Read
The City of Tyre
1 This is a message from distant islands about the city of Tyre:
Cry, you seagoing ships!
Tyre and its houses
lie in ruins.
2Mourn in silence,
you shop owners of Sidon,
you people on the coast.
Your sailors crossed oceans,
making your city rich.
3Your merchants sailed the seas,
making you wealthy by trading
with nation after nation.
They brought back grain
that grew along the Nile.
4Sidon, you are a mighty fortress
built along the sea.
But you will be disgraced
like a married woman
who never had children.
5When Egypt hears about Tyre,
it will tremble.
6All of you along the coast
had better cry and sail
far across the ocean.
7Can this be the happy city
that has stood for centuries?
Its people have spread
to distant lands;
8its merchants were kings
honored all over the world.
Who planned to destroy Tyre?
9The Lord All-Powerful planned it
to bring shame and disgrace
to those who are honored
by everyone on earth.
10People of Tyre,
your harbor is destroyed!
You will have to become farmers
just like the Egyptians.
Tyre Will Be Forgotten
11The Lord's hand has reached
across the sea,
upsetting the nations.
He has given a command
to destroy fortresses
in the land of Canaan.
12The Lord has said
to the people of Sidon,
“Your celebrating is over—
you are crushed.
Even if you escape to Cyprus,
you won't find peace.”
13Look what the Assyrians have done to Babylonia! They have attacked, destroying every palace in the land. Now wild animals live among the ruins. 14Not a fortress will be left standing, so tell all the seagoing ships to mourn.
15The city of Tyre will be forgotten for 70 years, which is the lifetime of a king. Then Tyre will be like that evil woman in the song:
16You're gone and forgotten,
you evil woman!
So strut through the town,
singing and playing
your favorite tune
to be remembered again.
17At the end of those 70 years, the Lord will let Tyre get back into business. The city will be like a woman who sells her body to everyone of every nation on earth, 18but none of what is earned will be kept in the city. That money will belong to the Lord, and it will be used to buy more than enough food and good clothes for those who worship the Lord.
Reflect
We read in Chapter 23 of the coming demise of the great city of Tyre. The people of Tyre have become wealthy through shipping and trading. That’s about to end though as the Lord’s judgment falls upon them.
One thing stands out to me more than the pronouncement of Tyre’s financial collapse. I’m impressed with the statement that Tyre will be forgotten.
Today we have more opportunities than ever to archive our own personal histories. Through blogging and social media, many of us chronicle the big and small details of our lives.
Sharing the good and the bad times of our lives whether in person or online gives us opportunities to support and encourage each other. Recently I’ve seen friends using social media to pay tribute to someone who has passed away. In some ways, by keeping the loved one’s Facebook page going, they are keeping their memory alive as well.
Perhaps some of the appeal of blogging and social media lies in a basic human desire to be remembered. Or maybe more than that, it’s a fear that we will be forgotten.
Psychologists have a name for this fear: athazagoraphobia. It’s most often diagnosed in patients with dementia and in their caregivers, who fear their loved one will no longer know them.
At a deeper level, this fear can be more existential. That is, we fear that our time here on earth will not ultimately matter to anyone beyond the few people closest to us.
While I think it’s a great goal to want to make an impact on the world, I wonder if this fear of being forgotten is actually distracting some of us from making an eternal impact. We know that our God has promised to never forget us (see, for example, Isaiah 49:15). Even when it seems like the world has moved on and we are pushed to the side, the Creator remembers our name. Perhaps we should spend more time reminding ourselves of that and focus more on investing in others, than on shouting for the world’s attention.
Respond
Eternal God, your Word tells me that you have known me from when I was in my mother’s womb. May I always look to you for my identity and purpose. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Pam Caudill
Dr. Pamela Caudill, a Nebraska-based researcher and psychologist, writes and speaks about life transformation and spiritual growth. As the Center for Bible Engagement's Senior Researcher, Pam conducts studies on scripture engagement, church health, and life transformation. A frequent conference speaker, Pam is the author of Managing Your Family’s High Tech Habits and Better Relationships, Better Life, in addition to dozens of academic journal articles and white papers.