A HORROR
Today’s Reading: Ezekiel 26-27
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion).
This site was insignificant until Herod the Great began to develop it into a magnificent harbour befitting his kingdom. The harbour was built using materials that would allow the concrete to harden underwater. The forty-acre harbour would accommodate 300 ships, much larger than the modern harbour existing there today. Caesarea Maritima is a national park on the Israeli coastline, near the town of Caesarea. Our photographer, my son David Reynold Mainse, was unable to travel into the area of Lebanon where the city of Tyre once stood about 100 miles north of Caesarea along this coast. There are still buildings here, but at the site of ancient Tyre, which I have visited, there is absolutely nothing except bare rocks. Ezekiel prophesied about the coastal city of Tyre with amazing accuracy.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Ezekiel 26:14
“I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the Lord have spoken,” says the Lord God.
What a judgment on proud Tyre! Throughout these two chapters we read of the judgment Tyre, a prosperous trading port, would bring upon itself. In our key verse, Ezekiel prophesies, “You shall never be rebuilt!” Today, at high tide, the waters cover the acres of bare rocks where Tyre once stood. Tyre has a long history. The wicked Queen of Israel, Jezebel, was the daughter of Ethbaal, King of Tyre. Tyre was the source of the worship of Baal, a religion to which King Ahab and many Israelites were converted during the time of Elijah the prophet (1 Kings 18:21-40).
The question was asked by Job, King David, and Jeremiah, who was a contemporary of Ezekiel, “Why do the wicked prosper?” (Jeremiah 12:1-3). They all concluded that in the big picture of history, wicked people and their civilizations lie in ruins. Ezekiel is prophesying in Babylon, an example of another city destroyed and never rebuilt.
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I pray that I will always stand with You and never against You! I quote Jeremiah in my prayer, “But You, O Lord, know me; You have seen me, and You have tested my heart toward You!” Keep me true, I pray. I ask these mercies in Jesus’ Name. Amen!!!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
I find myself singing a chorus that prays, “Keep me true, Lord Jesus. Keep me true. There’s a race that I must run. There are victories to be won. Give me power every hour to be true” (click here to listen to the song sung by a South African singer named Jabu).
I visited Lebanon and stood on the very rocks of which Ezekiel wrote, which were once the city of Tyre. A short distance away was a fisherman “spreading nets” (see our key verse, Ezekiel 26:14). With me was Dr. Paul B. Smith of the People’s Church, Toronto. We read the words of today’s reading from the Bible and marvelled at the detailed accuracy of Scriptural prophecy. It is my understanding of history that Tyre was destroyed by the armies of Alexander the Great about 200 years after Ezekiel penned the words of today’s reading. At my age, I’m amazed that I can put “the city of Tyre, Lebanon” into “Google” and find all kinds of information in 2 or 3 minutes that would’ve taken me hours to find in the Toronto reference library 40 years ago. The last verse of today’s reading says of Tyre, “You will become a horror, and be no more forever!” (Ezekiel 27:36b). That’s exactly how I felt standing on those rocks where a proud city once stood.
Here’s a sad note about the present city of “Sidon,” Tyre’s sister city of ancient times. It is still a bustling city. However, while visiting there I was shown a cache of bombs stored, not in an ammunitions dump, as is the practice of most armies, but in the basement of a highrise building where many families live. Children were playing in and around the building. All war is horror, but this was particularly horrible to us. May God have mercy!
Yours for living as my Father would often pray, “With the smile of Your approval [God’s approval] upon our lives”,
David
In agreement with David’s prayer:
”Lord God, I pray that I will always stand with You and never against You! I quote Jeremiah in my prayer, “But You, O Lord, know me; You have seen me, and You have tested my heart toward You!” Keep me true, I pray. I ask these mercies in Jesus’ Name. Amen!!!”
Father, cover us with Your love, Your salvation. Be our shield today, and help us live for You, in word and deed, in Jesus’s name, amen
Amen Rob, amen. If only we would learn from history, especially our Lord’s prophecies.
I pray daily for God’s loving mercy and requested forgiveness upon us.
Some of us know the truth of what we read but many do not learn ‘from the written word’ and the world is still messed up.Will it be much longer before the Rapture?It is definitely getting closer.Keep your eye on Israel and always pray for Jerusalem.I love that song David included.It speaks to the heart.God bless
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Search Me
Search me,oh Lord,I’m Yours,
Remove the cobwebs that hide,
Find out what my heart stores,
Then put the wrong far to one side.
Search again,oh Lord,for light,
Let not darkness cloud my mind,
That I may freely do what’s right,
For I want a heart clean and kind.
Search my soul,Oh Lord,for me;
Don’t let me be vain and phony,
For such get lost and can’t see,
Then become the devil’s crony.
Search my heart,oh Lord again,
Leave no trace of greed within,
Then I can show,without pain,
The love betrayed by my sin.
G W Marshall / 08-Nov-013
Oh,King Of Kings
Oh,King of kings make haste I pray,
That your return will set us free,
Then take us Home with You to stay
In love’s vast ocean of eternity.
You have been the truest of friends,
A mentor to my searching soul,
Now is the time that Heaven lends,
To reap the garden Satan stole.
With open arms Your bride awaits,
To be no more of sin’s dark lie,
As the demon burns with his mates,
We’re safely Home beyond the sky.
G W (Bill) Marshall / Sept 06, 2013
So good, thx Bill. God bless.
Thank you William for posting your wonderful poetry.
Agreeing with all the prayers and comments, if only we would learn from history.
Thanks Bill love these two poems.
I started singing “Keep Me True” before coming to it in the post (not knowing it would be included). I am concerned about Sunday School and the closures over the past two years for children. Those years are very valuable years for children and young people. The choruses and memory verses have stayed with me over the years. Let’s pray for the children of this generation as well as for Jerusalem. Blessings all.
Amen Doreen, so true.
God bless.
Doreen, this is so near and dear to my heart as well, the closure of church and many Sunday schools….. I am joining you in prayer for our children and young people, and indeed for all families and people.
May God Bless our children and grandchildren, may His spirit grow in their hearts.
Amen praying for ministers and church leaders to pray and have the courage to open their churches people really need these places of worship
We must fight against tyrannical governments
Thanks Charlene for posting the prayer map of Canada
For the 7th day from the “Prayer Map of Canada”
1. Pray that the Lord will be close to the broken-hearted in our society and be their help. (Psalm 34:18, Psalm 145: 14-16)
2. Pray for the staff and volunteers that serve in local churches in your city or community, that the Lord will anoint them for effective service. (Romans 12: 4-8, Col 3:17)
Beautiful Song
https://youtu.be/qntO027rRyY
In agreement with your prayers; thank you for your postings.
To give some encouragement, Alberta is Covid Restriction -free ( even in Churches).
Amen to every prayer and comment above.
May our Lord’s Will be done throughout the world, in Jesus’
Almighty Name, Amen.