The followers of Jesus harvest unique, rich insights into life and the things of God by looking at the lives of the prophets in the Old Testament. God has equipped us with the power of the holy spirit, poured out beyond measure in Christ Jesus, and we have an intercessor in heaven that the prophets of old did not. Ezekiel is one of those prophets.
As a priest living during the time of Israel’s invasion and their captivity in Babylon, Ezekiel walked with God and spoke by the spirit during difficult times. We too can walk by the spirit and speak by the Spirit of God while battling internal struggles or challenging circumstances. Ezekiel was a prophesying exile who was hauled off as a prisoner along with thousands of other captives. Take a moment to visualize that. Ezekiel prophesied by the spirit of God while taken captive by a foreign nation. Put yourself into the reality and struggle of his situation as we continue. Chapter one begins with Ezekiel sitting by a river, the river Chebar. This river was the location of the captives, basically a settlement for refugees where the imprisoned Israelites were being held by the Babylonians. Not so romantic. Though this location was less than picturesque and his circumstances abysmal, Ezekiel stepped into one of the most extravagant visionary experiences with God during this troubled time. (Read Ezekiel chapter one for the complete picture.) Ezekiel sees winged creatures with a wheel underneath each of the four of them. He notices that the wings of the creatures are the foundation for a throne, and he then describes what he sees as “the glory of the Lord.” Ezekiel goes into a full vision of God’s glory, a throne on wheels ready for the victorious parade.
You see, even with all the nonsense surrounding him, Ezekiel was shown that God is the Conquering One. God is still going to bring the victory down from heaven where He sits enthroned. Take a look around, whatever it looks like, we have a God Who is superior, present and ready to roll into victory. We can live with joy in the holy spirit amidst afflictions and like Ezekiel, we can live with our eyes adamantly locked onto God our Father as the Everlasting Enthroned Conqueror.