Why did Tyre rejoice over Jerusalem's downfall in Ezekiel 26:2? The Immediate Context “Son of man, because Tyre has said of Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gateway to the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will prosper now that she lies in ruins,’” Geography, Commerce, and Competition • Tyre occupied a strategic island-harbor on the Mediterranean, controlling sea trade from Phoenicia to Spain. • Jerusalem sat on inland trade routes linking Egypt, Arabia, and Mesopotamia. • When Babylon breached Jerusalem (586 BC), Tyre anticipated diverting caravans and merchants who once used Judah’s roads. • The phrase “gateway to the peoples” captures this economic lens: Jerusalem’s “gate” closed for her, but Tyre thought it had “swung open” for them. Root Causes of Tyre’s Rejoicing 1. Economic Greed • “I will prosper” reveals profit-driven motives. Compare Ezekiel 27:3, where Tyre boasts, “I am perfect in beauty,” listing her trading partners. • Isaiah 23:3 calls Tyre “the marketplace of the nations,” underscoring her fixation on commerce. 2. Rivalry and Jealousy • Tyre once partnered with David and Solomon (2 Samuel 5:11; 1 Kings 5:1–12). Over centuries, cooperation turned to competition, stoking envy when Judah prospered. • Proverbs 14:30 warns, “envy rots the bones.” Tyre’s bones would soon feel that rot (Ezekiel 26:3-4). 3. Pride and Self-Exaltation • Tyre’s king later claims, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods” (Ezekiel 28:2). Pride fuels contempt for others’ calamity. • Obadiah 1:12 condemns Edom for similar gloating; God applies the same standard to Tyre. 4. Spiritual Blindness toward God’s Covenant People • Psalm 122:6 calls nations to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” not celebrate her fall. • Zechariah 2:8: “He who touches you touches the apple of His eye.” Tyre ignored this warning, treating Judah’s destruction as mere market opportunity. God’s Response to Tyre’s Attitude • Ezekiel 26:3-6: The Lord brings “many nations” against Tyre, scraping her cliffs bare. • Nebuchadnezzar besieges Tyre for thirteen years (586-573 BC), fulfilling Ezekiel 26:7-12. • Alexander the Great later throws Tyre’s debris into the sea to build a causeway (332 BC), matching verse 12’s prophecy: “They will throw your stones and timber and soil into the water.” Timeless Takeaways • Never rejoice over another’s downfall—Proverbs 24:17–18. • Economic gain secured through someone else’s tragedy invites divine displeasure—James 5:1-6. • Pride blinds; humility protects—1 Peter 5:5-6. • God remains faithful to His covenant purposes even while disciplining His people—Jeremiah 30:11. Tyre saw only profit; God saw arrogance. Scripture’s record stands literal and true, urging hearts today to forsake envy, greed, and gloating, and to trust the Lord who “opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” |
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