The Authority of God Indicated

Our studies now move into the second main division of Ezekiel. Herein we see that the book is not only arranged chronologically but also thematically as oracles against foreign nations are grouped topically.

Overarching structure:

1. Chapters 4-24: The full departure of God’s glory. The horror of Judah’s fall.

These chapters occur before the siege of Jerusalem. Whether by vision, theatrical play, or denouncing oracles, the prophet forecasts the fall of Jerusalem. The city would be sieged and the people slaughtered for their crimes. But central to Judah’s judgement would be the exodus of the divine presence.

2. Chapters 25-32: The foreign detractors of God’s glory. The honour of Judah’s God.

This section occurs primarily during/after the siege of Jerusalem. Its downfall was major geo-political news. But, in those days, it would have been a marker of religious significance as well. Hostile nations surrounding Judah would rejoice in the defeat of Jerusalem and the demise of Judah’s God. It is worth noting that no word of denunciation is levelled against Babylon in this section; they were God’s agents of judgement.¹

3. Chapters 33-48: The future dwelling of God’s glory. Hope for Judah’s future.

At the end of chapter 33 the tone changes. Ezekiel has provided limited words of comfort so far. Now the prophet’s mouth is opened and his message changes. Themes of restoration abound; the nation will be resurrected spiritually, redeemed individually, and the temple will be rebuilt. What a transformation the final vision brings; God’s glory returns.

Predictive prophetic authenticity

Ezekiel chapter 26 may be a textbook example of the wonder and difficulties of predictive prophecy. Prophets generally had two responsibilities:

1. Speaking out against sin, condemning the nation’s current affairs spiritually, politically, morally and socially.
2. Predicting future events. Deuteronomy chapter 18 verses 21 and 22 provides the barometer for predictive prophecy: the prophecy must come to pass. Failure was not an option!

In our previous study, we detailed how Ezekiel is validated in the short term. Six years before the fall of Jerusalem, he depicted the siege. Sceptics minimize this, suggesting that Ezekiel was just good at reading the political climate. In essence, they claim, he is making deductions any political commentator could have made. This reasoning is flawed, arising out of a disdain for the supernatural nature of prophetic revelation. Our study in Ezekiel chapter 26 is different. It is fulfilled long after Ezekiel has died and cannot be met with the same objections. By verses 13 and 14, the Grecians are now in the ascendancy.²

Ezekiel 26. The city of Tyre: A case study in prophetic inerrancy

A study of Ezekiel’s messages concerning Tyre (‘Tyrus’ KJV) is informative. There are four sermons which alternate between oracle and lament. Tyre was a city-state which, by the thirteenth century BC, became the most important in Phoenicia.³ It was a virtual commercial empire being described as ‘the Queen of the seas’, responsible for establishing Carthage and it had influence as far as Spain.⁴

Chapter 26 indicates the contemporary crime of Tyre. Jerusalem was its great economic rival; removing trade tariffs due in Jerusalem would benefit Tyre.⁵ For Tyre the fall of Jerusalem marked a great pay day and Tyre rejoiced, ‘I shall be replenished, now that she is laid waste’, v. 2 ESV. God’s response is categoric, ‘Behold, I am against you … and will bring up many nations against you’, v. 3 ESV. The rest of our chapter details the fall of Tyre because of its greed, with successive nations breaking against it like waves of the sea. Chapter 27 laments the fall of this great commercial powerhouse. In chapter 28, we read of the political side of Tyre, the pride of its prince, and the power behind it all, the devil himself.⁶

Structure of chapter 26:

The destruction of Tyre foretold, vv. 1-6

• The reason for the judgement, vv. 1, 2.
• The regularity of the judgement. Tyre would be bombarded by successive waves of nations, v. 3.
• The result of the judgement, vv. 4-6.

The destruction of Tyre detailed, vv. 7-14

• The siege of Nebuchadnezzar (note the references to ‘he’),⁷ vv. 7-11.
• The siege of many nations (note the references to ‘they’),⁸ v. 12.
• The siege of Alexander the Great (note the reference to ‘I’: as Tyre falls God is working out His purpose through Alexander the Great), w. 13, 14.

The destruction of Tyre lamented, vv. 15-21

The conquest of Tyre: A tale of two cities

Tyre was comprised of two parts, the mainland ‘old Tyre’ and the island fortress which was about half a mile from the coastline. The island was impregnable, with walls 150 feet high and twenty feet wide. Prior to Alexander’s conquest, the island fortress was never breached.

The Babylonian siege of mainland Tyre, vv. 7-11

The Bible is correct even in the smallest of details. Nebuchadnezzar comes from the north to siege Tyre, v. 7. Surely this is wrong, as he marches upon Tyre following victory over Jerusalem in the south? We do not necessarily need to explain this away as some sort of generic statement of the direction that the Babylonians had to invade Syria/ Palestine from.⁹ After the siege of Jerusalem, we find Nebuchadnezzar in Riblah of Hamath, a location north of Tyre, 2 Kgs. 25. 21; Jer. 52. 9.

For thirteen years, Babylon sieges Tyre. Mainland Tyre is conquered alongside the surrounding dependent towns, 29. 18. Riddle notes that verses 7 to 11 outline ‘a land-based siege’.¹⁰ Nebuchadnezzar wins a hollow victory but never captures the true prize, the island. As the island was supplied by sea, it was relatively impervious to siege warfare. Historically, Tyre surrenders, but does so on its own terms and conditions. Later we find a biblical principle reaffirmed: God is no man’s debtor. ‘God didn’t think Nebuchadnezzar was paid enough for his efforts [regarding Tyre], so He gave him Egypt as an extra bonus (29. 18-20)’.¹¹

The Macedonian siege of the island fortress, vv. 13, 14

Some 250 years later, the island fortress falls to Alexander the Great.¹²He took the bricks of the levelled mainland city, even using its dust, to build a causeway to the island, v. 12.¹³This activity allowed him to turn ‘the island into a peninsula so that he could bring his siege engines to bear’.¹⁴ Additionally, he utilized ships from conquered Phoenician cities and help from the King of Cyprus who wished to ally himself to Alexander. Finally, the island fortress was cut off and razed to the ground.

The controversy of Tyre: failed or fulfilled prophecy?

Liberals reject this prophecy on two grounds:

1. They demand that the prophecy be understood to mean that Nebuchadnezzar destroys all of Tyre, effectively ignoring the development of thought and the reference to ‘many nations’, v. 3.
2. They claim that the expression ‘shalt be built no more’, v. 14, means this is a failed prophecy as a settlement exists there presently, the Lebanese town of Sour. It is now a fishing town with a UNESCO World Heritage centre for the excavated parts of ancient Tyre. UNESCO admits that a great part of the important archaeological vestiges remain submerged, matching verse 19, ‘great waters shall cover thee’.¹⁵

The second objection is worth reviewing. “‘Shall never be built” might be better translated “will not be built up again”, that is, “will not go back to its former state” and does not imply that the island of Tyre would never again have any buildings or inhabitants at all’.¹⁶ For Tyre to be ‘rebuilt’, it would need to have commercial reputation, great wealth and prominence again - the renown of chapter 27. None of this is the case.¹⁷ Thus, we affirm the following in defence of the veracity of the word of God:

1. The modern city of Tyre is not the same as the ancient Tyre. You cannot rebuild that which is underwater - Alexander’s conquest radically shifted the geography of this region.
2. The placement of the city is different. Originally ‘old Tyre’ was south of the island fortress. Sour boasts a mainland city directly parallel to the headland city.
3. The prominence of the city is different. Sour is a fishing port, just as the Bible predicts, a place for ‘spreading of nets’, v. 5, not a commercial powerhouse. Chapters 26 and 27 are about the glory, prominence, and commercial significance of Tyre. This has never been regained; Tyre’s zenith was reached in Ezekiel’s day.

In 332 BC Alexander fulfilled most of this prophecy. He laid waste to this commercial giant that rejoiced in Jerusalem’s demise. God fulfils a complex prophecy via numerous nations over centuries.