Ezekiel 1

The Explanation

Ezekiel was far from home. He lived by a river called Chebar, in a country that was not his own. He was a prisoner there, taken away with many other people. One day, while he stood by the water, something happened that had never happened to him before. The sky opened up. Ezekiel looked up, and he saw God.

But it did not look like a quiet, easy picture. First came a storm wind, blowing hard from the north. Behind it came a huge cloud, flashing with lightning, glowing like hot metal in a fire. Then, out of the middle of that fire, Ezekiel saw four living creatures. Each one had four faces, like a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle, all on one head. Each one had four wings, and feet that sparkled like shining bronze.

Next to the creatures were wheels, wheels so tall and strange that Ezekiel called them "dreadful." The wheels were covered in eyes, all around the rim. When the creatures moved, the wheels moved with them, because the same spirit was in both. They never turned sideways. Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went straight there.

Above the creatures' heads was something like a clear, shining sky, glittering like crystal. And above that shining sky was a throne, blue like sapphire stone. On the throne sat someone who looked like a man, but he was glowing, like fire, with bright light all around him, like a rainbow after the rain.

When Ezekiel saw all this, he did not stand tall and brave. He fell down on his face. Then he heard a voice speaking.

What Does This Mean?

Would you have been scared? Ezekiel probably was. This was not a soft, sweet vision. It was loud, blazing, full of wheels and eyes and fire. That is because God is not small or tame. He is bigger, brighter, and stronger than anything on earth. The strange creatures and wheels show that God can go anywhere, see everything, and nothing can stop him. Ezekiel fell down because that is what happens when someone meets the real God, not a made up one.

The Common Thread

Ezekiel was far away from the temple, far from home, feeling forgotten. But God came to him anyway, all the way to that river in a foreign land. That is the promise running through the whole Bible. God does not stay locked away in heaven. He comes to his people, even in hard, far away places. Later, God would come even closer, in Jesus, who walked on ordinary roads and ate at ordinary tables. The same God on the shining throne is the God who came near.

For You

You might feel far from God sometimes too, maybe when you are scared, or somewhere new, or missing home. Ezekiel's story says God can show up anywhere, even by a strange river, even to someone who feels forgotten. Tonight, you could pray and tell God the same thing Ezekiel found out: that he sees you, wherever you are.

Talk About It

If you were Ezekiel, what part of the vision would have scared you the most?

Why do you think God showed Ezekiel something so big and bright, instead of something small and quiet?

Praying Together

Great God, you sit on a shining throne, but you also came to Ezekiel by that river. Thank you that you see me too, wherever I am. Help me not to be afraid, but to trust that you are near. Amen.