◄ What Does Ezekiel 38:4 Mean? ►

"I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords;

Ezekiel 38:4(NASB)

Verse of the Day

The most thrilling stories to be told are those found in the Word of God. Not only are they exciting and dramatic, but they are true. They teach us great lessons and provide us with valuable warnings that affect all our lives. Some speak of battles and bravery that took place in the far distant past. Some describe kings who were brought low, or shepherds who were elevated to positions of high authority and great responsibility.

We discover how God's plan of salvation was set in motion six thousand years ago. We rejoice to see the amazing unveiling of His plan of redemption, over centuries of time and we offer grateful thanks when we consider Christ's redemptive work on the Cross.

While much of Scripture chronicles past events of significance, other parts of Scripture prepare us for astonishing and often supernatural happenings, which are yet to take place in the near or distant future. And in every story, we recognise God's hand of blessing and His sceptre of righteousness, guiding every event for the benefit of His people and for His greater glory.

In Ezekiel, we are introduced to a fierce, godless ruler called Gog, who comes from the land of Magog in the farthest reaches of the north. He is the prince of places called Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal and he is an evil dictator, who will control a powerful army, that is composed of multiple squadrons of soldiers from many nations and different regions.. and he is a proud and arrogant man who opposes God and all that is good. It may sound like fiction but is a biblical fact.

Gog is a leader, who has yet to be identified on the world scene, but in His wisdom and power, God manipulates Gog's evil schemes to perfect all that the Lord has purposed for His people Israel, the Christian Church, and the world at large. "I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws," is God's warning to Gog and His brilliant strategy... "and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired - a great company with buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords." The Lord will allow Gog to undertake his evil attack, but his evil plan will not succeed for GOD is in control!

Ezekiel supplies a list of the many nations that conspire with Gog to attack God's people, in the beautiful land of Israel. He continues to describe their pre-planned attack, on the recently restored nation of Israel. So numerous are the warriors that align themselves with Gog, that we read, "you will be like a cloud covering the land, you and all your troops, and many peoples with you."

This prophesied attack on Israel, is designed by Gog and his evil hordes, to plunder their wealth and render Israel a defeated and crushed nation. But God, Who knows the end from the beginning, will use this great military invasion to glorify His own name. He will use the evil scheme of Gog and the confederation of nations that accompanies him, to display His greatness and His holiness. The Lord will reveal Himself in the sight of many nations. "Then they will know that I am the LORD," is His great challenge and mighty declaration.

As we read through the thrilling prophecy of the battle of Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, from the land of Magog, we see God's matchless wisdom, His amazing grace, His almighty power, His righteous acts, and His unparalleled omniscience.

In His grace, He tells us the end from the beginning, so that everyone can choose the good or suffer the consequences of choosing the evil. In His wisdom, God uses all things together for the good of His people and for the glory of His holy name - even the evil works and wicked schemes of godless men.

In his power, the Lord will execute judgment on Gog, using plague and bloodshed. He will pour out torrential rain, hailstones, fire and brimstone on His enemy, together with his evil troops and the many peoples who are with him - and none will escape. In the strength of His mighty arm, God will demonstrate His almighty strength before the nations and the people of Israel, and in righteousness, He will judge all things well.

The God of Scripture is its Author and Finisher, and He Himself, is the main Player and the glorious Hero in Scripture. In His grace, He caused holy men of God to record for our learning what happened in the past, and what is going to happen in the not too distant future. In His wisdom, He records history in advance, so that we can trust Him today and have bright hope for the future.

The Lord has displayed His might, majesty, dominion, and power throughout the history of mankind, and showed His amazing and incalculable grace at Calvary's Cross. He has given us His assurance that He will bring all things to His perfect conclusion, so that in the difficult days we face today, we can be assured that He is in full control, and everything He says in His Word, will certainly come to pass.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that You are in full control of all that takes place in this world and that nothing escapes Your notice. Thank You that You use everything together for the good of those that love You, and that You even use the wicked works of the enemy to forward Your own perfect plans and purposes. Thank You that those who conspire to do evil will not succeed, but will be used to glorify Your holy name. Thank You in Jesus' name, AMEN.