Sure Path To Destruction

Ezekiel 28:1-8 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, “Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD, because your heart is lifted up and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods. In the heart of the seas’; yet you are a man and not God, although you make your heart like the heart of God— Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that is a match for you. “By your wisdom and understanding you have acquired riches for yourself, and have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries. “By your great wisdom, by your trade, you have increased your riches and your heart is lifted up because of your riches— therefore thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Because you have made your heart like the heart of God, therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you; the most ruthless of the nations, and they will draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom, and defile your splendor. ‘They will bring you down to the pit, and you will die the death of those who are slain in the heart of the seas.

In my last post, we looked at the fall of mighty Tyre. Here we will explore the reasons for the fall and look for parallels in this prophecy that apply in our lives and our world today. Please read the previous post and all of Ezekiel chapter 28 and pray that God will reveal to you lessons here that will apply to you personally. This chapter is so important to every one of us.

Tyre and Jerusalem were friendly neighbors and trading competitors. There was no apparent animosity but the king of Tyre took delight in the fall of Jerusalem with these comments “Aha, she is broken, broken to pieces, that was the gates of the people, to whom there was a great resort and where there was a general rendezvous of all nations, some upon one account and some upon another, and I shall get by it; all the wealth, power, and interest, which Jerusalem had, it is hoped, shall be turned to Tyre, and so now that she is laid waste, Tyre shall be replenished.” Isn’t this so much like what we see in American politics and business today. That is because it is a direct result of the reality of man’s fallen nature. Covetousness and pride come to men as naturally as drinking water. If a business falls, it is common for competitors to have a quick meeting to plot how they can reap benefit from others misfortune. In American politics, this scenario is being played out right now. The Democrats came into power and rather than say to themselves, “how can we work together with the losers to bring about the best for the benefit of all of the people,” instead got prideful and ignored and shut out the Republicans from the discussion and tried to force their plans on America without discussion or debate, contrary to campaign rhetoric. Even this week, Obama's pride and arrogance was evident as he spoke down to John McCain, Lamar Alexander and others in the sham call a healthcare summit. Politics as usual rather than "Change we can believe in." As a result, nothing has been accomplished and quite likely the Democrats will lose power in the coming elections. I can already sense the opposition basking in the glory of this potential development. If that happens, the danger is that the Republicans will then repeat the same prideful process and the cycle will continue to repeat until America ultimately falls from within. Our leaders must represent all of the people regardless of party, or we will all suffer the consequences. Luke 11:17 Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall."

A key issue here was greed. Tyre was already one of the wealthiest cities in the world but enough was never enough. They wanted everything that Israel had as well. I am convinced that a key reason that God has continued to bless America is because we have never been a conquering nation as has been the case with all previous world powers. Although some would point out that we attacked Afghanistan and Iraq, but our aim has never been to capture those nations but rather was in response to evil. There is no intent to prosper by these countries capture or downfall … the fact is that in the end, we will help rebuild and come home. Hopefully … soon. If America was a conquering nation, our true colors would have been apparent during World War 2, and would have resulted with our capture of many nations and their resources. From a human perspective, there is a strong case to be made that conquest for the good of the world (if that is possible) especially in the Middle East, would not have been all that bad. Another key point leading to God's blessings, is that the influence of God's word has been foundational from our country's earliest days and as a result, America has been greatly blessed. Those initial Biblical seeds are planted within the heart of all Americans, regardless of religious beliefs. And as a result, America is the most charitable and giving nation in the history of the world.

This issue is even more important when the discussion is about the nation of Israel. When Tyre took delight in the fall of Jerusalem, God says, "Behold, I am against thee O Tyrus! And let not her expect to prosper long if God be against her." Well, this is where America stands today. Israel is surrounded by enemies who have vowed to “wipe Israel off the face of the earth” Nuclear weapons are nearly in the hands of her enemies and America is playing nice with those enemies. The Bible is clear God will destroy Israel’s enemies. Israel will prevail, and Israel’s allies will receive God’s favor. America must stand by Israel or we will fall with her enemies.

There is much more here, so we will revisit in the next post.

Question to consider:

How do you react to the misfortune of others?
Do you look for ways to benefit from others misfortune or do you offer words of encouragement?
What can America do to break the destructive political cycle?
What one step can you take to make life better in someone else’s world today?
What change should America make to be the country God wants it to be?

Do you have Ideas? Let’s start talking about them by making comments below.

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

God Bless You My Friend, Bob