Ezekiel 25-27

[wolfpurplemoon]

Oh, ok, the neighbours are getting a bit of punishment too, God addresses a whole bunch of them individually and explains their fates, such as becoming slaves, destroying cities, destroying the knowledge of them (the fact they are mentioned in the bible means that's not true), killing everyone, becoming desolate or bare rock, rising sea levels flooding the land and getting a lament sung about you. Tyre/Tyrus sounds like it was a very prosperous and bustling place, there's nothing in the lament that explains why such a place would deserve being reclaimed by the sea.

Comments

Curious

[(Anonymous)]

Just curious why you chose to use one of the most difficult books of the bible for your evaluation of God. Why not Phillipians or James- boks that let you see a little glimpse of the One who is giving you each breath that you are taking right now..........

Re: Curious

[bill_sheehan.livejournal.com]

Dear Curiously Anonymous Detractor,

Are you saying that James or Philippians (one L, three Ps, by the way) contain the Word of God, but the Prophet Ezekiel does not?

Breathing, by the bye, is provided by the autonomic nervous system. No improbable deities required.

Re: Curious

[wolfpurplemoon]

I'm reading the whole bible from cover to cover so I'm just commenting on what I read as I get to it. But surely God is in every book so readers should be able to evaluate God throughout the bible?

[zteccc.livejournal.com]

The prophecies of the other nations given to Ezekiel are similar to the ones given by Jeremiah.
Ammon will be given to others (presumably captivity). The prophecy says that they will perish out of the countries and that God will destroy them (the phrasing says that they would be "lost to the countries" meaning that they wouldn't be an independent country, not enough of them would remain to form a country. Ammon is a nation that was lost to antiquity, they ceased being a unique people and Ammon, as a country, doesn't exist today.
Moab and Seir will be given to invaders. In this case, Moab ceased to exist sometime during the Persian empire. The phrase that suggests they would not be remembered among the nations is similar to the idea that a disfavored offspring is disowned from a family, never to be remembered. It doesn't meant that people's minds and all associated records would be wiped clean, but that nobody would refer to that person as a member of the family. In the same fashion, nobody refers to the nation of Moab any longer.
Edom will become a wasteland. There is no Edomite nation any longer. They were ultimately conquered in 125BC.
The Philistines were conquered by the Babylonian empire and ceased to be a nation.

Ezekiel is given a prophecy about Tyre in the same year that Jerusalem fell.
The city of Tyre was the home of Queen Jezebel, wife of Ahab, who, in the time of Elijah attempted to wipe out Judaism and killed many hundreds of Jewish prophets and priests. Tyre was a center of Baal worship and was the source for much of the idolatry and associated customs that spread throughout Israel/Judah and the neighboring countries. Tyre supported attacks against Israel and Judah, hoping to become the dominant city/state in the area. Tyre was two cities, one on the island of Tyre, and a mainland city. The mainland city was the important part of the city, because it had ports and trade routes. The island was inhabited, but due to it being an island, was secondary at the time.
Prophecies:
Nations will come against you - The Babylonians, Persians, Alexander the Great and then his former general and finally the Romans came against Tyre.
The walls will be torn down - Alexander the Great did this is 332 BC
The ruins will be swept away until all that is left is bare rock - Alexander did this in 332BC. He used those ruins to build a causeway to reach the Island of Tyre (the causeway is still there today).
Fishermen will dry their nets along the coast - Mainland Tyre is now a fishing village and the fishermen do indeed dry their nets on the rocks of the old mainland city.
King Nebuchadnezzar will be sent to attack Tyre - Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to the city for 13 years.
The city won't be rebuilt. This is true. The mainland city is still just a fishing village, not a city. The island of Tyre has been built up, but the mainland site, which has plentiful fresh water and good foundation, hasn't been rebuilt.
It should be noted that Ezekiel wrote this over 250 years prior to the eventual conquest of Tyre. That said, it occurred very much as it was prophesied. It should also be noted that Ezra, who created the Old Testament Canon did so in about 458 BC, still over 120 years prior to the conquest of Tyre, so we have a prophecy here that was given 250 years prior to an event, canonized 120 years prior to the event, was specific and fulfilled well after the deaths of anyone involved.