What is the meaning of Isaiah 23:17? And at the end of seventy years • Scripture presents the seventy-year period as a fixed, God-appointed span, much like the literal seventy years of Babylonian domination foretold in Jeremiah 25:11–12. • Tyre’s judgment, begun when Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city (Ezekiel 26:7–12), would not be indefinite; God set a precise limit, underscoring His sovereign control over nations (Isaiah 14:26–27). • The number also reminds us that God disciplines yet never forgets His covenant purposes—He “does not stay angry forever” (Micah 7:18). the LORD will restore Tyre • “Restore” shows that relief comes from the LORD alone; no political alliance or maritime wealth could reverse Tyre’s fate. Compare Isaiah 45:7, where God declares, “I bring prosperity and create calamity.” • Historically, after Babylon declined, Tyre regained commercial strength under Persian rule, fulfilling God’s word exactly. • Restoration, however, is not necessarily spiritual renewal. God can re-establish a nation’s economy while its heart remains far from Him (Psalm 106:43). Then she will return to hire as a prostitute • The language mirrors earlier prophetic imagery for nations that chase riches and alliances instead of the LORD (Isaiah 1:21; Nahum 3:4). • Tyre’s “prostitution” points to resuming her old pattern of enticing other kingdoms through trade, driven by profit rather than holiness. Revelation 18:3 echoes the same commercial immorality: “The merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxury.” • This warns believers not to confuse material resurgence with God-honoring repentance (1 Timothy 6:9–10). and sell herself to all the kingdoms on the face of the earth • Tyre’s maritime reach spanned the Mediterranean, so “all the kingdoms” is no exaggeration; her ships touched Spain, North Africa, and beyond (cf. Ezekiel 27:12, 25). • The phrase stresses the global pull of economic idolatry. Jesus later warns, “What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his soul?” (Mark 8:36). • God foreknew that Tyre’s renewed prosperity would again spread worldly influence, setting the stage for His ultimate purpose in verse 18: redirecting that wealth for His glory. summary Isaiah 23:17 literally foretells a seventy-year interval after which God would lift His judgment from Tyre, allowing her to rebuild her economy. Yet the city would slip straight back into profit-driven worldliness, peddling influence to every nation. The verse showcases God’s precise sovereignty, His willingness to restore, and His warning that revival without repentance merely revives old sins. |
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