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Daily Devotions

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 
Day 
Day 308

"I will put hooks in your jaws"

Text: Ezekiel 29:4

CAPTURE OF EGYPT

We have a picture of how hunters captured crocodiles. They used hooks to muzzle the mighty jaws of the crocodiles. Nebuchadnezzar would be the hunter that would capture and destroy Egypt’s power.

“But I will put hooks in your jaws,
And cause the fish of your rivers to stick to your scales;
I will bring you up out of the midst of your rivers,
And all the fish in your rivers will stick to your scales.
I will leave you in the wilderness,
You and all the fish of your rivers;
You shall fall on the open field;
You shall not be picked up or gathered.
I have given you as food.
To the beasts of the field
And to the birds of the heavens.”
Ezekiel 29:4-5

1. The Pharaoh of Egypt.

a) He was mentioned by Jeremiah the prophet.

b) His name was Pharaoh Hophra (Jeremiah 44:30).

c) He came out to help Judah fend off Nebuchadnezzar.

d) Judah requested the help of the Pharaoh instead of turning to the LORD.

2. The fish of the rivers.

a) The River Nile had a number of tributaries.

b) The River Nile played a central role in making Egypt wealthy and mighty.

i) The fish would be a reference to all who supported the Pharaoh.

ii) The princes and the merchants who made their living from the River Nile.

iii) It was a major trading route for many nations.

iv) The yearly flood caused the land to be fertile land for the growing of crops.

v) The Egyptians worshipped the Nile god called Sebek.

3. The destruction of Egypt.

a) Egypt like a crocodile would be hunted.

b) It would be captured by the Babylonians.

c) All the fish in the River Nile would be of no help to Egypt.

d) Egypt would be left high and dry in the wilderness after its defeat at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar.

e) They will all be food for the vultures and other wild animals who foraged in the wilderness.