they often act as if their own efforts and wisdom brought them to where they are today. Such people usurp the place of God, taking personal credit for His work and favor. They will find, like Sennacherib, that the Lord does not share His glory with any other. He will repay those who have exalted themselves by bringing them down. Therefore the believer should acknowledge that everything he has accomplished and that he has taken pride in has always been the work of the Lord.

Satan’s temptations.

2012-05-17T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 36

Isaiah shifts our attention away to the events that took place during the reign of Hezekiah, events we have already encountered in 2 Kings 18ff. His purpose is to once again emphasize the importance of trusting God and the dire consequences that result when we fail to do so. These are dramatically illustrated by Hezekiah’s life. Isaiah describes the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians marked by the villainous boasting of Sennacherib’s general. He was proud and arrogant and declared that no gods could stand up to the gods of the Assyrians, not even Yahweh. In fact, according to him, Yahweh had deserted His people and had allowed them to fall because Hezekiah had insulted Him by looking to Egypt for help and by taking down the Lord’s idols and altars.

The Assyrian’s boast was designed to shake the faith of the Jews for it is based in part on truth. The Lord had indeed allowed the Assyrians to lay waste to Judah but not because they insulted Him. He wanted to bring His people to repentance not to destroy them. The boast is similar to the way in which the devil and his minions often assail us. They often tell us that God hates us or has left us because our sins are so gross that they are unforgivable or require that we make so great sacrifice of atonement to make us right with him again. The enemy presents us with half-truths designed to produce fear and doubt in order to shake our faith and turn us from the Lord. The devil is right only so far as His assertion that the Lord has allowed this illness, trouble or reversal to befall us. But these things happen not because the Lord hates us or is disgusted with our sinfulness. The Lord works through adverse circumstances in order to bring us to Himself. He has not deserted us. The devil’s taunts should cause us to turn to the Lord.

Amazing comfort.

2012-05-16T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 35

Following the dark and bloody judgments of the previous chapter, Isaiah suddenly interjects a bright ray of hope and joy. Here he describes the blessed hope of the righteous, those who have kept faith in God, those He has redeemed. In life they have been terribly oppressed and abused. They are called blind, lame, deaf and mute because they are totally incapable of caring for themselves, attaining justice for their injuries or victory over their enemies. But such are those who make up the Kingdom of God. The strong and powerful, the beautiful and the proud, the self-righteous and self-assured do not enter that Kingdom. Only the lowly, the sick, the helpless will get when they trust in God, not in self.

Isaiah uses the beauty of this chapter like an oasis in a desert of barrenness and pain. It helps us to focus on the reality of the unseen Kingdom amidst the trials and turmoil of life, because it serves as an assurance that there is a better place. The glory of God’s Kingdom is a great comfort because it will be free of pain and darkness. Many poets and hymn writers have tried to describe the beauty of that heavenly Kingdom, but the true beauty comes from the Lord Himself. Heaven is made magnificent not by streets of gold and mansions of glory but by the comforting and kind presence of Yahweh.

God’s sure judgment on the unrepentant.

2012-05-15T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 34

Here we encounter a further portion of God’s judgment on the wicked, represented symbolically by the nation of Edom. The Edomites were kin to the Israelites as they descended from Jacob’s brother Esau. The Edomites symbolize rebellion against God because they treated God’s chosen people with contempt and violence. The judgment on all those who rebel against God appears quite ugly for it is filled with bloodshed, the stench of rotting corpses and tremendous upheaval as the land is laid waste and people slaughtered on a massive scale much as we see today in parts of Africa and the Middle East. All this precedes the establishment of God’s kingdom. All this is what we pray for when we pray as Jesus taught us: “Thy kingdom come.”

The Kingdom of God will bring doom and judgment on billions of people, including perhaps some we know and love. We may well wonder how God could do that to people who really are not all that cruel and evil. After all, we are all sinners. The difference between believers and those doomed to destruction is that believers admit we are sinners and that we have no control over sin. We do not hide it, nor do we try to say it is not so bad or that it is really good. We also acknowledge our need for God for mercy to forgive us and strength to overcome temptation. We know we can’t live or even enter His kingdom without Him. Those who do not admit their need for God stand in rebellion against Him because they do not want to do things His way. They want to get into the Kingdom but on their terms not His. Nothing but unconditional surrender will satisfy God and most people, sadly, refuse to do this.

You can’t fool God.

2012-05-14T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 33

Isaiah prophesies the siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians under Sennacherib. The Assyrians acted treacherously in that they accepted Judah’s tribute of loyalty but attacked anyway. God promised to turn the treachery back upon Sennacherib for though they Assyrians would leave Judah in ruins they would not take Jerusalem. They would return to Assyria where the king would be treacherously murdered in a palace coup by his own sons. The Lord often judges the wicked by bringing upon them the wicked they devised for others.

Isaiah’s prophecy was that the Lord would deliver Jerusalem because King Hezekiah and the people would repent of their sin and idolatry. This shows us that only those who acknowledge they are sinners and turn to God for mercy will enter into God’s rest. People can fool other people about their sinfulness, but they can’t fool the Lord. People can abuse and afflict others with violence and pain but the Lord will turn their devices back upon themselves. Many will ignore their sinfulness, or redefine it as a personal lifestyle choice and reap the sickness and spiritual malaise that result from poor choices. Others will think that God doesn’t care what they do and live as they please. Many too will despair at their sinfulness but think there is no God who loves or cares about them or that there is no God at all. Their despair will lead them to suicide. Salvation though is the free gift God is waiting to give all those who will repent and turn from sin to His mercy and love.

Thy Kingdom come.

2012-05-11T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 32

Isaiah looks forward to the new Kingdom of God. His Kingdom and the values and standards of that Kingdom will upset the ways of the world. Society will be completely transformed. The people most admired now are those with wealth, power and fame who use, oppress and abuse others in their quest to achieve their place and prosperity. In God’s Kingdom, it is the oppressed who will be exalted. The righteous will rule. In His kingdom all that humans now consider beautiful, artistic, and noble, all the awards and accolades that the artistic and talented receive will pale into insignificance before the Lord.

In modern America we value individual choice and freedom as the highest of ideals. The government tries hard to insure while suppressing the rights of Christians to maintain a different viewpoint. Yet the Christian knows this: the Lord will rule His Kingdom with righteousness and justice. No one will have an opinion in His Kingdom that will differ from His or anyone else. That has happened before with disastrous consequences. In one case Satan and his followers were cast out of heaven. In the other, Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden.

The Lord’s Kingdom rule will ensure permanent security, endless prosperity, and freedom from pain and fear for all. The inhabitants of this Kingdom will be indwelt by the Holy Spirit who will enable all to live in submission to the Lord and according to His standard of righteousness. In a sense the age of the Spirit was inaugurated on Pentecost when He filled the disciples with power. The Spirit can enable us to do more than we think we can, but we let our pride and egotism get in His way because we do not always submit to His will or cooperate with His plans.

Modern idolatry.

2012-05-10T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 31

Isaiah supplements the previous series of oracles with another one pronouncing woe upon those who trust in Egypt. Yahweh says plainly that He will fight for His people. He is the divine Warrior. Though His strength cannot be seen because it is in the realm of the Spirit, He is omnipotent and attacks with surprise and fear far greater than the “shock and awe” strategy that was so proudly proclaimed by the US military in Iraq. No human being who takes arms up against the Lord can ever hope to win. Trusting any person or thing or system other than the Lord is idolatry and must be rooted out.

It may be hard for us to think of idolatry except in terms of statues, idols, false gods and myths, but it actually takes many forms. Any person who does not submit every area of his or her life to the Lord is committing idolatry because he/she is not putting total allegiance or faith in the Lord. All those who rely primarily upon human government to secure and protect them is committing idolatry. Any person who does not seek the Lord’s counsel first in any issue or crisis is committing idolatry. Any person who values the opinions of any celebrity or politician, movie star or guru, friend or relative over the counsel of God is committing idolatry. Of course we tend to forget this in our media drive society. We compartmentalize our lives into work, relationships, leisure. Our relationship with the Lord does not influence how we act in these other areas of life. Yet this too is idolatry.

The church as governmental advisor.

2012-05-09T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 30

Isaiah presents here a few more oracles concerning the folly of Judah’s policy of relying on Egypt. The leaders were looking for military help to secure their borders against Assyrian expansion, and so be able to continue their own agricultural and commercial prosperity. The Lord told them that their trust is in error because Egypt was but a shadow, a phantom that promised great strength but produced nothing. The nation was to rely solely on the Lord in the crisis. Yahweh is the one and only God so all decisions regarding alliances and strategies must be made in the light of His counsel. He alone can produce the prosperity and security they sought.

To the world today the idea of seeking the Lord’s counsel seems utterly ridiculous. We think that we must first rely upon our resources, our skills, our armies, our weapons and our diplomats. Considering such resources will then allow us to better formulate our plans and strategies. Once we know what we can do and how to do it we look at what we want to do. Then with our plans made we can ask the Lord to bless them. Such has been the way of most individuals and governments down through the centuries, including that of the United States. Such behavior is rebellion against God because it puts our trust not in Him but in our leaders and in the plans and schemes of human beings. He may use them but He must first be consulted to discern His will in the matter. Failure to trust God over all and in all invites disaster.

Today it is up to the church to serve as a godly advisor to our leaders. The church cannot play politics or give in to the government’s demands. The church must provide godly teaching and warning when the governing authorities are acting in disobedience to the will of God.

The fiery discipline of the Lord.

2012-05-08T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 29

Ariel is a word which means “an altar hearth”, the flat surface on which a fire was lit to consume sacrifices. Isaiah used it to refer to Jerusalem which was the center of the worship of Yahweh. Apparently the whole city was going to become the site of God’s consuming fire that would purge her of idolatry and iniquity. The leaders and people both had heard the words of warning the Lord had spoken through Isaiah. Yet they refused to listen, as if the words were sealed up. They preferred their religion to be composed of lip service and superficial acts which kept the letter of the law but did not come from a burning heart that was consumed with love for the Lord.

Such superficial religion rejects God’s authority treating Him not as Lord but as a servant who must give me what I want. Many people reject the God of the Bible because they don’t want to have to obey Him. They would rather try to get Him to give them what they want. They keep the rules, or at least the ones they think are valid, but will not surrender their wills to Him.

God hates such false religion, but even Christian leaders behave this way. It is shocking the level of inconsistency that religious people and leaders are capable of. Quite often decisions are made and policies enforced based on individual whims and power politics rather than on what the Lord wants. Such disrespectful behavior often denies the love of God as well as the message of forgiveness and humility that is preached in God’s word. The Lord desires that we serve Him with humility and dependence on Him. Pride in our abilities and self invites His discipline.

The judgment on Israel serves as a warning to us.

2012-05-07T10:57:00Z

Isaiah 28

The issue discussed in the next several chapters concerns whether Judah and her leaders, including Hezekiah, will trust Egypt and her military might or the Lord in the face of the ever-increasing Assyrian threat. The warning against Ephraim, (the northern kingdom of Israel) is an oracle that prophesies her destruction by Sennacherib and his forces. In the face of the Assyrians, Israel and her leaders, both civil and religious, ignored God’s warning and made a mockery of His Laws. They engaged in debauchery and drunkenness to alleviate the fear but were destroyed nonetheless. Despite the warning, Judah did not trust the Lord either and then suffered the consequences. She made a covenant with Egypt which Isaiah called a covenant with death. Only God’s miraculous intervention saved her from total annihilation.

The message here as before is “Trust the Lord.” To help us do this, Isaiah gives us two images. The first is the cornerstone. The Lord is going to erect a new foundation, a new kingdom. Before He can do that, however, He must first uproot and destroy the old building down to the foundation because it is rotten. The process will be painful and cause some to doubt the Lord. When we consider Isaiah’s second image of the farmer, we see that God works in different ways at different times to achieve His plan. The farmer sometimes plows, then sows, harvests, threshes, then grinds. The threshing and grinding vary with the type of grain harvested. Yet all that is done is part of the process. So it is with God plan.

Considering life from our perspective, we might often think that God does not know what He is doing or is acting capriciously or without mercy. As we consider the oracle related by Isaiah we can come to understand God’s ways better. This will sustain us and help us persevere in times of persecution and economic or physical distress.

The Kingdom of God is like a fruitful vineyard.

2012-05-04T11:01:00Z

Isaiah 27

Isaiah uses a couple of agricultural images to describe the coming Kingdom. First he likens the Kingdom of God to a fruitful vineyard that stands in contrast to the one he described in chapter 5. That vineyard was condemned for producing wild grapes that were unfit for consumption. This new vineyard is one that the Lord oversees personally, that He builds, tends, cares for and protects. This fruitful vineyard will provide eternal life and joy not just to the Jews or Israel but to all who call on the Lord. They will come from all nations and take root in God’s Kingdom.

Before all this happens, Isaiah tells us, the Lord must uproot the old vineyard. This means that He must punish the wicked as well as chastise and discipline His children. The wicked will suffer God’s full wrath. Compared to that, the discipline the redeemed endure, though painful, serves God’s holy and wonderful purpose. It makes us realize the futility of trusting in ourselves or false gods. The discipline brings us closer to the Lord. Ultimately the redeemed will be delivered as the Lord blows the trumpet to announce the harvest of the righteous. Once the Kingdom of God has been established we will dwell no more on past sorrows, but rejoice in eternal peace.

We Christians already experience the joys of God’s Kingdom only as we realize that we are part of the vine that is Jesus (John 15). As we are rooted in the vineyard of the Lord we are dependent upon Him for all things. If we think we don’t need Him, we will become disconnected from the vine and wither away

The Kingdom of God is like a city.

2012-05-03T11:00:00Z

Isaiah 26

Isaiah pens this oracle to help the Jews have faith and perseverance to keep trusting in the Lord. Although they will endure defeat and exile with their cities destroyed and their land laid waste, the Lord will achieve the ultimate victory over their enemies. He will provide them with an eternal city. The residents of this city will be all the redeemed, those who have committed themselves to serving the Lord. They will have no fear, for the Lord is their peace. He is the one to whom they look for strength, justice and righteousness. The gates of the city stand open so that all who profess faith in God, all who seek Him, not just the Jews, may enter in.

The command here is for the redeemed to wait patiently on the Lord. The righteous often find this frustrating. They often feel like all they do, all they undergo produces no fruit, like going through labor pains and giving birth to the wind. They endure suffering, affliction, deprivation, violence and death and for what? Well, Isaiah gives them and us hope because the City of God is a certainty. Even those who die will be resurrected to find their reward in it. Sure it is frustrating to endure trials and tribulations when we think we should be fruitful and filled with joy. But even in that feeling of frustration we need not give in to despair. Even though we experience little or no joy in this life the sure and certain hope of the redeemed is that all we endure has meaning and purpose for serves God’s eternal plan. And, in addition, we will experience fullness of joy in the eternal City of God. Such hope keeps us going.

The Kingdom of God is like a banquet.

2012-05-02T11:01:00Z

Isaiah 25

Isaiah praises God for His glory. He is quite emotional and filled with awe as he enumerates all His wonderful attributes and all the great works He has performed and is performing as He establishes His Kingdom on earth. He describes the Kingdom in terms of a great banquet in which all the redeemed take part. This means that there will be no hunger or thirst. There will be rejoicing because there will be no shame or guilt. The banquet celebrates the comfort, peace, and freedom from pain, strife, anxiety and worry that the Lord brings. He has even conquered death and taken away that fear.

The banquet of the Lord is a victory celebration. As with every victory there is a winner and a loser. The losers are those who are not redeemed. They rejected the Lord in favor of gorging themselves without limit in this life and so will miss out on the eternal feasting and rejoicing. With Isaiah we can rejoice in the glory of God and the wonders with which He blesses His chosen ones, but while here we will still mourn for the lost for many of them will be those we love and admire. Thus we must make every effort to ensure that our loved ones will not miss that heavenly feast. We must preach the gospel of salvation in Jesus alone not just in words but in deeds that demonstrate the saving power and love of Jesus. We must do this in spite of the opposition and ostracism which we will face.

The curse.

2012-05-01T10:59:00Z

Isaiah 24

Isaiah has now finished his oracles against specific nations. The next 4 chapters address the world in general depicting judgments that will come upon the whole earth to usher in the Kingdom of God. God’s judgment has its origin in Eden, when Adam and Eve sinned and broke covenant with the Lord. What the Lord prophesied in Genesis 3 was a curse upon the earth, on all created beings as well, not merely on all human beings. In these verses, Isaiah shows that the curse comes to fruition in the judgment of the Lord. Major upheavals take place in the earth and the sky that cause anxiety and fear in all humans except for the remnant of believers. In the midst of travail they rejoice at the victory of the Lord.

Perhaps we are experiencing the fulfillment of the curse in our own days. Even if the reports regarding global climate change are not true, there is no question that the weather and other “natural” disasters are causing devastating cataclysms the world over. The media and the world like to attribute such events to “mother Nature” an impersonal force that somehow people use to explain what ever is beyond their control.

We Christians ought not to make such a mistake: the Lord is in control of all these events, not us. Yet some of these are man-made in the sense that we as humans have polluted the earth with all sorts of noxious waste. We have contaminated both land and water and are reaping the harvest of our folly. The Lord has been gracious in sparing us but if we are to believe the Bible, His judgment will come and it will not be pleasant or pretty.

Wealth that leads to pride.

2012-04-30T11:03:00Z

Isaiah 23

The last of Isaiah’s oracles against the nations concerned the nation represented by the city of Tyre. Tyre was an eminent and wealthy and seaport on the coast of the Mediterranean in what is now modern Lebanon. It was the capital of the trading nation of Phoenicia which dominated all sea trade on the Mediterranean as far west as Spain (Tarshish). Judah had strong diplomatic and commercial ties with that nation and so was somewhat dependent on Tyre for commercial prosperity. As we have seen, however, the Lord demanded that His people trust Him for all things.

Tyre faced the wrath of the Lord not for her wealth but for her pride in that wealth. Though there is nothing inherently wrong with wealth, the sad fact is that it leads people away from trusting the Lord to trusting self, to self-centered pride. Thus Tyre represents the pride of the wealthy in their wealth and in their self-sufficiency. Those who seek wealth often do so at the cost of human lives and relationships. In the quest to satisfy their lust for material prosperity the wealthy often do things that are unkind and unscrupulous. They spurn those who stand in their way and use and abuse those who can help them achieve their goals, after which they cast them aside. Those who seek wealth at all costs then will face God’s wrath as did Tyre.

Wealth and money and the things they can buy all will perish but He who does the Lord’s will receive eternal rewards that will not. Thus we Christians should be wary about seeking wealth for our own sake. If we seek wealth and material prosperity we had better be sure that our motives are to glorify the Kingdom of God. Otherwise what wealth we attain will become a curse and a snare.