Ezekiel 1
COMMENTARY:
: 3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him. (1697 “word” [dabar] means speech, speaking, utterance, or saying.)
DEVOTION: This Hebrew word is used many times throughout the Old Testament for when the LORD speaks to someone with a message for the people. Here is Ezekiel in captivity receiving a calling of the LORD. He was a priest. He was thirty years old, which is the beginning of his ministry to the people. He was given a set of visions.
The first vision is that of four living creatures of heaven or Cherubim according to chapter 10 of Ezekiel. These four living creatures formed the chariot of the LORD.
In Revelation 4 we have a description of these living creatures again. The Cherubim were the guardians of the holiness of God. They were used in the Garden of Eden.
In a book on angels there seem to be twenty-two different offices of angels. They were always male. They were always servants to the LORD. Some of the angels followed Satan when he fell into the sin of pride. These Cherubim were serving the LORD.
The second vision was of wheels. The wheels on the chariot were under the four living creatures. They were full of eyes, which represented the omniscience of God. HE sees all that happens in heaven and earth.
The third vision showed the expanse above the chariot. The chariot moved throughout the heavens. In this expanse Ezekiel hears a voice of speech. It was like the voice of the Almighty. God was speaking to him. The LORD was giving him his mission to the people of the captivity.
The final vision was of a throne. The throne had the appearance of sapphire stone. It had the appearance of fire. The throne had someone sitting on it that had the appearance of a man. It had brightness around the throne. It was the glory of the LORD.
Ezekiel’s reaction to this vision was to fall down on his face in the presence of the LORD. When he fell down he heard a voice speaking to him.
The LORD wants Ezekiel and the people to know that HE sees everything that is going on in their lives. HIS eyes are on them. HIS Cherubim are protecting the people of God.
We need to realize that the eyes of the LORD are upon us each moment of each day. HE is aware of what we are going through. HE cares about what we are going through. HE has a message for us as we are going through difficult times: “I am with you.”
CHALLENGE: As we study this vision we should understand that the LORD is ONE who wants us to understand and see HIM in action in history and in the lives of all of HIS followers. Each of us have a responsibility to the LORD.
: 10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. (1823 “likeness” [damuwth] means similitude, appearance, fashion, image, model, or pattern.)
DEVOTION: The thoughts of commentators seem to think that the face of man represents intelligence. The face of the lion represents power. The face of the ox represents service. The face of the eagle represents swiftness.
God is allowing Ezekiel to see a little of the glory of the LORD in heaven. HE showing the prophet that HE knows what is happening in our world and HE is in control of what is going to happen.
HE planned the world and the actions that would need to be taken at any given time in the history of the nation of Israel and in all the other nations of the world. It is hard sometimes to understand what HE is allowing to happen but the Bible tells us is that HE is interested in what is good for HIS people.
Our understanding of good is different from HIS understanding of good. HE knows what it will take to cause HIS people to worship HIM in spirit and in truth. HE knows that we have a tendency to walk in a different direction from HIS laws. HE wants to make it plain to us that this is disobedience and it will be punished.
It is reassuring to know that God is in control. There are times when we might think that HE could act better toward HIS people as Jeremiah thought at times but HE always acts in a way that will help those who are genuine followers of HIM to understand that HE cares about our growth in our knowledge of HIM.
This book seems to give us a little more insight into how HE works in the world. We are never alone. HIS army of angels are all around us every moment of every day helping us fight the battle against the devil and his angels. The war is real.
We may lose some battles but HE is always going to win the ward.
CHALLENGE: Trust in the LORD is essential for us to understand what HE is doing in our world and in our life. Our vision has to be focused on this fact.
: 14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. (4758 “appearance” [mar’eh] means sight, phenomenon, luster, brilliance, outward or visible aspect of a person or thing, pattern, or vision.)
DEVOTION: Here we have the first vision of Ezekiel. He saw something that he didn’t understand or had never seen before. It was a surprise to him. Words didn’t come easy to describe what he was seeing.
He had never seen an angel before and their glowing and moving back and forth was something to hard to really describe well. He had a vision that the LORD wanted him to see and tell others about.
Words didn’t seem to express what this vision did to him as he was given it for a purpose of understand just who the LORD was and who HIS servants were in relationship to the children of Israel.
He was in awe of what the LORD was showing him that he was supposed to share with the Children of Israel at that time.
One author said that this depicts God’s judgment as a war machine “with intense, relentless motion that signifies God’s constant work of judgment.”
God is a God of judgment and a God of love. HE wants HIS people to understand that HE can show either judgment or love at any time to those who are supposed to follow HIM faithfully.
CHALLENGE: If we saw this vision what would our reaction be? Would we want to get the message of salvation out to all those around us before judgment was going to come to them just like it was coming to the children of Israel for their lack of faithfulness.
: 28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke. (3519 “glory” [kabowd] means honor, splendor, dignity, abundance, or majesty.)
DEVOTION: Ezekiel was in captivity. He received a vision from the LORD which revealed the presence of the LORD with HIS people in the land of Babylon. The heavens opened and this is what he saw.
First we have a vision of the Cherubim, which is a class of angels. Remember that angels were created before man. They had different responsibilities in the kingdom of God. They were to be inhabitants of heaven. They were to do the LORD’S biding in heaven and earth. They were created perfect or without sin.
However, before the creation of man some of the angels rebelled against the LORD. HE had given them a choice and a group followed a Cherub and rebelled. That Cherub’s name was Lucifer or Satan. He fell with a number of angels. They have been trying to work against the plans of God since that time until this present moment. They will continue to work against the LORD until they are judged. Once they are judged they will be in the lake of fire that was reserved for them for eternity. Humans that reject the LORD will join them there for eternity. One point to make is that humans will never become angels and although at times angels appear as humans on earth they will never be true humans. These are two different creations of God.
Here we have this group of angels surrounding the splendor of the LORD as HE reveals HIMSELF to Ezekiel. When the LORD calls HIS prophets in the Old Testament, we have a vision of God before the prophet. Ezekiel sees the appearance of rainbow in the sky with a brightness that causes him to fall on his face before this vision.
God appears to HIS people on many occasions. We understand that our Bible gives us an understanding of who God is and what HE does in the life of HIS followers throughout history.
CHALLENGE: Our life should represent a time period when we met the LORD and began to understand HIS majesty. Once we saw God for who HE is, we can serve HIM with faithfulness.
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