All right, bonus points if you work out the title of the sermon before I tell you.
Who wants bonus points?
Yeah, you would have chosen that one if you were preaching.
Anyone else want to take a guess?
Yeah, that's it. All right, bonus points.
Bonus points to you, Nathan.
I don't know what that means, but we'll figure it out later on.
But yeah, in Isaiah 23 verse number one, it says the burden of Tyre,
which I've taken as the title for the sermon today,
it continues by saying,
And so we see again, when God is speaking through the prophet Isaiah,
that he's speaking of this burden.
And again, over and over and over so far in the book of Isaiah,
we see these burdens referred to a judgment that's fallen upon a nation or a city or a land.
And this time it's Tyre.
Tyre is a city of the Phoenicians.
Like today, it's located in modern day Lebanon.
Tyre does come up several times in the Bible.
We see this one reference, of course, in the Old Testament.
They do appear in the New Testament as well.
And of course, when Christ walked the earth, they're brought up.
And also after that, when you have the book of Acts and the Acts of the Apostles,
they go about preaching the gospel to different places.
Tyre is brought up again.
Now, the vast majority of Isaiah 23 is negative in terms of the city.
But you get to right at the end, and it just kind of seems surprising.
Look at verse number 18.
It says,
And so verse number 18 is very positive in terms of the city of Tyre,
but all the way from verses 1 to 17, it's all very negative.
And so this chapter reminds me a lot of the burden of Egypt.
You know, going back where God was judged in Egypt,
and of course, the references of that chapter,
coming with chapters specifically right now,
but it was all about, you know, speaking of the end times
and how God's going to judge that nation.
And in God's judgment, the Egyptians are actually going to turn toward the Lord God.
And so we see something similar with Tyre.
Again, modern-day Lebanon.
We're not talking about a city of the Jews.
We're not talking about God's people here.
This judgment is forming upon them.
But again, we see God judging a Gentile city,
if you want to put it that way,
but then he gives them this great promise
that they're going to be holy in the eyes of the Lord.
And we're going to look at what that all means shortly.
But when you see here, Halyi, in verse number 1,
Halyi, ships of Tarshish.
So from Tarshish, you've got these merchant ships traveling,
and they want to go into Tyre.
They want to buy and sell.
And then they're going to notice that,
hey, the city of Tyre has been conquered.
It's been taken over.
The people have been taken into captivity.
And that's why God is saying to them,
how?
Because you're not going to be able to sell your merchandise
into the city of Tyre.
Verse number 2, it says,
Be still, ye inhabitants of the isle,
whom now the merchants of Zion,
that pass over the sea, have replenished.
So the inhabitants of the isle are,
you know, the islands of Cyprus.
What other islands do we have that are sort of in that Cyprus kind of area?
A little bit, sorry?
Crete.
Crete, yeah, of course.
Crete as well, sorry?
Roads.
Roads?
Okay, I don't know.
Okay, but yeah, so these are other isles that also,
they want to make merchandise.
They want to make trade.
But this time, in verse number 2,
we get brought up the city of Zion.
See?
Thou whom the merchants of Zion,
that pass over the sea, have replenished.
And so these are people going into the city of Zion to replenish.
Many times in the Bible,
Tyre and Zidon come up side by side.
In the New Testament, it's not Zidon,
it's what we have an S, Zidon.
And you may recall Jesus Christ going to the cities of Tyre and Zidon,
brought up multiple times in the New Testament.
So, you know, Zidon is essentially part of the district of Tyre,
which is why they're often brought up together at the same time.
And so not only is this a burden of Tyre,
but it's also a burden of Zidon.
And in verse number 3, it says,
And by great waters the seed of Sihor,
the harvest of the river is her revenue,
and she is a mart of nations.
Now, does anybody know the way it says,
by the great waters of the seed of Sihor,
does anyone know what that is a reference of?
No.
Close though.
So it's not really close,
but somewhat close, the idea there.
Okay.
If you want, come with me to Jeremiah chapter 2.
Come with me to Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse number 18.
Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse number 18.
And cause, you know, a few years ago
I preached through the book of Jeremiah with the church.
So as soon as I saw Sihor,
he kind of reminded me,
he rang a bell in Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse number 18.
Jeremiah chapter 2, verse number 18 says,
And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt
to drink the waters of Sihor?
So Sihor is a river located where?
In Egypt.
Okay.
Today we know it as the Nile River.
Okay.
And so that's what it's referring to.
So this is Nile River where the Egyptians
would travel through as well
and they would make their merchandise.
You know, their sellers would come through
and try to sell in different places.
And so, you know, this is also a burden, I suppose,
that's formed upon Egypt
because they don't have the trading partners
of Tyre and Sidon any further.
And so while Tyre and Sidon are being judged by God,
many of the other nations have been affected
because they're losing their profit margin.
Okay.
They can't sell into these cities.
And then back in Isaiah 23, verse number 4,
Be thou ashamed, O Sidon,
for the sea hath spoken,
even the strength of the sea,
saying, I travail not,
nor bring forth children,
neither do I nourish up young men,
nor bring up virgins.
All right.
So what I want you to think about here
in verse number 4,
if we're in Isaiah 23
and we've also been looking at
the corresponding books of the Bible,
what's the 23rd book of the Bible?
Does anyone know?
No, not the Song of Solomon.
We've looked at the Song of Solomon.
It's Isaiah.
So look, we're not going to spend much time
comparing Isaiah 23 to Isaiah
because every single verse
you're going to find in Isaiah.
You know, Isaiah 23.
But I do want you to pick up one thing though.
If you go back to Isaiah 1,
like right at the beginning of the book of Isaiah,
come with me to Isaiah chapter 1.
All right.
And let me just read again
what it said in Isaiah 23, verse 4.
It says, saying,
Well, in Isaiah chapter 1,
look at verse number 2,
right at the beginning, it says,
So when God is speaking here,
He says,
I've nourished and brought up children.
He's speaking about the nation of Judah
and by extension,
you know, the nation of Israel,
the northern nation of Israel.
And so He's speaking about
these nations being His people,
but He's nourished the nation of Israel
or the nation of Judah.
He's nourished and brought up children
in that land.
But when He speaks of Tyre and Zion,
He says,
Neither do I nourish up young men
nor bring up virgins.
So you see the similarities there.
But He's speaking of these cities
that this is not where He's nourished people.
These are wicked cities.
These are cities that did not have
the Lord God of the Bible as their God.
And so God is showing us a comparison
with Tyre and Zion,
with the people of Israel and Judah.
Now look at verse number 5.
It says,
As at the report concerning Egypt,
so there's Egypt as a reference back to Sihor.
As at the report concerning Egypt,
so shall they be sorely pained
at the report of Tyre.
Now I told you,
as I was reading through this,
it reminded me of the burden of Egypt.
And it's actually Isaiah 19, okay?
If you ever want to go back
and read Isaiah 19,
for me,
Isaiah 23 rings the bell a lot with Isaiah 19,
because as we saw
when it says in verse number 5,
As at the report concerning Egypt,
that report was in Isaiah 19,
so shall they be sorely pained
at the report of Tyre.
It's the same pain.
It's the same judgment.
It's the same hardship
that these two nations or cities
are going to go through.
But there is good news
at the end of the judgment
to come for both of these people.
Verse number 6.
How the inhabitants of the isle.
Is this your joyous city?
Whose antiquity is of ancient days?
Her own feet shall carry her afar
off to Solzhen.
So again,
speaking to the merchants of Tarshish,
is this your joyous city?
Speaking of Tyre and Sidon,
you know,
these are cities that were supposed
to be plenteous.
People are coming and going.
And once again,
they've been taken into captivity.
I'm not sure if the captivity,
speaking of the Assyrian captivity
or the Babylonian captivity,
I'll share a little bit more
as we keep going.
But if God is asking the question,
look, what happened to this city?
It used to be joyous.
They used to be celebrating.
But now they've gone quiet.
Why?
Because God's judgment
has fallen upon them.
In verse number 7,
it says whose antiquity
is of ancient days
is because the city of Tyre,
you know,
goes back a long time.
Like it's a very historic city.
It's been around for many centuries.
And then look at verse number 8.
Who have taken this council
against Tyre,
the crowning city,
whose merchants are princes,
whose traffickers are
the honourable of the earth.
So in verse number 8,
the question gets asked,
who have taken this council
against Tyre?
Okay.
And as I said to you,
when I think about it
from a human point of view,
I was reading through this,
I was trying to compare scriptures,
I could not decide
if God is speaking of the Assyrian
or the Babylonian empire.
So the question gets asked, right?
Who have taken this council?
Who's judging against Tyre?
But the answer gets brought up
in verse number 9.
Because it doesn't matter
whether it's the Assyrians
or the Babylonians.
Verse number 9 says,
the Lord of hosts
has purposed it, okay?
So the one that's actually judging,
the one that's turned against Tyre
is the Lord of hosts.
He's the one that has purposed it.
He is the one that's given
the Assyrian empire
or the Babylonian empire
the power to take over this city.
It says,
to stain the pride of all glory
and to bring into contempt
all the honourable of the earth.
So we see what the problem with Tyre was.
Pride, okay?
They'd be lifted up
and they'd be buying and selling.
They thought of themselves as a great city.
But God,
the God of Bob was not their God.
And as they were lifting up in pride,
God saw that pride
and He said,
you know what?
It's time for you to be judged.
It's time for the burden of Tyre
to fall upon this city.
Verse number 10.
Pass through thy land as a river,
O daughter of Tarshish.
There is no more strength.
Again, the merchants of Tarshish,
go and have a look at the land.
There's nothing left.
You can't buy and sell.
You can't trade with this city.
Verse number 11.
He stretched out his hand over the sea.
He shook the kingdoms.
The Lord had given a commandment
against the merchant city
to destroy the strongholds thereof.
And He said,
thou shalt no more rejoice,
O thou oppressed virgin,
daughter of Zidon.
Arise, pass over to Chittim.
Thou also shalt thou have no rest.
And so again,
God is, you know,
speaking of Zidon and Tyre-Zion,
you know, side by side
because the burden falls upon them.
But God is saying
that these cities will no longer rejoice
even if they escape into Chittim.
Okay?
If that's where they escape
as the Assyrians or Babylonians come through,
it says they also shalt thou have no rest.
Because even Chittim itself
will be taken over
by this powerful empire.
Now, verse number 13 is interesting.
Verse number 13,
if you can decipher it for me,
I'd really appreciate it.
But it says,
behold the land of the Chaldeans.
Now, when we think of the Chaldeans
or the Chaldean empire,
we're talking about the Babylonian empire.
The Babylonian empire
came out after the Assyrian empire.
So you say,
well, pastor, maybe
this is speaking of the Babylonian empire.
Okay.
Behold the land of the Chaldeans.
Then it says this,
this people was not.
So the Babylonian empire was not yet.
It wasn't known for its power.
It wasn't known for its strength yet.
Till the Assyrian founded it
for them that dwell in the wilderness.
So now God is speaking of the Assyrians.
And so,
but essentially God is saying
that the strength of Babylon
came from Assyria.
That as Assyria set up
their powerful kingdom,
Babylon kind of was able to
take that for themselves
and develop themselves
into a great nation
or a great empire themselves.
But till the Assyrians
founded it for them
that dwell in the wilderness,
they set up the towers thereof,
they raised up the palaces thereof,
and he brought it to ruin.
Okay.
So the Assyrians did all the hard work,
building the cities,
and then Babylon comes in later on,
like, you know,
when they become powerful empire
and they took over many of the lands
that the Assyrian empire took over.
So God is just speaking about
these two empires to come.
And again,
that's why as I read this,
I'm not sure which one it is
that God is speaking out
that's going to bring
that burden upon Tyre.
But they're both brought up
in verse number 13.
Then verse number 14,
How ye ships of Tarshish,
for your strength is laid waste,
and it shall come to pass in that day,
that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years
according to the days of one king.
After the end of seventy years
shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
Now very quickly,
verse number 14,
it's just a repetition
of what we've seen in the past,
but how?
Because Tarshish,
as they come in to sell
their merchandise,
it says for your strength is laid waste.
Once again,
you know,
if they bring in perishable items,
when they come to sell,
there's no one to sell to,
and those perishable items
are going to go to waste.
So they're losing their profit margins,
and so the merchants are all upset,
these trading partners are all upset,
that Tyre and Sidon has been destroyed,
or taken over,
taken into captivity.
And verse number 15 is interesting,
we see how long
they're taken into captivity for,
for seventy years.
Very similar to
when Judah was taken into captivity
by the Babylonians,
maybe that leads credence
to the Babylonian Empire
being the empire that took over them.
But he says this,
at the end of seventy years
shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
Now this is very different
to the Jews.
When they were taken into captivity
for seventy years,
what happened?
At the end of the seventy years,
they got right with God,
like a new generation
was able to return back into the land,
rebuild the city of Jerusalem,
rebuild the temple,
dedicate it to the Lord,
make things right for a few generations
before they went backwards,
but not Tyre,
not Sidon.
They're going to sing as a harlot,
harlot like a prostitute.
Like they've got a very different outlook
when they come out of captivity.
They're not going to learn their lessons.
They're going to continue
in their wickedness,
they're going to continue
in their fornications.
And in verse number 16,
like God is kind of speaking
sarcastically of the city.
He says take and harp,
go about the city,
thou harlot,
that has been forgotten,
make sweet melody,
sing many songs,
that thou mayest be remembered.
And so we get an insight
of how the prostitutes of Tyre and Sidon
operated back in these days,
where they wouldn't just
stand on some corner,
but they would sing songs.
Okay?
They'd sing songs,
they'd make sweet melody,
you know,
they wanted to attract men
not just by their looks,
but also by their songs.
And when I thought about this verse,
I just thought, you know what,
nothing's changed.
Like, that's what the music industry is today.
Right?
I mean, if you go and listen to,
you know, I don't know,
what's that woman that goes,
the famous one now?
Taylor Swift?
Or whatever it is,
like in my days,
Britney Spears,
that's, I don't know how it,
like you can probably tell
how I am by that.
I don't know.
And before that,
it was Madonna or something.
All right?
There's all these female artists,
and boy,
sometimes YouTube can be so disgusting,
and they promote certain videos,
and then you're like,
what is this?
These women are dressed like harlots,
and it's a music video,
right?
But it's the same.
It's like,
you know,
this music industry,
like the songs are,
they're making sweet melody,
they sing many songs,
that they may be remembered,
right?
You know,
they hit the top charts,
and people buy their music,
and they play it on the radio,
and they play it at your workplace,
and you're hearing these songs,
they kind of sound catchy,
but if you spend time,
not that you should,
but if you went have a look at it,
these women are dressed like harlots.
They're dressed like prostitutes.
Look,
that's not the kind of music
that we ought to be listening to
as God's people.
You know,
I'm not going to turn around and say,
you know,
the only songs you should listen to
are hymns and psalms.
You know,
there are some worldly music out there
that's half decent,
I suppose,
but boy,
you know,
if the artists are dressed like harlots,
look,
it doesn't matter how sweet-sounding
it is to your ears.
Look,
the whole idea for that song
is for fornication,
for,
you know,
indecent thoughts,
you know,
to commit adultery in the heart.
That's not the kind of music
that we ought to be listening to.
And tyrants,
they don't learn the lesson.
They go back to their wicked ways.
Their women are back to being prostitutes,
and singing their songs,
and turning the hearts and attentions of men
back to themselves.
So God is speaking sarcastically
of this city.
It's like,
man,
you don't learn.
You take captivity for 70 years,
and you come back,
and you're just as wicked as you were.
Verse number 17.
And it shall come to pass
after the end of 70 years,
that the Lord will visit Tyre,
and she shall turn to her hire,
and shall commit fornication
with all the kingdoms of the world
upon the face of the earth.
So tyrants are going to be back
to being trading partners with everybody,
you know,
buying and selling.
They're going to be trading
their songs,
and their fornication,
and their sins,
and they're going to be
expressing that to the whole world.
So God just says,
look, man,
you guys don't just learn anything.
You don't learn anything.
And so like,
you know,
as you keep going,
like we've gone through these
first 17 verses pretty quickly,
because it's pretty much the same thing.
God's judgment, right?
You know,
and the wickedness of the city,
first it's pride,
now it's been a harlot,
and all this stuff,
and they're back to committing fornication,
you know,
spiritual fornication,
or physical fornication,
or just symbolic fornication,
you know,
just being amongst all the other wicked
of the world.
They continue doing wickedly.
And it just seems like
when you get to this,
you know,
to the verse 17,
like there's nothing good
to be said for tiring sight on,
even in their fornication,
even in their wickedness,
even in the harlotry.
But look at verse 18.
And her merchandise
and her hire
shall be holiness to the Lord.
So God is saying,
look,
there actually will be
a good end result
for the people of Tyre.
Okay,
like her merchandise,
what we just read were her songs,
all right,
what's playing on the radio,
but at some point,
her merchandise will be holiness to God.
Okay,
so this to me,
it means there's going to be singing,
there's going to be praising
coming out of Tyre and Sidon
that is holiness to the Lord,
that it's going to be pleasing
to the people of God.
It says it shall not be treasured
nor laid up
for her merchandise shall be for them
that dwell before the Lord,
to eat sufficiently
and for durable clothing.
So we're talking also
food,
we're talking about reignments.
And so it looks like
there are going to be people
in Tyre and Sidon
that are providing
for the needs of God's people,
whether it's food or reignments.
Okay,
but there's going to be certain people there
that actually are going to learn the lesson.
There are some people there
that are actually going to be righteous
before the Lord God.
But that,
when it comes to Isaiah 23,
that's the end of the prophecy there.
That's why then
we can pick up the story
in the New Testament.
So come with me now
to the book of Mark.
Come with me to Mark chapter 3.
Mark chapter 3
and verse number 7.
Mark chapter 3
and verse number 7.
Mark chapter 3 verse number 7.
Now obviously Galilee
was known as Galilee of the Gentiles
as a mix of Jews and Gentiles.
People are also following him from Judea.
That's the Jews.
Okay.
It says in verse number 8
and from Jerusalem
and from Erumiah
and from beyond Jordan.
So it's talking about all these different people
that want to hear Jesus Christ speak.
And then it says this.
And they about Tyre and Sidon
are great multitude.
So not only have you got people
of the surrounding lands
coming and listening to Jesus Christ,
we've got people coming from Tyre and Sidon
are great multitude
coming to seek the Lord Jesus Christ.
These are not Jews.
No, these are Phoenicians.
These are Gentiles.
It says and then continues
When they heard
what great things he did
came unto him
and he spoke to his disciples
that a small ship should wait on him
because of the multitude
lest they should throng him.
For he had healed many
insomuch they pressed upon him
for to touch him
as many as had plagues
and unclean spirits
when they saw him
fell down before him
and cried saying
Thou art the Son of God
and he straightly charged them
that they should not make him known.
So you know there's a great multitude
just pressing, pushing
you know to be healed by Jesus.
They've heard of his great miracles
and this information has come
all the way to Tyre and Sidon.
And they're like
we want to hear about this Jesus.
We need to be healed as well.
You know they're finally
doing the right thing
like they're seeking
the Son of God.
You know even the devils themselves
are acknowledging
this is the Son of God.
Thou art the Son of God.
Come with me now to chapter 7.
Mark chapter 7.
Verse number 24.
And from thence he arose
this is speaking of Jesus
and went into the borders
of Tyre and Sidon.
So in March of the Three
you got people from Tyre and Sidon
coming to see Jesus.
There were so many of them
Jesus was trying to limit
how many people were coming
he didn't want it to be made known
because there's just too many people.
But this time
four chapters later
you know what
he's seeing people come
from Tyre and Sidon
he knows they want to hear of him
they want to see his works
they want to hear his words
so he decides
we're going to go to Tyre and Sidon ourselves.
And what I love about this
brethren is because
you know
I don't know what it is
with certain baptist preachers
I don't know what it is
like
when people teach
Jesus Christ only came for the Jews.
I'm sure you've heard
some variation of that.
Okay.
He did not come
for the gentiles.
What's he doing in Tyre and Sidon?
The Jews aren't there.
You know like
he went there
he went there for a reason.
Let's read it again
verse 24
And from thence he arose
and went into the border of Tyre and Sidon
and entered into an house
and would have no man know it
but he could not be hid.
For a certain woman
whose young daughter had an unclean spirit
heard of him
and came and fell at his feet.
The woman was a Greek.
She's not a Jew
no she's a Greek.
A sorrow Phoenician by nation.
And she besought him
that he would cast forth
the devil out of her daughter.
And Jesus said unto her
let the children first be filled
for it is not meat
to take the children's bread
and to cast it unto the dogs.
Now
I've heard a lot of people
quote verse number 27
or they might quote it from
another one of the gospel books.
Well Jesus Christ is speaking here
when he says let the children first be filled
he's speaking of the Jews.
That the Jews should first be filled
it is not meat to take the children's bread
the Jews bread
and cast it unto the dogs.
You know people from Tyre and Sidon
the Gentiles.
So what's interesting
a lot of people take verse number 27
to speak see
Jesus did not care for the Gentiles
he did not come for the Gentiles
he came for the Jews.
And they read that verse
by itself
without understanding the context
that it is found.
Jesus made the effort
to go to Tyre and Sidon.
He went there on purpose.
And look how she responds.
Jesus is not saying
I'm not going to look care
I don't care for your daughter.
That's not what he's saying.
Oh you're not a Jew?
You're a Greek?
I don't care about that
it's not for you.
What he's doing here
is he's testing her faith.
You know is she truly trusting
the Lord Jesus Christ
to do this miracle for her daughter?
He says look how she answers
verse number 28.
And she answered and said unto him
Yes Lord
yet the dogs under the table
eat of the children's crumbs.
She says well even the dogs get to eat
even if it's just the
crumbs of the children.
Okay so you can see her faith
from the Lord Jesus Christ.
She's like look yes Lord
yes you know
you're doing your miracles
and you're teaching the Jews
but I'm sure you have sufficient
to feed these dogs as well.
Like she sees herself
in the right light.
Like you know what we saw
in Tyre and Sidon in Isaiah 23
is that they were filled with pride.
But for her to be first
as a dog she accepts that.
She says well I'm humbled
you know I'm lowly
I'm but a dog
but even a dog gets to eat
the crumbs that fall off the table.
So you see the heart
of the people change
as the generations have gone on.
And look how Jesus Christ
responds in verse number 29.
And he said unto her
for this saying
go thy way
the devil is gone out of thy daughter.
And when she was come to her house
she found the devil gone out
and her daughter laid upon the bed
and again departing from the coast
of Tyre and Sidon
he came unto the sea of Galilee
through the midst of the coast
of Decapolis.
So just want you to notice
this time in March 7
he goes to Tyre and Sidon
and there's one woman.
Okay but that one woman
had a daughter who had a devil
you know and that's why he came.
He came for that woman
he came for that daughter
who was struggling with this
unclean spirit in her life.
But let's drop down a little bit further
look at verse number 31.
It says that all Jesus Christ
came to do for Tyre and Sidon
heal one person
or look at verse number 31
and again departing from the coast
of Tyre and Sidon.
Okay so he's departing from the coast
he came unto the sea of Galilee
through the midst of the coast
of Decapolis
and they bring unto him one
that was death
that had an impediment in his speech
and they beseech him
to put his hand upon him.
Now obviously I don't want to
misunderstand this is his left
but what I want you to pick up
is that he's back in Tyre and Sidon again.
Like he's traveling back and forth
doing this work
doing these miracles.
I'll just quickly read to you
the miracle that he does here.
It says verse number 33
and he took aside from the multitude
and put his fingers into his ears
and he spit and touched his tongue
and looking up to heaven
he sighed and safe unto him
at pap papa
that is to say
that is be opened
and straightway his ears were open
and the sting
string of his tongue was loosed
and he spake plain.
But I want you to notice once again
how God Jesus Christ is doing these miracles
you know
in whatever place he finds himself
whether it's amongst the Jews
or whether it's amongst the Gentiles
you see his heart is full of lost
his heart is to heal the sick
his heart is to help those
that are plagued with unclean spirits.
So you know
it's quite interesting
like this judgment
formed upon these cities
and how wicked they are
and yet you know
you see people from these cities
like their only hope is Jesus Christ.
Like when there's so many people in Judea
and the Jews
that are openly rejecting Christ.
You know
they're even calling him Beelzebub
that he's doing it by the power of the devil
they say
and yet there are these Gentiles
that are seeking
you know to just
you know just see a little bit of Christ.
And so what we get in Isaiah 23
is this hope
that there will be this holiness
entire and side on.
But let's fast forward a little bit further
let's go to the book of Acts
Acts 21 please
Acts 21
and as we return to Acts 21
I'm going to read back to you from Isaiah 23
and you go to Acts 21
in Isaiah 23
I'll read it again
it says in verse about 18
and her merchandise and her hire
shall be holiness to the Lord
it shall not be treasured nor laid up
for her merchandise shall be for them
that dwell before the Lord
to eat sufficiently for durable clothing.
So the same people of Tyre
are actually going to look after God's people
they're going to clothe them
he's going to feed them
they're going to sing songs
phrases together
then we get to
Acts 21
the works of the apostles
you know what we're following here right now
is the apostle Paul
in Acts 21
verse number one
and it came to pass
that after we were gotten from them
and had launched
we came up a straight course unto Coos
and the day following unto Rhodes
oh there's Rhodes brother
and from thence unto Patara
and finding a ship sailing over unto Phoenicia
we went abroad and set forth
now when we had discovered Cyprus
we left it on the left hand
and sailed into Syria
and landed at Tyre
there we have Tyre
okay
and there the ship was to unload her burden
so Paul is traveling on this merchant ship right
that they've got
you know cargo and the ship
they stop by here
they stop at Tyre
and they start to unload
you know
the cargo and things like that
now this is super interesting
verse number four
and finding disciples
what?
these are gentiles
Isaiah 23 the burden of Tyre
you know God's judgment on the wicked
God's judgment on the prideful
God's judgment on the harlots
and yet we have this glimpse of hope
right at the end of Isaiah 23
and then as we see Jesus Christ
they're following Christ
they're hearing of Christ
you know they're hoping he does a miracle for them
then we have Christ going into Tyre and Sidon
you know himself performing a miracle
in the very place in the very coasts
and then we have Paul traveling
just you know
it's not like he purposed to stop at Tyre
it's because the ship that he was with
had to stop to unload the cargo
and so he gets off
and then what happens?
he finds disciples
he finds believers
what?
in this gentile city
I mean this makes sense for us
that it's been prophesied of
it makes sense to us now
because they followed Christ
they desired Christ
and so it gets on the ship
and people are like hey
that's Paul
that's the great Paul
let's go talk to him
it's a look
we tarried there seven days
who said to Paul through the spirit
that he should not go up to Jerusalem
look they're saved
they even have prophets in Tyre
telling Paul
hey Paul
don't go to Jerusalem
the Holy Spirit is warning you
don't go there
Paul was this obedient hands off going
but anyway
the point being
there are believers
there are spirit-fueled believers
there are preachers
where do you think they came from?
from trusting the Lord Jesus Christ
how can we turn around and say
I just came for the Jews
it did come for the Jews
but for the gentiles also
you know
and just like us brethren
we will you know
thank God
that you know
as dogs
we could eat some of the crumbs
that falls off the children's table
we were able to receive the blessings
that Jesus Christ offered us
salvation for the gospel message
what I love about that description
you know
I might say I don't want to see myself as a dog
but really
we were destined to hell
less than a dog really
when you think about it
okay
and what is crumbs falling off
the master's table or children's table
it's free
it's a free gift
it's fallen
it's not like the dog went to work
and earned the meal did they
you know
it's been offered
it's come off the table
you know
from the master
it's a free meal
and that's really what we received
the freeness of salvation
and so you know
Paul gets off
and they're being looked after
by the brethren for seven days
I mean
this makes sense to Isaiah 23
that if their merchandise
is going to be holy to the Lord
they're going to be their food
their raiment
I can understand
right
as Paul gets off
hey
let's feed you
come stay here Paul
we'll feed you
Paul you need some new clothes
we'll clothe you
Paul let's worship
let's praise God together
let's not sing the song of the harlots
let's sing some praises
and worship to our heavenly father
verse number four again
and finally disciples
we tarried their seven days
who said to Paul for the spirit
that he should not go up to Jerusalem
and when he had accomplished those days
so the seven days are over
the week's over
we departed and went our way
look at this
so they're getting ready to leave
and they all brought us on our way
so they're they're coming with
it's like when someone leaves your house
you say I'll walk you out
you know
I'll take you out to the front
well that's what they're doing
they go
Paul will come
you know
we'll walk you out to the ship
as you leave
but not only are they leaving
it says here
we've wives and children
like whole families
you know
even little children
you know
coming out and seeing Paul
and his company
right
to see him off
as he goes back
continuing his missionary journeys
it says till we were out of the city
and then what happens
and we kneel down on the shore
and prayed
like think about this public ministry
you know
they're all in the city
they come out
we'll come with you Paul
we'll come back to the ship
then they see the ship
they're at the shore
they're like let's pray
let's all come together
men, women, children
Paul and his company
let's all just bow our knees
let's just pray to our heavenly father
let's thank God that you could actually be here
teach us
be with us for seven days
and so I strongly believe
the the great promise in Isaiah 23
is being completely fulfilled here in Acts 21
you know
and then it says in verse number six
and when we had taken our leave
one of another
we took ship
and they returned home again
okay
they returned back to their city
so brethren you know Isaiah 23
like I said
you know most of it is just a judgment
and again I'm not sure
whether it's speaking of Babylon or Assyria
but again I just
I see when God is judging the wicked
and as much as
you know
we want to see God's judgment
and maybe you want to see God's destruction on the wicked
we need to understand at the same time
it's not just that God simply wants to destroy
though when God's wrath does fall on the earth
and he casts people to hell
that is beyond hope of course
but that God wants to see a saved remnant
even amongst the gentiles
even amongst Tyron Sidon
again even amongst Sydney
like these chapters of Isaiah
many of them have given me a lot of hope
as I think about as I meditate upon it
because man even even the wickedness
and pride and like you know
and fornication
and what else was that you know
that was mentioned in the list
but that God can still in his judgment
bring forth something good
you know
and of course he sent Jesus Christ to come
yes he's the king of the Jews
he came to the Jews first
but don't forget that Christ's ministry was for the gentiles also
which is why you and I are saved
you know
so it's like you know
there's never like a lost cause
like we think of certain nations
and we're like
you know there are certain nations
where maybe you're banned from preaching the gospel
but you don't know
look you know
if things might be so horrible
where God just is going to bring down the hammer
you know
and we might rejoice in God's judgment on the wicked
and we should rejoice at God's judgment
but what we should be hoping for
is that the end result
some people are going to know Christ as their savior
and we see that with Tyron Sidon
the burden of Tyre
but God always has an amazing purpose
God always has an amazing plan
all right brethren let's pray