Ezekiel...one of the least-quoted books of the Bible—and understandably so. People don't like to dwell on the depressing scenes this prophet describes. We like the pretty passages soaked with God's love, the ones that are easier for our brains to comprehend, the ones that make us "feel good." But there's a lot more to the Bible than that...
This particular passage discusses the fall of Tyre, "an ancient Phoenician city-state on the Mediterranean, between Acre and Sidon."¹ Ezekiel 27 presents an extensive description of this city, noting its reputation as a center of trade, its vast wealth, and the many nations which admired its success and relied on it for their own well-being. Despite the praise attributed to Tyre by the nations surrounding it, God had His own words to offer the prideful city. Ezekiel 26:3-6 reads:
...therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring many nations against you, like the sea casting up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and pull down her towers; I will scrape away her rubble and make her a bare rock. Out in the sea she will become a place to spread fishnets, for I have spoken, declares the Sovereign LORD. She will become plunder for the nations, and her settlements on the mainland will be ravaged by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD. (NIV 1984)Why was God so "against" a city that the rest of the world adored? For the same reason that He stands against most things we adore...Tyre was drenched with sin, blinded by pride, and yet standing as a stronghold for the nations. People looked up to Tyre, clung to Tyre, and honored Tyre. If Tyre stood, they could stand.
The problem: Tyre couldn't stand. Standing in God's spot is impossible, and that's what this stubborn city was attempting to do. Thus, it was destined to fall.
The aftermath of this destruction is prophesied in Ezekiel 27:34-35: "Now you [Tyre] are shattered by the sea in the depths of the waters; your wares and all your company have gone down with you. All who live in the coastlands are appalled at you; their kings shudder with horror and their faces are distorted with fear" (NIV 1984).
Why were the people so distraught at the fall of Tyre? Their great city, their idol—the one thing they never thought would fall—was gone. They were left to sit in the dust, befuddled, too astonished to even contemplate their next step. Imagine losing the very source of your identity. Imagine that the stronghold that you had placed every bit of your trust in suddenly crumbled beneath you. The nations relying on Tyre were reduced to this position.
I think most of you reading this blog are having no trouble relating to their state. I too feel their pain. Is anyone's heart exempt from the raw wounds of betrayal?
Yet what else do we expect? Humans fail. We fail so much that even the word "human" has become an excuse for failure. "I'm human," we say. And so are all the other humans out there (though we often leave that part out). We are all brutally, inexcusably, painfully human...
When our strongholds fall, we are stupefied. From our perspective, the whole world has crumbled. But is there any way to find a stronghold that doesn't fall? A tower that doesn't topple? A person that doesn't let us down?
Yes.
Yes, there is. But there's only one.
And here is what He says:
Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. (Matthew 7:24-27)There is only one foundation that will hold us, only one stronghold in which we can confidently place our trust, only one Rock in the sea of sand. We've heard about Him, this Jesus of Nazareth...but the question remains: Will we put His words into practice? Will we trust Him? Will we trust Him with everything?
It's hard for us to place our faith in something after we've been broken so many times. We don't want to hurt again.
But He's not like everything else we have tried to put our hope in. He doesn't fall.
I don't tell you this because it's the right answer, the one we all learned in Sunday School. I write to you with a heart that is broken and bleeding. Pain is inexpressible sometimes—and I feel that. I feel it constantly. But I also feel something more than the pain—something stronger and even more inexpressible. I feel joy. I feel peace. I feel safe—even though everything I have ever depended on has been ripped from my hands, even though my heart has been torn to pieces...
...because all that I am rests securely on the Rock: my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Turn to Him. He will be the stronghold that does not fail.
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¹ Source: Ryrie, Charles Caldwell, Th.D., Ph.D. Ryrie Study Bible: New International Version. Chicago: Moody, 2008. Print. See comment on Ezekiel 26:2.
