(Ezekiel 10:1-22)
Then I looked, and behold, in the expanse that was over the heads of the cherubim something like a sapphire stone, in appearance resembling a throne, appeared above them. 2 And He spoke to the man clothed in linen and said, “Enter between the whirling wheels under the cherubim and fill your hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.” And he entered in my sight.
3 Now the cherubim were standing on the right side of the temple when the man entered, and the cloud filled the inner courtyard. 4 Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub to the threshold of the temple, and the temple was filled with the cloud, and the courtyard was filled with the brightness of the glory of the Lord. 5 Moreover, the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard as far as the outer courtyard, like the voice of God Almighty when He speaks.6 And it came about when He commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he entered and stood beside a wheel. 7 Then the cherub reached out with his hand from between the cherubim to the fire which was between the cherubim, took some coals and put them into the hands of the one clothed in linen; and he took them and went out. 8 The cherubim appeared to have something like a human hand under their wings.
9 Then I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels was like the gleam of a Tarshish stone. 10 And as for their appearance, all four of them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel. 11 When they moved, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they went; but they followed in the direction which they faced, without turning as they went. 12 And their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings and the wheels were covered with eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. 13 The wheels were called, as I heard, the whirling wheels. 14 And each one had four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the face of a human, the third, the face of a lion, and the fourth, the face of an eagle.
15 Then the cherubim rose up. They are the living beings that I saw by the river Chebar. 16 Now when the cherubim moved, the wheels would move beside them; also when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels themselves would not turn away from beside them. 17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels would stand still; and when they rose up, the wheels would rise with them, because the spirit of the living beings was in them.
18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim. 19 When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the ground in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the Lord’s house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.
20 These are the living beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath their wings was the form of human hands. 22 As for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one went straight ahead.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
When the Lord Jesus Christ came to earth in the flesh, had the Jewish people accepted Him as their King, Lord, and Savior, He would have entered the temple through the east gate to reign as Israel’s King, Lord, and High Priest. But He was rejected and instead left through the east gate, because the Jews desired a king who would only bring physical peace.
The Lord always knew that He would be rejected and crucified, and gave us prophecies about this. It was always part of His plan to pay the price for all sin, and rise again three days later to conquer death and offer forgiveness of sins and spiritual peace to all who believe in Him. All of this, because the Lord desires to have a personal relationship with us! He comes to us! He wants to do everything for us! And He is the only one who can!
The glory of the Lord waits to be accepted by the Israelites, as a nation. This will only happen during the Tribulation. Meanwhile, the glory of the Lord waits to be accepted by each person in order to enter their hearts. When He does, our bodies become a temple of the Lord, and His Holy Spirit dwells in us, forever. We become part of the Church... the true Church which is the family of God.
I love the phrase used in a praise song, "The same power that rose Jesus from the dead, lives in us" because our faith is not a religion where we have to work our way to God. The God of the Bible has a much better way! And it is the ONLY way!
(1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you have been bought for a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
