Ezekiel 29:4

But I will put hooks in thy jaws, and I will cause the fish of thy rivers to stick unto thy scales, and I will bring thee up out of the midst of thy rivers, and all the fish of thy rivers shall stick unto thy scales. I WILL PUT HOOKS IN THY JAWS - (; cf. Job 41:1, "Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? Canst thou put an hook into his nose?") Though man cannot do so, God can and will. Amasis was the 'hook in the hand of God.' In the Assyrian sculptures prisoners are represented with a hook in the under lip, and a cord from it held by the king. I WILL CAUSE THE FISH OF THY RIVERS TO STICK UNTO THY SCALES - Pharaoh, presuming on his power as if he were God (, "I have made it"),...

1-16 Worldly, carnal minds pride themselves in their property, forgetting that whatever we have, we received it from God, and should use it for God. Why, then, do we boast? Self is the great idol which all the world worships, in contempt of God and his sovereignty. God can force men out of that in which they are most secure and easy. Such a one, and all that cleave to him, shall perish together. Thus end men's pride, presumption, and carnal security. The Lord is against those who do harm to his people, and still more against those who lead them into sin. Egypt shall be a kingdom again, but it shall be the basest of the kingdoms; it shall have little wealth and power. History shows the complete fulfilment of this prophecy. God, not only in justice, but in wisdom and goodness to us, breaks the creature-stays on which we lean, that they may be no more our confidence....

Verse Ezekiel 29:4. _I WILL PUT HOOKS IN THY JAWS_] Amasis, one of this king's generals, being proclaimed king by an insurrection of the people, dethroned _Apries_, and seized upon the kingdom; and Apries was obliged to flee to Upper Egypt for safety. _I WILL CAUSE THE FISH - TO STICK UNTO THY SCALES_] Most fish are sorely troubled with a species of _insect_ which bury their heads in their flesh, under their _scales_, and suck out the vital juices. The allusion seems to be to this. _Pharaoh_ was the _crocodile_; the _fish_, the _common people_; and the _sticking to his scales_, the _insurrection_ by which he was _wasted_ and despoiled of his kingdom....

HOOKS IN THY JAWS - Compare Job 41:2. The crocodile is thus rendered an easy prey. FISH OF THY RIVERS - i. e., the allies of Egypt shall be involved in her ruin....

EXPOSITION EZEKIEL 29:1 IN THE TENTH YEAR, etc. The precision with which the dates of the several portions of the prophecy against Egypt are given, here and in Ezekiel 29:17; Ezekiel 30:20; Ezekiel 31:1; Ezekiel 32:1, Ezekiel 32:7, shows that each was called forth by the political events of the time, and has to be studied in connection with them. It will be well, therefore, to begin with a Brief survey of the relat

BUT I WILL PUT HOOKS IN THY JAWS,.... The allusion is to fishhooks, which are taken by fishes with the bait into their mouths, and stick in their jaws, by which they are drawn out of the river, and taken. The king of Egypt being before compared to a fish, these hooks design some powerful princes and armies, which should be the ruin of Pharaoh; one of them, according to Junius and Grotius, was Amasis, at the head of the Cyreneans and Greeks; and another was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; see Job 41:1: AND I WILL CAUSE THE FISH OF THY RIVERS TO STICK UNTO THY SCALES; the people of his kingdom, especially his soldiers, generals, princes, and great men, to cleave to him, follow him, and go out with him in his expedition against Amasis. The Targum is, "I will kill the princes of thy strength with thy mighty ones:'' and I will bring thee up out of the midst

Ezekiel 29-30. First Egypt's desolation is announced (Ezekiel 29:1). The king of Egypt addressed in this prophecy was Pharaoh-Hophra, called in Greek, Apries. He was the grandson of Pharaoh-Necho, who defeated King Josiah at Meggido 2 Chronicles 35:20. King Zedekiah of Judah expected help and relief from Pharaoh-Hophra, when Jerusalem was besieged. The Egyptian army under Hophra advanced through Phoenicia and forced the Chaldeans to raise the siege of Jerusalem Jeremiah 37:5. But the relief was only temporary, for the Egyptian army had to retire. The prophet Jeremiah announced also the doom of Hophra, associating it with Zedekiah's doom: “Thus saith the LORD, Behold I will give Pharaoh-Hophra, King of Egypt,

EZEKIEL 29-32. ORACLE AGAINST EGYPT. Next and last to be denounced is Egypt, the great rival of Babylon, and consequently the opponent of Yahweh's purpose. The separate oracles were written either not long before (Ezekiel 29:1) or not long after (Ezekiel 32:1) the fall of Jerusalem. An Egyptian army marched to the relief of the city during the siege (Jeremiah 37:5); probably Ezekiel 29:6 is a warning of the futility of this attempt, while Ezekiel 30:21 may definitely refer to its repulse by the Babylonians....

FISH. Symbols of Pharaoh's subjects...

CHAPTER FOURTEEN THE ECLIPSE OF EGYPT 29:1-32:32 In the four Chapter s devoted to Egypt Ezekiel speaks seven words from the Lord. All but one of these words are given specific dating. Why such a large section devoted to this one heathen power? Because the affairs of tiny Judah were so intertwined with that of the superpowers of the sixth century. Egypt had been very much involved in encouraging Judah's final revolt against Babylon. The main point stressed by Ezekiel and the other Hebrew prophets is that the final destiny of Israel was in the hands of God, not the hands of human monarchs. Furthermore, the prophets dared to preach what was in their day a revolutionary doctrine: even the destiny of the superpowers was determined by God and God was Yahweh! Israel might be little; but Israel's God was great to the ends of the earth. Israel appeared to be only a pawn in the hands of political...