Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Above this surface was something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground, and I heard someone’s voice speaking to me. “Stand up, son of man,” said the voice. “I want to speak with you.” Ezekiel 1:26-2:1
I have
read these words many times; this morning I heard them in three different,
distinct voices…the Lion in C.S. Lewis’ Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe,
James Earl Jones as Darth Vader in Star Wars, and Jack Nicholson
in any movie you want to name. Take a
moment to hear them with me.
We’ll
start with James Earl Jones; that deep voice intonation and resonance is
impossible to miss. When the voice spoke
from the throne, stand up, son of man, I want to speak with
you, I wanted to sit up straight and pay attention; you cannot
ignore a command that emanates from the deep dark blue of a lapis lazuli
throne. It was calm, but eerie, and it strangely
compelled me to want more.
On reading
the text a second time I heard Jack Nicholson’s edgy, bordering on psychotic
invitation: stand up, son of man, I want to
speak with you. I wanted to run away
until there were no more places to run. This
is the voice that could freeze fire in its’ tracks…the judgment of a thousand
Adolph Hitlers.
After a brief
shudder I read the text one more time.
Suddenly, I was one of C.S. Lewis’s child-characters, Edmund, or Peter,
or Susan, or perhaps Lucy, and I was in conversation with a talking Lion. And the voice was decidedly different: stand up, son of man, I want to speak with
you. This was the friend-voice
I’d always hoped God would sound like.
Ezekiel’s
description of God as an amber-glowing man from the waist-up, and a splendidly-burning
fire from the waist-down, surrounded by a halo of the colors of the rainbow
serve to highlight the voice completing the breathtaking moment of an encounter
with the glory of God.
We all have
our very deep memories of times that influenced or affected us deeply and
shaped our character and perspective of life.
I have had some very distinct God-moments where His presence was
overwhelming, unlike anything in sound, appearance, or which any other of the
senses can describe. It is what the name
suggests…other! God is like no one else,
and when His desire is for you to stand up, because He wants to speak with you…well,
let’s just say, it would be a smart thing for anyone to listen.
For You Today
Ezekiel didn’t schedule a God-moment…God
did! On the other hand, God’s word says
that when we hunger and thirst after righteousness* we will be filled. Have you hungered for God to say: stand up, I want to speak with you?
Go to VIDEO
[ii] Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©
*Matthew 5:6
*Matthew 5:6
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