Daily Devotions
Isaiah
"Tyre will be forgotten seventy years"
Text: Isaiah 23:15
THE CONQUEST OF TYRE
Under the assault of both the Assyrians and Babylonians, Tyre representing Phoenecia was overcome. It lost its place as a maritime power for seven decades.
“Now it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre will be forgotten seventy years,
according to the days of one king.
At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
‘Take a harp, go about the city,
You forgotten harlot;
Make sweet melody, sing many songs,
That you may be remembered.’
And it shall be, at the end of seventy years, that the LORD will deal with Tyre.
She will return to her hire,
and commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world on the face of the earth.
Her gain and her pay will be set apart for the LORD;
it will not be treasured nor laid up,
for her gain will be for those who dwell before the LORD,
to eat sufficiently, and for fine clothing.”
Isaiah 23:15-18
1. Forgotten for seventy years.
a) Tyre lost its prestigious maritime place in the ancient world.
b) Babylon eradicated its prominence for seventy years.
2. The song of the harlot.
a) Tyre became a tavern song.
b) It would otherwise not be remembered over the seventy years.
c) Tyre was called “a harlot” in this text.
3. A second chance given to Tyre.
a) The Medes and the Persians overcame the Babylonians.
b) The Medo-Persian Empire sought to restore Tyre to its old prominence.
c) But the reborn Tyre had not learned its lesson.
i) It returned to its old ways.
ii) Harlotry was once again practised.
iii) Tyre returned to its idolatrous and sinful ways.
iv) The influence of other nations affected Tyre adversely.
4. What happened to the wealth that Tyre would gain?
a) The prosperity gained would not benefit Tyre directly.
b) The LORD would make sure that the wealth would be redistributed.
i) It would be “set apart for the LORD”.
ii) The wealth would be given to those who dwell with the LORD.
iii) The righteous in Tyre would be well-provided for.
iv) The LORD would bless them with sufficiency and even wealth.