Ezekiel - Searching For God's Glory (Prydden Family Devotional) Study Three
Ezekiel 1:25-28 – God’s glorious Son
In the previous verses we were introduced to the glorious representatives of God, who were acting as His working ministry in the world. These were of a particular class of angels, Cherubs, and their work was to bring judgement upon God’s people for their many years of sinful idolatry. This judgement was to bring the people of God into Babylonian captivity.
In v.22-25, we see these angels calling on us to look above the punishment of God, to see a glorious Person, sat upon heaven’s throne. The angels cease their vigorously noisy flying and lay silently to rest in His presence. The whole purpose of the angels within this vision – and it must be explicitly stated, of their punitive work – was to lead us to Jesus Christ.
Heaven’s throne is described as having the appearance of beautiful sapphire. The One who was sat upon the throne is described as having “a likeness of the appearance of a man” (v.26). This was a pre-incarnate appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ – He who would in the fulness of time “become flesh and dwell among us” (John 1:14) as the Babe in Bethlehem.
The first thing we ought to note about Ezekiel’s description of Jesus as he sees Him within this vision is that from His upwards appearance was “the colour of amber with the appearance of fire all around within”, and His lower appearance was pure “fire with brightness all around” (v.27). The fire that is seen within Jesus here is symbolic and represents the same meaning as the fire that was seen in the angels – the consuming fire of holiness.
The punishment that was being inflicted upon the Judeans, of defeat, decimation, and bondage to the Babylonians, was a punishment that was ordained and executed by the will of Jesus Christ. This was God’s punishment sent upon His people for their idolatry, wickedness and sin. The Judeans may have been crying out to God for salvation from the Babylonian threat, but first they needed to be aware of this greatly problematic issue of sin, that had now led to a just and righteous punishment from a great and holy God.
· Are you able to see a picture of the gospel here? There are many who cry out to God during times of great distress, out of desperation for help or relief (even by those who believe in no God). Are they even aware of how their sin has separated them from God, or if they are, do they choose to ignore it? Do you think that this could have been the case for many Judeans in Ezekiel’s time?
Ezekiel then leads our gaze to the glorious brilliance that surrounded the Lord Jesus Christ. With beautiful poetry (at least in the NKJV translation), Ezekiel writes of “the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of brightness all around it” (v.28). One Sunday, I was due to preach from this text in the evening, and as I was travelling home from church in the morning, a bright and beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky up ahead. It was a timely reminder of how such a beautiful vision leaves an imprint on the memory. The rainbow I saw that morning was glorious, but not as glorious as the rainbow Ezekiel saw around Jesus.
The rainbow ought to instantly remind us of another rainbow in the Bible – Noah’s rainbow, that appeared to him after the flood had dried up. That rainbow was particularly significant as it came with a promise from God – that He would never flood the earth again in such a way. It was a promise of mercy.
Ezekiel, and through Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry, the Judeans, needed to understand that their Babylonian captivity was a punishment from God for their sins, yet there was still a hope of mercy for them. Likewise, despite our own punishment from God for our sin (that of separation from Him), there is still a hope of mercy for us. The place that both the Judeans and ourselves are able to find this mercy is the same – in the Person of Jesus Christ.
Within this incredible vision, Ezekiel was able to look upon the holiness of Jesus Christ and see that it was glorious, yet that rainbow, with its offer of mercy and grace, made Jesus more glorious still. I encourage you to read that sentence again. It is a hard thing for us to comprehend that Jesus Christ can appear glorious and then yet still more glorious again, but I stand by it. The words of an old hymn written by Samuel Davies (1723-61) describe this truth quite wonderfully (pun only slightly intended!):
Great God of wonders! All Thy ways
Are matchless, godlike, and divine:
But the fair glorious of Thy grace,
More Godlike and unrivalled shine:
Who is a pardoning God like Thee?
Or who has grace so rich and free?
Even though (through Ezekiel) we see the Lord Jesus Christ as, “a likeness with the appearance of a man”… as His great mercy shines out over, above, and all around His consuming fire of holiness…
We must understand that Jesus Christ will never appear to us more God-like than He does as this.
