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Daily Devotions

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 
Day 
Day 314

"Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon"

Text: Ezekiel 29:18

DATING OF THIS PROPHECY

This prophecy was carefully dated. The dating is with reference to king Jeconiah who was deported to Babylon as a prisoner of war.

“And it came to pass in the twenty-seventh year,
in the first month, on the first day of the month,
that the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
‘Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
caused his army to labour strenuously against Tyre;
every head was made bald, and every shoulder rubbed raw;
yet neither he nor his army received wages from Tyre,
for the labour which they expended on it.'”
Ezekiel 29:17-18

1. The word of the Lord.

a) Once again, the Lord gave a prophetic word to Ezekiel.

b) Prophecies were not given on a daily basis.

c) They were given as and when the Lord deemed fit.

2. The prophet’s task when given a word.

a) The word of the Lord must be fully studied and comprehended.

b) The prophet would have to “eat” the word of God and “digest it”.

c) Only then, would he begin the challenge to preach the word of God given.

3. A word concerning Nebuchadnezzar.

a) The Lord spoke to Ezekiel about how hard Nebuchadnezzar had to work.

b) He and his army had to labour hard in their war against Tyre.

c) Though Tyre was but a small nation, it was not easily defeated.

d) Nebuchadnezzar had to toil to conquer Tyre.

4. A description of how hard the Babylonian army had to work before they conquered Tyre.

a) The soldiers were made bald.

i) To describe the effort put in by the Babylonians.

ii) It was not a walk in the park.

iii) They became “bald” because there were many anxious moments.

b) Every shoulder rubbed raw.

i) The drawing of the bow would require strength and effort.

ii) The throwing of spears would demand similar effort.

iii) The wielding of the sword in battle would cause the shoulders to be “rubbed raw”.