Ezekiel 1

The Explanation

Far, far away from home, there was a river. The river was called Chebar. By that river sat a man. His name was Ezekiel.

Ezekiel was sad. He missed his home. Soldiers had taken him far away. Now he lived in a strange land. The water of the river went past him. Slowly. Quietly.

Then Ezekiel looked up at the sky. And the sky opened.

A big wind came from the north. A storm wind. Whoosh! A huge cloud came along with it. Lightning flashed in the cloud. Flash! Flash! And in the middle of the cloud was fire. Bright, bright fire, like shining gold.

Ezekiel's eyes went wide.

Out of the fire came four living creatures. They had wings. Four wings each. Their feet shone like bright bronze. They had faces on every side. One face like a man. One face like a lion. One face like an ox. One face like an eagle.

The fire went up and down between them. Up. And down. And up again. They shot away like lightning, and came back.

And next to them, on the ground, were wheels. Big wheels. Shiny wheels, like sparkling stones. The rims of the wheels were full of eyes. Eyes all the way around.

When the creatures walked, the wheels rolled along. When the creatures went up, the wheels went up too. When the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still.

What Does This Mean?

Ezekiel heard the wings moving. It was loud. So very loud. Like a big waterfall. Like a whole army. Ezekiel could hardly listen. He kept looking.

High above the creatures was something clear. Clear and shiny, like ice you can see through. And higher still, way up high, was a seat. A beautiful blue seat, like a blue jewel.

And Someone was sitting on that seat.

All around Him was fire. All around Him was light. And around the light were beautiful colours. Red and yellow and blue and green. Just like a rainbow after the rain.

It was God. God Himself, shining bright.

Ezekiel could not stand up anymore. He lay down flat on the ground. His face went right into the sand.

And then, very softly, God spoke.

The Common Thread

Ezekiel thought God had stayed at home. Far away, in the city he missed so much. But no. God came to the river. God came all the way to the sad man.

God still does that. God comes. Later God came as a little baby. That baby was Jesus. You could hold Him. You could hear Him. Jesus came all the way close.

For You

Sometimes you feel alone. In your bed at night. In the dark. Or when nobody wants to play with you.

But God is there. He comes to you. He knows exactly where you are. And when you see a rainbow in the sky, you may think: God is bright and beautiful. God saw Ezekiel. And God sees me.

Talk About It

What did Ezekiel see up high, above the wheels? What did it look like?

Where are you when you feel alone? Can God come to you there too?

Praying Together

Dear God, You are so big and so bright. You came to Ezekiel by the river. Please come to me too. I am here. You see me. Thank You, God. Amen.