Ezekiel 1

Sometimes you just have to stand in awe of God. We need look no further than this chapter to realize that God is pretty much indescribable. I mean, Ezekiel tried really hard, but didn’t you chuckle your way through most of this chapter? I tried to imagine four-faced, four-winged creatures who speed around on burning wheels of fire, but the images in my head were most ridiculous.

I wonder how frustrated Ezekiel might have been, trying to relate in human language what must have been an awesome vision. Sort of like spending time in an incredible dream, only to wake up, realize you were sleeping, and then try to tell someone else about your dream. Sometimes you just “had to be there.”

But maybe it’s all the off-the-wall imagery in this chapter that made the really clear stuff stand out—namely that there is a human being on the throne of heaven, surrounded by a rainbow: “Then there came a voice from above the vault over their heads as they stood with lowered wings. Above the vault over their heads was what looked like a throne of lapis lazuli, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” (vs 25-28)

Wow. Isn’t God awesome?! When giving a vision of His glory to His prophet—who was most likely depressed and discouraged in captivity—God reminded Ezekiel that (1) someone very much like him sits on the throne of the universe, and (2) He has not forgotten the promise He made to the human race.

Isn’t that just like God? To reveal His glory in a way that we can so personally identify with? It seems to me that God is always seeking to encourage us, to connect with us, to help us feel secure and confident in His presence. And I find that more awesome than any “grand” picture of glory, fire, creatures, wings, or wheels!