The priest and prophet Ezekiel records this vision from the land of exile in Babylon. It is the eleventh year of the exile, dating the text to approximately 587 or 586 b.c. Jerusalem has just fallen, and the shock of its destruction is reverberating through the ancient Near East. While the Jewish exiles mourn the loss of their capital and temple, the neighboring city of Tyre reacts with cold calculation. Tyre was a wealthy Phoenician maritime hub known for its impregnable island fortress and vast commercial network. The leaders of Tyre view the destruction of Jerusalem not as a tragedy but as a lucrative shift in trade routes. They believe that because the inland gate is broken, the wealth of the nations will now flow exclusively to them. This narrative captures the divine response to such predatory arrogance, predicting that the seemingly invincible city will be dismantled stone by stone and cast into the sea.

Know God. We encounter here a God who is deeply offended by the celebration of calamity. The Lord reveals Himself as the defender of the fallen, taking personal offense when one nation rejoices over the ruin of another for the sake of profit. He declares that He is against Tyre, positioning Himself as an adversary to their pride. This is not a passive disapproval but an active opposition. The text describes a God who commands the flow of history just as the moon commands the tides. He brings up many nations against the proud city, one after another, like waves of the sea crashing against the shore. We learn that God strips away false securities. He removes the noise of songs and the sound of lyres, silencing the hubris of commerce to reveal the barren reality beneath. He is the ultimate dismantle of human arrogance, ensuring that those who profit from the suffering of others will eventually find their own foundations scraped clean like a bare rock.

Bridge the Gap. The ancient attitude of Tyre is strikingly familiar in our modern landscape of competitive ambition and economic maneuvering. It is easy to view the failure of a competitor, the collapse of a rival business, or the stumbling of a colleague as a distinct advantage for ourselves. We often mask this opportunism with professional justification, telling ourselves that the market is a zero-sum game. When we see a "gate" broken in someone else's life or career, our first instinct is often to calculate how the flow of resources might turn toward us. This text bridges the gap by warning us against the spiritual danger of Schadenfreude, which is finding joy in the misery of others. It challenges the security we place in our own "towers" of wealth, reputation, and influence. Just as Tyre felt safe surrounded by water and walls, we often feel safe surrounded by our assets. Yet the narrative insists that no amount of economic success can protect us if our character is rot at the core.

Take Action. You must diligently guard your heart against the subtle joy of seeing others fail. When you hear negative news regarding a rival, a competitor, or even a difficult family member, pause to examine your immediate internal reaction. If you detect a sense of relief or gain, you must confess this as arrogance and actively pivot toward empathy. Choose to pray for the restoration of those who have fallen rather than plotting how to occupy their territory. Furthermore, evaluate where you derive your sense of security. If your confidence is built solely on your financial portfolio or professional status, recognize that these can be dismantled. Invest your energy in building relationships and a character that can withstand the waves of change. Do not be like the merchant city that is defined only by its trade; be a person defined by integrity and compassion.