Sermon Tone Analysis

*Seeking Visions for God*

*Ezekiel 1:1-1:28*

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth/ month/, in the fifth/ day/ of the month, as I/ was/ among the captives by the river of Chebar,/ that/ the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth/ day/ of the month, which/ was/ the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekielthe priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.

4 And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness/ was/ about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

5 Also out of the midst thereof/ came/ the likeness of four living creatures.

And this/ was/ their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

7 And their feet/ were/ straight feet; and the sole of their feet/ was/ like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass.

8 And/ they had/ the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

9 Their wings/ were/ joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

10 As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

11 Thus/ were/ their faces: and their wings/ were/ stretched upward; two/ wings/ of every one/ were/ joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.

12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went;/ and/ they turned not when they went.

13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance/ was/ like burning coals of fire,/ and/ like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

16 The appearance of the wheels and their work/ was/ like unto the color of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work/ was/ as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

17 When they went, they went upon their four sides:/ and/ they turned not when they went.

18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings/ were/ full of eyes round about them four.

19 And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.

20 Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither/ was their/ spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature/ was/ in the wheels.

21 When those went,/ these/ went; and when those stood,/ these/ stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creatures/ was/ in the wheels.

22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature/ was/ as the color of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.

23 And under the firmament/ were/ their wings straight, the one toward the other: everyone had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.

24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings.

25 And there was a voice from the firmament that/ was/ over their heads, when they stood,/ and/ had let down their wings.

26 And above the firmament that/ was/ over their heads/ was/ the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne/ was/ the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

27 And I saw as the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so/ was/ the appearance of the brightness round about.

This/ was/ the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.

And when I saw/ it/, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

* *

 

*I.

** INTRODUCTION* \\ \\ A.  Age 30.

"In the thirtieth year . . . the heavens were opened, and I saw      visions of God" (1:1).

\\ \\ B.  Occupations.

"Ezekiel the priest" (1:3).

\\ \\ C.  Birthday.

"Take the sum of the sons of Kohath . . .

from thirty years       old and upwards" (Num.

4:2,3).

\\ \\ D.  Captive.

"I was among the captives" (1:1).

\\ \\ E.  Taken from home at age 27.

"Which was the fifth year of King       Jehoiachin’s captivity" (1:2).

Taken in 597 B.C. he was called in 593-  92 B.C. Five years later the Temple was destroyed 587 B.C. \\ \\ F.  Live on a canal.

"I was . . .

by the river Chebar (at Tel Abib) and the        hand of the Lord was there upon him" (1:3).

Called the Grand Canal      for transportation between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.

\\ \\ G.  Received letter from Jeremiah.

(Jer.

29) That destroyed their dreams.

(1) Settle down.

"Build ye houses . . .

plant gardens . . .

take ye wives"     (Jer.

29:5,6).

(2) Don’t rebel.

"Seek the peace of the city" (Jer.

29:7).

(3) 70 years.

"After seventy years . . .

I will visit you . . . to return you      to this place (Jerusalem)" (Jer.

29:10).

* *

*II.

**EZEKIEL ENCOUNTERS GOD* \\ \\ An encounter occurs when (1) God intentionally meets with you, (2) in a time of great personal need, (3) through unexpected circumstances, (4) telling you something about Himself, (5) you learn something about \\ yourself, (6) preparing you for a specific task, (7) even though you don’t fully understand all the mysterious elements of the encounter.

\\ \\ A.  Intentional.

At the last minute.

God called him on the day he should       have been consecrated as a priest.

\\ \\ B.  In time of need because dreams were destroyed.

God told them they        would not return home to Jerusalem (Jer.

29).

\\ \\ C. Unexpected circumstances.

A Vision.

Ezekiel saw a whirlwind, a fiery     cloud, four angles, a wheel within a wheel, loud noises, God sitting on a throne.

\\ \\ D.  Learning about yourself.

"And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and     I heard a voice" (1:28).

\\ \\ E.  Learning about God.

"I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it         had brightness round about . . .

this was the appearance of the likeness      of the glory of the Lord" (1:27, 28).

\\ \\ F.  Prepared for a specific task.

A prophet not a priest.

"Thou shalt speak    my words unto them" (2:7).

\\ \\ G.  Mysterious.

There was much mystery in the call to Ezekiel.

* *

*III.

** TEN LESSONS FROM ENCOUNTERING GOD* \\ \\ A.  After your dreams fail and you don’t  know what to do, an encounter     with God can come.

"Why are you cast down, O my soul?

And why         are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance" (Psalm 43:5).

\\ \\ B.  An encounter with God gives new vision for the direction of your life.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Pro.

29:18 KJV).

\\ \\ C.

An encounter with God may result in a new task in life.

"Have I not      commanded you?

Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid,          nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go"           (Joshua 1:9 NKJV).

\\ \\ D.  God may give you a special message when you encounter Him.

"And      go, get to the captives, to the children of your people, and speak to them and tell them, ’Thus says the Lord God’" (Ezekiel 3:10, 11   NKJV).

\\ \\ E.  God can prepare us for an encounter with Him.

"Now these are the         words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to         the remainder of the elders who were carried away captive-to the   priests, the prophets, and all the people whom Nebuchadnezzar had         carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon" (Jeremiah 29:1          NKJV).

\\ \\ F.  God can use political and cultural conditions to prepare us for an encounter with Him.

"When all these things are come upon thee, the         blessing and the curse,   . . .

then ye shall call them to mind . . .

and shall return to the Lord thy     God . . .

that then the Lord thy God        will turn thy captivity and have        compassion on thee" (Deut.