Ezekiel 27:1-4 – “Then this message came to me from the Lord: ‘Son of man, sing a funeral song for Tyre, that mighty gateway to the sea, the trading center of the world. Give Tyre this message from the Sovereign Lord: ‘You boasted, O Tyre, ‘My beauty is perfect!’ You extended your boundaries into the sea. Your builders made your beauty perfect.'”
Ezekiel is singing another funeral dirge, this time for the city of Tyre. It’s going down, and it’s a sad song. Think of a nation that was the “trading center of the world,” both beautiful and strong. Throughout human history, nations have risen and fallen. Some have seen America through the lens of these words — are we at our peak but so caught up in materialism and worldliness that God may bring judgment on us as well?
I would encourage us to let God do the talking on that one. Too often, we see parts of the world or even America as “other” than ourselves. We may heap on judgments or warnings that feel a lot like Old Testament prophecy, yet we miss our own failings. Let us ask: how am I living like the people of Tyre? How can I use my sphere of influence to turn people to the heart of God?
Here’s your freedom for today:
Eternal beauty lasts forever.
Nations with strong economies and beautiful shores will all someday fall in one way or another. That is just historically true. It is a reminder to focus on the things that will never fade: faith, hope, and love. The Bible says that these are the three things that will remain when everything else fades away. Jesus said in Matthew 6:18-20, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.” Let us learn from Tyre’s destruction and position ourselves right in the heart of eternity.