“Moreover, in their wailing they will take up a lamentation for you And lament over you: 'Who is like Tyre, Like her who is silent in the midst of the sea? 'When your wares went out from the seas, You satisfied many peoples; With the abundance of your wealth and your merchandise You enriched the kings of earth.”
Ezekiel 27:32-33
An earlier verse explains that it's about the destruction of the city of Tyre because of how she treated the people of Israel and, ultimately, because of her rejection of God. Here's the verse:
“Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,' therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves.”
Ezekiel 26:2-3
This past week, though, we were visiting friends in Tokyo, Japan and I don't believe it's a coincidence that I read this passage. God has been using the words of Ezekiel to bring Japan and her people to mind as I read along about the destruction and lament over Tyre. I'm thinking about how Japan also is "silent in the midst of the sea." (This is literally the quietest place I've ever been.) And how Japan also produces many wares that satisfy many peoples. And how with Japan's abundance of wealth and merchandise, she also has "enriched the kings of the earth."
Obviously, we don't interpret Scripture by reading the newspaper. We don't just replace names with the things we see around us and call that hermeneutics. But, it is amazing and wonderful to me how God uses certain Scripture passages to show us more about Himself and give us insight into the situations around us. So, today, Ezekiel is reminding me of Japan and how God is calling the Japanese to Himself. He is reminding me of the fate, not only of the Japanese people, but of all people who live their lives apart from Christ and reject God's gift of salvation through Him. Judgement is coming. At the very least, He is convicting me to pray for the people of Japan and to lament over the vast numbers of people who live and die there every day without ever believing (or maybe even hearing) about who Jesus is and what He has done for them. More than ninety-eight percent of the Japanese people would be in hell if they died today. Judgment is coming for them, just as it is for every person on this planet.
What situation in your life is God speaking into? How is He using Scripture to bring clarity and understanding? How is He teaching you to pray through His Word?
