Ezekiel 1:1-28
Q.1. Why would the visions of God be such an encouragement to Ezekiel? What did the vision confirm about God’s control? – (Ezk.1:1-21)
Like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zechariah, Ezekiel was a priest as well as a prophet. Therefore, he was familiar with the temple before being taken into exile – 1 … the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God … 3 in the land of the Chaldeans; There the hand of the Lord came upon him (Ezk.1:1 & 3 c.f. Isa.6:1; Jer.1:1; Zech.1:1 … Neh.12:16). God called Ezekiel to be a prophet to His exiled people – 1 … the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God … 3 in the land of the Chaldeans; There the hand of the Lord came upon him (Ezk.1:1 & 3). Ezekiel recounted a vision of God’s total control – As I looked, behold a storm wind was coming from the north, a cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire (Ezk.1:4). He went on to describe the awesome creatures at God’s disposal (Ezk.1:5-21). This vision of the glory of God is similar to a number of others in the Bible, such as those of Isaiah and John (Isa.6:1-1-5; Dan.7:9-14; Rev.4:2-11; 8:1-5) The essential message conveyed to Ezekiel, was that God was and is in complete control – yes, even in their calamities.
Q.2. How awesome is God? Why are such recorded visions in the Bible important to us as we pass through life? – (Ezk.1:22-28)
The description of God’s Throne Room recorded by Ezekiel is utterly awesome. As far as the eye could see – 22 … there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal … 25 there came a voice from above the expanse … 26 Now above the expanse … there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli (sapphire) in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man (Ezk.1:22, 25, 26). Ezekiel resorted frequently to using the word ‘like’ because that was the best he can do. The further description of the Almighty is out-of-this-world – As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking (Ezk.1:28). With all the eye-witness accounts of the glory of God, there is both agreement and uniqueness. No words or experience of men can hope to adequately describe the glory of God. The closest we can come is God’s disclosure of Himself through Jesus (Jn.1:14 & 18; Heb.1:1-3; 1 Jn.1:1-3).