In the days before we had our iphone in our hand, pocket or purse 24/7, we had to call the front desk at a hotel and set up a wake up call. Now we just set our alarm and do not have to ask anyone for assistance.
I remember the sound of that phone ringing to wake us up early in the morning at the hotel, usually to get up and get ready to head to a sporting event for my kids. I groggily got out of bed and began the process of getting myself and the family ready for the day. That wake up call did nothing to transform me, but it did get me out of bed in the early morning.
Today in our reading Ezekiel 1-2:1 we read about the prophet Ezekiel and the wake up call he received from God. My wake up call was disturbing for a moment, but Ezekials wake up call was a reminder from God that He sat on the throne and is full of glory and goodness.
The chapter begins describing Ezekiel as a 30 year old man sitting by the river Chebar. Ezekiel was a prisoner who was taken captive by the Baylonians. While sitting in captivity, he sees an amazingly strange vision from the Lord.
I challenge you to open your Bible and read the vision that Ezekiel had, it will cause you to pause and imagine what it would have been like to see what he saw…
*vs4 – a great storm, lightning, fire inside the cloud, fire glowing like gleaming amber
*vs5 – four living beings that looked human
*vs6 – they each had four faces and four wings
*vs7 – their legs were straight, and their feet had hooves that shone like burnished bronze
*vs8 – human hands under their wings
*vs9 – each one moved straight forward in any direction without turning around
*vs10 – Each had a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and the face of an eagle at the back.
*vs11 – each had 2 pairs of outstretched wings
*vs13 – The living beings looked like bright coals of fire and flashed like lightening
*vs15 – Each had a wheel attached to the ground
*vs16 – The wheels sparkled and had a second wheel turning crosswise within it.
*vs18 – The rims of the wheels were covered with eyes all around
Verses 19-28 describe the holy splendor that shines all around the throne of God.
All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me. “Stand up, son of man,” said the voice. “I want to speak with you.”
Ezekiel 1:28-2:1
This vision gives us a glimpse of the glory of God. We think we may know who God is, but in reading this passage we are in awe of Who God really is and What He is capable of. We have the opportunity to open our mind and give God the praise of being even bigger and more powerful than we can imagine. May we have a wake up call that gives us a glimpse of the glory of Who God is and be transformed more and more into His likeness.
So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord-who is the Spirit-makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
2 Corinthians 3:18