Could the Prophesied Ezekiel 38 'Hook in the Jaw' Be Famine?
The Bible tells us that in the future there will be a great battle that scholars identify as "the War of Gog and Magog" and is mentioned in Ezekiel 38. This war will consist of many nations, including Turkey, Russia and Iran, that will come against Israel. In this battle, the prophet mentions a very interesting key to what will initiate this future war.
Ezekiel 38:4: And I will turn you back and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses, and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armor, even a great company with buckler and shield, all of them handling swords.
It appears from this verse that the Lord will use something as a hook in the jaw of a fish to reel these nations into a war with Israel to fulfill His sovereign purpose and fulfill the prophetic word given by the prophet Ezekiel. The question that has baffled scholars and has left much for debate is, what exactly is the hook in the jaw? What would pull all these nations into a war with the nation of Israel?
Three of the most prominent speculations have been:
- Famine in the land that would come in the future which would drive these nations to the land of Israel to obtain the food they need to survive.
- A lust for oil that would attract these other nations to assemble an attack. By the way, massive oil reserves reportedly were discovered in Israel recently, located in the Golan Heights, close to the country's border with Syria. The Golan Heights is what all the "Land for Peace" negotiations are about.
- A devastating drought could draw these armies in.
Let's talk about the famine theory first. This theory in itself sounded ridiculous at one time considering when the prophet spoke of this future war Israel was a barren land, but the prophet Isaiah foretold a day when the Lord would bless Israel, and it would bloom again.
Isaiah 41:18-21: I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar and the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree and the pine, and the box tree together, that they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it.
Isaiah 27:6: In the days to come Jacob shall take root; Israel shall blossom and bud and shall fill the face of the whole world with fruit.
Today, the land of Israel, which was barren for thousands of years, is now a leading producer of agricultural products, exporting food to many countries.
The next theory is a devastating water shortage or drought like what took place in the time of Elijah the prophet. If this were to happen and Israel was the leading source of water, it could lead to what we call "Water Wars." Today a new report came out that may just give ammunition to this theory. Less than a decade ago, Israel's economy was suffering greatly as drought threatened the country's long-term viability. News outlets even reported data suggesting that the Middle East was in the midst of one its worst droughts in 900 years. However, Israel prevailed, and investments in water technology pulled Israel out of the drought and averted what would have otherwise been an intractable crisis. And today Israel has become the global water superpower.
So what happens when the next severe drought comes to the Middle East? We are witnessing an alliance forming already with Turkey, Russia and Persia, which are three major players that will receive the hook in the jaw and come against Israel in the near future. Consequently, the Bible predicts in the Book of Revelation that the Euphrates River will run dry that will enable a 200-million-man army to make its way to invade Jerusalem.
Walid Shoebat even spoke of this recently and said the following: Egypt, on the other hand, is dependent on continued flows, but Ethiopia's dam would give the country the ability to all but cut off the flow of the Blue Nile, which supplies 85 percent of water to the Nile Valley. This will starve all of Egypt's 82 million population.
Now that this is not far-fetched, we could understand how in the Bible, this is precisely what will happen:
The waters of the sea shall dry up,
and the river shall be parched and dry.
The canals shall emit a stench;
the streams of Egypt will diminish and dry up;
the reeds and rushes shall wither.
The papyrus reeds by the brooks,
by the mouth of the brooks,
and everything sown by the brooks,
shall wither, be driven away, and be more more.
The fishermen also shall mourn,
and all those who cast a line into the brooks shall lament
and those who spread nets on the waters
shall languish. (Is. 19:5-8)
and the river shall be parched and dry.
The canals shall emit a stench;
the streams of Egypt will diminish and dry up;
the reeds and rushes shall wither.
The papyrus reeds by the brooks,
by the mouth of the brooks,
and everything sown by the brooks,
shall wither, be driven away, and be more more.
The fishermen also shall mourn,
and all those who cast a line into the brooks shall lament
and those who spread nets on the waters
shall languish. (Is. 19:5-8)
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The Holy Spirit showed me something interesting this week to share with you. Famines are mentioned several times throughout the bible, especially in the Old Testament. During a famine, people will eat anything that is available to them. In 2 Kings 6:25 the people were so famished that they ate donkey heads and doves dung. In verse 29 they even boiled a child and ate it.
