‘2023- The Modernism of Ol’ Tyre’:

Oh boy, Isaiah 23 is deliciously thought-provoking.

Numbers of chapters in Isaiah forewarned what we are now privy to as historical fact, the rise and fall of ancient pagan empires.

In Isaiah 23 God is dealing with Tyre.

‘Enduring Word’ educates us:
‘Tyre was the “Babylon of the Sea.” Because of their excellent harbor and seamanship, they established a commercial empire far greater than one would expect given their size and military power.

ii. Tyre was a city in two parts – an inland city, and an island city. The inland city was conquered by the Assyrians and the Babylonians, just as Isaiah prophesied. The island city was conquered later by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C.

iii. The influence of Tyre was both good and bad for Israel. King Hiram of Tyre supplied David and Solomon great timbers for the building of the temple and other projects (2 Samuel 5:11, 1 Kings 5:1-11). Hiram also gave Solomon sailors, so Israel could build their commerce by sea (2 Chronicles 8:17-18). But later, Tyre gave Israel one of the worst rulers Israel ever had: Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab of Israel (1 Kings 16:31).’
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https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/isaiah-23/

Isaiah 23 vs 9 mentions, ‘end their honoured ones’.

We can be forgiven for misdiagnosing what ‘honoured ones’ means by default of our understanding of words. But God, again shows His Wisdom and commitment to ‘oppose the proud’ in this text.

Interestingly, we are doing the same- Forbes Top 100, reality shows of the rich, etc. We have regressed from the morals God calls noble. We have replaced the honourability of God with our own gratification of ego heralding people as ‘captains of industry’ not questioning if success was gained dishonestly.

We are bound to repeat history, though Tyre was destroyed. Isaiah 23 points us to Revelation 18 vs 23, “The light of a lamp will never shine in you again; and the voice of the groom and bride will never be heard in you again; for your merchants were the powerful people of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your witchcraft.”

Caroline Gregoire, HuffPost, 2013, wrote an expose’ about how materialism is killing us.

To quote: ‘To some extent, most of us participate in consumer culture and value material possessions, and that’s perfectly fine. But in excess, materialism can take a toll on your well-being, relationships and quality of life. Here are six things you should know about the psychology of consumption — and strategies to find freedom from materialism.’- https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.huffpost.com/entry/psychology-materialism_n_4425982/amp

Isaiah 23 vs 17-18, reminds us that all-said-and-done all our endeavors are subject to God, whether we do it or don’t do it for God. Ultimately, when Jesus Returns, all our enterprising will be measured by Jesus and whatever is done in evil will result in nought.