Spurling Silver: The Heavens Were Opened, Ezekiel 1

Ezekiel, from chazaq: strong, and 'el: God. Meaning, God will strengthen.

Theme: That they shall know that I am God. Repeated 65 times throughout the book.

Three powerful prophets during this time period.

Jeremiah in Jerusalem (627-586 BC).

Daniel, in the palace courts of Babylon, and one night in the Lions’ Den (605-539 BC).

Ezekiel on the streets and by the rivers of Babylon (593-571 BC). There the book of Ezekiel was born.

Some awesome verses in Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 3:17. I have made you a watchman.

Ez. 33:8. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

Ez. 33:11. I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

Ez. 37:3. Son of man, can these bones live?

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.

The 30^th year likely refers to Ezekiel’s age.

The fourth month is probably June or July on our calendar.

Notice, Ezekiel was not in the palace among royalty like Daniel and friends.

He was more of a street preacher among the captives by the River (keh-VAHR); likely a tributary of the Euphrates near Babylon.

Perhaps it was Sabbath, and they gathered to read Scripture and remember the Lord God of Israel.

Psalm 137:1-2. By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it.

The heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. Remember those words, they summarize the rest of the chapter and echo to the end of the Bible.

Revelation 4:1-3. After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.” ²Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. ³And He who sat there was like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald.

²On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, ³the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

King Jehoiachin and Ezekiel and others were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar in 597 BC. This is five years later.

He documented the date to authenticate the event.

We too do well to journal our journey with the Lord as well.

Psalm 103:1-5, Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
²Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
³Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
⁴Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
⁵Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁴Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

For our God is a consuming fire. Dt. 4:24, 9:3, Ex. 24:17, Heb. 12:29

Now, what we’re about to see is explained in in the last part of the last verse of this chapter: Ez. 1:28b, this was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

Eye has not seen, nor ear heard the wonders and majesty and glory of the Lord, it’s beyond our comprehension. So, Ezekiel must use comparison words such as:

Likeness: 10 times.

Like: 14.

Appearance: 15.

Some describe the following as The Mobile Throne of the Lord. Or, the Lord’s Chariot.

⁵Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures (cherubim; chapter 10). And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. ⁶Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. ⁷Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. ⁸The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. ⁹Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward.

¹⁰As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle.

Similar verse in Revelation 4:6-8, Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back. The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying:

“Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come!”

Reflections of His glory:

The creation reflects the Creator:

The face of a...

Man: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. John 1:14.

Lion: The Lion of the tribe of Judah. Revelation 5:5.

Ox: The Servant King. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, Luke 22:27, John 13:1-17, Philippians 2:5-8.

Eagle: He is high and lifted up and sees all things. Isaiah 52:13, Proverbs 15:3.

¹¹Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. ¹²And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17.

No matter which way God goes, He always goes forward. His Way is always the right way, the best way, hardly ever, the easy way.

Go God's Way and stay the course. Do not turn aside or back. For the just shall live by faith, but if any draw back, My soul has no pleasure in them. Hebrews 10:38.

¹³As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. ¹⁴And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.

Adam and Eve were clothed with the glorious glowing Presence of God before the fall.

Moses glowed with the glory of God after being in His Presence.

Angels of God glow with His glory as they go back and forth, swift as lightning busy about the Father’s will.

He makes His angels spirits and His ministers a flame of fire.” Hebrews 1:7

¹⁵Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. ¹⁶The appearance of the wheels and their workings was like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ¹⁷When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went.

The heavens declare the glory of God, but on earth the Lord weaves His wonderful works into the wicked ways of man, in all four directions to the four corners of the earth there is no place on earth the Lord has not gone.

These wheels give reason for some to call this vision a picture of the Lord’s Chariot.

(Okay, ya’ll, I have a note that says verses 18-21 might’ve been written for rednecks):

¹⁸As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were full of eyes, all around the four of them. ¹⁹When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. ²⁰Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels.

Four rims and wheels, lifted up from the earth... were those last few verses written by a redneck at a four-wheel drive convention?

And the rims, so high, full of eyes, how awesome is that?

One thing’s for sure, the Lord, God-r-done.

Hebrews 4:13. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

2 Chronicles 16:9a. For the eyes of the LORD roam to and fro over all the earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are fully devoted to Him...

Notice the harmony, the wheels, the rims, the eyes, the living creatures, all rolled together perfectly.

The Kingdom (government) of God works in perfect synchrony, harmony, in one accord with the Spirit of the Lord.

Imagine if our government worked in synchrony, harmony, in one accord, even if only with the spirit of our US Constitution.

One Day, the Lord will show how it’s supposed to be done, when Jesus rules and reigns from Jerusalem for 1,000 years. What a Day that will be!

²²The likeness of the firmament above the heads of the living creatures was like the color of an awesome crystal, stretched out over their heads. ²³And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. ²⁴When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.

All of that was just a prelude, an introduction, to what follows:

(drumroll please).

²⁶And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above it. ²⁷Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. ²⁸Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.

So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.

Lord, if You open the heavens and appear here and now, we’ll all fall on our faces, just like Ezekiel.

More importantly, Lord, we pray, that we will hear Your Voice and obey, like Ezekiel.

The Lord in times past spoke through the prophets, but now in these last days He has spoken through His Son. And continues to speak directly to us by His Spirit through His Word.

Do you remember the three prophets we mentioned at the beginning?

Jeremiah, stayed behind in the ruins of Jerusalem, until taken captive to Egypt.

Daniel was captured and castrated as a teen, and forced to serve the kings of Babylon the rest of his life.

Ezekiel was supposed to become a priest, instead he was yanked from his home and hauled to the sin filled streets of Babylon.

Those three men part of a nation that started out as one nation under God. But their nation fell because their leaders turned from the One and only True Living God.

These men stayed faithful, yet they suffered the consequences of their unfaithful nation.

Their lives were ripped from them. They were taken captive by tyrants, to heathen nations.

Yet, somehow, they stayed the course, remained true to the Lord.

God saw them, knew them, called them, used them.

Even though their nation had fallen, God wasn’t done weaving His wonderful ways through the wicked ways of that fallen nation.

Likewise, God’s not done us, and U.S. and because you’re still here, He’s not done with you.

Whether in the palace, the streets or left at home, God’s not through working in you and through you to all those He’s given you so, “they shall know that I am God.”