The Book of Jonah Chapter 1:1-17

[Aired February 1, 2025]

The Book of Jonah opens with the Lord’s terrifying commission for Jonah to go to Nineveh in Assyria, the most murderous nation of his time, and ours within.

Jonah is another of the Lord’s prophets typically given a specific message, and on this occasion, to focus on the crucial aspect of our innate Adam-like avoidance of addressing our wickedness. Like little children, we spiritually are when expecting chastisement for breaking one of our Lord’s commands, our first impulse is to hide by running away. Upon our inevitability of needing to ‘come home’ to where food and the other necessities of life reside, we, like Jonah, face the music from our Father and our proclivity to accuse and excuse ourselves. Our Father gently chastises those childish urges equal to the severity of the crime, and we, on our figurative ‘three-day journey’ to Nineveh, become more mature at witnessing to ourselves and brothers and sisters in the Body and hopefully some in the world. Of course, we shall see in Jonah chapter 4 that his prophesies are eventually heard by the entirety of mankind, represented as “cattle”, a mighty sacrifice in the Lake of Fire and symbolic sweet savour to the Father.

Rom 2:14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
Rom 2:15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

Joh 10:15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep [safe in Christ].
Joh 10:16  And other sheep [symbolically in Nineveh] I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they [some] shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

The meaning of Jonah’s name is phenomenally indicative of the young Bride’s initial calling. She, depicted as a dove (Son 5:2), is peaceful and emits a sparkling feminine responsiveness that every man delights, particularly Christ, spiritually.

H3124
– Original: יונה
– Transliteration: Yonah
– Phonetic: yo-naw’
– Definition: Jonah = dove.
Origin: the same as H3123
– Strong’s: Probably from the same as H3196; a dove (apparently from the warmth of their mating): – dove pigeon. Definition:
1. wine
– Origin: from an unused root meaning to effervesce [sparkle – the spiritual result that wine does to our spirit; as doves fluttering their wings, and indicative of the holy spirit descending (Luke 3:22) effectuate in mating symbolising the Bride’s responsiveness to Christ, his ‘seed’ represented by the holy spirit conceiving the beginning of eternal life; opposite to the Whore’s lifeless eyes, formally ours]

The correlation is that Jonah is a passionate believer and, just like the immature Bride, is keen to do the Lord’s biddinguntil she inevitably begins to doubt that the Lord will come through to fight her battles. Consequently, she fears that she is not cut out for the ‘job’ and momentarily considers fleeing. It all is designed to build her faith and belief in her husband, Christ, in and by his strength and typified by Jonah’s growing faith.

Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord

Jon 1:1  Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai [= my truth. 1. firmness, faithfulness, b. stability, continuance], saying, 
Jon 1:2  Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me. 

The name Nineveh means ‘abode’, and the capital of ancient Assyria, whom the Israelites, by God’s design, for many future reasons, failed to conquer, a primary reason being set up for Jonah’s timid, nonetheless faithful entrance for him to play out like our journey to becoming Christs.

Definition: Nineveh = abode of Ninus.
– capital of the ancient kingdom of Assyria; located on the east bank of the Tigris River, 550 miles (880 km) from its mouth and 250 miles (400 km) north of Babylon.

Of course, the Body of Christ is well versed in understanding that a ‘city’ is within with its particular traits typifying one’s sins. Subsequently, we see Jonah representing a far bolder Christ, indicting us for our like sins, and we develop a deep compassion for our Babylonian brothers and sisters, Ninevehian-like ignorance of their same sins should some hear our crying out.

Luk 19:38  Saying, Blessed be the King [Jonah, you and I] that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.
Luk 19:39  And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
Luk 19:40  And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. 

However, as typified by Peter, when we first begin to know the Lord, we are full of spiritual bravado, chopping off our family and friend’s ears, and when they scoff at us, we slink off with our tails between our legs, like Jonah, not willing to suffer repeated humiliation. In our immature state, our sickly impulse is to run away and hide in Tarshish, whose name depicts our disease. Our decision to flee our responsibility gives us an uneasy peace by nature of the name, Joppa, meaning ‘bright and beautiful’. In paying the ship’s captain the fare, we unwittingly pay Satan a non-refundable return to the deepbut for Christ’s buy-back (1 Co 6:20).

Jon 1:3  But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish [= yellow jasper] from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD. 
Jon 1:4  But the LORD sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. 

Jonah’s saga is indicative of our journey. We, too, will in our time and order, hopefully as Christ’s Wife in submissive co-rulership with him in the Lake of Fire, will at an advantageous time, as did Joseph to his brothers, relate to our fearful brothers and sister’s terrified eyes our like fiery death in our flesh as ones who first trusted in Christ to pave their way to life. Their calm will gradually come as they see that we, too, suffered the great wind of God’s spirit upon our sins while in the sea of Babylon, heaving up and down, feeling utterly broken in despair.

Psa 107:21-31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psa 107:22  And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare his works with rejoicing.
Psa 107:23  They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters [fleeing from the Lord; making ourselves rich physically and a false Jesus, spiritually];
Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep [in the world, within].
Psa 107:25  For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind, which lifteth up the waves thereof.
Psa 107:26  They mount up to the heaven, they go down again to the depths: their soul is melted because of trouble.
Psa 107:27  They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man, and are at their wits’ end. 
Psa 107:28  Then they [typified by us, not Jonah – he’d rather die] cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
Psa 107:29  He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still.
Psa 107:30  Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
Psa 107:31  Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!

Jon 1:5  Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea, to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. 

We are the mariners who are sometimes afraid of God’s calling. Should we bury our talent in the earth, effectively casting forth our wares into the sea, we deludedly lighten our spiritual burden insidiously. In that case, we are worshipping another Jesus and represented by the ship’s ethnically diverse crew, indicative of Babylon, since each fancifully has ‘his own god’ to save them.

Indeed, Jonah was at peace with fleeing from the Lord since he lay asleep in the worst place imaginable, ‘in the sides of the ship’ as it sickeningly rolled and pitched in death throws. Jonah embodies those who were of us who were at peace in returning to Babylon, whereupon all the spiritual understanding that they thought they had was subsequently taken away.

Mat 25:24-30  Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
Mat 25:25  And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26  His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:
Mat 25:27  Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Mat 25:28  Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.
Mat 25:29  For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath.
Mat 25:30  And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The classic case of someone absurdly being asleep in a small ship amid a tempest was Christ, being the positive antithesis of Jonah’s reasons for sleeping. Christ trusted in the Father, and Jonah unbelievably in himself; either way, they were at peace in stark parallel to the Ten Virgins; five foolish and five wise until the grim reality strikes too late.

Mat 25:1-13  Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.
Mat 25:2  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Mat 25:3  They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:
Mat 25:4  But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.
Mat 25:5  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Mat 25:6  And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.
Mat 25:7  Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.
Mat 25:8  And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out.
Mat 25:9  But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.
Mat 25:10  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Mat 25:11  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
Mat 25:12  But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.
Mat 25:13  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

The few chosen to be the Bride of Christ are like Jonah’s God-given commission to perform His will to give the Kingdom to whom he wills, and there is no escape.

Psa 135:6  Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.

Dan 4:17  This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

Jon 1:6  So the shipmaster came to him, and said unto him, What meanest thou, O sleeper? arise, call upon thy God, if so be that God will think upon us, that we perish not. 

In this instance, the shipmaster represents Christ judging our slothfulness and switches personality to be the many called in not knowing who Christ is, since if he uses the ‘scatter-gun’ prayer approach, hoping at least one of the many gods might awake and answer that they perish not such is the unbelief of the people in Babylonian Christianity from their many versions of Jesus, their consciences unnervingly accusing them of not diligently seeking the God of gods before getting into desperate straits.

1Ki 18:26  And they [Prophets of Baal] took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.
1Ki 18:27  And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. 

Isa 55:3  Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Isa 55:4  Behold, I have given him [Jonah, in this case representing us] for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
Isa 55:5  Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee. 
Isa 55:6  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:

Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved [in their particular time and order of salvation, and not by the drowsy ten-second sinner’s prayer]
Rom 10:14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Rom 10:15  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea

Jon 1:7  And they said every one to his fellow, Come, and let us cast lots, that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.

The casting of lots originated by God in Moses’ time for Aaron’s God-directed selection of a sin-offering goat and the scapegoat them both representing our like offerings. Jonah represented a type of sin offering and scapegoat offering illustrative of us.

Lev 16:8  And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat.

The casting of lots in ancient Biblical times was a kind of works of the law that lots afforded by the undeniability of God’s hand in the outcome of disputes without man’s influence. Since the cross, we have a similar guaranteed outcome though through the prayers of a righteous man. Since he knows and lives Christ’s commands, he already discerns the result of all disputes by a multitude of Eldership counsel. Consequently, there is no need for lots.

Pro 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Isa 30:1 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:

Joh 8:32  And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Heb 8:10  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 
Heb 8:11  And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.

Jon 1:8  Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us; What is thine occupation? and whence comest thou? what is thy country? and of what people art thou? 
Jon 1:9  And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. 

Jonah’s response represents us not denying Christ before Babylonian Christianity’s many ethnic gods claiming the name of Jesus. In our fearfulness of what they can do to us, we stumble, unskilled in the word of God, and we are initially happy to be thrown back into the deep, the ‘sea of mankind’ from whence we came and drown our humiliation in obscurity but for the Lord’s saving grace, spewing us back on dry land denoting the process of transition for those the Lord calls his very Elect guaranteeing their turbulent, yet safe passage, them heeding his warnings for ‘that great city, Nineveh’ within.

1Pe 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Joh 15:19  If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Heb 5:12  For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
Heb 5:13  For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
Heb 5:14  But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Jon 1:10  Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them. 
Jon 1:11  Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. 

Psa 139:7  Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
Psa 139:8  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
Psa 139:9  If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
Psa 139:10  Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
Psa 139:11  If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.
Psa 139:12  Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

The ship’s crew asking Jonah how to calm the sea is emblematic of our tempestuous fiery trials, which make us sick in the stomach with embarrassment. The only solution is to acknowledge our iniquity before our Lord for glorious liberation (Jer 3:13-14), being cast into the Lord’s baptism of his fiery word likewise demonstrative, yet very different for mankind since Adam, in the Lake of Fire, the Second Resurrection.

1Co 3:13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
1Co 3:14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
1Co 3:15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Jon 1:12  And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea; so shall the sea be calm unto you: for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. 
Jon 1:13  Nevertheless the men rowed hard to bring it to the land; but they could not: for the sea wrought, and was tempestuous against them. 

The ship’s crew, by having compassion on Jonah and making every effort to work hard to get to landfall, equates to Christ, not willing that any should die. But when we continue in iniquity, he, by the design of our journey, chastises us. Jonah could have repented on the spot before the Lord, and the sea of tribulations made calm, but no, he stubbornly stuck by his determination not to face the highly probable wrath of Nineveh.

Eze 18:23  Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
Eze 18:24  But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

Isa 55:6  Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:
Isa 55:7  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Jer 3:13  Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.

Jon 1:14  Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. 
Jon 1:15  So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. 

The seafarers easily disbanded their many gods in the face of the Lake of Fire like terror and prayed to the God of gods, which typifies every man’s fateful distress, as did the rich man juxtaposed with the great gulf between him and Lazarus.

The saga wonderfully equates to Pilate spinelessly washing his hands of authority over the Jews and us denying Christ. How glorious is Jonah’s witness against himself, typifying our formally like fear of the Jews of Babylonian Christianity. When we, and by Christ’s strength, powerfully affirm Christ within to those who enquire, our foaming sea within becomes as calm as a moonlit millpond. Consequently, the world eventually will greatly fear our Lord and Husband, and like Joseph’s Father, mother and brothers, bow and worship God at the Bride’s feet.

Mat 27:24  When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

Mat 10:33  But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.

Gal 6:5  For every man shall bear his own burden.

Jon 1:16  Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows. 

The highly varied ethnicities of the ship’s crew denote the world outside the camp of Israel, particularly Gentile Christianity not yet dragged to Christ, stuck in the fearful expressions of the Law of Moses, knowing no better than to make endless vows submitting to their own strength to keep God’s word.

Jer 17:5  Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.
Jer 17:6  For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited.
Jer 17:7  Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD, and whose hope the LORD is.

Luk 17:33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

Luk 11:29  And when the people were gathered thick together, he began to say, This is an evil generation: they seek a sign; and there shall no sign be given it, but the sign of Jonas the prophet.
Luk 11:30  For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
Luk 11:31  The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation, and condemn them: for she came from the utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
Luk 11:32  The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

We complete this study, a kind of bedtime story, with the wide-awake eyes of mature children of Christ looking forward, at His will, to the highly anticipated spiritual outcome of the next verse of Chapter One leading into Chapter Two:

A Great Fish Swallows Jonah

Jon 1:17  Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. 

Sleep well, wise Virgins…

Isa 23:7-12 The Lord Has Purposed To Bring Into Contempt All The Honorable of The Earth

1 file(s) 10.59 MB

Download

Isa 23:7-12 The Lord Has Purposed To Bring Into Contempt All The Honorable of The Earth

Isa 23:7  Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
Isa 23:8  Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?
Isa 23:9  The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.
Isa 23:10  Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
Isa 23:11  He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.
Isa 23:12  And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.

These verses are wonderful news for all of us! The Lord has purposed to stain the pride of all the glory of the rebellious, sinful flesh of our old man and to bring into contempt all the honorable men of this earth.  There can be no better news than that.

Who do we all consider to be the most honorable man in the world? This is what we are told:

Eph 5:29  For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

When Christ tells us how we should treat our wives, He uses this natural fact to make that point. Self-preservation is as natural as breathing. According to the scriptures, our old man literally worships himself as a god:

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

Christ said this about all mankind:

Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man [Greek: 'anthropos', mankind] shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Tyre is just another symbol for the great harlot, called 'Babylon' in Revelation 17-18. The fact that we all "exalt [our]selves above all that is called God or that is worshiped" demonstrates that all men are given over to this "great whore", symbolizing the religions of this world, including the religion of self-worship.

I want to read the last two verses of last week's study to give us context to the six verses of our study today:

Isa 23:5  As at the report concerning Egypt, so shall they be sorely pained at the report of Tyre.
Isa 23:6  Pass ye over to Tarshish; howl, ye inhabitants of the isle.

Isa 23:7  Is this your joyous city, whose antiquity is of ancient days? her own feet shall carry her afar off to sojourn.
Isa 23:8  Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?

The use of 'Tarshish' as the destination of the "inhabitants of the isle" is for the purpose of letting us know just how universal the knowledge of the destruction of Tyre and Babylon will be.

Tarshish was a city in Spain, and Spain symbolizes the uttermost parts of the known world. The message we are being given is that the whole world, every part of the kingdom of our old man, will be made painfully aware of his destruction and the destruction of his kingdom within us. Just as the Egyptian army marched on their own feet right into their own destruction in the Red Sea, so also does our own old man march right into his own destruction at the hand of his own iniquities:

Jer 2:19  Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.

"[Our] own feet" is "[our] own wickedness". It is our own ways which will judge us and cause us to be carried off and carried away from our Creator and Savior and into our own destruction.

Pro 14:14  The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself.

Verse 8 poses the question: "Who hath taken this counsel against Tyre, the crowning city, whose merchants are princes, whose traffickers are the honourable of the earth?"

Verse 9 answers that question leaving no doubt who "[took] counsel against Tyre... whose traffickers are the honorable [men] of the earth".

Isa 23:9  The LORD of hosts hath purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honourable of the earth.

"All the honorable of the earth" is the "man of sin" who "sits in the temple of God showing himself that he is God". "The honorable of the earth" is our own old man whom the Lord is slowly showing as contemptible and not worthy of inheriting the kingdom of God, if for nothing else, his contemptible composition of dying flesh and blood and the deadly fruit of that dying composition:

Gen 3:19  In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

1Co 15:50  Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

Our flesh does not like those words and refuses to believe them. Many of the daughters of Babylon actually teach a doctrine of "eternal spiritual flesh", and teach that just as Christ's physical body was raised from the dead, so will we experience a 'corporal resurrection' with a physical body of 'eternal, spiritual flesh and blood'.

Such lies fly in the face of 1Co 15:50 as well as these words of our Lord:

Joh 3:6  That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

These false doctrines notwithstanding, the Lord is bringing down all the flesh of 'all the honorable of the earth' [into] contempt, including far away Tarshish, one of the daughters of Tyre:

Isa 23:10  Pass through thy land as a river, O daughter of Tarshish: there is no more strength.
Isa 23:11  He stretched out his hand over the sea, he shook the kingdoms: the LORD hath given a commandment against the merchant city, to destroy the strong holds thereof.

True to life, we all attempt to evade, avoid and nullify the Lord's judgment to make our flesh contemptible to us and to this world, so we seek to get away from His judgments upon us.  However, we cannot get away from a God who is omnipresent and all powerful. When our "day of visitation" arrives (Isa 10:3), we will be judged, and then we will "learn righteousness" (Isa 26:8-9).

Isa 10:3 And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?

Isa 26:8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.
Isa 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

The Tyrians who were able to escape fled Tyre and went to Cyprus, but even there they found no rest from the Lord's hand:

Isa 23:12  And he said, Thou shalt no more rejoice, O thou oppressed virgin, daughter of Zidon: arise, pass over to Chittim; there also shalt thou have no rest.

All the commentaries agree that 'Chittim' is the island of Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean. The wealthy Tyrians were the ancient Phoenicians who had established ports of trade throughout the Mediterranean, including the island of Cyprus, which at that time was known in scripture both as 'Caphtor' and as 'Chittim'. That is why Tarshish, a Phoenician city in Spain way over in the western Mediterranean, is instructed to mourn the loss of Tyre.  In the first verse of this chapter we are told the destruction of Tyre is revealed to Tarshish by Cyprians, who are here called 'Chittim':

Isa 23:1  The burden of Tyre. Howl, ye ships of Tarshish; for it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in: from the land of Chittim it is revealed to them.

In Numbers 24 we have the story of Israel toward the end of their wanderings in the wilderness. The Lord is at last bringing them through the land of Moab, one of the three nations the Lord instructed Israel not to attack because they were Israel's brother via Lot, the nephew of Abraham. The other two nations were the Ammonites, Moab's brother, and the Edomites, the descendant's of Esau, Jacob's twin brother.

The point being made is that these nations are our own self-righteous flesh, and we cannot at first even fight against our own self-righteous flesh. Here is the part of that story where the "ships... of Chittim", along with "all the "honorable of the earth", will be proven by the Lord to be "contemptible" (Isa 23:9).

Num 24:10  And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he smote his hands together: and Balak said unto Balaam, I called thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast altogether blessed them these three times.
Num 24:11  Therefore now flee thou to thy place: I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour.
Num 24:12  And Balaam said unto Balak, Spake I not also to thy messengers which thou sentest unto me, saying,
Num 24:13  If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak?
Num 24:14  And now, behold, I go unto my people: come therefore, and I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy people in the latter days.
Num 24:15  And he took up his parable, and said, Balaam the son of Beor hath said, and the man whose eyes are open hath said:
Num 24:16  He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open:
Num 24:17  I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.
Num 24:18  And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly.
Num 24:19  Out of Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.
Num 24:20  And when he looked on Amalek, he took up his parable, and said, Amalek was the first of the nations; but his latter end shall be that he perish for ever.
Num 24:21  And he looked on the Kenites, and took up his parable, and said, Strong is thy dwellingplace, and thou puttest thy nest in a rock.
Num 24:22  Nevertheless the Kenite shall be wasted, until Asshur shall carry thee away captive.
Num 24:23  And he took up his parable, and said, Alas, who shall live when God doeth this!
Num 24:24  And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
Num 24:25  And Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place: and Balak also went his way.

The fact that Seth ("Sheth" verse 17, and "Eber" verse 24) are mentioned among all these nations, is the same as telling us that even the flesh of Christ cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1Co 15:50).

"The ships of Chittim" are also mentioned in the prophecies of Daniel:

Dan 11:30  For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

Tyre, Babylon and the ships of Chittim are all types of the great whore and her daughters who are: "they that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in [the] great waters [of] multitudes and nations [upon which the great whore sits]":

Psa 107:23  They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;
Psa 107:24  These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep.

Rev 17:1  And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
Rev 17:2  With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Rev 17:15  And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
Rev 17:16  And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
Rev 17:17  For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
Rev 17:18  And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

What we have just been told here in Isaiah 23, in Daniel 11 and in Revelation 17, is that we are all brought to "hate the whore, and... eat her flesh, and burn her with fire", while we are in the process of coming out of her. As carnal babes in Christ (1Co 3:1-4), we blame the harlot for being a harlot and for deceiving us for so long. Joseph, a type of the Lord's elect, was upset with his brothers when they cast him into a pit and sold him into Egypt. It was over 13 years before he was given to see what the Lord was working in his life. As long as he was in the pit, in the possession of the Ishmaelites, in Potifar's house or in prison, he could not possibly see how any good could come of his situation. Only after he was seated with Christ in the heavens was he able to see that "it was not [his brothers]" who had sold him into Egypt. It was God who sent him there to save Egypt and his own apostate family.

Outwardly the beast that is mankind is becoming, and will become, disillusioned with the religions of this world, and will blame them for all the evil in this world, when, of course, the Truth is that the Lord Himself has put it in her heart to be the whore she is within us, just as He puts it into our hearts to hate her and to burn her with fire.

In time we come to know that it was all a work of God. When the Lord opens our eyes, we finally see that all of Israel's enemies, all the enemies of the kingdom of God within us, whether they are symbolized by the literal kinsmen of Israel as the descendants of Abraham, "a Syrian" or the nations of giants within the land or the Assyrians, they are one and all "the first man Adam" who is within us all. All our enemies, inward and outward, represent and symbolize our own flesh and our own carnal, rebellious old man and his kingdom:

Gen 25:20  And Isaac was forty years old when he took Rebekah to wife, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian of Padanaram, the sister to Laban the Syrian.

Gen 28:5  And Isaac sent away Jacob: and he went to Padanaram unto Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother.

Deu 26:5  And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God, A Syrian ready to perish was my father, and he went down into Egypt, and sojourned there with a few, and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous:

1Co 15:44  It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
1Co 15:45  And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.

Next week, Lord willing, we will see that our experience in Tyre and in Babylon is absolutely essential "to save many people alive", just as Joseph's betrayal by His ten brothers accomplished that same end (Gen 45:4-8).

Gen 45:4  And Joseph said unto his brethren, Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt.
Gen 45:5  Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that ye sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life.
Gen 45:6  For these two years hath the famine been in the land: and yet there are five years, in the which there shall neither be earing nor harvest.
Gen 45:7  And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance.
Gen 45:8  So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.

Here are the last six verses of Isaiah 23. These will be our study for next week.

Isa 23:13  Behold the land of the Chaldeans; this people was not, till the Assyrian founded it for them that dwell in the wilderness: they set up the towers thereof, they raised up the palaces thereof; and he brought it to ruin.
Isa 23:14  Howl, ye ships of Tarshish: for your strength is laid waste.
Isa 23:15  And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot.
Isa 23:16  Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten; make sweet melody, sing many songs, that thou mayest be remembered.
Isa 23:17  And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the LORD will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth.
Isa 23:18  And her merchandise and her hire shall be holiness to the LORD: it shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the LORD, to eat sufficiently, and for durable clothing.