What is the meaning of Isaiah 23:15? At That Time • The phrase points back to the judgment pronounced in Isaiah 23:1–14. God Himself sets the moment when the prosperous port of Tyre will fall (Isaiah 13:6; Joel 3:1). • Timing in prophecy is never random; the Lord “declares the end from the beginning” (Isaiah 46:10), assuring His people that history unfolds on His calendar. Tyre Will Be Forgotten • “Forgotten” means the world’s merchants will no longer think of Tyre as a trading hub (Ezekiel 27:32–36; Zephaniah 2:13–15). • Her fame, wealth, and influence vanish because the Lord removes them, just as He humbled Babylon (Isaiah 14:4) and Edom (Obadiah 1:10). • God’s purpose: to show that security founded on riches is fleeting (Proverbs 23:4-5; 1 Timothy 6:17). For Seventy Years—The Span of a King’s Life • A literal seventy-year period echoes the Babylonian captivity of Judah (Jeremiah 25:11-12; 29:10). • From Nebuchadnezzar’s conquest (circa 605-573 BC) to Persia’s rise, Tyre’s independence and fame lay dormant—approximately a royal lifetime (2 Chronicles 36:20-23; Daniel 5:30-31). • Seventy symbolizes completeness of judgment (Leviticus 26:34-35; Daniel 9:2), underscoring that God’s discipline runs its full course. But at the End of Seventy Years • God sets both the beginning and the end of chastening (Isaiah 10:12; Psalm 102:13). • Like Judah’s release under Cyrus (Ezra 1:1-4), Tyre’s reprieve illustrates divine sovereignty over pagan nations as well (Proverbs 21:1). • Mercy follows judgment, yet the character of the city remains unchanged (Romans 2:4-5). It Will Happen to Tyre • The prophecy turns from desolation to re-emergence. Tyre will regain commerce, fleets, and bustling harbors (Ezekiel 28:18-19). • Restoration, however, is not the same as repentance (Nahum 3:4). The city rises, but her heart is fixed on profit, not purity. As in the Song of the Harlot • Ancient sailors sang of a forgotten courtesan who returns to her trade to lure clients once more (compare Proverbs 7:11-12). • Tyre, like that harlot, will entice the nations with commerce after her hiatus (Revelation 18:11-19). • The image exposes the spiritual emptiness of wealth without worship—the city sells goods, yet sells herself in the process (Hosea 2:5-8). summary Isaiah 23:15 foretells a precise, seventy-year eclipse of Tyre’s prominence, ordained by God to humble a proud, commerce-driven city. When the divinely set period ends, Tyre will rise again, but her revival mirrors a harlot’s return to business—profitable yet spiritually bankrupt. The verse showcases God’s absolute control over nations, the completeness of His judgments, and the danger of wealth that never bows to His lordship. |
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