Commentary

At the end of seventy years, the Lord will visit Tyre, and she will return to her wages and will prostitute herself with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth. Her merchandise and her wages will be holy to the Lord. It will not be stored or hoarded, but her merchandise will supply abundant food and fine clothing for those who dwell before the Lord.

At first these 2 verses were really confusing to me. Then, I looked them up in a trusty Bible commentary, and I found what I thought was going on was sort of right. It's not saying that Tyre will return to sin and that will be glorifying to the Lord. No. That would be crazy. What it is saying is that Tyre will return to the same job as before, but this time in order to glorify the Lord instead of prostituting themselves or valuing something else before God.

I think it relates to the wall concept I discussed yesterday. God removed everything in Tyre and sent them away for seventy years. Once that time of pruning was up, they returned. Was there a dramatic life change in what they were supposed to be doing? No. But there was a dramatic change in how they were supposed to be doing it. Instead of trading with other nations in order to glorify themselves or to get something they wanted, they were trading in order to bring glory to God. Their motives changed as a result of God's punishment. This is the appropriate response. I think I read it yesterday, but there is a passage in Isaiah were God is removing things from a people (Israel probably) expecting them to turn to sackcloth, ashes, weeping, and humility. But noooo. They start drinking and partying for "tomorrow we die!"

That's so the attitude of this age. God is trying to make us better, but instead of responding in humility we respond with carpe diem. Are we so shallow that the only thing that matters is our own enjoyment of life? Are we so dense that we only think it can come on those terms? Are we so foolish to not see that a life without all of those things is actually a life? Without God, we are always dying. With God, we live forever. I'm not sure people think about that.

Lord, let humiliation be our first response. Let us come to You knowing how undeserving we are. Let us not forget what You have done for us and how we don't deserve it. Lord have mercy on us sinners!!! Praise You for that mercy!


Amen. Amen. Amen.