The reading goes from talking about the city of Tyre directly to who was running Tyre?? 👿👺👹 This is like a riddle (I don’t like talking about Satan).
11 The word of the Lord came to me: 12 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning the king of Tyre and say to him: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“‘You were the seal of perfection,
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden,
the garden of God;
every precious stone adorned you:
carnelian, chrysolite and emerald,
topaz, onyx and jasper,
lapis lazuli, turquoise and beryl.
Your settings and mounting] were made of gold;
on the day you were created they were prepared.
14 You were anointed as a guardian cherub,
for so I ordained you.
You were on the holy mount of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created
till wickedness was found in you.
16 Through your widespread trade
you were filled with violence,
and you sinned.
So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God,
and I expelled you, guardian cherub,
from among the fiery stones.
17 Your heart became proud
on account of your beauty,
and you corrupted your wisdom
because of your splendor.
So I threw you to the earth;
I made a spectacle of you before kings.
18 By your many sins and dishonest trade
you have desecrated your sanctuaries.
So I made a fire come out from you,
and it consumed you,
and I reduced you to ashes on the ground
in the sight of all who were watching.
19 All the nations who knew you
are appalled at you;
you have come to a horrible end
and will be no more.’”
(Can Revelation come fast enough to read when this happens)
Sidon- *the sister city of Tyre (map yesterday)
Chapter 29-Prophecy Against Egypt. Actually, 29-32 will be 7 prophecies dealing with Egypt.
- Egypt was the ancient enemy of the Jew (Genesis/Exodus)
- Egypt, even after the plagues occured to prove their gods were false, they continued to worship them.
- Wow! Think about that. God used Moses by bringing 10 plagues (one for the head of each deity) to PROVE that there was only ONE God. Imagine if they had only taken that to heart…what we are about to read would not be happening.
- Egypt allied with Judah only when they can benefit from it.
OK, let’s dig in on this Sunday and let the Lord help refine us through the scriptures. Let’s get rid of some dross. (see…if I had said that 9 months ago you would have thought it was one of my typos)
- Verse 1-16
You say, “The Nile belongs to me;
I made it for myself.”
(Duet. 8:18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth)
2. Verse 17-21 Nebuchadnezzar attacked Egypt after conquering Tyre (it took 15 years to conquer Tyre). Basically, as a reward for being God’s instrument for conquering Tyre, Babylon is going to be rewarded “for a while” with the riches of Egypt’s plunder. That is hard for us “Americans” to swallow in a modern-day thought! Gulp!!
3. Lament (funeral dirge) Chapter 30- The Pride of a person or nation will cause it’s fall.
4. (Verse 20-26)- 24 I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan before him like a mortally wounded man.
We don’t know God’s plan, but we have to trust that He uses wicked nations to judge other wicked nations. We just need to trust that God knows what He is doing. (Thank heavens as I watch the news about Afghanistan) I just talked about this with my friend Robin Nielson!
Matthew 6: 9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
Have Faith and Trust in the things we don’t understand that is happening in our life.
5. Chapter 31- Egypt is compared to the once-powerful nation of Assyria that was destroyed. Egypt too will fall.
“‘Who can be compared with you in majesty?
3 Consider Assyria, once a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches overshadowing the forest;
it towered on high,
its top above the thick foliage….
18:Yet you, too, will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth below; you will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.
Reading the Bible - 2021 