SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/30/2014
8:31 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The People
are Doomed PT-3
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ezekiel
10:8-22
Message of the
verses: We will be looking at the
third and last sub-point from this second main point in Warren Wiersbe’s
outline on this section of Ezekiel.
The Glory Revealed (Ezekiel 10:8-22): “8 The cherubim appeared to have the form of
a man’s hand under their wings. 9 Then I looked, and behold, four wheels beside
the cherubim, one wheel beside each cherub; and the appearance of the wheels
was like the gleam of a Tarshish stone. 10 As for their appearance, all four of
them had the same likeness, as if one wheel were within another wheel. 11 When
they moved, they went in any of their four directions without turning as they
went; but they followed in the direction which they faced, without turning as
they went. 12 Their whole body, their backs, their hands, their wings and the
wheels were full of eyes all around, the wheels belonging to all four of them. 13
The wheels were called in my hearing, the whirling wheels. 14 And each one had
four faces. The first face was the face of a cherub, the second face was the
face of a man, the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an
eagle. 15 Then the cherubim rose up. They are the living beings that I saw by
the river Chebar. 16 Now when the cherubim moved, the wheels would go beside
them; also when the cherubim lifted up their wings to rise from the ground, the
wheels would not turn from beside them. 17 When the cherubim stood still, the
wheels would stand still; and when they rose up, the wheels would rise with
them, for the spirit of
the living beings was in them. 18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of
the temple and stood over the cherubim. 19 When the cherubim departed,
they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels
beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the
LORD’S house, and the
glory of the God of Israel hovered over them. 20 These are the living
beings that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that
they were cherubim. 21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and
beneath their wings was the form of human hands. 22 As for the likeness of
their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river
Chebar. Each one went straight ahead.”
If this section sounds familiar then it is because it is
the same scene that Ezekiel saw at his commissioning service however there are
two differences. The first is that the
living creatures were full of eyes even as the wheels were. This speaks of the omniscience of the Lord,
as He is everywhere. God is in control of all things and in order to do this He
has to be everywhere, and because He is Spirit He can do this. Things do not just happen haphazardly, but
God is truly in control and because of His sovereignty He not only see all
things, He controls all things: “also we
have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things
after the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11).” The other thing that is different is that the
wheels are named “the whirling wheels.”
Dr. Wiersbe writes:
“One problem that this new description presents relates to the
description of the faces of the cherubim in verse 14. In 1:10, each cherub had the face of a man, a
lion, an ox, and an eagle; while in 10:14, the face of the ox is apparently
replaced by the face of ‘the cherub.’
The so-called contradiction is only apparent. From where Ezekiel was standing, he saw a
different face of each of the cherubs. ‘The
cherub’ must have been the one that gave the coals of fire to the scribe-angel. We might paraphrase it, ‘The first face I saw
was of the cherub and it was an ox, since the faces I saw of the other three
cherubim were of a man, a lion, and an eagle.’
Each face was indeed the face of the cherub since each of the living
creatures was a cherub.”
At this time I want to quote from Steward Briscoe on the
glory of the Lord departing: “The man
with the linen suit reported back to the Lord and was promptly instructed to go
in between the wheels of the chariot-throne, take some of the coals burning
therin, and scatter the burning embers over the city (10:1-2).
“The drama preceded a startling set of events. The glory of the Lord departed from the holy
place. As we will see, the significance
of this movement was that it was the beginning of the long-threatened removal
of the visible evidence of God’s presence among His people. This remova took place in stages. First, it moved from the holy place to the outside
of the temple (10:18). This gave the
people the opportunity to see more of the Lord’s presence than they had ever
seen. But it made no difference. Then, along with the chariot-throne, the
Glory moved to the mountain on the east side of Jerusalem, and stayed there as
if brooding over the city.
The is no mention of the departure of the Glory from the
Mount of Olives, but much later Ezekiel saw the Glory returning from the
east. This has led some commentators to
believe that the glory of the Lord was removed from sinful Jerusalem and placed
in the camp of the exiles. Others
suggest that it remained on the Mount as if to remind the people that the Glory
was gone from the temple and the city where it belonged, but ready to return
when the people turned back to God.”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: This part will be
a quotation from Warren Wiersbe: “Ezekiel was learning that the most important
part of the nation’s life was to magnify the glory of God. The presence of God in the sanctuary was a
great privilege for the people of Israel, but it was also a great
responsibility. The glory of God cannot
dwell with the sins of God’s people, so it was necessary for the glory to
leave, and the sanctuary and the people to be judged.” With this said it is important for me to
realize the great responsibility for me, and all believers, is to realize that
I have the Holy Spirit of God in my life to lead me and to guide me, and I must
not do anything to cause the Spirit of God to not be working in my life. “1Th 5:19 Do not quench the Spirit.”
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1Th
5:19 “Do not quench the Spirit.”
Memory verses for the
week: 2 Peter 1:1-3.
1 Simon Peter, a
bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of
the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus
Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied
to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; 3 seeing that His divine
power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through
the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “A physician.”
Today’s Bible
question: “What meat did God send to the
Israelites as they journed?”
Answer in our next SD.
11/30/2014 9:18 AM
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