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Prophecy Fulfilled:
Divine Judgment Against Trye

Amos 1:9 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.

Several direct biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled, some in the distant past some in the recent past. This gives us faith that the remaining ones (and there are a great many) will come to pass as well. This entry is part of a series of studies on fulfilled prophecies. They are also being posted on my main blog and can be accessed using the tag: prophecy fulfilled. This will be an ongoing project. I will add links to my Thus Say The Prophets and Noahide Nazarene homepages as the studies are written.

Tyre was an ancient city of Phoenicia that defied the God of Israel and sought to abuse His people and lead them away from the God of Israel. Prophet Amos (8th century BCE) and others prophesied of HaShem's judgment against these and other enemies of the Jews. In this study we will be looking at HaShem's judgments against Trye and how it was carried out.

As Moses penned:

... I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed -- Gen 12:3

Tyre cursed the Jews. The United States and other countries that are working against Israel today would do well to heed these warnings!

The phrase: ...for three transgressions ... and for four" is a literary devise used to stress the absoluteness of the pronouncement.

As I discuss elsewhere in this series, God ultimately determines the affairs of humanity. Although we have been granted a vast amount of free will, it is ultimately the One God who in charge and He uses human rulers and powers according to His Will.

His Will -- as reflected throughout the Bible -- is the redemption of the Jewish people and the establishment of His Theocratic Kingdom.

One such power was King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian Empire (the first of four Empires foretold to rule the world). As Prophet Daniel tells us:

Daniel 4:17 This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

HaShem used King Nebuchadnezzar to begin fulfillment of this prophecy and later finalized it with Alexander the Great and his Greek armies (the third of four Empires foretold to rule the world).

As HaShem was leading Joshua and the Israelites to the Promised Land He told them it was vital that they drive the Canaanites out (Ex 23:23). Despite this the Canaanites remained in various Phoenician cities including Tyre and Sidon and in time HaShem dealt with them personally after giving ample warning through His prophets:

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

Again this important verse in the American Standard Version:

Surely the Lord Jehovah will do nothing, except he reveal his secret unto his servants the prophets.

Do not underestimate the importance of prophets!

It is noteworthy that historically people have favored the Jews as long as it served their purposes. They adopt false faces and pledge alliances with them but in the end its always the same: When it comes to the Jews the world is fickle. Time and time again history has confirmed that the Jews can ONLY trust HaShem. The King of Tyre (Hiram) for instance assisted in building the Jerusalem Temple during the reign of Solomon (1 Kings 5:1-18) however relations quickly soured when Ahab -- King of the Northern Kingdom of Israel -- married Jezebel, one of King Ethbaal of Sidon's daughters.

Due in part to unholy alliances with Phoenicia and in part due his marriage with the Pagan Jezebel, Ahab left the worship of HaShem and built a temple to Baal in Samaria, his capital. He worshiped Baal and he and Jezebel introduced Baal worship into Israel.

This contamination of God's people led to strong warnings by the prophets!

Isaiah prophesied that Sidon would "pass over to Cyprus" (Isa 23:2, 4, 12). Jeremiah revealed Sidon would fall "into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar" (Jer 27:3, 6). Ezekiel warned that God was against Sidon (Ezek 28:21-22). Prophet Joel proclaimed:

Joel 3:1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem,
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
3 And they have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for an harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink.
4 Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre, and Zidon, and all the coasts of Palestine? will ye render me a recompense? and if ye recompense me, swiftly and speedily will I return your recompense upon your own head;
5 Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly pleasant things:
6 The children also of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border.

Then, as we read HERE:

"Nebuchadnezzar took all Palestine and Syria and the cities on the seacoast, including Tyre, which fell after a siege of 13 years (573 B.C.)" (E. A. Wallis Budge, Babylonian Life And History, p. 50). The inhabitants of Tyre fled to a rocky island half a mile offshore. The walls on the landward side of the island were 150 feet high. "The channel between Tyre and the mainland was over twenty feet deep, and frequently lashed by violent south-west winds. Their fortifications, they believed, would resist the strongest battering-ram yet devised. The city-walls stood sheer above the sea: how could any army without ships scale them? Shore based artillery was useless at such a range." (Peter Green, Alexander of Macedon, p. 248).

On his way towards Egypt, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) led his Macedonian troops to victory at Sidon and then continued south towards Tyre. Tyrian envoys met with Alexander and assured him that their city was at his disposal. "However, he put their goodwill to the test by expressing his wish to sacrifice at the shrine of Heracles inside the city; for the Tyrians recognized a Phoenician god who was identified by the Greeks as Heracles, and from this deity Alexander claimed descent. Tyrian goodwill unfortunately did not extend so far as to grant him the permission he sought In short, they would not admit him into the city." (David Chandler, Alexander 334-323 B.C., p. 41)...

...Alexander determined to build a mole to get his troops from the mainland to the island. The mole is said to have been at least 200 feet wide. It was constructed from stones and timber from the old city of Tyre on the mainland. In fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophecy, the very foundation stones, timbers and dust of the city was cast "in the midst of the water" (Ezek. 26:12)...

...The seven month siege, from January to July 332 B.C., was over. "The great city over which Hiram had once held sway was now utterly destroyed.

...we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews -- John 4:22

Stand firmly with Israel and the Jewish people!

And here this study ends.

Prophecy fulfilled.

For more fulfilled prophecies go HERE.





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