Ezekiel 26:5 It shall become, in the midst of the sea, a place for spreading nets. I have spoken, says the Lord God. Thought for the day – When the walls come down Today’s verse has been described as one of the most accurately verifiable prophecies we have. And while there is some debate about how the prophecy was fulfilled Tyre was eventually destroyed by Alexander the Great. Tyre had two parts, the land city and the bit on an island. The city was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar for 13 years and was never fully destroyed until Alexander arrived, tore down the land city and used the material to build a causeway to finally tear down the island part of Tyre in 322 BC. And so finally Tyre did become a place where fishing nets were spread out. And it’s downfall was the result of the same hubris that was shown by Ammon, Moab and Edom. Tyre was apparently secure. It’s walls and the sea gave it a real sense of security that was real and tangible. And it got me thinking about the things that w...
Ezekiel 25:5 I will make Rabbah a pasture for camels and Ammon a fold for flocks. Then you shall know that I am the Lord. Thought for the day – What goes around comes around Have you ever caught yourself smiling at someone else's downfall? Not proud of it. But there it is — that little flicker of satisfaction when the arrogant get humbled, when the bully finally loses. That's exactly the mood God is confronting here. Ammon had watched Jerusalem burn and the temple fall, and instead of grief, they said "Aha!" They clapped. Judah's tragedy was Ammon's entertainment. So God speaks — not against Judah this time, but against the gloating. Rabbah, Ammon's proud capital, would become nothing more than a camel pasture. The mockers would become the punchline. I think of Winston Churchill, drafting his maxims for the Second World War. He didn't write "in victory, celebration." He wrote ‘in victory, magnanimity’. He'd watched what triumphalism doe...