The Throne of the Lord

Ezekiel 1:25-28
(25) And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads. When they stood still, they let down their wings.
(26) And above the expanse over their heads there was the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire; and seated above the likeness of a throne was a likeness with a human appearance.
(27) And upward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were gleaming metal, like the appearance of fire enclosed all around. And downward from what had the appearance of his waist I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness around him.
(28) Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

I have long used a joke I picked up from a coworker a long time ago. When a decision has to be made I will tell my immediate manager "that's why you get the big chair." This is always a joke because the person just above me has the same office furniture I have. It's a sarcastic way of making the point that he gets more responsibility with few extra perks.

Conversely, God really does get the big chair. Ezekiel 1 is a description of it. It's pretty wild with living creatures that have four different faces, feet like calves' hooves, and wheels that propel them in any direction without turning. I'm not sure how it works, but it is pretty incredible. As the ESV Study Bible points out, Ezekiel frequently uses the Hebrew word "ki," which is translated as "like, as." In other words, he is groping for language to describe this vision.

It's easy to gloss over this chapter in pursuit of the meat of Ezekiel's visions. However, I think doing that robs us of a chance to learn something really important. I love the Third Day song "Show Me Your Glory." Well, here we have a sense of what God's glory is really like and it is awesome.

I know that this is something I need to consider a bit more. Our age tends to throw the word "awesome" around quite a bit. This description of God is truly worthy of awe.