Ezekiel 26:4-7
“I’ll wash away the soil and leave nothing but bare rock. She’ll be an island of bare rock in the ocean, good for nothing but drying fishnets. Yes, I’ve said so. Decree of GOD, the Master. She’ll be loot, free pickings for the nations! Her surrounding villages will be butchered. Then they’ll realize that I am GOD. GOD, the Master, says: Look! Out of the north I’m bringing Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, a king’s king, down on Tyre.”
“I will scrape away its soil and make it a bare rock! It will be just a rock in the sea, a place for fishermen to spread their nets, for I have spoken, says the Sovereign LORD. Tyre will become the prey of many nations, and its mainland villages will be destroyed by the sword. Then they will know that I am the LORD. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: From the north I will bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon against Tyre. He is king of kings and brings his horses, chariots, charioteers, and great army.”
Tyre was an ancient Phoenician seaport of many centuries in Modern Lebanon. It was considered impregnable, built on a island connected to the mainland by a causeway. Complete destruction was unimaginable. But it happened. When Nebuchadnezzar was finished with them nothing was left but for survivors to cannibalize the dead.
We also think, “It could never happen to us.” But it could, and does. Human capacity for brutality shocks our frame of reference and we find ourselves living in hell. Here the context is physical, but it could be emotional, relational or cultural. Only the Lord can prepare us for our future. Seek him now so he will be there for us then.
Lord, make me ready for my future. Even more, make me able to be your vessel in whatever the future holds. Shape me in that time to serve not my own self-interest, but others who are needy and adrift. Give me unflinching eyes to see and understand. Make me courageous in facing evil and valiant in doing good, all for your glory.