January 26 Daily Discovery
January 26 Daily Discovery
Read Ezekiel Chapter 1
A Voice from the Firmament
The book of Ezekiel has a similar beginning as does the book of Jeremiah. God tells Jeremiah that the people he preaches to will be against him.
God tells Ezekiel that his audience won't listen to him, either, but to go anyway. Whether they will hear or not, they will KNOW that there has been a prophet among them!
22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.
23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.
24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.
25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
26 And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.
27 And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
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 spake.
~ Ezek. 1:22-28
God's Call
Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.
2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,
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.
~ Ezek. 1:1-3
Ezekiel is presented with an awesome, incredible, nearly impossible to describe vision of the glory of God.
Ezekiel's Vision
4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
7 And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.
8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.
9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
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.
11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.
~ Ezek. 1:4-11
Ezekiel knew He was being called by God. The heavens were opened and he saw visions of God. God opened his eyes to see some of the wonderful living creatures that attend his heavenly throne.
These were four in total, each with the likeness of a man, and each with four faces: a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.
Many scholars see this vision as an old testament reflection of the four new testament gospels:
- Matthew: the man
- Mark: the lion
- Luke: the ox
- John: the eagle
Here are a few strange details about their appearance.
Never Turning Movement
Whenever these creatures moved, the always went straight forward. They never turned.
Their Feet
Their feet were hooved, like calves and sparkled like polished brass.
Their Wings
They each had four that were joined together and each wing had a human hand beneath it. Their wings stretched upwards and two of them covered their entire bodies.
Their Color
They looked like coals of fire in color. It was like fire going up and down in them and lightnings proceeded from it, too.
Wheels within Wheels and Rings
Each had accompanying wheels and wheels within wheels. Their spirits were in the wheels.
The rings were so high they were dreadful and they were filled with eyes. The rings were a greenish color (common for Beryl).
... and there is more ... read the first chapter!
Ready to Hear from God
The end of this description takes us to the place where we are now looking above these living creatures and they are below the firmament with the throne of God above them. God's throne is above the firmament.
The voice came from the firmament.
Ezekiel's attention is removed from the four living creatures to the VOICE that is coming from the throne. God is about to speak.
Are you ready to hear from God?
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Continue Your Search
In this chapter, do you see any: Commands to Obey, Warnings to Heed, Promises to Claim, Examples to Follow, Vices to Avoid, Praises to Emulate, Prayers to Use, Principles by which to Live, Questions to Ask or Actions to Take?
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