The Pride of Life and the Pit of Death Text: Ezekiel 26:19-21
Introduction: The Unsinkable Ship
We live in an age of astonishing hubris. Modern man, with his skyscrapers, his particle accelerators, and his global networks, believes he has finally constructed a world that God cannot touch. He has built his own Tyre, a city of immense wealth, technological prowess, and commercial glory. He believes his ship is unsinkable. He laughs at the idea of divine judgment, dismissing it as the relic of a superstitious and primitive age. But the Word of God stands as a permanent witness against this kind of arrogance. History is littered with the wreckage of unsinkable ships, and the bottom of the sea is crowded with proud cities that forgot God.
The prophecy against Tyre in the book of Ezekiel is not just an interesting artifact of ancient history. It is a divine paradigm. It is a case study in the immutable law of God's universe: pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Tyre was the New York, the London, the Singapore of its day. It was an island fortress, a commercial empire that sat at the crossroads of the world, convinced of its own permanence. She had said of Jerusalem, "Aha! The gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste" (Ezekiel 26:2). Tyre saw the judgment of God on His own people not as a warning, but as a business opportunity. This is the essence of godless pride. It sees the hand of God in history and calls it luck, or chance, or a good time to invest.
But God will not be mocked. A man, or a nation, reaps what he sows. God had declared through Ezekiel a judgment of utter, stunning finality. He would bring nation after nation against Tyre like the waves of the sea. He would scrape her clean, like a bare rock. Fishermen would one day spread their nets where her glorious markets once stood. The judgment described in our text today is the final nail in the coffin. It is a description not just of historical oblivion, but of eschatological damnation. God is not simply threatening to bankrupt Tyre; He is threatening to send her to Hell. This is a truth our modern world desperately needs to hear. God is sovereign over Wall Street just as He was sovereign over the shipping lanes of Tyre. And His judgment, when it comes, is total.
The Text
For thus says Lord Yahweh, "When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you, then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you inhabit the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient waste places, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory in the land of the living. I will bring terrors on you, and you will be no more; though you will be sought, you will never be found again," declares Lord Yahweh.
(Ezekiel 26:19-21 LSB)
The Deluge of Judgment (v. 19)
We begin with the Lord's description of the coming desolation. Notice who the actor is. It is "I," says Lord Yahweh.
"For thus says Lord Yahweh, 'When I make you a city laid waste, like the cities which are not inhabited, when I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you...'" (Ezekiel 26:19)
God does not sit on the sidelines of history, wringing His hands. He is the principal actor. He says, "I make you a city laid waste." Nebuchadnezzar and Alexander the Great were merely the instruments, the axe in the hand of the divine woodsman. God is sovereign over the rise and fall of empires. To deny this is to embrace a form of practical atheism. The fate of nations is not determined in parliaments or on battlefields, but in the unchangeable counsel of the Almighty. Tyre will be like "the cities which are not inhabited," a ghost town, a ruin that tourists might one day visit to marvel at a bygone era. Her bustling streets will be silent, her markets empty. Her life will be extinguished.
But the imagery goes deeper than mere military conquest. God says, "I bring up the deep over you and the great waters cover you." This is the language of de-creation. This is the language of the Flood. In Genesis, God brought the deep up to judge a world consumed with violence and pride. Here, He brings the deep up to judge a single city for the very same sins. The "deep," the tehom, represents the forces of chaos and judgment, held back only by the restraining hand of God. When a nation's sin reaches a certain point, God removes His hand and lets the deep do its work. This is not just a metaphor for a large army. It is a picture of total inundation, of being overwhelmed by a judgment so complete that it is like drowning in the abyss.
Tyre was an island city. She made her living from the sea. The sea was her glory, her defense, and her source of wealth. And God says, "The very thing you trust in, I will use to destroy you." The sea that brought her wealth will become her grave. This is a profound principle of divine judgment. God often makes the punishment fit the crime. The thing a man or a nation idolizes becomes the very instrument of his ruin. If you worship money, you will be ruined by money. If you worship power, you will be crushed by power. If you worship the sea, you will be drowned in the sea.
Descent into the Pit (v. 20)
In verse 20, the language shifts from the historical and physical realm to the spiritual and eternal. The judgment is not just about rubble, but about damnation.
"then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you inhabit the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient waste places, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory in the land of the living." (Ezekiel 26:20)
God says He will bring Tyre down "with those who go down to the pit." The "pit" here is Sheol, the realm of the dead. This is not just about being buried. This is about being consigned to the underworld, to the company of all the godless dead who have gone before. Tyre will join "the people of old," the ancient rebels, the men of the flood, the builders of Babel, the proud kings of Assyria and Egypt. Hell is a populous place, and its citizens are those who, in their lives, shook their fist at heaven.
The description is relentless. Tyre will inhabit "the lower parts of the earth," a phrase that denotes Sheol. She will be "like the ancient waste places." Her final state is one of permanent desolation and ruin, a spiritual wasteland. The repetition is for emphasis: she will be "with those who go down to the pit." There is no escape. The judgment is final. The purpose of this finality is stated plainly: "so that you will not be inhabited." This is the great reversal. Tyre, who wanted to be filled at Jerusalem's expense, will be rendered permanently empty.
But then, in the middle of this dark pronouncement, a sliver of glorious light breaks through. It is a contrast of cosmic proportions. After describing the final ruin of the city of man, God says, "but I will set glory in the land of the living." What is this? This is the Gospel. This is the promise of the kingdom of God. While the proud city of Tyre is being cast into the eternal pit, God is building another city, a glorious city, in the land of the living. The "land of the living" is not just a poetic phrase for "earth." In the context of the pit, it refers to the realm of life, of fellowship with God, of resurrection and glory. While the kingdom of pride is descending into darkness, the kingdom of God is advancing in light and glory.
This is a foundational principle of redemptive history. God's judgment on the wicked is always concurrent with His blessing on the righteous. The same flood that destroyed the world of the ungodly lifted up Noah's ark. The same Red Sea that drowned Pharaoh's army was the means of Israel's deliverance. The same cross that was the ultimate judgment on human sin was the instrument of our salvation. And here, the same sovereign decree that casts Tyre into the pit secures glory for the land of the living. This glory is ultimately found in the person and work of Jesus Christ, who is the resurrection and the life. His kingdom, the true land of the living, is being built, and the gates of Hell, the pit, shall not prevail against it.
The Terror of Finality (v. 21)
The final verse underscores the absolute and irreversible nature of Tyre's judgment.
"I will bring terrors on you, and you will be no more; though you will be sought, you will never be found again," declares Lord Yahweh. (Ezekiel 26:21)
God will bring "terrors" upon Tyre. This is the sudden, shocking realization of the proud that their foundation is sand. It is the panic that sets in when the markets crash, when the invading army breaches the walls, when the doctor's report comes back. It is the terror of facing a holy God without a mediator.
And the result is utter non-existence in the world of men: "you will be no more." This is not annihilation, for the previous verse has already consigned them to the pit. Rather, it means that your place in history, your name, your glory, your influence, will be utterly erased. You will cease to be a factor in the affairs of men.
The final phrase is perhaps the most chilling. "Though you will be sought, you will never be found again." Historians and archaeologists may search for the remnants of Tyre's former glory, but the city that God judged will be gone. The essence of what it was, its pride and power, will be a mere memory, a cautionary tale. This is the final verdict of God on all human pride. He will wipe it from the face of the earth so completely that it can never be recovered. All the monuments of men, all the proud empires, all the towers of Babel, will one day be sought, and they will not be found. Only one kingdom will remain. Only one city will stand. And it is that city whose builder and maker is God.
Conclusion: Two Cities, Two Destinies
This passage sets before us the tale of two cities, which is the tale of all human history. There is the city of man, represented by Tyre, built on pride, commerce, and self-sufficiency. It appears glorious for a time, but its destiny is the pit. It is a city of the dead.
And there is the city of God, the "land of the living," where God sets His glory. This is the Church of Jesus Christ. It is built not on human achievement, but on the shed blood of the Lamb. It is populated not by the proud, but by the humble who have confessed their bankruptcy and have fled to Christ for refuge.
Every person listening to me is a citizen of one of these two cities. You are either building your life on the rock of Christ, or on the sinking sands of your own accomplishments. You are either headed for the land of the living, or for the pit with the people of old.
The pride of Tyre is the native language of our own age. We are told to believe in ourselves, to build our own kingdoms, to make a name for ourselves. But Ezekiel's prophecy thunders down through the centuries with a clear warning: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. The deep is rising. The judgment is coming. The only safe place is in the ark, who is Christ Jesus.
Therefore, repent of your pride. Do not trust in the unsinkable ship of this world's system. It is going down. Transfer your citizenship today. Come to the one who descended into the pit for us, who took the deluge of God's wrath in our place, so that He might bring us up out of the depths and set our feet in the glorious land of the living. For while proud Tyre will never be found again, those who are found in Christ will never be lost.