Contemplating the God Who Issues Commands

Throne of the Czars in St. Petersburg, Russia. This is nothing
in comparison to the throne room of God seen by Ezekiel in
his vision. 

Scripture:

Ezek. 1:1   In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. ² On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), ³ the word of the LORD came to the priest Ezekiel son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was on him there.

Observation:

Ezekiel was a priest who had been taken into exile along with his fellow Jewish brothers and sisters. They had been settled in a region to the south of Babylon, along the river Chebar. It was not uncommon to spend time along a flowing river and meditate. A foreign land was considered unclean, and the site of running water was seen as a place of purity. Therefore, Ezekiel found this place to seek the face of God.

What happens in his meditation is that he has a vision of God. It is a vision of God’s very throne room, and much of it beyond description. He tries to use words to help us imagine what he saw in his vision, but it is difficult. Much symbolism is present including the creatures with four different heads. In his day the Assyrians would have hybrid creatures protecting the entrance to their palaces or temples. Usually these were creatures with two heads, but Ezekiel’s vision had four. The number four was used to convey universal power, to the four corners of the earth. In other words, the creatures who protected the throne room of God were beyond that of earthly kingdoms, and revealed God’s power and authority over the totality of the earth. The number four is used twelve times in Ezekiel’s vision. 

The entire vision is described in words reminiscent of ancient royal court language. He is brought into the presence of the king and subjects himself to the authority of the all-powerful God. He ingests the prophecy, a way of noting that he has appropriated the divine word. Ezekiel is empowered by his vision and experience in the throne-room of God, and leaves prepared to deliver God’s message to the people. The people are extremely resistant to his message, but having glimpsed and experienced the awesomeness of God, Ezekiel discovers he can follow the commands of God because he has genuinely contemplated the one who has issued them. 

Application:

One might say that life would be easier if we didn’t stop to contemplate the God who issues commands. In other words, if we went about life without slowing down, sitting beside the running waters, and meditating God, then we could go ahead and do the things that we would like to do. Ignoring God, we can make our own choices and make our own decisions about what is right and wrong. Unfortunately, ignoring God doesn’t mean that there is no God. 

Recently I was listening to Norman Geisler’s “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.” He shares a conversation with a friend who tells him that he prefers to believe in evolution because it provides a belief system in which there is no God who may issue commands in regard to human behavior. By erasing God from the equation, humanity becomes free to develop their own system of responsibility and accountability. The problem is that when God is subtracted, what remains is self upon the throne. In essence, we make ourselves gods and determine the rules by which we should live our lives. 

What happened to Ezekiel was life-changing. It was the vision of the throne-room of God that made him realize the awesomeness of the task that he had been given. The overwhelming symbolism of power in the vision helps Ezekiel understand the magnitude of the commands which he is to bring to the people of God. He faces strong resistance to the message, but he is not hindered from continuing, for no complaining on the part of humankind could compare to what he experienced in God’s presence. 

It is in the place of daily prayer and meditation that we begin to contemplate the God who issues the commands. There we have the opportunity to experience the holy love which flows from God. No longer do we see God as one who “issues commands” out of some kind of a controlling nature, but a loving Father who desires the very best for his children. This is a loving Father who is awesome and great and powerful and has an understanding of all things far beyond anything our minds can comprehend. It’s the vision of the big picture which transforms Ezekiel’s life. That vision is not for him alone, for we are invited to the quiet space in which we too may contemplate God, and be transformed. 

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for the quiet moments of this day. Amen.