Scripture Daily

Context No. 2646 of 4322 · Ezekiel

Context · Reflection

Ezekiel 38:1-6: in context

1The LORD’s word came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3and say, ‘The Lord GOD says: “Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4I will turn you around, and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, with all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed in full armor, a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords; 5Persia, Cush, and Put with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6Gomer, and all his hordes; the house of Togarmah in the uttermost parts of the north, and all his hordes—even many peoples with you.

Ezekiel is told to prophesy against Gog, a menacing figure who leads a vast coalition of nations, all clothed in armor, bristling with shields and swords. But before the threat is even described in full, God states who is in control: I am against you, Gog, and I will turn you around and put hooks in your jaws, and bring you out, you and all your army. The great hostile force is, from the first sentence, on a leash.

The image of the hooks is the key. Gog appears to be a free and terrifying aggressor, marshaling his hordes on his own initiative. But God says he will put hooks in his jaws and bring him out, the way a fisherman draws a great fish exactly where he wants it. The enemy that looks like a self-directed threat is in fact being drawn out on God's terms, at God's time, for God's purpose. That is a deep comfort for a people facing a menacing power. The hostile force is not the free agent it appears to be. No enemy moves against God's people except that God has a hook in its jaw, and it comes only as far as he permits.

Do I fear hostile forces as if they were free agents, forgetting that God has a hook in their jaws and they move only as far as he allows?

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