"An Uninhabited Ruin!"

Scripture Passage

Ezekiel 26:15-28:26; 2 Kings 25:3-7; Jeremiah 52:6-11; Jeremiah 39:2-10

Scripture Focus

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will make Tyre an uninhabited ruin, like many others. I will bury you beneath the terrible waves of enemy attack. Great seas will swallow you. (Ezekiel 26:19 NLT)

Observation

Today is one of those days where it’s a shame that a cohesive section of Scripture has been arbitrarily divided between a couple of different days. With the opening verses of Ezekiel 26, the prophet begins a pronouncement of judgment on Tyre that continues in today’s reading. The thing to note from yesterday’s reading is that Tyre rejoiced in Judah’s demise, celebrating what she might gain from it.

“Son of man, Tyre has rejoiced over the fall of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Ha! She who was the gateway to the rich trade routes to the east has been broken, and I am the heir! Because she has been made desolate, I will become wealthy!’” (Ez 26:2 NLT)

The thing that’s clear from today’s reading is that God won’t stand for Tyre rejoicing in Israel’s demise. In short, Tyre will fall and all the surrounding nations who looked to Tyre for support will collapse as well (26:15-18).

Now, I’ve said it before: I’m not enough of an Old Testament scholar to get especially worked up about the destruction of an ancient people I know so little about. However, Tyre’s situation does remind me, today—because Tyre apparently felt so secure in her position and in need of nothing and no one else—of a story Jesus tells as recorded in Luke 12.

A man concerned about getting his share of an inheritance has interrupted Jesus’ teaching. Jesus’ reply is to the point. "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions" (Luke 12:15 NIV). Then Jesus tells the story of a man who enjoyed a bountiful harvest one year—a harvest he must not have needed, for all his barns were already full. Thinking of no one but himself (like Tyre thought nothing of Judah), he determined to build bigger barns and store up all the excess “for a rainy day.” In the story Jesus tells, God announced the man would never need all the goods he’d selfishly hoarded. “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?“ (Luke 12:20 NIV)

“This is how it will be,” Jesus says, “with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:21 NIV).

I’m not saying the parallels between the destruction of Tyre and the losses of the “successful” farmer are exact. I’m only saying the former reminds me of the latter. Those who share our Father’s compassion for others find themselves “rich towards God.” Those who don’t—well, today’s reading suggests that tightfisted insensitivity comes at a painful price.

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