Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

1 On July 31 of my thirtieth year, while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. ² This happened during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. ³ (The Lord gave this message to Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest, beside the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians, and he felt the hand of the Lord take hold of him.)

⁴ As I looked, I saw a great storm coming from the north, driving before it a huge cloud that flashed with lightning and shone with brilliant light. There was fire inside the cloud, and in the middle of the fire glowed something like gleaming amber. ⁵ From the center of the cloud came four living beings that looked human, ⁶ except that each had four faces and four wings. ⁷ Their legs were straight, and their feet had hooves like those of a calf and shone like burnished bronze. ⁸ Under each of their four wings I could see human hands. So each of the four beings had four faces and four wings. ⁹ The wings of each living being touched the wings of the beings beside it. Each one moved straight forward in any direction without turning around.

¹⁰ Each had a human face in the front, the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle at the back. ¹¹ Each had two pairs of outstretched wings—one pair stretched out to touch the wings of the living beings on either side of it, and the other pair covered its body. ¹² They went in whatever direction the spirit chose, and they moved straight forward in any direction without turning around.

¹³ The living beings looked like bright coals of fire or brilliant torches, and lightning seemed to flash back and forth among them. ¹⁴ And the living beings darted to and fro like flashes of lightning.

¹⁵ As I looked at these beings, I saw four wheels touching the ground beside them, one wheel belonging to each. ¹⁶ The wheels sparkled as if made of beryl. All four wheels looked alike and were made the same; each wheel had a second wheel turning crosswise within it. ¹⁷ The beings could move in any of the four directions they faced, without turning as they moved. ¹⁸ The rims of the four wheels were tall and frightening, and they were covered with eyes all around.

¹⁹ When the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. When they flew upward, the wheels went up, too. ²⁰ The spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. So wherever the spirit went, the wheels and the living beings also went. ²¹ When the beings moved, the wheels moved. When the beings stopped, the wheels stopped. When the beings flew upward, the wheels rose up, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

²² Spread out above them was a surface like the sky, glittering like crystal. ²³ Beneath this surface the wings of each living being stretched out to touch the others’ wings, and each had two wings covering its body. ²⁴ As they flew, their wings sounded to me like waves crashing against the shore or like the voice of the Almighty or like the shouting of a mighty army. When they stopped, they let down their wings. ²⁵ As they stood with wings lowered, a voice spoke from beyond the crystal surface above them.

²⁶ Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. ²⁷ From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. ²⁸ All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me.

2 “Stand up, son of man,” said the voice. “I want to speak with you.” ² The Spirit came into me as he spoke, and he set me on my feet. I listened carefully to his words. ³ “Son of man,” he said, “I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day. ⁴ They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ ⁵ And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for remember, they are rebels—at least they will know they have had a prophet among them.

⁶ “Son of man, do not fear them or their words. Don’t be afraid even though their threats surround you like nettles and briers and stinging scorpions. Do not be dismayed by their dark scowls, even though they are rebels. ⁷ You must give them my messages whether they listen or not. But they won’t listen, for they are completely rebellious! ⁸ Son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not join them in their rebellion. Open your mouth, and eat what I give you.”

⁹ Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me. It held a scroll, ¹⁰ which he unrolled. And I saw that both sides were covered with funeral songs, words of sorrow, and pronouncements of doom.

3 The voice said to me, “Son of man, eat what I am giving you—eat this scroll! Then go and give its message to the people of Israel.” ² So I opened my mouth, and he fed me the scroll. ³ “Fill your stomach with this,” he said. And when I ate it, it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.

⁴ Then he said, “Son of man, go to the people of Israel and give them my messages. ⁵ I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand. ⁶ No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen! ⁷ But the people of Israel won’t listen to you any more than they listen to me! For the whole lot of them are hard-hearted and stubborn. ⁸ But look, I have made you as obstinate and hard-hearted as they are. ⁹ I have made your forehead as hard as the hardest rock! So don’t be afraid of them or fear their angry looks, even though they are rebels.”

¹⁰ Then he added, “Son of man, let all my words sink deep into your own heart first. Listen to them carefully for yourself. ¹¹ Then go to your people in exile and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ Do this whether they listen to you or not.”

¹² Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a loud rumbling sound behind me. (May the glory of the Lord be praised in his place!) ¹³ It was the sound of the wings of the living beings as they brushed against each other and the rumbling of their wheels beneath them.

¹⁴ The Spirit lifted me up and took me away. I went in bitterness and turmoil, but the Lord’s hold on me was strong. ¹⁵ Then I came to the colony of Judean exiles in Tel-abib, beside the Kebar River. I was overwhelmed and sat among them for seven days.

¹⁶ After seven days the Lord gave me a message. He said, ¹⁷ “Son of man, I have appointed you as a watchman for Israel. Whenever you receive a message from me, warn people immediately. ¹⁸ If I warn the wicked, saying, ‘You are under the penalty of death,’ but you fail to deliver the warning, they will die in their sins. And I will hold you responsible for their deaths. ¹⁹ If you warn them and they refuse to repent and keep on sinning, they will die in their sins. But you will have saved yourself because you obeyed me.

²⁰ “If righteous people turn away from their righteous behavior and ignore the obstacles I put in their way, they will die. And if you do not warn them, they will die in their sins. None of their righteous acts will be remembered, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. ²¹ But if you warn righteous people not to sin and they listen to you and do not sin, they will live, and you will have saved yourself, too.”

²² Then the Lord took hold of me and said, “Get up and go out into the valley, and I will speak to you there.” ²³ So I got up and went, and there I saw the glory of the Lord, just as I had seen in my first vision by the Kebar River. And I fell face down on the ground.

²⁴ Then the Spirit came into me and set me on my feet. He spoke to me and said, “Go to your house and shut yourself in. ²⁵ There, son of man, you will be tied with ropes so you cannot go out among the people. ²⁶ And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be speechless and unable to rebuke them, for they are rebels. ²⁷ But when I give you a message, I will loosen your tongue and let you speak. Then you will say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ Those who choose to listen will listen, but those who refuse will refuse, for they are rebels.

4 “And now, son of man, take a large clay brick and set it down in front of you. Then draw a map of the city of Jerusalem on it. ² Show the city under siege. Build a wall around it so no one can escape. Set up the enemy camp, and surround the city with siege ramps and battering rams. ³ Then take an iron griddle and place it between you and the city. Turn toward the city and demonstrate how harsh the siege will be against Jerusalem. This will be a warning to the people of Israel.

⁴ “Now lie on your left side and place the sins of Israel on yourself. You are to bear their sins for the number of days you lie there on your side. ⁵ I am requiring you to bear Israel’s sins for 390 days—one day for each year of their sin. ⁶ After that, turn over and lie on your right side for 40 days—one day for each year of Judah’s sin.

⁷ “Meanwhile, keep staring at the siege of Jerusalem. Lie there with your arm bared and prophesy her destruction. ⁸ I will tie you up with ropes so you won’t be able to turn from side to side until the days of your siege have been completed.

⁹ “Now go and get some wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and emmer wheat, and mix them together in a storage jar. Use them to make bread for yourself during the 390 days you will be lying on your side. ¹⁰ Ration this out to yourself, eight ounces of food for each day, and eat it at set times. ¹¹ Then measure out a jar of water for each day, and drink it at set times. ¹² Prepare and eat this food as you would barley cakes. While all the people are watching, bake it over a fire using dried human dung as fuel and then eat the bread.” ¹³ Then the Lord said, “This is how Israel will eat defiled bread in the Gentile lands to which I will banish them!”

¹⁴ Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, must I be defiled by using human dung? For I have never been defiled before. From the time I was a child until now I have never eaten any animal that died of sickness or was killed by other animals. I have never eaten any meat forbidden by the law.”

¹⁵ “All right,” the Lord said. “You may bake your bread with cow dung instead of human dung.” ¹⁶ Then he told me, “Son of man, I will make food very scarce in Jerusalem. It will be weighed out with great care and eaten fearfully. The water will be rationed out drop by drop, and the people will drink it with dismay. ¹⁷ Lacking food and water, people will look at one another in terror, and they will waste away under their punishment.

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

[TBR 239: Ezekiel 1-4 (August 27, 2023)]

Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Ezekiel 1-4:

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.

Ezekiel 1

1. The LORD God is indescribably beautiful and awe-inspiring, served and surrounded by majestic creatures that are mystifying.

2. The glory of the LORD should move us with awe as it did Ezekiel (vs 26-28).

Ezekiel 2

1. God sends prophets like Ezekiel to speak to His rebellious people, whether they will listen or not.

2. Oftentimes the people of God don’t listen to Him, but those who don’t know Him do listen. 

Ezekiel 3

1. May the glory of the LORD God be praised in His presence.

2. Before a prophet (or a pastor, preacher, or teacher) speaks to the people, he or she should listen carefully and let all the words of the LORD sink into their own heart first.

Ezekiel 4

1. God reveals and/or adjusts His plans when discussing them with His faithful people like Ezekiel.

2. Stubborn, rebellious people will suffer consequences. 

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding Ezekiel 1-4?

O LORD God, You are indescribably beautiful and awe-inspiring. No matter how hard people like Moses, Ezekiel, Isaiah, the apostle John, and others have tried, they just cannot portray the extent of Your majesty. It will take all of eternity to fathom even a small fraction of who You really are. You are served and surrounded by majestic creatures that are mystifying. Your glory, O LORD, should move us, mere human beings, with awe as it did Ezekiel, Isaiah, and John. It should also move us to active obedience. God, You send us, Your servants, to speak to rebellious people like we have been in the past, whether they will listen or not. Oftentimes, we (the people of God) don’t listen to You, while those who have never heard Your name before do listen. May Your glory, O LORD God, be praised in Your presence now and forevermore. Before one of Your servants, be they a prophet, a pastor, a preacher, a teacher, or an ordinary believer, speaks to people, he or she should listen carefully and let all Your words, LORD, sink into their own heart first. LORD God, when You reveal or discuss Your plans and purposes with Your faithful people like Ezekiel, Abraham, or Moses, You sometimes graciously make adjustments. Please, by Your grace, change the hearts of Your stubborn, rebellious people so that we will not have to suffer the consequences. Then we will all bring You glory, LORD. AMEN

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Ezekiel 1-4? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:

• I will research the meaning of the four living creatures and the wheels within wheels.
• I will determine if the modern city of Tel Aviv, Israel and Tel-abib in this chapter are in the same geographic location or related in any way. 
• I will deliver any message God gives me for people even if they scowl and rebel against it.
• I will respectfully ask God for clarification of any of His instructions that seem strange to me.

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.