This week has been a test in No Fear in Life or Death. First, I battled an upper respiratory cold. In the day of Covid Hysteria that could have been daunting. How do I trust God to keep me and my patients safe in such a time as this? If truly I believe God Wins, regardless of all that happens around me; then I must trust Him both in life and death because He is on His throne. No one lives or dies; but that He has decreed it. He “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11 ESV). All things!
That brings me to when I walked out of work late on Thursday evening into a very dark parking lot. As the door closed behind me with no way to go back in, I stepped out to the opening where I saw a man standing by my car. Another car parked next to mine, had the passenger door open. I whispered a prayer, yet I felt no fear as I began to the walk over to my car. Trusting the guiding hand of the Holy Spirit who bid me on, I had no fear.
The man, somewhat scruffy in appearance, smoking a cigarette with arms covered in tattoos, sat down in the passenger set of the other car with the window down. He said, “Sorry, we are just sitting here talking” as I neared. I got into my car and left. (God must have whispered in his ear, “not worth it-sit down.” Even sinners hear His commanding voice. )
A thought
It reminded of the burdened heart I had carried earlier in the week, feeling as though a failure in life. When I had wondered how it was God chose me. Yet, He did. He reminded me that He had covered all my sins; therefore, I have no fear in life or death.
In Life or Death, No Fear
Recently I have become more engrossed in the study of the Holy Spirit, seeking Him. Oh, perhaps that is where I get it wrong. How do I seek for that which I already have indwelling within me? Rather, I am learning to trust Him as I turn over all control to Him, each morning and then throughout the day as necessary. For He is “Christ in you, the hope of Glory” Colossians 1:27. The Holy Spirit guides us along this journey. Therefore, we grow ever more like Jesus. Thereby, as we face trials, we learn to have no fear in life or death, as we lean in and trust the Omnipotent, Omniscient God who has demonstrated throughout history to be trustworthy.
Every word of the Holy Bible He left us IS proof of His trustworthiness and His Power. There we come to know all His attributes and the depth of His enduring love for us. He spared no opportunity to demonstrate to us that He is omnipotent. Each action of the Old Testament presents another proof.
So, all this to bring us to the story of the city of Tyre, her Prince, and her King. As we look at this note how it is that we can fully trust that God wins. Therefore, we have no fear in life or death.
The City of Tyre
Tyre was the city of all cities in its day. Everyone looked to it for its beauty, its wealth, and its accessibility. An envy of all who surrounded it. Initially, they enjoyed great trade relations with Judah and Israel. Particularly known for the cedars of Lebanon and their purple dye, their wealth and renown grew.
It was so beautifully laid out with a main city and a separate island, presenting the perfect area for trade. Yet, they became proud of their wealth, beauty and overly confident of their natural island defenses. They, though formerly trade partners with Solomon, developed jealousy and rivalry toward Jerusalem. Hence, they were gleeful when Israel, then Judah fell, believing they were superior. Never did they realize their fortune had been God’s gift to them. Instead, they worshiped Baal. Then, Ezekiel prophesied.
“Son of man, because Tyre has said against Jerusalem, ‘Aha! The gateway of the peoples has been broken! Everything will come my way, and I will become rich now that she is devastated’; therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: ‘Here I am against you, O Tyre, and I will bring up many nations against you, just as the sea brings up its waves. They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers, and I will scrape away soil and make her a shining, bare rock. She will become a drying yard for dragnets in the midst of the sea.’ (Ezekiel 26: 2-5)
God Wins
Within years of this prediction, Nebuchadnezzar sent his army to destroy Tyre, the city. There was as predicted a very long battle according to historians lasting 13 years. Then some might say, because the island city still stood at that time—ah God’s prediction failed. But not so, in 332 BC when Alexander the Great overtook Tyre and as promised the walls and towers were used to create land between the island city and the former city. All was destroyed.
Today there are some of the remaining structures from the later Roman empire; however, none of the original Phoenician towers survived. They were used to be the landfill between the island and the land.
They will destroy the walls of Tyre and tear down her towers, and I will scrape away soil and make her a shining, bare rock. Ezekiel 26:5 had come to pass, just as God had said.
Then as we read of God’s edict in Ezekiel 28, He predicts all that will happen to the Prince of Tyre. This already came true. But look at the switch over from the Prince of Tyre to the King of Tyre halfway through the chapter. The Prince of Tyre had declared himself a god but was merely a man. Yet, the King of Tyre was Satan, Himself and His defeat is as certain as was that of the Prince of Tyre.
The Proud Should Fear in Life and Death, Because God Wins
Thus says the Lord God:
“Because your heart is proud,
and you have said, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods,
in the heart of the seas,’
yet you are but a man, and no god,
though you make your heart like the heart of a god—
3 you are indeed wiser than Daniel;
no secret is hidden from you;
4 by your wisdom and your understanding
you have made wealth for yourself,
and have gathered gold and silver
into your treasuries;
5 by your great wisdom in your trade
you have increased your wealth,
and your heart has become proud in your wealth—
6 therefore thus says the Lord God:
Because you make your heart
like the heart of a god,
7 therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you,
the most ruthless of the nations;
and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom
and defile your splendor.
8 They shall thrust you down into the pit,
and you shall die the death of the slain
in the heart of the seas.
9 Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’
in the presence of those who kill you,
though you are but a man, and no god,
in the hands of those who slay you?
10 You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
by the hand of foreigners;
for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.”
Ezekiel 28: 1-10
Therefore, those who do not know Jesus as Savior, you should be afraid. For there is no hope for those who believe themselves to be the god of their own destiny.
God Wins Against Satan
Thus says the Lord God:
“You were the signet of perfection,[a]
full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.
13 You were in Eden, the garden of God;
every precious stone was your covering,
sardius, topaz, and diamond,
beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire,[b] emerald, and carbuncle;
and crafted in gold were your settings
and your engravings.[c]
On the day that you were created
they were prepared.
14 You were an anointed guardian cherub.
I placed you;[d] you were on the holy mountain of God;
in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.
15 You were blameless in your ways
from the day you were created,
till unrighteousness was found in you.
16 In the abundance of your trade
you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned;
so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God,
and I destroyed you,[e] O guardian cherub,
from the midst of the stones of fire.
17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty;
you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.
I cast you to the ground;
I exposed you before kings,
to feast their eyes on you.
18 By the multitude of your iniquities,
in the unrighteousness of your trade
you profaned your sanctuaries;
so I brought fire out from your midst;
it consumed you,
and I turned you to ashes on the earth
in the sight of all who saw you.
19 All who know you among the peoples
are appalled at you;
you have come to a dreadful end
and shall be no more forever.”
Ezekiel 28 (ESV)
Concluding Thought
Satan will come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever. That is as exacting a prophecy as all the others that have already come true. For that reason, all who trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior have no fear in life or death.
DO YOU KNOW CHRIST AS YOUR SAVIOR AND LORD? He is our only Hope in Life and Death! Our Joy is found in Him.
If you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord: I urge you to go to my page titled How to Be Saved by clicking on this link. There is nothing more important than this; because He is the way, the truth and the life. Therefore, I urge you to seek Him today.
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DISCLOSURES
©Effie Darlene Barba, 2021
Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. Furthermore, I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned except for my own books. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.
Credits
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New English Translation (NET)
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New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.