Bird's-eye view
In this striking conclusion to the oracle against Tyre, the prophet Isaiah lays out a remarkable turn of events. After a period of judgment and obscurity, the great commercial city will be restored, but her restoration will serve a purpose far beyond her own. The central metaphor is that of a harlot, which in prophetic language often points to something more than simple immorality; it speaks of covenantal dynamics, misplaced worship, and idolatrous pursuits. Tyre, the great merchant city, has whored after profit and has built her identity on the glory of her commerce. God will humble her, setting her aside for a fixed period of seventy years. But this is not the end of the story. In a stunning display of sovereign grace, God will "visit" Tyre, allowing her to return to her old trade. The climax, however, is that the fruit of this renewed commerce, her "harlot's wages," will be consecrated to Yahweh. The wealth of this pagan powerhouse will ultimately be redirected to provision and bless the people of God. This passage is a beautiful microcosm of God's grand historical project: He judges the proud, but His ultimate aim is redemptive, bringing the wealth and glory of the nations into His kingdom for the good of His covenant people.
This is not just about economics; it is about eschatology. The Lord of history is demonstrating that He is the Lord of commerce, and that all the treasure of the world, no matter how profanely gained in the eyes of men, is ultimately His and will be repurposed for His holy ends. The passage points forward to the day when the ships of Tarshish and the wealth of the Gentiles will flow to Zion, all consecrated to the service of the King.
Outline
- 1. The Humbling and Restoration of the Harlot City (Isa 23:15-18)
- a. A Period of Forgotten Desolation (Isa 23:15a)
- b. The Taunt of the Forgotten Harlot (Isa 23:15b-16)
- c. A Divine "Visit" and Return to Commerce (Isa 23:17)
- d. The Consecration of Profane Profit (Isa 23:18)
Context In Isaiah
Isaiah 23 is the last in a series of oracles against the foreign nations that begins in chapter 13. Isaiah has pronounced judgment on Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Egypt, and others. These oracles serve to demonstrate Yahweh's absolute sovereignty not just over Israel, but over all the earth. The nations are instruments in His hand, and they are all accountable to Him. Tyre represents the pinnacle of human commercial pride and self-sufficiency. She is the queen of the seas, a global trading hub drunk on her own success. The oracle begins with a declaration of her stunning downfall, a judgment so complete that it brings the world's commerce to a halt. This final section (vv. 15-18) looks beyond the immediate judgment to a time of restoration and, remarkably, redemption. It shows that God's purpose in judging the nations is not simply punitive but is ultimately ordered toward the expansion of His kingdom and the blessing of His people. This theme of Gentile inclusion and the consecration of their wealth to God will be developed more fully in the later chapters of Isaiah (e.g., Isa 60:5-9).
Key Issues
- The Prophetic Meaning of "Harlotry"
- The Significance of "Seventy Years"
- God's Sovereignty Over Economics
- The Consecration of Secular Wealth
- The Eventual In-gathering of the Gentiles
The Harlot's Hire for the Household of God
The central image here is a startling one. Tyre is a forgotten harlot, trying to drum up business again after a long absence. In the prophetic vocabulary, harlotry is not primarily about sexual sin. It is about idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness. Israel is called a harlot when she chases after other gods (Ezekiel 16). In Revelation, the great harlot is apostate Jerusalem, which has committed spiritual adultery by rejecting her husband, Yahweh, and getting into bed with pagan Rome. Tyre is a Gentile nation, so she is not an apostate in the same way. Rather, her harlotry is her all-consuming devotion to commerce. Her god is Mammon. She sells herself, her resources, her soul, to any and all kingdoms for the sake of profit. Her "harlot's wages" are the gains from this idolatrous pursuit.
The astounding thing is what God does with these wages. He doesn't destroy them. He doesn't tell His people to refuse them as tainted. He commandeers them. He says this profane profit will be "set apart to Yahweh." This is a glorious picture of the gospel's power. The gospel does not just destroy the works of the devil; it plunders his house. It takes the very things that were dedicated to the service of idolatry and consecrates them to the service of the true God. All the art, the music, the literature, the philosophy, and yes, the economic engines of the pagan world are destined to be repurposed for the glory of Christ and the building of His church.
Verse by Verse Commentary
15 Now it will be in that day, that Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years like the days of one king. At the end of seventy years it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the harlot:
The judgment on Tyre is not annihilation but a period of forced obscurity. She will be "forgotten." For a city whose entire identity was built on being the center of global trade and attention, to be forgotten is a deep humiliation. This period is defined as "seventy years," a number that often signifies a complete period of judgment, as with Israel's exile in Babylon. The phrase "like the days of one king" suggests a long, unbroken, and stable period of domination by a single power or dynasty that will keep Tyre suppressed. At the end of this divinely appointed time, her fortunes will change, and her re-emergence is compared to the song of a harlot, a figure from a popular, perhaps cynical, song of the day.
16 Take your harp, walk about the city, O forgotten harlot; Pluck the strings skillfully, sing many songs, That you may be remembered.
This is a divine taunt, spoken with holy irony. God tells the city of Tyre to act like an aging prostitute who has lost her clientele and must now wander the streets, playing music and singing loudly, trying desperately to attract attention and get back in the game. It is a pathetic picture. The proud queen of the seas is reduced to a desperate street performer. She has to advertise her wares again, to remind the world of what she offers. Her "skillful" playing and "many songs" point to the energy and craftiness of her commercial endeavors. She is a master of the art of the deal, and she will have to use all her skills to rebuild her business from scratch.
17 And it will be at the end of seventy years that Yahweh will visit Tyre. Then she will go back to her harlot’s wages and will play the harlot with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.
The turn comes because "Yahweh will visit Tyre." In the Old Testament, a divine visitation can be for judgment or for blessing. Here, it is a visitation of restoration. God Himself is the one who ends her period of being forgotten. He is sovereign over her judgment and her recovery. And what does she do with this new lease on life? She goes right back to her old ways. She returns to her "harlot's wages," engaging in commerce with "all the kingdoms on the face of the earth." There is no indication of an internal moral reformation here. She is still a harlot. She is still driven by profit. God restores her economic potency, knowing full well what she will do with it. This is a crucial point. God's purposes are so grand that He can use even the unchanged, self-interested motives of a pagan nation to achieve His holy ends.
18 And her gain and her harlot’s wages will be set apart to Yahweh; it will not be treasured up or hoarded, but her gain will become sufficient food and choice attire for those who inhabit the presence of Yahweh.
This is the magnificent punchline. All that frantic, self-serving, idolatrous commercial activity will have an end that Tyre never intended. Her profits, her "harlot's wages," will be consecrated, made holy to the Lord. The word for "set apart" is the word for holiness. This profane money will be sanctified. It will not be hoarded in Tyre's treasuries but will be redirected. To whom? To "those who inhabit the presence of Yahweh." This refers to the covenant people of God, specifically the priests and Levites who served at the temple, and by extension, the entire church of God. The wealth generated by the world's most cynical and materialistic economic system will end up clothing and feeding God's people. This is a stunning prophecy of the future of the gospel. The Great Commission is a hostile takeover bid for the entire world, and that includes its financial systems. The wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just, and here we see it happening on an international scale.
Application
This passage gives us a robust theology of economics and history. First, it teaches us that God is sovereign over the marketplace. The rise and fall of economic powers, the shifting of trade routes, the booms and busts, are all under His hand. We are not to fear the Tyres of our world, the great economic behemoths that seem to run everything. They serve at God's pleasure and for His ultimate purposes.
Second, it shows us the ultimate destiny of the world's wealth. The Bible is not ascetic; it does not teach that money is inherently evil. The problem with Tyre was not her wealth, but her idolatrous love of it. The gospel promises a future where the material resources of the world are redeemed and consecrated to the service of Christ. This should give Christians a profound confidence to engage in business, enterprise, and finance. We should be building things, creating wealth, and doing it with an eye toward consecrating the profits to the Lord, using them for the advance of the kingdom and the provision of God's people.
Finally, this passage is a great encouragement for the mission of the church. We are commanded to disciple the nations. As we do, and as the gospel triumphs, we should expect to see the "harlot's wages" of pagan cultures redirected. We should expect to see the artistic, intellectual, and economic capital of nations brought into the service of King Jesus. The song of the harlot will fade, and in its place will rise the song of the redeemed, a song that celebrates how our God plunders the strong man's house and brings all the treasures of the earth to the feet of the Son.