Ezekiel 2:1

Ezekiel 2:1 says, And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee.  Ezekiel said that God told him to stand up and God would speak to him.  The title Son of man is used for no other prophet, but it is God’s ordination of Ezekiel as a prophet.  It emphasized that Ezekiel was just a human being like all others, just as the title for Jesus Christ emphasized that when He came to earth to live and die for all mankind He was as human as anyone else.  God had all the angels at His beck and call, but He was going to us a mere man to accomplish His work.  Ezekiel was seeing many visions, but God was telling him not to begin to think of himself as anything more than any other man.  When we become a follower of Christ, we don’t become something more than any other person.  We are still but a sinner saved by grace.   

Verse two adds, And the spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.  Ezekiel said that the Spirit entered him then and set him on his feet so that he could hear what God had to say to him.  In Ezekiel’s time, the Spirit of God was usually seen as being outside of people, where they could only feel His presence in certain places, but Ezekiel said that the Spirit entered him.  When we become a Christian, the Holy Spirit comes into us at that time and empowers us to do what God wants us to do.   

Verse three continues, And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.  Again, referring to Ezekiel as the Son of man, God said He was sending him to the children of Israel, God’s chosen people, who had rebelled against Him for at least a generation.  As followers of Christ today, we need to ensure that we don’t rebel against Him.  Ezekiel was not being sent to those who were not a part of the nation of Israel, God’s chosen people.  We as Christians today need to be reaching out to the lost people of the world, and we cannot afford to find ourselves in need of someone sent from God to us to tell us that we are a rebellious people.   

Verse four states, For they are impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.  God continued to emphasize that the people of Israel had become impudent children who were stiff-hearted or refused to listen to God.  Ezekiel was to tell them that what he was proclaiming to them was the word of God.  As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to pray that we never need for God to send a messenger to us to tell us that we are impudent and stiff-hearted people.  Of course, we also have the responsibility of carrying the gospel to the lost, and we need to make sure that it is God’s word that we share with them.   

Verse five adds, And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.  Ezekiel was not given assurance of his success in reaching the people, because they were a rebellious people. Still, once Ezekiel went to them and shared God’s message to them, they would know that there was a prophet among them.  Once more, we need to pray that God doesn’t have to send a messenger to people in the church today to tell us that we are a rebellious people.  Still, when we do share the gospel with others, we are never assured that we will be successful in having them to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, but if we do, they should know that there has been a Christian among them sharing God's word. 

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Ezekiel 1:26

Ezekiel 1:26 says, And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.  Matthew Henry says that all the things that Ezekiel saw before this was to point him to seeing God on His glorious throne.  God will do all that He can to get us to acknowledge Him and accept His gift of salvation, but everything that He does to do so becomes unimportant once we hear Him and acknowledge Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. How we come to accept Him is unimportant, but the fact that we do makes all the difference.  Ezekiel also saw the likeness of the appearance of a man on the throne.  This would be a reference to Jesus Christ, Who even in heaven is unashamed to identify with mankind, though without sin. 

Verse twenty-seven adds, And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.  Though the One on the throne had the appearance of a man, He was so much more.  He was the Light of the world, Who appeared as a bright fire.  We know that our works will be tried by fire, even after we accept the Light of Christ into our life.   

Verse twenty-eight continues, As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.  Ezekiel said the appearance of the brightness all around was like a rainbow after the rain.  It brings beauty where before there had only been gloom, and when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, He will bring a spiritual beauty where before there had only been darkness.  Ezekiel said he then fell on his face and heard the Voice of the One Who spoke, or the Voice of God speaking to Him.  No matter how bad or how glorious things around us may be, the important thing is that we hear the voice of God when He speaks to us. 

Ezekiel 1:21

Ezekiel 1:21 says, When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.  To me, this means that the Holy Spirit was with the living creatures at all times and that their spirit rested in His spirit.  As followers of Christ, wherever we are, the Holy Spirit is with us and we are lifted up above the cares and concerns of this world as we become a part of God’s kingdom and are guided by His principles and not by our own.   

Verse twenty-two adds, And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.  Ezekiel saw the heavens above as a beautiful crystal that was also somewhat terrifying. When we look up to the heavens, or to God Who dwells there, it should be a beautiful sight and yet somewhat terrifying because we recognize our own unworthiness to enter into God’s kingdom.  It is only by accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord that we are made worthy. 

Verse twenty-three continues, And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.  The living creatures were under the firmament, or under God’s authority or direction.  Their wings could be used to either cover themselves or to take flight as God directed them.  As Christians, we are under the authority of God and should be ready to move as He directs us, but we cannot cover our sins.  Only the blood of Jesus Christ can do that, and we simply have to place ourselves under His purifying blood.   

Verse twenty-four states, And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.  Ezekiel said that when the living beings moved that the sound of their wings was like great waters moving.  Matthew Henry said this noise was to get the attention of Ezekial, and then he heard the Voice, not of the living creatures, but the Voice of the Almighty.  It may not be by the sound of angel wings, but God will get our attention before He speaks to us. We just have to recognize His voice when he does.   

Verse twenty-five adds, And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.  Ezekiel makes it clear that the Voice that the living creatures heard was from above them, out of the heavens, and they let down their wings in submission, I believe.  This would also eliminate the noise and make it easier for them to hear.  Sometimes, we need to just shut out the noise of the world and listen to the Voice of God.