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The Destruction of Tyre
I. The predictions.
A. Many nations were predicted to participate in the destruction
of Tyre. Vs. 3
B. Walls and towers to be destroyed, the stones, timbers, and dust
to be laid in the midst of the waters.
C. Nebuchadrezzer to besiege the city.
1. He will come with a great army of horsemen.
2. He will destroy the walls and houses and towers.
3. Notice the personal pronoun he.
4. Notice the change of pronouns to they in verse 12.
D. They shall make a spoil of your riches.
1. No mention of Nebuchadrezzer making a spoil.
2. They shall make a spoil.
E. They will destroy your pleasant houses and lay the stones
timbers and dust in the water.
F. To be made like the top of a rock.
G. A place for the fishermen to spread their nets.
H. Never to be rebuilt.
II. What does history tell us.
A. Three years after this prophesy Nebuchadnezzer began the siege
of Tyre in 586 B.C.
1. The people of Tyre were known as the Phoenicians. The
Phoenician navy ruled the seas from the 12th to the 6th
century B.C.
2. Tyre was a very wealthy city as a result of the
merchant ships that traveled throughout the entire
Mediterranean and even as far as England.
3. The siege lasted for thirteen years and Tyre was
finally conquered.
4. During the siege the people of Tyre fortified an island
that was a half mile off shore, and gradually moved the
wealth and goods of the city to the island fortress, so
that by the time the city fell to the Babylonians, most
of the people had moved to the new city, and all of the
wealth had been transferred their, thus Nebuchadnezzer
did not spoil the wealth of the city, but in revenge
ravaged the walls of the city to the ground.
B. The new city of Tyre continued to prosper from the new island
location which was greatly fortified and the walls extending
out into the sea to protect the port.
C. 241 years after Nebuchadnezzer had destroyed the old city of
Tyre, Alexander the Great began his conquest of the ancient
world.
1. His ambition was to capture the Persian Empire and to
gain it's vast wealth.
2. Before he began his march against Persia, he decided to
head south and conquer Tyre, fearing that while his
troops were in the East engaged in war, that the
Phoenician navy may endeavor to invade Greece.
3. He came to Tyre and demanded that the city surrender
which demand they refused.
4. He first attempted and failed to conquer the city by a
assault from the sea in ships gathered from nearby
ports.
5. It was then that he struck upon the idea of taking the
ruble of the old city of Tyre left by Nebuchadnezzer
and building a causeway out to the island.
6. The troops began placing the rocks and timbers in the
sea and covering the top with dirt that they might roll
the engines of war upon the causeway built out to the
island.
7. When this causeway was completed, Alexander the Great
personally led the troops over the wall into the city,
and Tyre was taken.
8. The city was destroyed completely by Alexander as a
warning to other cities that might seek to defy his
demands of surrender.
9. Upon hearing of the fall of Tyre, many cities feared so
much the power of Alexander that they opened their
gates to the approaching army of Alexander, and
surrendered without a fight.
III. For years even the site of the ancient city of Tyre was unknown,
it had been so thoroughly destroyed. Less than two hundred years
ago as a group of archeologists were watching some fishermen
spreading their nets on the bare rocks to dry, one of them noticed
that the rocks were not in a natural formation, and it was then
realized that this peninsula they were on was not natural, but one
formed by the siege of the island city of Tyre by Alexander and his
forces.
A. So the prophecies were literally fulfilled even to the present
day.
1. The modern city of Tyre is built nearby in another
location.
2. The ancient site is still barren rock, a place where
the fishermen spread their nets.
B. Seven times in this chapter the claim is made that the words
spoken are from the Lord. This same claim is made in the Bible
866 times.
1. This claim is either true or false.
2. This is either God's word, or it is not God's word.
C. What are the chances that Ezekiel could have made these
predictions out of his own head?
1. That Nebuchadnezzer would conquer the city of Tyre.
2. That other nations would contribute to its total
demise.
3. That the city would be made flat like a rock. (Tells)
4. It would become a place for the spreading of nets.
5. Its stones and timbers would by placed in the sea.
6. That other cities would fear greatly at the news of
the fall.
7. That the original city would never be rebuilt.
8. It has been conservatively estimated that the chances
are about one in 75,000,000.
D. All that is necessary to prove that the Bible is not the word
of God is to find and prove one error.
1. If their were a great metropolis built on the site of
the ancient city of Tyre today, we could all fold up
our Bibles and go home dejected and in a hopeless
condition.
2. This incidentally would make an excellent site for a
city, for the ancient springs of Resilen are still
flowing there into the sea, an estimated 10,000,000
gallons of water a day. It was this abundance of fresh
water that allowed the city of Tyre to hold out
against Nebuchadnezzer for 13 years.
IV. If the Bible is truly the word of God, what does that mean to us
today?
A. That God really did create you and loves you.
B. That God wants you to know Him and to fellowship with Him.
C. That God has a wonderful plan for your life, and your eternal
future.
D. That God sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for
the guilt of your sin, so that the barrier between you and God
could be removed, and the way made whereby you could come to
God.
E. That if you today will just confess to Him your sins, He will
be faithful and just to forgive you of all of your sins, and
He will cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
F. That you can live with Him forever in the perfect joy and glory
of His presence.
H. What are the chances that this is true? One in seventy five
million in just one chapter alone.
I. Look at the odds you are gambling against if you should choose
not to believe the Bible as the word of God.
J. I cannot understand why a person would not want to believe all
of the glorious promises that God has made to man.
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