The Pride of Life and the Sovereignty of God Text: Isaiah 23:1-14
Introduction: The Globalist Dream and the Divine Decree
We live in an age that worships at the altar of global commerce. Our elites, our talking heads, our politicians, all sing from the same hymn sheet, and the hymn is one of global interconnectedness, free trade as the highest good, and the merchant prince as the ideal man. They believe that if we can just get enough container ships on the ocean and enough zeroes in the right bank accounts, we can build a tower of economic prosperity that will reach to heaven, a new Babel where every man does what is right in his own eyes, funded by a robust 401k.
This is the dream of Tyre. Ancient Tyre was the globalist superpower of its day. It was a city built on the sea, a mercantile empire whose ships went everywhere, whose traders were honored as princes, and whose wealth was legendary. They were the original Davos men, convinced that their economic prowess made them masters of their own destiny. They believed their portfolios were their strong defense, their harbor their salvation. But in this chapter, the prophet Isaiah is given an oracle, a burden, a heavy word from God that will shatter their self-assurance and sink their proud fleet.
This passage is not just an interesting historical account of a forgotten city-state. It is a timeless lesson on the collision between human pride and divine sovereignty. It is a warning to every nation, every corporation, and every individual who thinks that their success, their wealth, or their influence places them beyond the reach of God. God is the one who governs the nations. He raises them up, and He casts them down. And He is particularly interested in humbling the proud. As we walk through this oracle, we need to ask ourselves where we have placed our trust. Is it in the ships of Tarshish, in the Dow Jones, in our own cleverness? Or is it in Yahweh of hosts, the one who counsels the fall of empires from His throne in the heavens?
The judgment on Tyre is a picture of the judgment that comes upon all worldly systems that defy God. But it is also a picture that points us to the gospel. For just as God brings down the proud, He has a plan to raise up the humble. He has a plan to take the profane wealth of the nations and consecrate it to His purposes. This is the story of how God stains the pride of all glory, so that men might learn to glory in Him alone.
The Text
The oracle concerning Tyre. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, For Tyre is destroyed, without house or harbor; It is revealed to them from the land of Cyprus. Be silent, you inhabitants of the coastland, You merchants of Sidon; Your messengers crossed the sea and were on many waters. The grain of Shihor, the harvest of the Nile was her revenue; And she was the nations’ gain. Be ashamed, O Sidon; For the sea speaks, the strong defense of the sea, saying, “I have neither travailed nor given birth; I have neither brought up choice men nor reared virgins.” When the report reaches Egypt, They will be in travail at the report of Tyre. Pass over to Tarshish; Wail, O inhabitants of the coastland. Is this your exultant city, Whose origin is from days of old, Whose feet used to lead her to sojourn in distant places? Who has counseled this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? Yahweh of hosts has counseled it, to defile the pride of all beauty, To make contemptuous all the honored of the earth. Overflow your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; There is no more restraint. He has stretched His hand out over the sea; He has made the kingdoms tremble; Yahweh has given a command concerning Canaan to demolish its strong defenses. So He said, “You shall exult no more, O crushed virgin daughter of Sidon. Arise, pass over to Cyprus; even there you will find no rest.” Behold, the land of the Chaldeans, this is the people which was not; Assyria established it for desert creatures, they erected their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin. Wail, O ships of Tarshish, For your strong defense is destroyed.
(Isaiah 23:1-14 LSB)
The Collapse of a Global Power (v. 1-7)
The oracle begins with a command to wail. This is not a suggestion; it is a summons to a funeral.
"Wail, O ships of Tarshish, For Tyre is destroyed, without house or harbor; It is revealed to them from the land of Cyprus." (Isaiah 23:1)
The ships of Tarshish, likely the farthest point of Tyre's trading network, are the first to get the news. Imagine these merchant vessels, loaded with tin and silver, making the long journey home, anticipating a profitable return. They stop at Cyprus, their last port of call, and hear the devastating report: Tyre is gone. The home office has been liquidated. There is no harbor to return to. The entire economic system upon which their lives were built has vanished. This is a picture of total, catastrophic collapse. The very instruments of their wealth, the ships, are now commanded to become instruments of mourning.
The shockwave spreads. The inhabitants of the coastland, the merchants of Sidon, Tyre's sister city, are told to be silent. Their bustling, noisy enterprise is brought to a standstill. The silence of stunned disbelief replaces the clamor of the marketplace. Their whole identity was wrapped up in their commercial success, their revenue from the grain of Egypt, the harvest of the Nile. They were the "nations' gain," the center of international trade. But now, their mother city, their "strong defense," the sea itself, disowns them. The sea, which was the source of their power and pride, now speaks a word of barrenness: "I have neither travailed nor given birth." The very foundation of their identity has been rendered sterile and empty. This is what happens when a culture builds its identity on anything other than God. When that thing is removed, they have nothing left.
The report causes international panic. Egypt, their key trading partner, will be in "travail," like a woman in labor, at the news. The whole interconnected world system is thrown into chaos. The command goes out again: "Wail." This is not the exultant city of old, the ancient and venerable center of culture and commerce. This proud city, whose merchants were like princes, is now a refugee crisis. Her own feet, which used to carry her to colonize distant lands, now carry her into exile. The glory is gone.
The Counselor Behind the Collapse (v. 8-9)
The prophet then asks the central question, the question that every secular historian and political analyst would ask: Who did this? What geopolitical forces, what economic downturn, what military miscalculation brought this about?
"Who has counseled this against Tyre, the bestower of crowns, Whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honored of the earth? Yahweh of hosts has counseled it, to defile the pride of all beauty, To make contemptuous all the honored of the earth." (Isaiah 23:8-9 LSB)
Here is the heart of the passage. The answer is not Nebuchadnezzar or Alexander the Great, though God would use them as His instruments. The answer is Yahweh of hosts, the Lord of armies, both angelic and human. He is the strategist behind the scenes. History is not a random series of events; it is the unfolding of a divine plan. God's counsel stands.
And what was the purpose of His counsel? It was not arbitrary. God had a specific moral and theological objective: "to defile the pride of all beauty, to make contemptuous all the honored of the earth." Tyre's fundamental sin was pride. They were beautiful, wealthy, influential, and honored, and they believed it was by their own hand. They began to worship the creature rather than the Creator. They gloried in their own accomplishments. And God will not give His glory to another. He is in the business of staining, profaning, and defiling all human glory that sets itself up in opposition to Him. He will bring it into contempt. He will show it to be the cheap, tawdry thing that it is. This is a foundational principle of God's government of the world. "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble" (James 4:6). Every tower of Babel, whether built with bricks or with hedge funds, will be brought down.
The Execution of the Sentence (v. 10-14)
The final verses describe the execution of this divine sentence. The consequences are total and inescapable.
"Overflow your land like the Nile, O daughter of Tarshish; There is no more restraint... He has stretched His hand out over the sea; He has made the kingdoms tremble; Yahweh has given a command concerning Canaan to demolish its strong defenses." (Isaiah 23:10-11 LSB)
The "restraint," the girdle of their harbor and economic discipline, is gone. The result is a chaotic flood. The very hand of God is stretched out over their domain, the sea, and He shakes the kingdoms. Notice the absolute sovereignty here. God gives a command, and the strong defenses of Canaan, the Phoenician coast, are demolished. Man proposes, but God disposes.
The exultation of Sidon is over. She is called a "crushed virgin daughter." This is a common biblical metaphor for a city that has been conquered and violated. Her pristine pride is shattered. She is told to flee to Cyprus, but even there, she will find no rest. There is no escape from the judgment of God. You cannot outrun His decree. You cannot find a tax haven or a remote island that is outside His jurisdiction.
The prophet points to the instrument God will use: "Behold, the land of the Chaldeans." At the time Isaiah was writing, the Chaldeans (Babylonians) were not yet a world power. They were a subject people under the Assyrians. But God declares the end from the beginning. He was raising up this "people which was not" to be His hammer of judgment. God can use anyone He pleases to accomplish His will. He can take a people who are nothing and make them a superpower overnight in order to chastise a proud and rebellious nation. He is the Lord of history.
The chapter ends as it began, with a call to mourning. "Wail, O ships of Tarshish, For your strong defense is destroyed." Their fortress, their security, their god, which was their wealth and naval power, is utterly ruined. What they trusted in has failed them completely. This is the end of all humanistic systems. They are a broken cistern that can hold no water.
The Gospel for Globalists
So, is the message simply that God hates successful economies? Not at all. God is the one who gives the power to get wealth (Deut. 8:18). The problem is not commerce; the problem is pride. The problem is when we take God's gifts and make them into idols. The sin of Tyre is the sin of modern, secular man writ large: the belief that we are autonomous, that we are the captains of our own souls, and that our prosperity is the measure of our worth.
The judgment on Tyre is a terrifying thing. But it is a picture of a far greater judgment. All the pride of man, all our self-righteous achievements, all our honors and glories, were gathered together and placed upon one man at the cross. Jesus Christ, the only truly beautiful and honored one, allowed Himself to be made contemptuous for our sake. God stained the pride of all glory by crushing His only Son. He stretched out His hand, not over the sea, but over Golgotha, and He demolished the strong defense of our sin.
The cross is God's ultimate declaration against human pride. It tells us that we cannot save ourselves. We cannot trade our way into heaven. Our righteousness is as filthy rags. We must come with empty hands. We must be brought low before we can be raised up. The only way to escape the judgment that fell on Tyre is to flee to the refuge that God Himself has provided. That refuge is not a distant port; it is a person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And here is the glorious postmillennial hope embedded in this story. Later in this chapter, Isaiah prophesies that after seventy years, Tyre will be restored. And what will happen then? "And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD" (Isaiah 23:18). God's purpose in judgment is ultimately redemptive. He brings down the proud so that He can consecrate their strength and wealth to His kingdom. This is what the Great Commission is all about. We are to disciple the nations, and as they are discipled, all their commerce, all their art, all their industry, all their wealth will be brought into the service of King Jesus. The ships of Tarshish will one day sail for the glory of God, bringing the tribute of the nations to the New Jerusalem. The pride of man must be destroyed so that the glory of God in the face of Christ can cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.