God Reigns
Isaiah 23:8–18
Chapters 13–23 of Isaiah focus on the judgments of the surrounding nations of Israel. Israel lies on the path between Egypt and the rest of Asia Minor, an area where empires often came to power.
The Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians and Greeks all held part of Asia Minor at some point and had to contend with Egypt. Therefore, Israel was often forced to defend herself against invading troops or form alliances with various nations for protection. This often caused the people of Israel to trust in these alliances instead of trusting in God.
Through the prophets, God would send warnings to the people of Judah and Israel to turn to Him for their salvation, not the surrounding nations. When Israel refused to do this, God would use the surrounding nations to chastise Israel in order to bring them back to God.
However, God did not consider these foreign nations innocent. They faced God’s wrath for their actions.
God is just. (8–12)
Chapter 23 of Isaiah deals with the Phoenicians, specifically the city of Tyre. Tyre was a rich and prosperous city due to its port and interactions with the rest of the Mediterranean world. However, this wealth led to pride, a sin which God detests.
Tyre was built partly on an island, making it a difficult city to capture. The Assyrians would exact tribute from Tyre but the city on the island was not able to be subdued. Despite being on an island, the city of Tyre was still not out of the reach of God.
When Alexander and the Greeks invaded the area centuries later, the Macedonian ruler took rubble from the part of Tyre on the mainland and used it to create a bridge out to the island, where he then captured the city and enslaved its populace.
What we can glean from these verses is that God will carry out His promises, and nothing can stop Him from carrying them out. This is valuable for us today. As we live with so much uncertainty around us, we can be assured God knows our situation, and He will provide for us, ultimately in the form of salvation through Christ. We can trust God despite our circumstances and know He is more powerful than any situation we face. We are called by Scripture to trust in the Lord not our circumstances (Matt. 6:25–34).
God is active. (13–14)
To show how Tyre would not remain safe, Isaiah pointed to the Chaldeans in Babylon. The leader of the Assyrians, Sennacherib, defeated the Chaldeans earlier, and this showed that Assyria had the power to carry out the attack on Tyre.
Just as God gave an assurance He would fulfill His plan, God gives us assurances of His promises. One of the greatest episodes of this comes in Romans 8:18–39.
In this section, Paul gives us assurance that our salvation is secure in Christ and nothing can separate us from God. In trying times, this section is a bulwark against doubt and fear. Because Christ has risen from the dead and intercedes for us, we can see Christ’s love for us and the assurance that we cannot lose our salvation.
God is honored. (15–18)
Isaiah prophesies that God will restore Tyre and this restoration will involve the profits from Tyre’s business as dedicated to the Lord.
One of the key themes throughout the Old Testament is the nations will come to know God. Even though the nations continually attack and harass Israel, in the end, all nations will come to a true knowledge of the Lord.
We see this in part today, as missionaries go throughout the world telling people about Christ, bringing redemption to the people of all nations.
It also helps us look at the surrounding nations not as enemies of the United States, but as people who are in need of the gospel.
This should refocus our perspective so that we see people as creatures made in the image of God, not foreigners who are strange to us.
By Robert L. Olsen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
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