Isaiah 23 THE FAILURE OF MATERIALISM Many cities and countries of the Mediterranean area depended on the ships of Tyre to move goods and people from place to place. The national interests were influenced and affected positively or negatively by the materialism of Tyre that supported many city/states by the commercial enterprises of those seafaring people. Some cities like Carthage in North Africa and Tarshish in Europe we founded by the “old, old city.” There was a city of Tyre on an island or two just offshore from the city of Tyre on the mainland, so there was a certain degree of safety for those on the island portion of the city that was unique.
In the eyes of the Lord, the commercial gains of Tyre and their awareness of the impact they had on so many people and nations had made them a proud people. Widespread influence had made them worshippers of materialism and prosperity. Self-gratification was then, and still is today, the real motivation behind materialism that has become a form of idolatry. Such ruthless materialism affected the Lord’s people in Israel and Judah. Jezebel, the daughter of the king of Tyre who married Ahab came from Tyre. Her mind-set was likely quite typical of those who controlled the commerce and worldly, immoral religion of the people of Tyre.
The dangers of materialism cannot be overstressed. Its attraction is in every person and it can never be satisfied by the accumulation of “things.” Some people are so addicted to materialism, that they cannot bring themselves to get rid of useless things they don’t need and never use. The “hoarding” addiction is a form of materialism, and the dissatisfaction that permeates a materialistic society can lead to all kind of trouble in a society and country, let alone in a person or family.
By its very nature, the religion of materialism is a failure because everything one gains can be lost in a short time, including peace of mind, happiness, a good conscience – and some even take their own life when the covetousness of materialism overtakes a person’s mind. When we put our hopes and labors in life on the “treasures of earth” instead of “treasure in heaven,” we have put everything into a basket without a bottom. Where can people go, and what can they do when all they have worked for is gone in a recession or the fall of the stock-market? To whom can they go to find some relief when their financial advisors have no more options to present? Sadly, material prosperity to most people is a source of pride. There is the pride of accomplishment, the pride of skill, the pride of intellect, the pride of overcoming obstacles, the pride of out-doing others, the pride of self-congratulation.
It was likely unthinkable to people living when Isaiah prophesied that Tyre would be thrown down. But Isaiah wasn’t the only preacher to warn of the downfall of Tyre. Jeremiah rebuked Tyre because of its evil and ill-gotten wealth. Ezekiel, Joel, Amos and Zechariah all warned of the dangers of alliances with Tyre and the unstable worldly systems that surrounded Israel and Judah. Egypt depended on Tyre to move its products around the world. The pride of Tyre as the link between nations created a sense of pride in the people of Tyre. But pride separates people from God. “Vain man would be wise, though he be born like a wild ass’s colt.” It is certainly one of the main reasons people today ignore and reject the Gospel. Humility and acknowledgement of sin, and guilt because of sin stains the pride of all men.
When everything is gone that a person has set their heart on, and all they had spent a lifetime working for has come to nothing, a thinking person hopefully will say and mean, “The Lord of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth.” This last prophecy of Isaiah regarding the nations surrounding Israel and Judah should be a warning to us all. Egypt is a type of the world. Babylon is a type of the religious systems of man’s making. Tyre is the commercial system. The antichrist will use every one of them against the Jews, and we are experiencing the foreshadowing of those things today. The religious systems of this age are burying the consciences of people by cooperating with the world and with business in terrible ways. Many so-called religious leaders are extremely wealthy and spend millions of dollars on lavish homes and the accouterments of this world.
Luxury is what people seem to crave now, whether they actually have it or not. The influence of materialism has spread worldwide even though the poor have so little. Instead of bringing satisfaction, materialism mainly brings discontent. Materialism and pride go together, but “God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.” Materialism and prestige go together also, as long as a person has the money needed to maintain a luxurious lifestyle to impress people. Pride and influence go together as long as there are sufficient funds to buy what one wants, and they are willing to spend money on other people without expecting anything back.
The mainland part of Tyre was conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, and then when Babylon fell to the Medes and Persians, Cyrus, the Persian king, made Tyre and Sidon contribute to the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem seventy years later when Ezra brought a group of Jews back to Judah from exile. The people of Tyre were so committed to commercialism that they were compared by the prophet to those who made gain from prostitution. Self- gratification was and is the overriding motive behind materialism. In the time of Nehemiah, people of Tyre came to Jerusalem to live and make money by selling fish and other products on the Sabbath when the Jews were supposed to close all their businesses. Even that simple act for the purpose of material gain, was a bad influence on the Lord’s people at that time. A similar attitude toward the things of the Lord today has taken the attention of believers to the extent that many want to do everything related to the practices of the Lord’s Day ln the morning, so they have the rest of the day to pursue pleasure and business.
It was three hundred years after the time of Nebuchadnezzar that Alexander the great made a causeway to the island city of Tyre and totally destroyed it as was prophesied. The downfall of Tyre reminds us that commercialism, materialism and the pursuit of self-gratification is a major practice of many in this country, and is a sign of the last days. It will surely come to pass that the “pride of all glory” of man will be exposed for what it is, and the “honorable of the earth” in the eyes of men will be brought into contempt. The history of Tyre is a reminder that “pride goeth before a fall.”