Ezekiel 28:21–24

We now have the judgment on Sidon, added to the judgment on her kindred city Tyre. It is very brief, but as the firstborn of Canaan he cannot be overlooked here. Sidon does not mean "the fisher," as some say, for which there is no word, but "the taker of prey." Sidon was a great trading power before Tyre was known.

It is the hostility that God judges here, as He does elsewhere. Israel has sinned and given occasion to whatever the malice of others might do and use to justify themselves in doing it. Still, it was malice, and malice against God in His people. So they would come to know Jehovah by judgment only.

One point in this series of prophecies is worth noting. The series begins with the judgment of Jerusalem, the centre of the old system of nations. They are carried out to make them all know Jehovah. Only in Israel's case is there, as well, the understanding and the special verification of prophecy... So these prophecies show us Jehovah's power on display. They make Him known to all by the judgments He carried out. This was realised in part already in the conquests of Nebuchadnezzar. It will be fully accomplished later on, in Israel's favour.

God is now known in and by His grace in Christ Jesus our Lord. Before the gospel He was known by His judgments. It will be so again, when the acceptable year of Jehovah opens with the day of vengeance of our God. And how solemn is the difference between the lines marked out for Sidon and for Israel! The Sidonians would know He is Jehovah by the judgments through which He would be sanctified in their city. Israel would know Him as Jehovah their God when He has gathered them in from the nations where they are still scattered.

"And Moses said to Aaron, This is what Jehovah spoke, saying, 'Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.'" ... And judgment will be no less terrible, because it may be hidden for now... God can never be a consenting party to His own dishonour.

So this knowledge of Jehovah comes by the judgment itself, not by any spiritual knowledge of Him that follows it. For when all the earth shall rejoice, Edom shall be made desolate. It will be through judgment that all the nations shall know that Jehovah is God.

We now have the judgment upon Sidon, added to the judgment upon her relative Tyre. It is very brief, but as the firstborn of Canaan he cannot be overlooked here. Sidon means "the taker of prey," not exactly "the fisher," as some say, for which there is no word… But she has been a sharp brier and a painful thorn in Israel's side; not very dangerous, perhaps, for lack of power, but that was not her fault. It is the enmity that God judges here, as elsewhere.

In verses 20-26 the judgment upon Zidon, some twenty miles north of Tyrus, is predicted. For some years Zidon was even more prominent than Tyrus. She was burnt after a revolt against Artaxerxes Ochus in 351 B.C., but later rebuilt.

Jehovah must sanctify Himself, therefore, in judgment, if there is no faith to receive His grace. So it was at the end of the Jewish age, and so it will be at the end of the Christian one. So too the earth will be filled with His glory, as He says here: "when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness." (Isa. 26:9.)

And Moses said to Aaron, This is what Jehovah spoke, saying, I will be hallowed in those that come near Me, and before all the people I will be glorified… Judgment will be no less terrible because it may be hidden for the present… God in no case can be a consenting party to His own dishonour.

So this knowledge of Jehovah is by the judgment itself, not by any resulting spiritual knowledge of Him… It will be through judgment that all the nations shall know that Jehovah is God.

God is now known in and by His grace in Christ Jesus our Lord. As before the gospel it was by His judgments, so will it be again when the acceptable year of Jehovah opens with the day of vengeance of our God. And how solemn the difference of the portions measured out to Zidon and Israel! The Zidonians should know He is Jehovah by the judgments through which He would be sanctified in their city; Israel should know Him as Jehovah their God when He has gathered them in from the nations where they are still scattered, and is sanctified in them in the sight of the Gentiles.

Seven of the nations around stand as special examples of that responsibility. How they treated the chosen people of God stands at the front of the account. In principle, what we have here will happen again in the last days, at the judgment before the Son of Man (Matt. 25:31-46). Ammon is against the sanctuary and the land. Moab, in pride of heart, sees nothing in Israel but a nation like all the rest. Edom and Philistia have nursed a spirit of vengeance against her. Tyre finds her own gain in Israel's fall. Sidon has been a sting and a thorn to her, and Egypt, always a staff of reed.

In Judges 2 we find them in complete failure. So God says, "I will not drive out your enemies from before you, but they shall be as thorns in your sides." It is always the same picture — kindness on God's part, ingratitude on man's part.

She has been a pricking brier and a grievous thorn in Israel's side. She may not have been very dangerous, since she lacked the power; but that was not her fault. It is the enmity that God judges here, as elsewhere. Israel had sinned, and that gave others an opening for their malice and an excuse for it. Still, it was malice, and malice against God in His people.

The prophets denounce Zidon and say it will be destroyed. They charge it with being a "pricking brier" to the house of Israel, and a "grieving thorn" around them (Ezek. 28:21-24). The LORD says that Zidon and Tyre took His gold and silver and precious things into their pagan temples. They also sold the children of Judah to the Greeks, to move them far from their border (Joel 3:4-8).

Sidon does not mean "the fisher," as some say — there is no word for that. It means "the taker of prey."

It shows how abundant the fruits of the curse are — the curse pronounced in Eden because of man's sin. But that curse will be lifted in the millennium, when the myrtle and trees like it take its place (Isa. 55:13; Ezek. 28:24).

How solemn the difference between the portions measured out to Zidon and Israel! The Zidonians will know He is the LORD by the judgments He carries out in their city, and in those judgments He will be sanctified. Israel will know Him as the LORD their God when He has gathered them back from the nations where they are still scattered. In them He will be sanctified in the sight of the Gentiles.

This knowledge of the LORD is by the judgment itself, not by any resulting spiritual knowledge of Him. With Israel we can see the two ways God makes Himself known (Ezek. 24:24-27; 28:26; 34:27; 36:11). In the other cases it is by judgment.

God predicts her judgment. Then He declares that He will gather the house of Israel again, once He has carried out judgment on the nations. Nothing ever frustrates God's purposes — not the sins of His people, and not the pride of His enemies.