The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my heart and mind in Isaiah 23:8-9,
"Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth? The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth."
In the prophecy the Lord gave Isaiah concerning his coming judgment of Tyre, he wanted the hearers to understand that the destruction that was to come to Tyre was not happenstance or simply the aspirations of Assyria (and later, Alexander the great) but by the plan of God. Arrogance, as evidenced by the people of Tyre, coupled with a lack of appropriate humility always leads any people far removed from the plans of God and places them in the cross-hairs of his judgment.
The Scriptures teach us that God is the one who created the institution of nations among men, established their existence, and even determines the times and places they will exist. We read of these things in Acts 17:26-27, Romans 13:1-2, etc. His purpose for having mankind divided into nations is to pursue his unique methods of drawing people to himself. Without going into those unique methods here, it is enough to point out that when a nation drifts from its usefulness to God for the building his own kingdom of mankind, it can find itself subject to intervention by God.
The Lord makes an interesting observation of himself and his dealings with nations in Jeremiah 18:7-10, "If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it." See how active God is in the fortunes of nations!
Where we may feel the lives of nations, their rises, their falls, are due to the activities of mankind alone, often we find in Scripture that the activities of mankind can and do lead to God making his own plans as to the outcomes, the prospects of nations. Specifically, the Lord wanted all to know that what happened to Tyre was at the behest of his planning.
I think we all (I include myself in this number) may be astonished to learn of the many things that happen among nations at the planning of God himself. "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:26-27.
Tyre had its own aspirations. However, the Lord had his plans for Tyre. What mankind desires will always be subordinated to the plans of God.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
"Who planned this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, whose merchants are princes, whose traders are renowned in the earth? The Lord Almighty planned it, to bring down her pride in all her splendor and to humble all who are renowned on the earth."
In the prophecy the Lord gave Isaiah concerning his coming judgment of Tyre, he wanted the hearers to understand that the destruction that was to come to Tyre was not happenstance or simply the aspirations of Assyria (and later, Alexander the great) but by the plan of God. Arrogance, as evidenced by the people of Tyre, coupled with a lack of appropriate humility always leads any people far removed from the plans of God and places them in the cross-hairs of his judgment.
The Scriptures teach us that God is the one who created the institution of nations among men, established their existence, and even determines the times and places they will exist. We read of these things in Acts 17:26-27, Romans 13:1-2, etc. His purpose for having mankind divided into nations is to pursue his unique methods of drawing people to himself. Without going into those unique methods here, it is enough to point out that when a nation drifts from its usefulness to God for the building his own kingdom of mankind, it can find itself subject to intervention by God.
The Lord makes an interesting observation of himself and his dealings with nations in Jeremiah 18:7-10, "If at any time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed, and if that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent and not inflict on it the disaster I had planned. And if at another time I announce that a nation or kingdom is to be built up and planted, and if it does evil in my sight and does not obey me, then I will reconsider the good I had intended to do for it." See how active God is in the fortunes of nations!
Where we may feel the lives of nations, their rises, their falls, are due to the activities of mankind alone, often we find in Scripture that the activities of mankind can and do lead to God making his own plans as to the outcomes, the prospects of nations. Specifically, the Lord wanted all to know that what happened to Tyre was at the behest of his planning.
I think we all (I include myself in this number) may be astonished to learn of the many things that happen among nations at the planning of God himself. "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us." Acts 17:26-27.
Tyre had its own aspirations. However, the Lord had his plans for Tyre. What mankind desires will always be subordinated to the plans of God.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just respond and let me know.
Trevor Fisk
trevor.fisk@gmail.com
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