Isaiah 23:2
2 Be still [damam], ye inhabitants [yashab] of the isle ['iy]; thou
whom the merchants [cachar] of Zidon [Tsiydown], that pass over [`abar] the
sea [yam], have replenished [male']. KJV-Interlinear
2 Be still, O inhabitants of the coast; the
merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you. ESV
Be still, ‘damam,’
means to be silent as in the dead, do not move, stop as in total astonishment,
sit up and look, behold, but in total silence.
Inhabitants of
the isle, ‘iy,’ is again a reference to the island or coastal residents of Tyre
and the Mediterranean and beyond. This
is the center of the then known commercial world, and it represents the entire
worlds economic activity.
Sidon is now
referenced as it is a sort of sister city, yet older commercial center, than
Tyre.
Sidon is
referred too because, just as Tyre was a major sea port, so too, Sidon was a
major sea port and commercial center, from which Tyre got its start and
received much of its fundamental commerce activities.
Also, through
the centuries prior to Isaiah, Sidon was pretty much left alone to run its business
as it pleased. As armies came and went,
back and forth, Sidon was ongoing.
Tyre, got its
start from Sidon, and then became even greater, but was more managed, and then will
come to a sudden end, and along with it, Sidon came to an end, then so too, the
world economy which had already been established prior to the Tribulation, will
become even greater, and then managed, and then it will all collapse
completely.
Tyre will
collapse, Sidon will collapse, and they are our examples, and likewise in the
Tribulation the managed economics of the anti-christ will collapse, and along
with it, the long established economics of the world will be overwhelmed and
collapse into a shambles.
When governments
run business, the only possible result will be disaster.
