Ezekiel 27:10-24 – Never stop relying on God.

Ezekiel 27:10-24 gives us a sense of the greatness and prosperity of Tyre. Verses 10-11 show the prosperous city hiring mercenary armies for her defence. Men of war from Persia, Lud and Put were engaged for her protection. Their watch towers were being manned by the sons of Arvad and Gammadim. We get the feeling that it was a well-guarded and secure place.

Verses 12-14 give away that Tyre was a great city of unparalleled commerce. Countries from all over were her trading partners. Their business was comprised of all ranges of products and merchandise. From minerals to animals, from spice to slaves. No need for us to itemize the different countries or the kind of trade the city engaged in, everything was available. We get the feeling that whatever we name, Tyre would have it.

We cannot get away from the fact that Tyre was not only secured but was also very self-contained and self-sufficient to the point that it had become proud. It is here that we find an application for Christian living. We must never reach a point where we allow our self-sufficiency to keep God out of our lives. The moment we stop factoring Him in our walk will be the moment we start regressing.  

Never forget what Jesus said in John 15:4-5. He said, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”

Our growth is very dependent on our abiding Him. In life, our fruitfulness is determined by the depth of our rootedness in Him. Learning to abide requires the first of the “Be-attitudes” of Jesus. He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit for there is the Kingdom of heaven.” Only when we feel spiritually inadequate will we turn to rely on Him.  This is the paradox of Christian living. To be rich, we need to become poor, to gain all things, we must give up everything. The day we stop relying on Him is the day we stop growing in Him.