Ezekiel 1:1-14
English Standard Version, David Cochran Audio
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), 3 the word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
4 As I looked, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, and a great cloud, with brightness around it, and fire flashing forth continually, and in the midst of the fire, as it were gleaming metal [amber]. 5 And from the midst of it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had a human likeness, 6 but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. And the four had their faces and their wings thus: 9 their wings touched one another. Each one of them went straight forward, without turning as they went. 10 As for the likeness of their faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. And their wings were spread out above. Each creature had two wings, each of which touched the wing of another, while two covered their bodies.
12 And each went straight forward. Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went. 13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches moving to and fro among the living creatures. And the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14 And the living creatures darted to and fro, like the appearance of a flash of lightning.
As I sit down to think about Ezekiel's vision of the angels surrounding the Most High God, it is a overwhelming to me. I know my minister has heard the voice of God on rare occasions. I know someone quite well who heard from the Lord only once. It was a very distressing time and this loved one cried out to God, saying. why I am experiencing these vast life-altering changes when I have tried to serve You so faithfully?
God replied to this loved one saying:
O Israel, I will testify against you.
I am God, your God.
Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and its fullness are mine.
Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and perform your vows to the Most High,
and call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
and you keep company with adulterers.
“You give your mouth free rein for evil,
and your tongue frames deceit.
You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother's son.
These things you have done, and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.
It was within the next month we were to learn this is Psalm 50. We were both a little shaken to hear what was heard was an actual part of the Scriptures. How did this turn out? As the Lord said over the next few decades. This devote loved one has minimal interest in Lord unless it is about pleasing plans ahead told of by the Lord. Television Evangelists are the primary interest. A new and solid interest in liberal actions, things like abortion rights. I was asked recently if this person is going to Heaven. While I don't know, I don't think the Lord wastes time speaking to the condemned. It is, after all, redemption and forgiveness that keep the Lord busy. The loved one given Psalm 50 was also the recipient of a medically documented miracle by the laying on of hands.
When we ask expectantly in prayer for the Lord to show up.... are we just looking for blessings? I know I am guilty of this. Like Isaiah, I know I am a person of unclean lips compared to the Lord.
When I think of people experiencing the Lord in this life, I think of Elijah in the still small voice. A quiet time. I think of Isaiah and think of quiet. I think of Jesus looking for quiet times to pray. But the transfiguration was in a group of people and so was Paul's vision on the road to Damascus. Jesus and the people around Him, heard a voice or thunder. Interestingly, the words used in verse 4 of this passage are also used in modern Hebrew today to mean electricity.
Father God, help is to go where the Spirit would lead us. Thank You for the people who experience You in unique and powerful ways. Help us to remember 10 lepers were cleansed and one returned to give thanks. Help us to have grateful hearts for You. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
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