Ezekiel

Ezekiel 1: God reveals His glory

Begin in prayer

Before we read Ezekiel's vision of God's glory, let us pause before the Lord together. Ask Him for still hearts, His presence with this family and eyes to see Christ as we read Ezekiel 1.

Stand up and bless Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting! Blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise!

Nehemiah 9:5

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Show us Your glory in Christ and teach us to listen with humble hearts. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

Ezekiel the priest lives among captives beside the river Chebar when the heavens open and he sees visions of God. A storm brings the likeness of four living creatures, each with four faces and four wings. Beside them stand wheels full of eyes, moving wherever the spirit goes. Above the creatures is an expanse like crystal, with the likeness of a throne above it. A likeness with a man's appearance sits on the throne, surrounded by brightness like fire and a rainbow. Ezekiel falls on his face before the LORD's glory and hears a voice.

As you read Ezekiel 1, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God shows His glory, and we must bow before Him and listen.

Ezekiel receives this vision among captives in Chaldea, far from the temple in Jerusalem. Yet the throne above the living creatures shows that God's rule reaches this place of exile. Creatures and wheels move together wherever the spirit goes, placing their movement under the direction revealed in the vision. The throne stands above their heads, so Ezekiel's attention rises from the moving creatures to the One who rules. He repeatedly says likeness and appearance, giving the comparisons by which he can describe what God shows him. The rainbow brightness belongs to what he names the appearance of the LORD's glory. His fall upon his face expresses reverence before that glory, and the voice makes him a hearer before he becomes a messenger.

How does Ezekiel 1 show us that God shows His glory, and we must bow before Him and listen?

God shows His glory among the captives.

Ezekiel receives this vision beside the river Chebar in the land of the Chaldeans (verses 1 to 3). His captivity places him far from Jerusalem. God speaks to His servant there, displaying a glory no foreign land can shut out.

God rules above the living creatures.

The creatures and wheels move together wherever the spirit goes (verses 19 to 21). Above them stands an expanse like crystal, and above that is the likeness of a throne. The vision directs our attention upward to the One who rules.

God deserves our humble attention.

The throne's brightness is compared with fire and a rainbow (verses 26 to 28). Ezekiel falls on his face before the LORD's glory. Then he hears a voice, ready to receive the words that follow.

Memorize

This was the appearance of the likeness of Yahweh’s glory. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.

Ezekiel 1:28

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what keeps me from bowing before Jesus and listening to Him?

Ezekiel says, “I fell on my face.” The glory above the creatures and wheels brings this priest low. God is worthy of such reverence, even when His servant lives among captives.

God makes His glory known in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4 verse 6). That glorious Son came to save guilty people. On the cross He bore His people's sins in their place, and His death accomplished their rescue. His completed sacrifice is enough to bring them to God. The grave could not hold Him, and He rose from the dead.

So please turn from your sin and trust Jesus. He grants forgiveness to all who come to Him in faith. Come with your guilt, and bow before the King who died and rose to save. His glory gives us reason to worship and listen.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God's glory calls for humble worship, and Jesus brings sinners to God through His death and resurrection. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for revealing His glory, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, the Holy One, to receive the glory, the honor, and the power, for you created all things, and because of your desire they existed, and were created!”

Revelation 4:11

Lord God, thank You for showing Your glory to Ezekiel among the captives. Forgive our proud refusal to listen, and help each of us turn from sin and trust Jesus. Please teach us to honor Him as King and hear His Word with humble hearts this week. Amen.