23:13,14
The Assyrian leader, Sennacherib, destroyed the city of Babylon in 689 BC. Isaiah is warning Tyre that a similar fate awaited her. Tyre would think “we are so economically strong, we will survive anything”. Babylon had risen up for a time, but had then been destroyed. Isaiah is warning Tyre not to be proud. It is easy for any of us, as individuals, groups or nations to think we are out of reach of trouble. No one is out of reach. The only truly secure place is with the Lord. Isaiah is not the lead impressed by the boasting of Tyre, nor of any other nation for that matter, because he listens to the Lord.
23:15-18
This is rather a strange section on Tyre. Tyre is described as a prostitute nation, she sold her goods to anyone, her only concern being to make money. The judgement upon her that Isaiah has just spoken about would last for seventy years. “The span of a king’s life” is probably a means of saying this would actually be seventy years, it was not just a figurative time period. A king’s life was carefully noted down in annals. However, after this period of seventy years she would begin to ply her trade again with all the nations of the earth. But there would be a difference, for her profit would “be set apart for the Lord”, “her profits would go to those who live for the Lord”.This all seems a bit morally dubious and I am not sure what it means. Maybe it is an example of the wealth of the nations being brought into the Lord’s house, or that her trade would no longer be for her own benefit.
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