ISAIAH LESSON 26


     We will begin this lesson in Isaiah 23:1 "The burden of Tyre.
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no
house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to
them."

     We have mentioned before, that "burden" means prophecy. Tyre had,
undoubtedly, been a city of much trade. Now that the destruction has
come, we see the ships are not able to unload, or load here anymore.
The commerce has stopped. It appears the destruction is so great, that
there are no houses left.

     Isaiah 23:2 "Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle; thou whom the
merchants of Zidon, that pass over the sea, have replenished."

     It seems the needs of the lives of the people of the isle had
been furnished by boat. Now that the boats have stopped running, it
would be difficult to live.

     Isaiah 23:3 "And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest
of the river, [is] her revenue; and she is a mart of nations."

     "The seed of Sihor", probably, means corn grown in the farmland
by the Nile River. When the Nile was full of water, the fields
produced great crops. These full crops were sometimes sold to the
other surrounding countries to feed them. "Mart" means profit, trade,
or merchandise. This is just speaking of her as a nation of merchants.

     Isaiah 23:4 "Be thou ashamed, O Zidon: for the sea hath spoken,
[even] the strength of the sea, saying, I travail not, nor bring forth
children, neither do I nourish up young men, [nor] bring up virgins."

     Zidon was an ancient city located on the Mediterranean. It was
located about 25 miles from Tyre. Tyre is so without children that it
is as if they had never had children. It must have been a bloody
battle at Tyre, to destroy the children.

     Isaiah 23:5 "As at the report concerning Egypt, [so] shall they
be sorely pained at the report of Tyre."

     Even though Egypt was not a country with charitable ways, it
would be grieved to hear that Tyre had fallen to the enemy. Its main
concern would be that the same enemy would come against Egypt.

     Isaiah 23:6 "Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of
the isle."

     Sennacherib, king of Assyria. was a man of war. This is just
saying, they should flee from him and go to Tarshish. The word
"Tarshish" means smelting plant, or refinery. Howl is a cry of
anguish. If they went to Tarshish, they could possibly find work
there.
     Isaiah 23:7 "[Is] this your joyous [city], whose antiquity [is]
of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn."

     Tyre had been a beautiful city of great wealth. Now, it is in
rubbles. Isaiah is saying, could these ruins be that beautiful city?
Tyre had been a city from ancient times, and now it is gone. There is
nothing left, so their people will have to go elsewhere to live, until
it can be rebuilt.

     Isaiah 23:8 "Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the
crowning [city], whose merchants [are] princes, whose traffickers
[are] the honourable of the earth?"

     It is amazing that this city would be thought of as vulnerable to
war. It had been a city of people who worked and were honorable
people. This city was the home of honest merchant seamen. They were
not low class people out to cheat someone, they were thought of as
princes.

     Isaiah 23:9 "The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the
pride of all glory, [and] to bring into contempt all the honourable of
the earth."

     Even though they were honorable men, they were filled up with
pride. Their pride was offensive to God, because they did not give God
any of the credit for their successes. They were puffed up with self
pride. God allows this to happen to them to cause them to realize
where their strength comes from. This example stands out, not just for
them, but for all who hear of it. Pride goeth before a fall.

     Isaiah 23:10 "Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of
Tarshish: [there is] no more strength."

     Stop looking to Tyre, because Tyre is no more. This is saying,
flow over the land as a river out of its banks does.

     Isaiah 23:11 "He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook
the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant
[city], to destroy the strong holds thereof."

     Sennacherib might have sent the troops, but this is the hand of
the LORD. The sea, in this instance, is speaking of the masses of
people. The LORD spoke destruction on Tyre. Every city in the area
looked on at the destruction, and learned it could have been them.

     Isaiah 23:12 "And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou
oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim;
there also shalt thou have no rest."

     This is a warning, that even Zidon will be attacked and overcome.
Chittum is Cyprus. They are to flee to Cyprus before any of the
trouble starts.

     Isaiah 23:13 "Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was
not, [till] the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the
wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces
thereof; [and] he brought it to ruin."

     Behold, just means, take a look at. Chaldea was originally a
small territory in southern Babylonia. Chaldeans are natives of
Chaldea. They were natives of the area of mount Ararat. This area had
been under siege, as well, and destroyed. The Assyrians had destroyed
it. They did not kill all of the people, just destroyed their
property.

     Isaiah 23:14 "Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is
laid waste."

     Isaiah is saying, they will cry out with mourning for the
destruction that has come. This is speaking of those who traded with
Tarshish by ship. They will not be able to trade anymore.

     Isaiah 23:15 "And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre
shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king:
after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot."

     It seems the prophecy of the fall of Tyre is, that Tyre will not
be restored until 70 years later. Tyre had been prominent in not only
their commercial enterprise, but in politics as well. This will be no
more, until after their restoration. Sometimes the conditions of the
people cannot change, until the death of the king and another takes
power. The harlot, many times, was a musician, as well as one selling
her body.

     Isaiah 23:16 "Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that
hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou
mayest be remembered."

     A harlot might sing sweet songs to entice the men. This, however,
is speaking of this city as if it were a harlot. This city had been
selfish and worldly, not interested in the things of God.

     Isaiah 23:17  "And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy
years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire,
and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon
the face of the earth."

     The reason they had this problem, in the first place, was because
they had eliminated God from their lives. We will find that the
problem they had, will bring them to God. We find, now, their whole
outlook on trade is different.

     Isaiah 23:18 "And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness
to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her
merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat
sufficiently, and for durable clothing."

     Praise God, they have learned their lesson. Their profits from
their trade are not used for their own greed now. They have dedicated
their work to the Lord. They will have their needs taken care of, but
their excess will go to God's work. Merchandise being holiness to the
Lord, just means that even their transactions in daily business are
dedicated to the LORD.

     I know by now, you are asking, how can this help us today? We
must realize from this, that without God we are bound to fail. With
Christ, I can do all things. When we carry on our day to day lives
selfishly, seeking gain for only ourselves, we are headed for
destruction. When all that we do is dedicated to God, and we share
with others less fortunate than ourselves, we cannot fail.










































                          Isaiah 26 Questions


1.  What is "burden" in verse 1?
2.  Who is this prophecy for?
3.  How extensive is the destruction?
4.  Tyre was a city of _______.
5.  How had the needs of the isle people been furnished?
6.  What is the "seed of Sihor"?
7.  What does "mart" mean?
8.  Where was Zidon located?
9.  Why are they saying, they did not birth children?
10. Why was Egypt concerned?
11. Sennacherib was a man of _____.
12. What does "Tarshish" mean?
13. Tyre had been a beautiful city of great _________.
14. Why must they go elsewhere to live?
15. What were the merchants of Tyre like?
16. What had they done wrong?
17. Who brought the trouble on Tyre?
18. Pass through thy land as a _________.
19. What is Chittum?
20. Where was Chaldea?
21. They were natives of _________.
22. How long shall Tyre be forgotten?
23. What was the harlot to do?
24. The problem they had will _______ them to ____.
25. What change of trading practices did they acquire?
26. What can we learn from this lesson?