relationships (Ezekiel 1:1-28) Recognizing and Knowing

(Ezekiel 1:1-28)  

Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 2 (On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, 3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the Lord came upon him.)

4 As I looked, behold, a high wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing intermittently and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like gleaming metal in the midst of the fire. 5 And within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. 6 Each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they sparkled like polished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. 10 As for the form of their faces, each had a human face; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches moving among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire. 14 And the living beings ran back and forth like bolts of lightning.

15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling topaz, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if one wheel were within another. 17 Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. 18 As for their rims, they were high and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were covered with eyes all around. 19 Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction. And the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. 21 Whenever those went, they went; and whenever those stopped, they stopped. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

22 Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. 24 And I also heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of a crowd like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stopped, they let down their wings. 25 And a voice came from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they let down their wings.

26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. 27 Then I noticed from the appearance of His waist and upward something like gleaming metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 Like the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.

TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:

Ezekiel was able to observe the angels at length in order to try to describe what he saw, but no matter how wonderful or interesting angels might be, the Lord God is far superior.  And when Ezekiel looked upon the Lord, he didn't have much time to observe, because he was quickly falling on his face in reverence.

Nature is amazing all on its own.  Angels are supernatural and at a level above that.  But God is the creator of all these things... so how can one even describe the glory of God?  One day when we see Him, our natural reaction will be to fall on our face.  

And for right now, we have to ask ourselves how much do we worship, honor and cling to the One who loves us so much, He came in flesh to die for our sins in order to make salvation possible?  How much do we look to His glory and strive to live in such a way as to bring Him the glory that He deserves?  

The only way we can bring Him the glory that He deserves is to allow Him to live out His glory in us!  To allow Him to work for us, in us and through us!  And to get to know Him and His will so well, so that we move when and where He moves, all in His strength, wisdom and love, all to His glory.

Just like with the living beings that were described, as believers, we have the Lord's indwelling Holy Spirit of promise, who goes with us wherever we go, and He will never leave us.  And just like the living beings all move together because they listen to and obey the prompting of the Spirit, as believers, when we all listen to and obey the prompting of God's Holy Spirit, we will move in harmony and unity.  

The angels have already made their eternal decisions (one third chose to rebel against God and became demons, the rest chose to serve the Lord), therefore, the angels who follow God will be in perfect obedience already.  For believers right now, until we go to heaven, we must make conscientious decisions to seek out opportunities in which to serve, as well as to study God's words on a daily basis, and then make deliberate choices to obey.  But because Christianity is all about having a personal relationship with the Lord, this all will be much easier to do when we look to the Lord to be our constant source of wisdom, strength and love!