Ezekiel 1 a

[Music] the title of chapter one is god always has a divine purpose god always has a divine purpose there's never a point in time when he does not and so in this here we see that the book of the prophet ezekiel this is an interesting individual in the sense that ezekiel was actually a priest he was that of the order of the high priest according to the priesthood if you will and the high priest and so he was part of the priesthood but the lord called him to another ministry a ministry as a prophet and i believe that the circumstances had to do with this change in ezekiel's ministry and the need that the lord god had for the people of israel in ezekiel's time in his calling ezekiel was ministering during some of the most difficult times of the people of judah this was during the time of judah's captivity and the people of judah were not at jerusalem they were actually in babylon carried by the babylonians and god clearly allowed this to take place because of his discipline among his people a couple of things we're going to see here is that god also has a purpose in discipline and that god always provides when disciplining his children and then we will also see that god is always present in disciplining his children so there is a purpose there is provision and there is presence and this is what ezekiel's ministry reveals to the people ezekiel uses various prophecies and just visions and parables and signs and symbols as god's message just continues to grow and grow to his exiled people notice that in this amazing book we see here that the purpose of it is found in the name of ezekiel i would say that it's encouraging to know that god is the one who strengthens us and that's what ezekiel his name means it means god will strengthen not god is or god can or god may no god will strengthen his name has promise and you can imagine here that there is a need for the promises of god in a time of discipline if you will and that's really what the backdrop is the backdrop is a couple of passage second kings chapter 24 and also we find the psalmist giving us some insight into what the people were experiencing during this time of their captivity and if you will their time of of being dealt with by the lord in psalm 137 in psalm 137 and verses 1 through 9 and 2 kings chapter 24 is the backdrop of where we are tonight we're going to get into that just a little bit here as we kind of just unpack here just the start of all that is taking place in these first couple of verses but with this we see here that this prophetic ministry which god had called ezekiel 2. we see that the encouragement is so that they will know that the lord their god even in their discipline is in their midst and this present judgment will be followed by a future glory for what purpose so that as the word says in chapter 6 of ezekiel in verse 7 so that you shall know that i am the lord as i was thinking about that earlier this evening in my studies i thought so you mean to tell me that in my discipline you are working a purpose you are providing and you are present so that i will know that you are lord it's as if the lord is using this time of israel's discipline to draw them nearer to the lord their god now we see here that there's a couple of prophets that kind of really fall into play here you have three in particular three books that surround this time of the book of ezekiel one at the start of it jeremiah was ministering back home as the people of judah if you will were being taken captive by the babylonians and ezekiel more than certainly heard the message in the ministry of jeremiah as well as daniel daniel was also a prophet that was prophesying at the same time that ezekiel was history tells us that in the year 605 bc the babylonian empire invaded judah this was by god's doing god had warned the people of judah because of their idolatry that a time of judgment would come that the lord would take by way of the babylonians the people of judah captive remove them from their land and ultimately this started in 605 bc and with this siege of the city of jerusalem the city was not destroyed a group of people were taken captive and in 605 bc it was daniel who was taken captive in that first group as the city was besieged so there were three sieges if you will one in 605 bc the second in 597 bc and the third in 586 bc there in 597 bc babylon once again came and in its second siege is when jehoiakim was taken captive imprisoned and also ezekiel ezekiel was taken captive during this second siege and in the third siege in 586 bc the remainder of the people that were in judah were taken captive the city of jerusalem was ultimately destroyed completely flattened and their temple which stood for 424 years three months and eight days after the day in which solomon built it was ultimately destroyed jerusalem the city of god where the temple of god was as the people of israel knew it was gone if you were to look from the outside you would say that is probably the quickest way to wipe a people off the face of the earth now listen to this babylon was not just down the street it wasn't a couple of blocks away it wasn't a mile away it wasn't a day's journey babylon was over a thousand miles away they were not only looking back in the distance at the city of jerusalem laid in ruins and their temple destroyed but they were also looking ahead further and further distancing themselves from the only land they knew and where they experienced the presence of god where they had fellowship with the lord their god the people of judah taken captive over a thousand miles away were now completely removed out of their land to get a little bit of context as to daniel's group you'll see that there they indoctrinated them they changed their names they they taught them the ways of and the philosophies of the babylonians and daniel ministered as a prophet of the lord not at jerusalem but in babylon and he ministered in the palaces of babylon he was among the hierarchy of babylon he was among those that you know were the head of the babylonian empire here daniel prophesied ezekiel on the other hand god places ezekiel not in the palaces of babylon but places him in the countryside of babylon where the people are in their captivity as a matter of fact we can say it's safe to say that ezekiel in a sense was as the people gathered together by the rivers of babylon there's one that we see here kibar which ezekiel will give us a description to but notice what they did by the rivers of babylon these are the people that ezekiel was among we know who daniel was among and we know that daniel ministered to nebuchadnezzar but here ezekiel ministered to the people of judah the people of israel in the countryside it says in psalm 137 it says by the rivers of babylon there we sat yea we wept notice the deep sorrow these are the people that ezekiel was ministering to it says when we remembered zion zionist jerusalem when they remembered the city of jerusalem we hung our hearts upon the willows in the midst of it now what i think is interesting here is that the harps were always used to rejoice it was a time in which the people would gather and celebrate and worship the lord their god as a matter of fact harps were an instrument in which the people would sing praise and worship to the lord this always happened around the temple of the lord in the days of the tabernacle when we see that david was king he put together a choir of 4 000 harpists imagine that and they would play to the lord harmoniously imagine four thousand harps playing to the same tune together it's an amazing sound right i mean we've seen orchestras the size of you know 30 40 some 50 larger orchestras and bigger you know amphitheaters and places like that but nothing compares to 4 000 harpists in david's day to this day there is a push i've shared this before there is a push in jerusalem with a ministry that is kind of known for revitalizing the harpist of david's day and so there's a push you as a person today can um donate to this ministry in jerusalem it's not a christian ministry it's just a ministry among israelis that what they do is they're they're building harps and basically they're making them according to the order of biblical times and because they're waiting for their messiah and when their messiah comes they believe that that the priesthood will be resurrected again and that they will have priests levites playing these harps 4 000 and and so there's a big push today and they're building them and they're making them and here we see that the beauty of the harpist the purpose of the harpist was done they hung their harps rather than played their harps upon the willows in the midst of it for listen to this it says for there those who carried us away captive asked us of a song this here in a sense is mockery they're driving them they're they're mocking them they're they're making fun of them by hanging their harps in sorrow they longed for the day to take them up again for their people but they couldn't so those that took them captive says play us a song and those who plundered us requested mirth saying sing us one of the songs of zion wow there were many songs of zion but they were saying sing us one of your songs the songs of zion boasted of its beauty and its strength for them to say sing us a song of zion they know that the song would then speak of beauty and strength but yet they were taken captive and zion was destroyed the purpose of their request was to mock them how shall we sing the lord's song in a foreign land in other words it wouldn't be the same they would remember the pain of their past and there they are if i forget you o jerusalem let my right hand forget its skill in other words if we forget what we had in the lord may we never play again it was a very somber and sorrowful time if i do not remember you let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if not to the lord in the manner in which he prescribed shut my mouth then if i do not exalt jerusalem above my chief joy remember o lord against the sons of edom remember the sons of edom are the sister nation to israel if you will and they joined babylon he directed his prayer to the lord the psalmist here and he says the day of jerusalem who said raz it ras it in other words make bear that's what the word means to its very foundation not just the walls don't just tear down the walls and breach the wall but destroy the city and then he goes on to say oh daughter of babylon who are to be destroyed happy the one who repays you as you have served us happy the one who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock a lot of people wrestle with that passage there but in a sense the idea here is happy is the one who the lord uses as an instrument to repay you and dashing the little ones against the rock is more of a phrase but it was also what was said of the babylonians and how they treated as they took the people of judah captive so the people needed encourage they needed an encouraging word here we see just in these nine verses of psalm 137 and if you'd like a teaching in detail verse by verse with a lot of information just tune into psalm 137 on the teachings when i taught through the psalms but now turn to second kings chapter 24. second kings chapter 24 here is again the picture of the backdrop of what we're seeing here judah here is overran by enemies in the days of nebuchadnezzar king of babylon came up from came up in jokoyakim because of his vassal for three years then he turned and rebelled against him and the lord sent against him raiding bands of chaldeans bands of syrians in bands of moabites bands of the people of ammon and he sent them against judah to destroy it according to the word of the lord which he had spoken by his servants the prophets jeremiah was also one of those here remember that he was ministering and warning the people you know when we get into the book of jeremiah we're going to see that jeris jeremiah's message was not a popular message it was a biblical message it was a godly message but the people had no desire to fear god in jeremiah's day so they tried to kill jeremiah that's that's what they wanted to do they wanted to kill jeremiah but notice what he goes on to say here it says surely at the commandment of the lord this came upon judah to remove them from his sight because of the sins of manasseh according to all that he has done and also because of the innocent blood that he had shed for he had filled jerusalem with innocent blood which which the lord would not pardon now the rest of the acts of jehoiakin and all that he did are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of judah so jehoiachin rested with his fathers then jehoiach joha kin his son reigned in his place and the king of egypt did not come out of his land anymore for the king of babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of egypt from the brook of egypt to the river euphrates now we see here the rain in the captivity of jehoiakim and ultimately zedekiah reigns in judah and in chapter 25 you see the fall in the captivity of the city itself in all of this we see that god brought the captivity of the people by way of discipline and judgment in ezekiel in the first part of it we see that god has a purpose in his discipline i believe that there's even purpose in um jehoiakim being taken captive after his father has died and him being taken captive then zedekiah reigns in judah in other words he reigns in his place when he became king we see here that he had did evil in the sight of the lord verse nine according to all that his father had done and at the time the servants of nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon came up against jerusalem and the city was besieged and nebuchadnezzar the king of babylon came against the city of his servants and were besieging it then jehoiakim king of judah his mother his servants his princes and his officers went out to the king of babylon and the king of babylon in the eighth year of his reign took him prisoner this is when it's believed that ezekiel was also taken captive then the captivity of jerusalem is he carried them from there the treasures of the house of the lord the treasures of the king's house and he cut in pieces all the articles of gold which solomon the king of israel had made in the temple of the lord as the lord had said you see in all of this guys we see little by little the lord was allowing babylon to besiege the city and ultimate ultimately take it over the city was finally destroyed and zedekiah ultimately was killed before his sons and the people of babylon a new babylonian king came into power and we see here that later on this leader in babylon showed kindness to the captives of jerusalem and in verse 27 of chapter 25 it says now it came to pass in the 37th year of the captivity of jehoiakim the king of judah in the 12th month on the 27th day of the month that evil meridak the king of the babylonians in the year that he began to reign released jehoiakim king of judah from prison and he spoke kindly to him and gave him a more prominent seat than those of the kings who were with him in babylon so jehoiachin changed from his prison garments and he ate bread regularly before the king all the days of his life and as for his provisions there was a regulation given him by the king a portion for each day all the days of his life what i think is interesting about this when we look at the story of jesus notice that he's taken captive in prison but king zedekiah is killed jehoiakim is not after 37 years of captivity jehoiakim the king of judah is released now you might not get the picture of that but i believe there was a purpose in jehoiachin's captivity remember that the promise that god had made to david in second samuel god had said to david that there will always be a descendant of david's upon the throne when zedekiah was killed ultimately the descendants of david in essence were utterly destroyed there was no descendant of david on the throne of judah because zedekiah was killed so if we just focus on the story of zedekiah dying and then the kingdom of babylon destroying the city of judah then that means that either god lied or that his promises are not true that god could not fulfill that his word could not come to pass or that he just simply told david that just to encourage david but never really meant it ultimately listen to this even in their captivity god purposefully had jehoiakim put in prison for 38 years and when a new king not nebuchadnezzar but meredith came into power he showed kindness to jehoiachin released him from prison right at the right time not too much longer after that the people of judah would be released from babylon and guess what jehoiakim's descendantship his lineage is from the lineage of david so god preserved the promise in captivity there was purpose in that ezekiel was taken captive during this time that jehoiachin was placed in prison and taken captive god always has a purpose in disciplining his children just like we see the sorrow there in psalm 137 we see the purpose in second kings chapters 24 and 25 and we see the provision guys here in the book of the prophet ezekiel but we also see that god was in the midst of his people even in their captivity god never left them though they felt forsaken because they were no longer in judah the lord was with them now it came to pass in the 30th year in the fourth month on the fifth day of the month as i was among the captives by the river kebar that the heavens were opened and i saw visions of god now notice something that ezekiel's book has a lot to do with visions that are being seen here as a matter of fact you'll see as we read a little bit further in verse 10 it says likeness of their faces we also see it wasn't so much that he was saying that's what it was he also says in uh you know verse 26 the likeness of a throne the likeness with the appearance of a man so he also closes chapter 1 out with right before with the likeness of the glory of the lord notice that when it says likeness he's not saying that that's what it is he's saying it's like that he's given a description in other words ezekiel runs out of words to try to describe what he's seen in these visions and he begins to now give us pictures and images of what best describe it likeness does not mean that that's what it is because words were not fitting to describe it he then tries to in some way give us symbols and things that you and i can see there so in that we have this picture now of what he is stating so he has visions and the visions i think are important for us to understand in this because this is exactly what the book of the prophet ezekiel is about it's about visions that ezekiel sees that god gives him and that god will articulate to the people to encourage them in their captivity now i want us just for a moment to consider a question that i'm always asked does god still give visions today and i think a lot of times the lord does what we see here very clearly is that god often reminds us of the visions that he gives us through his word i think that the word always confirms that i think sometimes there are even those in the new testament that kind of like ezekiel and john john the entire book of revelation is a revelation of jesus and so we see that that book probably has more images and imagery that um you know john tries to best describe what he is experiencing with this revelation given to him by the lord but there is one who had an experience about you know this time in his life it's paul the apostle in second corinthians chapter 12. and this is what paul says in describing a time in which he was caught up into the third heaven in second corinthians chapter 12 in verses two through four he mentions himself in the third person okay so this is what he says i know a man in christ he's talking about himself who 14 years ago was caught up to the third heaven whether it was in the body or out of the body i do not know god knows and i know that this man whether in the body or apart from the body i don't know but god knows was caught up to paradise listen to this and heard inexpressible things that no one is permitted to tell inexpressible things that no one is permitted to tell now let me tell you something today there is really a push for people to be fascinated with what happens to us when we die what is you know life after death you have all these things people have out of body experiences people write books on these things so many minutes in hell so many minutes in heaven and all of these things and and they they write books describing all these things let me tell you something i pay no attention to any of that because here you have paul the apostle that doesn't even want to mention that it's him that he's writing about and says when it comes to the things that were heard he says in one sense they are inexpressible and in another sense these are things that no one is permitted to tell paul says not even i can tell you what i experienced or what i seen but paul says i had this encounter and experience with the lord and the reason why paul in essence spoke concerning this was the context of second corinthians is that the people of corinth were being deceived by those who were professing to be those that had had great experiences with god they were deceiving the church they were manipulating the people and saying we've had great experiences with god a great move of the spirit if you guys think that that is a deception today it was a deception in the early church this is why paul spoke concerning the gifts and ministry of the holy spirit to bring order he says brethren i do not want you to be ignorant in first corinthians 12 concerning the holy spirit these are the things i do not want you to be ignorant of well there was a push for those to deceive the church at corinth in thinking that there were great phenomenons different levels of spirituality and these super apostles were infiltrating the church and nothing is different than today the same happens today many christians get wooed into these things they they want church to be an experience they want it to be goosebumps they want it to be filling and if the church is not that then they say you know things like god wasn't in that place well how do you know and here we see that paul is very careful that the people are not persuaded but paul is saying listen i've had experiences with the lord but you don't see me going and using those experience to to distract you or to control you or to manipulate you paul as a matter of fact i won't even say that it was me i know a man whether in the body or outside of the body i don't know god knows and what i did see with or hear were things inexpressible and also what i seen and heard were things that no one is permitted to tell so when ezekiel receives the vision it is a vision when john the apostle receives the revelation of christ it is a vision it is a revelation does god still speak in those terms today i believe god can give us a vision i believe that god can give you a dream not every dream is from the lord majority of your dreams are the processes of your thoughts throughout your day your emotions your high times emotionally and even your load times it could be a conversation that you had the day before or during the day even for a brief moment whatever it is but at times there could also be dreams that become reality and are a warning god has spoken through dreams god has spoken through visions god has spoken through prophets god has spoken through priests god has spoken through his people god has spoken through circumstances and situations god has spoken to the prophets and the fathers of the people of israel but in hebrews chapter 1 the bible says god who at various times in various ways spoken times past through the prophets through our fathers but in these last days has spoken to us through his son so today we don't get caught up in can god still do this can god still do that well you know what i had a dream that was probably heartburn man i had this crazy thing happen now listen if you can't confirm it with scripture stay away from it could god still speak this way of course he can he's god but he's telling us in his word i don't speak in these modes or manners anymore you now have the bible you have the word of god this is how god speaks to us this is why you have to properly understand what the word of god is saying if you want to hear from the lord and today god's word is his message and his speaking to us now these visions are amazing why because we see that they speak of god's future listen the people needed a hope for their future they were captive we just read to you historically the backdrop you see some people look at that and they say man that's a lot of reading that's a lot there what does that have to listen if you've never been captive if you've never experienced that then it's meaningless to you but for those who have lived a life separated from god and have experienced what it is to be separated from the lord you know that in those times there was a great need for you to be brought near to god we're not talking about one person going through it we're talking about a nation being taken captive who in their mind they truly believe they will never exist again as a people but god's encouraging word through visions through prophets listen to this he's encouraging his people that there is a future and the future is bright as a matter of fact we see here in ezekiel toward the end of his book ezekiel writes of the millennial reign and the millennial temple of the lord remember their temple was destroyed when he talks about the temple he's not talking about the second temple that will be rebuilt after their captivity because it was rebuilt in 516 bc 16 years after they were released from their captivity in 536 right around there 536 bc the book of ezekiel was most likely written from the time of 592 bc to 570 bc when i look at this all these dates play a factor here some have suggested that perhaps this coming to pass in the 30th year the reason for this is that this is perhaps giving us understanding to the age of the prophet ezekiel according to the book of numbers in chapter 4 and verse 3 we see that a priest would serve at the age of 30 in the priesthood ezekiel was a priest according to the order of the priesthood which was according to the order of the high priest it was his purpose his aim to lead the people in the worship of the lord god in things that were holy and sacred to god but now that the temple is out of the question because it is destroyed and the people are taken captive a thousand miles away ezekiel is called by god to be a prophet to the people they can't sacrifice in babylon they have no temple of the lord to go and offer up offerings and sacrifices in but just because there's no temple doesn't mean that just because they were taken a thousand miles away and the temple was destroyed it doesn't mean that god stayed where the temple was destroyed or that god is only in jerusalem no god was in their midst he was in their presence by way of men like daniel and ezekiel and even a heralder like jeremiah telling the people turn to god with all of your heart and repent of your sin it came to pass in the 30th year in the fourth month on the fifth day of the month as i was among the captives by the river kebar we seen also in psalm 137 that they were by the riverside and what were they doing they were by the rivers of the water of babylon and they were wailing they were weeping here ezekiel says in one of these times that he was by the river he says the heavens were opened and i saw visions of god on the fifth day of the month which was in the fifth year of king jehoiachin's captivity the word of the lord came expressly to ezekiel the priest the son of buzi in the land of the chaldeans by the river k bar and the hand of the lord was upon him there so one we see that god always has a purpose in disciplining his children i gave you that purpose in sharing you the story but we also see that god always provides when disciplining his children here we see the provision of the word of the lord and what was the purpose of god's word to strengthen the captives that's what ezekiel name means it means god strengthens so ezekiel the priest is now ezekiel the prophet of the lord the son of buzzy now perhaps maybe his father's name their you know rabbanical historians always held the tradition that ezekiel was jeremiah's son he wasn't but it says here the son of buzi now the reason why is because they didn't care for what the name busy means it actually means my contempt and perhaps this was the spiritual condition of the people of israel jerusalem for that matter they were held in contempt in the land of the chaldeans by the river k bar it says the hand of the lord the power of god was upon him there so in other words listen to this guys god had a purpose in taking them captive god also provided in their captivity and what we also see here is that through the prophet ezekiel the lord was present because his word was active in those days the hand of the lord was upon him there you know you cannot do anything without the hand of the lord upon you when you look at all of this you see that ezekiel's calling is here just in verse 3. you see isaiah's calling in isaiah chapter six jeremiah is calling in the start of jeremiah in chapter one in verses four and on but in all of this here we see that the lord called jeremiah to ministry or excuse me ezekiel to ministry and notice what the bible then goes on to say so here is what he's seen this is the revelation of god's word if you will to ezekiel for the people of judah and he says then i looked and behold a whirlwind was coming out of the north notice that whenever you hear the term the north it's a reference to babylon especially for the people of judah a whirlwind was coming out of the north a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber which is golden brown out of the midst of the fire so we see babylon we see the judgment on jerusalem we just read that to you the backdrop in second kings 24 and 25. and then he says also from within it came the likeness listen to this of four living creatures and this was their appearance they had the likeness of a man so in other words this judgment came from the same place he's giving this glimpse in this power this is this is the power behind their captivity this is actually the authority the word of the lord coming and this picture here of also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures this was their appearance they had the likeness of a man each one had four faces and each one had four wings their legs were straight and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves feet they sparkled like the color of burnished bronze the hands of a man were under their wings and on their four sides and each of the four had faces and wings their wings touched one another the creatures did not turn when they went but each one went straight forward as for the likeness of their faces each had the face of a man each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side each of the four had the face of an ox and on the left side and each of the four had the face of an eagle now remember that these came forth out of this world when this uh out of this judgment from the north this is literally by god's doing is showing that god was associated with this judgment that this was god's doing but notice this description here and and many describe these as what are known as cherub uh cherubim angels now something that you guys got to kind of have to understand a little bit about some people believe there's a hierarchy of angels that the bible never gives or identifies a a hierarchy of angels we oftentimes use the archangels as a hierarchy of angels kind of like michael the archangel who we see at times in the scriptures only when there's battle then we see the angel gabriel who gave a message to mary remember that and to elizabeth right and announcing the birth of both john the baptist and jesus even their names right and basically their purposes and their ministries and any time uh in the old testament when gabriel was ministering he was giving a word to daniel and some believe that gabriel is an archangel even though the bible doesn't call him that they they believe that he was a an angel that was used more not like michael in the sense of war but in the sense of giving messages so we do see differences of angels as a matter of fact the first time we see an angel in the description in the old testament is found in the book of genesis in chapter 3 when the lord put a chair of angel at the entrance of the garden of eden to forbid adam and eve to enter in after they fell into sin and the bible says that this angel drew a sword this description here that we see is also a description that john gives us in the book of revelation john also gives this description of angels in revelation in chapter 4 in verse 7. and some have asked the question what is the purpose and the meaning well ultimately this is the vision this is what ezekiel has given us concerning these also isaiah had a vision of angels before the throne of god right here we see that god's hand in judgment was on his people god's word through the prophet ezekiel by the hand of the lord was to encourage the people in this time in which god was disciplining them so the description in the picture here perhaps notice what it says in verse 10 as for the likeness of their faces this is what he's describing it to be one had the face of a man now remember that this is the superior creation of all of god's creation man is superior the bible says that man is created in the image of god he is the only one in all of god's creation created in his image and in his likeness okay so this could be a clear reference as to this vision he's receiving in other words the the highest in rank among god's creation is man and so one has the face of a man the other has a face of a lion well the lion is the greatest in the kingdom right of animals of beasts there is none greater than the lion the lion is recognized as the greatest more the most powerful among the kingdom then we also see the ox which is also the strongest among cattle and then we also see here the face of an eagle which also is the more superior of all birds and even in the book of deuteronomy the eagle is described in imagery in reference to god himself so what we see here that ezekiel sees in these four creatures he's seen the highest and superiority of all of god's creation it's hard to get this description to see because he's saying there's wings here and wings there and two wings here and each one touch one another and cover their bodies i think there's purpose and there's meaning behind that remember isaiah seems similar in isaiah chapter 6 we see that isaiah here is called to be a prophet of the lord right and notice what it says here in isaiah chapter 6 in verse 1 it says in the year that king uzziah died i saw the lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and the train of his robe filled the temple and above it stood seraphim now these are different than cherubim but seraphim each one had six wings and two covered his face some believe the purpose for two covering the seraphim's face is that they dared not to gaze directly at god's glory it could be true with two he covered his feet the purpose of his feet was he was acknowledging his lowly state in other words he was not worthy to stand in the presence of the lord god and with two he flew in other words serving the one on the throne in all actuality this view of the seraphim though perhaps great in its description its purpose was to worship the one who was on the throne one cried to another and said holy holy holy is the lord of host and many have asked the question why holy three times i believe holy to the father holy to the son and holy to the holy spirit the whole earth is full of his glory the post of the doors were shaken by the voice of him who cried out and the house was filled with smoke and isaiah's only response is woe is me for i am undone i am a done man but notice these angels serve the purpose around the throne of god the word seraphim or seraph in the singular it's simply a word that means fire you're bright and that's exactly what we see around the throne of the lord here in ezekiel the cherubim the word mentioned here numerous times throughout scripture actually has the meaning here or cherub if you will they are mentioned in the connection of the ark of the covenant of the lord and perhaps that's what's in view here ezekiel sees not only this vision and he's going to talk about the throne that he does see here a little bit later in this chapter but he also sees the vision of the glory of the lord departing in all this he sees this vision here and thus their faces their wings stretched upward two wings of each one touched one another and two covered their bodies and each one went straight forward they went wherever listen to this the spirit wanted to go and they did not turn when they wanted everything according to being led of the spirit in other words there's no disorder the vision that he's seeing was order it was it was powerful it was great it was mighty and he goes on to say and as for the likeness of the living creatures their appearance was like burning coals of fire like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures the fire was bright and out of the fire went lightning remember in isaiah in chapter 6 that the seraphim would go and with the tongues they would go and take a coal right from the altar and they touched isaiah's lips that coal of fire the picture of purifying isaiah he's being called to be a prophet of the lord the idea is purifying now as i look at the living creatures behold a will was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces now a lot of people have asked me this question what is this will and remember it's a will within the will what are these wheels that the bible is speaking about this description is it is it like a seat and then there's wheels on it and god's just moving back and forth the picture really is god's ability god's omniscience and god's power that's what's in view and on display here but notice that verse 12 is probably a verse of great importance no one moves on its own accord they're being led they're being directed by one greater and notice here it says that as powerful and as great as these living creatures look even in appearance and how great and powerful are their very works they are under authority they don't move on their own accord and the appearance of the will in their working was like the color of beryl meaning green emerald and all four had the same likeness the appearance of their working was as it were a will in the middle of a will so some believe that this is the omni presence of god and his omniscience his omnipresence and his omniscience we know that god he's omniscient he's all-knowing right that's what the word omni means all omniscience all-knowing we know that god is omnipresent god is not confined to one place he's everywhere at one time and that's why a lot of times when people say things like well you know the devil the devil made me do it or the devil this or the devil that the devil is not omnipresent man what we will see here in as some believe a hierarchy of angels listen you know there's not the the seraphim are not greater than the cherubim we see that both have their description in revelation and these apocalyptic books here in the old testament of them having their purposes serving around the throne we hear of michael the archangel in scripture as he's mentioned daniel chapter 10 in revelation chapter 12 in first thessalonians chapter 4 and also in the book of jude but he's described as an angelic prince we also see gabriel and we see various other angels that are not mentioned by names some of them are what we call theophanies if you will like the angel of the lord that stood before joshua before he went in to conquer the land or the men that appeared to abraham to announce that god was going to give his barren wife sarah a child and yet we see some of the practices as the as those that these appearances of angels in the old testament they appeared as men we see the story of sodom and gomorrah that's a perfect example that even the people of the city physically seen men they didn't see angels they seen men and they went a lot and they said hey give us these men so we can be with them sexually you see in all of this we see here people ask the question what is the purpose of angels are there guardian angels some people say that according to matthew chapter 18 and verse 10 it says see that you do not despise one of these little ones for i tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my father in heaven or according to the book of hebrews in chapter 1 in verse 7 and in verse 14 it says that they are ministering spirits but there's really no hierarchy of angels what we do know is that there's a multitude of angels a host of them that's innumerable they all have their purposes and they all serve so this picture of cute little naked cherubs wings and halos and cute little kindergarten angels there on christmas that's what comes to mind when people think of angels but the bible gives us an entirely different description the bible says in hebrews chapter 1 in verse 7 he makes his angel spirits and his servants flames of fire angels are spirits god created to serve god's purpose that's what they're there for you know people are so fascinated with these things i mean listen even in jesus day you had this the pharisees right and you had the sadducees and and one embrace the theology of angels the others say angels don't exist the bible says they do they serve a purpose for god not a purpose for you and i but the bible gives us a glimpse into what is known as the supernatural realm and it's enough for us to learn kind of in things like this where ezekiel is speaking about these chair of angels and we start to think well what is the purpose of it they're used for several purposes in several tasks here they're around the throne of god moving at the direction of the lord god and this appearance of a will remember he's running out of words to describe and he's saying all i could see is just there is a flow there's a power in his movement it's it's like how a will just moves without effort just just goes effortlessly just flows and what he's seeing here is really nothing restraining nothing hindering nothing doing anything that would cause in any way some type of disruption or discouragement there is free flowing because there is power that's the best description you can see here angels serve not only the lord their god but also the people that god saves in hebrews chapter 1 in verse 14 the bible says are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who inherit salvation paul experienced an angelic visitation remember in the book of acts in chapter 27 and verses 23 and 24 for this very night there stood before me an angel of god to whom i belong and whom i worship and he said do not be afraid paul you must stand before caesar and behold god has granted you all those who sail with you they encouraged paul in his ministry others like elijah had been served by angels remember they're in first kings chapter 19 as the angels minister to him and peter in acts chapter 12. they also deliver messages like the angel gabriel and we also see too the message that was delivered in the days of lot but we also see that angels are there for spiritual warfare in battle it's to fight the forces of darkness why because we know that that there are what along with seraphim and cherub angels and archangels and just angels themselves and there are what are known as fallen angels and in the book of the prophet ezekiel in chapter 28 we see satan lucifer was a fallen angel and many that he deceived the bible was very clear that a third of the stars in other words a third of the angels were deceived by him and so there's a multitude of angels that are fallen angels that don't serve the lord their god nor those who inherit salvation but they work against the lord god and they work against those who inherited salvation in the worship of god angels surround his throne we see that here in isaiah chapter 6. so the picture here is a vision of heaven the will working within the will and he goes on to say they moved they went toward any one of four directions they did not turn aside when they went and as for their rims they were so high they were awesome and the rims were full of eyes all around the four of them now this picture here is is in a sense not his omni presence but his omniscience all seen every place the lord was able to see there is nothing the bible says in hebrews 4 13 that all things are open before the lord there is nothing hidden from god when the living creatures went the wheels went beside them and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth the wills were lifted up wherever the spirit wanted to go they went because there the spirit went and the wills were lifted together with them for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wills then those when those went these went when those stood these stood and when those were lifted up from the earth the wills were lifted up together with them for the spirit of the living creature was in the wills now remember the whole picture here is him describing what he's seen as the power of god the glory of god in this vision of this picture of a portion of heaven john receives the same revelation in the book of revelation about heaven and he gives these description of these images and this imagery where words are exhausted and now symbols and pictures are brought into play to best describe this is what he's saying here in other words he's seen a power that moved a very great power he said it was awesome there was nothing not known to it it was majestic it was powerful but he also said it was moved by the spirit and not only that there was direction there was order there was power under control so what we see here is the power of god the humility of god the grace of god and the work of god in all of this later on ezekiel would go on to say that he had seen a vision of god he'll say that here a little bit later but what he's saying is he's seen that which revealed to him the likeness and the vision of god there's no way that ezekiel could have seen god because the bible says it is impossible for a man to see god and live so this vision came by way i would say of god's doing for what purpose i'll tell you what the people in ezekiel's day weighed down with their captivity needed a word from the lord now i know you might look at all this and you might say this is kind of hard to grasp and hard to understand but i'll tell you what when you're in the captivity all this makes sense what is the lord saying babylon is not greater than this awesomeness babylon is not greater than the creatures before the throne of god babylon is not greater than god's omniscience and god's omnipresence so in other words though you're captive keep in mind that it's by god's doing that this took place verse four the whirlwind coming from the north this great cloud raging with fire engulfing itself and the brightness all around it radiating out of its mist it came from this very place where god's awesomeness and presence came from your captivity is a work of god and in this captivity god has a purpose god has provision and as we've been seeing here that god is present that he's there he's among them he's in their midst this vision continues on for the sake of time tonight we'll stop there but this vision continues on until ezekiel says i see a man on a throne and the question is who is this man and ultimately this is where i think a lot of times people you know kind of miss the big picture here but remember that this is a vision that god has given ezekiel and the vision of this man on this throne is what's going to encourage them in their time of captivity this will carry them the promise and the faithfulness of god's word will sustain them in judah's darkest days of their history their captivity let's pray

Channel: LivingWayTV

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Id: 4AGNppOjkeM

Length: 64min 22sec (3862 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 29 2022