“The LORD Almighty planned it, to bring low the pride of all glory and to humble all who are renowned on this earth.”
~ Isaiah 23:9
Hi James and Ellen,
How would you like to have God – your Heavenly Father, become angry with you? How do you feel when your earthly dad becomes angry with you? What would make God – your Heavenly Father, become angry with you? What makes your earthly dad become angry with you? Do you think that God is happy when a guy, gal or kid does not believe that He really is God – the Heavenly Father, over all creation including all the guys, gals and kids who have lived, are living and will live on planet Earth? Is your earthly dad happy with you when you refuse to accept what he says about something? What can God – as the Heavenly Father for all guys, gals and kids, do with guys, gals and kids who refuse to accept that He can be their Heavenly Father? What can your earthly dad do with you kids when you refuse to accept what he says about something? If your dad has never punished you, would you like it if he began punishing you? In what ways could your dad punish you? Would your dad take away privileges – such as watching TV, playing computer games and/or spending time with a friend? Being punished is not fun. What do you think that planet Earth would be like if no guy or gal is ever punished for doing something that is now thought of as being wrong to do? If no guy or gal is ever punished for anything, your grandpaa is sure that there would be a lot of guys and gals doing things that are today legally wrong to do – such as stealing and killing.
How would you like to have God – your Heavenly Father, become angry with Newark, Delaware because of the way that the guys and gals who are living in the city where you are now living thought about and acted towards God? Every guy, gal and kid who is living today on planet Earth can learn from what unfolded in a number of towns and countries over 2500 years ago. Tyre was founded about 2000 years before Jesus was born. Tyre grew to become a commercial center. Part of Tyre was built on a couple of rocky outcrops that were located about a half a mile out in the Mediterranean Sea. The other part of Tyre was built on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Tyre was located on Phoenician’s Coast. The land area of Phoenicia is now known as Lebanon. When Solomon built a temple in the city of Jerusalem for God’s presence to reside, cedar and craftsmen were supplied by King Hiram – Tyre’s king, to help Solomon’s guys build probably the most beautiful structure that has ever built on planet Earth. King Hiram also sent guys to go on Solomon’s ships as sailors as these ships sailed the seas looking for unique and special goods that Solomon would hoard in rooms where he kept his treasures. The guys and gals who were living in Tyre during this time seemed to have been supportive of God’s specially chosen guys and gals – the Israelite people group’s guys and gals, but . . . Tyre would end up becoming a place where the guys and gals who lived there thought only about their welfare and about how much wealth that they could accumulate. God never is happy with guys and gals who use other guys and gals or other countries to accrue lots of money.
Tyre is an example of what happens when God is not happy with a town, city or country that only thinks of itself and how indispensable that it thinks that it is. God instructed Isaiah in Isaiah 23 to record an oracle, revelation or prediction about Tyre and what He was going to do with Tyre. In the oracle, revelation or prediction that God gave Isaiah to write down about Tyre, God states that He would see to Tyre being completed destroyed. Isaiah wrote about 700 years before Jesus was born what God had him write about what He was going to do to Tyre. 572 years before Jesus was born, the area of Tyre that was built on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army. Alexander the Great – about 250 years later and 322 years before Jesus was born, used the rocks from the part of Tyre that had been razed by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army to build a causeway to the two rocky outcrops that were located about a half a mile or so out in the Mediterranean Sea in order to obliterate that part of Tyre. God says in verse 9 why He needed to destroy Tyre, “The LORD Almighty planned it, to bring low the pride of all glory and to humble all who are renowned on this earth.” Tyre had become well known to guys and gals living all over planet Earth. God used Tyre as an example of what will happen to a place or to a guy or gal who becomes well known but who does not give God the credit for the blessings that he or she is receiving. God used Tyre as an illustration of what will happen to a place or to a guy or gal who becomes well known but who does not do what God expects him or her to do to please Him. Your grandmaa and grandpaa are now living in a country – Guatemala, where one out of four guys and gals has made a decision of faith to believe in God. The United States government – because of all the badness that seems to be always taking place in Guatemala, says that Guatemala is one of the most dangerous places to visit in Latin America. Guatemala is setting itself up to be a Tyre. Tyre was purported to be a beautiful place. Guatemala is a beautiful place that is getting figuratively awfully dirty because of all the badness that is taking place there. Guys and gals if they say that they are believers in God are to faithfully stand up for God. Your grandpaa is very thankful for a guy – Hector Pivaral, who prayed that a guy who had experience in enabling guys to become knowledgeable about the Bible would come to Guatemala to help him enable guys and gals in Biblical truths. Your grandmaa and grandpaa arrived in Guatemala in October of 1995. It is now 2020. Over 120 guys have completed a contextualized Bible education program that is taught in 40 modules in different communities where there are a dozen Christ-follower guys who are desirous to be Christ-follower leaders.
Isaiah 23 (366)