Again the word of the Lord came unto me saying: Son of man, set thy
face against Zidon, and prophesy against it. And say, Thus saith the
Lord God; Behold, I am against thee, O Zidon; and I will be
glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know that I am the
Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and shall be
sanctified in her. For I will send into her pestilence, and blood
into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of
her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I
am the Lord. And there shall be no more a pricking brier unto the
house of Israel, nor any grieving thorn of all that are round about
them, that despiseth them; and they shall know that I am the Lord
God. Thus saith the Lord God; When I shall have gathered the house
of Israel from the people among whom they are scattered, and shall
be sanctified in them in the sight of the heathen, then shall they
dwell in their land that I have given to my servant Jacob. And they
shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant
vineyards; yea, they shall dwell with confidence, when I have
executed judgments upon all those that despise them round about
them; and they shall know that I am the Lord (verses 20-26).
Zidon (or Sidon) was situated twenty miles north of Tyrus. Like Tyrus
she was built offshore on island rocks. For many years Zidon was even
more prominent and prosperous than Tyrus. She was burnt after a revolt
against Artaxerxes Ochus, 351 B. C., but later rebuilt. See its mention
in the New Testament in Mark iii:8, vii:24. Jehovah announces that He
would execute judgments in Zidon and thus be glorified and sanctified in
her. When a holy God deals in judgments with sin, with individuals and
nations, He maintains thereby His holy character. He is light in whom
there is no darkness at all and a consuming fire. It has been said that
there is no special transgression mentioned why Zidon should be judged.
No doubt she was as proud as her sister city Tyrus. But verse 24 tells
us the reason; she was a pricking brier to the house of Israel. She
sinned against her neighbor, the people of God, and for that judgment
came on her. And so can present-day nations not escape judgment for
their sins against the Jews. The last two verses are a prophecy relating
to Israel's restoration. Needless to say up to this time their
restoration has not taken place. The time is given when it will come,
when the Lord executes judgment upon the nations. When our Lord comes
again these judgments will fall. And how near all this must be when we
behold nations filling full the measure of their wickedness and the Jews
as a suffering people with faces turned towards their homeland.