Tyrus typifies those who are seeking worldly wealth, those who desire to make a great deal of money and to be rich. They will sacrifice everything related to the Lord for the sake of their business. They do not care for the Lord’s interest but care only for their wealth, riches, and business.
People of Tyrus can be found among unbelievers and also among believers. Some of your unbelieving relatives, classmates, and friends may be “Tyrians.” If you speak to them concerning Christ, the church, or the Lord’s testimony, they do not understand what you are talking about. They are interested only in what will help them to have a better living, to make more money, or to get a higher position. Some genuine Christians also are “Tyrians.” If you speak to them about the Lord’s recovery, they may think that you are foolish and say that you spend too much time in attending meetings, in having fellowship, and in reading the Bible. They may think that you do not care enough about making money. Therefore, both believers and unbelievers can be today’s “Tyrians.”
As recorded in the book of Ezekiel, the people of Tyrus declared that Jerusalem would fall, and they were happy about it. The situation is the same today. Those people who are pursuing worldly wealth would be happy to see the church terminated and would be glad if the meeting hall doors were permanently closed, for they think that attending the meetings of the church is a waste of time. Perhaps even certain ones among us in the church life may hold such an attitude. Desiring to make more money and to secure a better living for themselves, they do not care for the church or the Lord’s interest. They care only for business, wealth, and position in the world. When they hear about some who are backsliding, they are happy.
Along with Tyrus is Zidon. Ezekiel says that Zidon was a pricking brier and a grieving thorn to the house of Israel (28:24). The Lord Jesus said that the deceitfulness of riches and the anxiety of the age are like thorns which choke the growth of life (Matt. 13:22).
If Tyrus is present, Zidon is close by. If there are “Tyrians” among the saints, there will also be “Zidonians.” This means that if the saints love the world and care for worldly riches, they will become briers and thorns. Many Christians have become pricking briers and grieving thorns which damage the church life.
According to the Bible Egypt is a nation that depends not on God but on its own resources. Egypt had the Nile River as the resource of its riches. Thus, the Egyptians did not depend on the rains from heaven but on the water from their Nile. In addition, they exercised their wisdom to develop their natural resources in order to become rich and have a sufficient supply. Whenever the people of Israel were short of food, they went down to Egypt for the supply. From all this we see that Egypt represents persons who exercise their natural wisdom to develop their natural resources to be rich and have a supply. At the time of Ezekiel, Israel turned to Egypt and leaned upon Egypt, trusting in Egypt as a staff. But the Lord said that Egypt was a staff made of reeds, easy to break (Ezek. 29:2-9).
When Ezekiel spoke about Tyre and Egypt, he compared them to the garden of Eden (28:13; 31:9, 16). With their riches and resources, Tyre and Egypt made their contemporary world “a garden of Eden.” This was not a garden of Eden prepared by God but “a garden of Eden” made by those who cared not for God but only for their rich enjoyment on earth. However, God said that He would send Egypt, with its “garden of Eden,” to Hades, to the pit, to the depths of the earth. This reveals that God will judge those people who care only for earthly happiness and enjoyment but who do not need God.
In this message we have considered seven kinds of people who can damage the church life. Some are against the church, hating Christ, God’s salvation, and God’s grace. These are the “Ammonites.” Others creep into the church and try to bring the church into association with the world and to make the church the same as the world. These are the “Moabites.” Then there are the “Edomites,” the old man, and the “Philistines,” the natural man. The “Tyrians” seek the riches of the world, and the “Zidonians” become briers and thorns to the church due to the seeking of riches. Finally, there are the “Egyptians,” those who, independent of God, seek worldly riches by developing their own resources to be rich in supply and to be a source of supply for others. These are the different people who can be a damage to the church life. We all need to be on the alert that none of us would become these kinds of persons.