Ezekiel 1:1

 Ezekiel 1:1 says, Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.  There are things in Ezekiel that are hard to understand, and I will not profess to understand them all, but I will do my best to tell what I believe that God was saying through him as it applies to the world today.  Some understand this to refer to Ezekiel’s age.  Ezekiel was a priest who had reached the age of thirty and should have assumed full priestly duties, but there was no temple or altar to serve at.  Others understand it to be in the thirtieth year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, but either way, there was no temple and likely no altar for Ezekiel to serve at, and he saw visions from God.   He said the heavens opened up and he saw this.  It wasn’t a dream or a fantasy but a vision from God.  We likely will never see such a vision since God has sent His Son to redeem us and show us everything that we need to know about God in order to be saved.   

Verse two adds, In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,  Ezekiel further dates the time that he began to see these visions to the firth day of the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin. Matthew Henry sys this was likely a sabbath, but whatever day of the week it was, God was at work in Ezekiel's life even when he was in captivity.  God was also at work in our lives when we were in captivity to sin, and He sent us the spiritual sight of Jesus Christ as our Redeemer.  It might not have been as glorious as the visions that Ezekiel had, but it was more important, since it brought us to a right relationship with God if we accepted His gift of salvation,      

Verse three continues, The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.  Ezekiel said the word of the Lord came expressly to him, and that the hand of the Lord was upon him.  When God calls us to salvation, His call comes to each of us individually, and then His hand is upon us if we accept His gift of salvation.  This is true because the Holy Spirit indwells us and we are never out of the presence of God once we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, even if at times we slip back into sin and wish we weren’t in His sight.