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Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Friday, May 16, 2008

Ezekiel 26

It may be a good general principle in this age of trouble that we should never rejoice over the misfortune of some group of people, no matter how beneficial or satisfying their demise might seem to our own interests. God is the God of blessings and of trouble. For us to pile on top of an enemy when he is already down is uncharitable. We should recognize instead that we certainly deserve the treatment that the other nation received. In fact, we deserve something much worse than they have received. We know that all of us deserve both death and hell. We should also remember that we all appreciate a friend when we have brought low, and we do not know how we ourselves will fare in the future. It is possible that we may face a similar day of difficulty. In any case, the trouble of one nation, is not a signal for other nations to act as vultures who will now feed off of the misfortunes of a defeated people.

Beyond this general rule that this age may not be the best time to rejoice in the pinch of the fall upon others, we should say something more. When the party being disciplined is actually one of the favorites of God, it may be especially unwise to rejoice in their discipline. God may not have utterly rejected them, and their enemies will not want to do anything that would cause Israel’s God to be angry.

As the Lord had something to say to Israel’s neighbors to the east and the south, He has a word through Ezekiel for their trading partner to the north. The people of Tyre saw the trouble that Israel was facing from Babylon through the lens of opportunity. The gate of Jerusalem was broken. The Phoenicians greeted this as good news and considered the potential economic benefit that they would yield from this news. Because of this disregard for the plight of the people of God, the Lord announces that He is against Tyre. This chapter and the next two make this point, giving us a substantial consideration of the trouble that is coming upon the land of the Phoenicians. As we have seen in other cases, Tyre will face an appropriate penalty for her offense. It shall happen to her as it has happened to Jerusalem. She rejoiced in their destruction. Now she will be destroyed.

When we say that Tyre will be destroyed, it does appear that what will come upon her will be more significant even than what Jerusalem has faced. While they too will face the king of Babylon, his armies, his siege mounds, and all his instruments of war, it appears that he will make a bare rock out of the pleasant island nation. They had a good life in this land of merchants. They had riches, wonderful homes, festivals with singing and the playing of musical instruments. Now they will be so completely ravaged that it would seem like there was nothing left at all. They wanted to clean up after the Babylonians who had destroyed so much in Jerusalem. Now they will find that everything will be taken from them, and there will be nothing left for a greedy nation of scavengers to take. Even more than this, there is some indication in Ezekiel’s message that Tyre would never be rebuilt.

The fall of Tyre will cause many to marvel. All her trading partners knew what a great city she was. There is something awful about seeing people who live like kings being stripped of their robes. There is also something in us that likes to see the proud fall, but I am not sure that this is a righteous impulse. If an unpopular ruler were removed by his people, and there were no restraints on their behavior, who can tell how ugly his former subjects might become in their denigration of him. Other rulers tremble at this kind of news. They know that they may not survive very long.

The words of this prophecy seem to go beyond even these horrors. It is as if God will drown this city that once seemed to command the seas. It will now be brought down to the bottom of the ocean. Her end will be dreadful, and she shall be no more.

We imagine that our impulse to gain riches at the expense of others is very innocent. We think that what we do is just business. We are happy to see others fall, and we begin to imagine ways in which we can profit from their misfortune. We see from the Lord’s judgment on Tyre that he takes these things very seriously, particularly if we intend to make ourselves rich at the expense of His covenant community – even more if we would use the occasion of the Lord’s discipline of His people as an opportunity for our own economic gain.

What do we see when we see the misfortune of the Lord’s people? The Lord Jesus Christ looked upon us in our need, and He gave Himself in love. He came with His riches of righteousness, wisdom, and power, and saw us in our condition of extreme poverty. In the greatest display of love known to man, He gave Himself for us. He was willing to be poor that we might be rich. He also tells us that this gospel way of treating others is one of the primary ways that we display His love in the world.

Christ loved the church with His life. He gave His time, His substance, His heart, His body, His blood, that we might be rescued. He does not taken advantage of us in our troubles. Instead He ordains only those troubles that are necessary for our eternal good. This is the Man who saved us. This is the heart of God for His people. This is Jesus, our Redeemer.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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