Isaiah
23:7
7 Is this your joyous [`alliyz] city, whose antiquity [qadmah] is of ancient [qedem] days [yowm]? her own feet [regel] shall
carry [yabal] her afar off [rachowq] to sojourn [guwr]. KJV-Interlinear
7 Is this your exultant city whose origin
is from days of old, whose feet carried her to settle far away? ESV
Tyre is mocked
and ridiculed for its own boasting. It
boasted of its prosperity and wealth and joy, even of its long history. The actual beginning of Tyre is not known,
but it is said to have dated back to nearly the time of Abraham. The Temple of Hercules, in Tyre, is said to
be one of the oldest in the ancient world.
But all of its
history, all of its wealth, all of its influence that it has had on the entire
world, will not be enough to prevent its own destruction, which by the way will
be self-destruction.
No one and
nothing in this world can sustain itself, unless God wills it. You, no matter who you are, are nothing without
Gods grace. And if God decides you are
finished, then there is nothing that will prevent your destruction.
The feet carried
away, is a phrase that has a dual meaning.
First it deals with the prosperity and influence that Tyre has had on
regions far and wide. Its trade and
economic influence extended throughout the entire world.
And second, the
feet that once carried it through prosperity, will now carry it through
adversity. It is one thing to be forced
to leave and then settle elsewhere when you have the resources to do so, but it
is quite another thing to be forced to leave, without resources, having to live
in a foreign place, in total poverty, which makes life extremely miserable and
hard.
History is
filled with refugees that have been forced out of their homes into camps or
worse. Getting back on ones feet is
difficult if not impossible.
But life is
nothing more than the endless examples of hardship, that will come to the
spiritual life, a life that lasts forever.
Throughout
history people have been indifferent toward truth making them reject truth and
refusing to support truth. Instead
people support the false, they pursue the false, they boast of the false, they
invest in the false, and that is the nature of humanity. Most religions, which are false systems, are
wealthy. Most Christian organizations
which follow the truth of doctrine, are poor.
That is a historical fact. Why?
Because the
nature of humanity is anti-truth.
Promote the lies and feel good about it.
Laugh at the truth and feel good about that too.
But here we have
the last laugh, which belongs to God. All
of the attributes of Tyre, all of the attributes of human plans, will
inevitably fail.
Do they fail
instantly? No. God is gracious and allows even the worst of plans
to continue, which by the way they continue only because God wills it, not
because of their own inherent power, but they continue because, God can look
down the tunnel of time and see all of the future generations of people who will
believe in Christ, who will advance in their spiritual lives, until the very
last person in history who will believe, and then it will all come to a halt.
If you are one
of those indifferent types, well then you probably are not reading this, but if
you were, then know this. Your life
continues only because God allows it, despite your indifference and refusal to
comply with His mandates and will and so forth.
There is a
greater purpose, and your attitude or plans or procrastination or indifference
or excuses are not that purpose.
