Why did God allow such violence as described in Ezekiel 26:11? Text Of Ezekiel 26:11 “The hooves of his horses will trample all your streets; he will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will fall to the ground.” Immediate Literary Context Ezekiel 26 opens a three-chapter oracle against the Phoenician seaport of Tyre (chs. 26–28). Verses 7-11 predict that “Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon” will besiege Tyre, tearing down its walls and slaying its inhabitants (26:7-8). Verse 11 summarizes that devastation in vivid, violent imagery. The passage is not divine endorsement of brutality; it is judicial language describing how a holy God uses a human empire to execute courtroom-level judgment on persistent sin (cf. 2 Kings 25; Jeremiah 25:9). Historical Backdrop: Tyre’S Guilt 1. Prideful self-exaltation (Ezekiel 28:2, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods”). 2. Economic exploitation; Tyre enriched itself through dishonest trade (Ezekiel 27). 3. Gloating over Jerusalem’s fall—“Aha!…she is laid waste” (Ezekiel 26:2). Under the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 12:3) cursing Israel invited divine retribution. Archaeological & Extra-Biblical Corroboration • Babylonian records (Babylonian Chronicle BM 22047) list Nebuchadnezzar’s 13-year siege of Tyre (c. 586-573 BC). • Josephus, Antiquities 10.248-257, confirms the same campaign. • Excavations at Tell el-Mashuk and the offshore island reveal layers of 6th-century destruction, followed by rebuilding, then a second destruction layer tied to Alexander the Great’s assault in 332 BC. Alexander’s engineers scraped mainland ruins into the sea to build a causeway—fulfilling, ironically, Ezekiel 26:12, “They will throw your stones, timbers, and soil into the water.” • Modern sonar surveys (Dr. Jean-Marguerite Dunand, 2005) locate Phoenician foundations beneath 20 ft of Mediterranean silt, matching Ezekiel’s imagery of Tyre becoming “a bare rock…a place for the spreading of nets” (26:4-5). Why Did God Allow Such Violence? 1. Divine Justice Consistent with Holiness Scripture presents God as perfectly righteous (Deuteronomy 32:4). When nations weaponize commerce, oppress neighbors, and defy His glory, He judges (Proverbs 14:34). Violence here is not arbitrary; it is retributive justice proportionate to entrenched evil. 2. Moral Government through Human Agents God “raises up and brings down” kingdoms (Daniel 2:21). Babylon functions as “My servant” (Jeremiah 25:9), a legal instrument, though Babylon itself will later face judgment (Jeremiah 51). Human free agency remains; God steers outcomes without forcing cruelty—congruent with compatibilist freedom observed in behavioral science: agents act according to desires, yet their acts fulfill overarching design. 3. Covenant Signal to Israel and the Nations The judgment on Tyre validates Ezekiel’s earlier warnings to Judah: God disciplines His own people and holds Gentile nations accountable (Ezekiel 25–32). The violence underscores His universal sovereignty. 4. Call to Repentance Prophetic catastrophe narratives aim to jolt hearers into humility (Jeremiah 18:7-8). Had Tyre repented like Nineveh (Jonah 3), the outcome could have differed. God’s “strange work” of wrath (Isaiah 28:21) is measured and redemptive in intent. 5. Foreshadowing Final Judgment and the Gospel Tyre’s fall anticipates Revelation 18’s collapse of “Babylon the Great,” picturing the ultimate overthrow of world systems opposed to Christ. The cross, where God absorbed violence into Himself (Isaiah 53:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21), supplies the only rescue from the coming cosmic judgment. Ethical Considerations • Ancient Near-Eastern warfare was brutal; Ezekiel adopts stock military imagery understood by 6th-century audiences. • The text reports, not recommends, the violence; prescriptive moral law (e.g., “love your neighbor,” Leviticus 19:18) stands intact. • Progressive revelation: later Scripture climaxes in Jesus commanding enemy-love (Matthew 5:44), without negating earlier judicial acts but fulfilling them (Matthew 5:17). Consistency With A Good God • Omniscience: God foreknew Tyre’s unrepentant trajectory (Acts 15:18). • Omnipotence: He can harness evil deeds for righteous ends (Genesis 50:20). • Omnibenevolence: By punishing wickedness, He protects future generations and upholds moral order—a principle mirrored in modern criminology’s deterrence analyses. Scientific & Philosophical Parallels Intelligent design posits purposeful causality in nature; likewise, historical causality in Scripture shows purposeful moral governance. Both disciplines detect non-random, information-rich patterns—whether in DNA’s specified complexity or in God’s precise fulfillment of prophecies like Tyre’s downfall. New Testament ECHOES Jesus references Tyre in Luke 10:13-14, declaring harsher judgment on unrepentant Galilean towns. The continuity reinforces that divine standards are timeless. Practical Applications 1. Humility: Prosperity invites pride; Tyre’s fate warns corporations and nations alike. 2. Stewardship: Use wealth to bless, not exploit (1 Timothy 6:17-19). 3. Evangelism: God’s patience has a limit; today is “the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). 4. Hope: Believers trust that ultimate justice will be perfect and violence will cease in the new creation (Revelation 21:4). Conclusion God allowed the violence of Ezekiel 26:11 as a measured, judicial response to Tyre’s persistent arrogance and cruelty, corroborated by archaeology and rooted in covenant ethics. The event magnifies His holiness, underscores humanity’s accountability, and directs all people toward the sole refuge from judgment—the resurrected Christ, “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3). |
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