April 22 | Ezekiel 1:4-28

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DAILY READING

Ezekiel 1:4-28

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REFLECTION

The Glory of the LORD

By Beth Voltmann

This was the appearance of

the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

When I saw it, I fell face-down, and

I heard the voice of one speaking.

(Ezekiel 1:28b)

The vision given to the prophet Ezekiel while he was with God’s exiled people in Babylon far exceeds any work from the imaginations of George Lucas or James Cameron as displayed in their fantastical movies!

It is important for us to study this portion of Scripture and to seek a deeper understanding of God as we read it. Ezekiel wasn’t just imagining something fanciful while feeling melancholy nor was he dreaming wacky things after too much late-night pizza. This was a vision – a vision given by God as he sat by the Kebar River. There the hand of the Lord was on him. (Ezekiel 1:3)

His reaction? He was so awestruck at the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD that he fell face-down. In that quiet presence before the vision of indescribable glory, he heard the voice of the Lord speaking! 

Even though the southern kingdom of Judah had been exiled, God was still pursuing his people. There, in a foreign land under the oppression of King Nebuchadnezzar who had taken them captive and destroyed the temple in Jerusalem, Ezekiel was given a glimpse of splendid, winged, living creatures with awesome wheels full of eyes... a throne of lapis lazuli in the expanse above them...and a view of One on the throne with the figure of a man, full of fire and surrounded by brilliant light.

So breathtaking and unexplainable was this vision that Ezekiel seemed to grasp for words to describe it. He used several words and phrases multiple times as he attempted to compare what he had seen in the vision to things he was familiar with:

-       Consider reading back through the passage and highlighting these words...

            “Looked like” (6x)

            “Like” (10x)

            “Appearance/Appeared” (7x) 

             “As if” and “So was” (1x ea.)

Though mere words fall short of describing what Ezekiel actually saw, his imagery enables us to share the awe of the beauty, majesty, and Godly glory beyond this earthly veil. Several verses even mirror other passages of Scripture reminding the reader of the consistency of God’s Word, the power of His love for his own, and the majesty of his yet and coming Kingdom.

The LORD is in his holy temple;

Let all the earth be silent before him.

(Habakkuk 2:20)

PRAYER

Today, Lord...

give us a heart to seek you,

and may we fall face-down in silent worship before your throne of glory.

You alone are worthy.

Amen and Hallelujah!

“Be still, and know that

I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

(Psalm 46:10)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

BETH VOLTMANN

After moving to Ohio in 1997 with my husband and four children, I developed a hunger for God’s Word through adult teaching and women’s Bible study at UALC. My passion is to help others understand Scripture so that they may grow in their desire for more of God and experience the new life offered to us through Christ Jesus.