Isaiah 23 Footnotes

23:8-9 The city of Tyre was situated on an almost impregnable island in the Mediterranean Sea (v. 4). It was wealthy (v. 3) and had many colonies to trade with (v. 8). It considered itself invincible. But God’s plan was to destroy Tyre (v. 9), and this occurred when Sennacherib overcame Sidon in his third year and put Tyre under siege for five years. An unbeliever may attribute defeat in warfare to poor judgment by leaders, a weaker military, inferior equipment, freak accidents of nature, or the superior strategy of an opposing general. But the believer credits God with planning the defeat of evil nations.