22 Now over the heads of the living [u]beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of [v]crystal, spread out over their heads. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. 24 I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of [w]the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.
26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like [x]lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. 27 Then I [y]noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like [z]glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 As the appearance of the rainbow [aa]in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.
In the latter part of the chapter, the description only gets more impressive and I’m sure words fall a bit short at this point. Above the four angels, there is a crystal-like expanse, and above that something like a throne. And it is here that we find out why blue is the best color, because it is God’s favorite. Okay, okay, but if you look up lapis lazuli and imagine an entire throne made of the best lapis, it’s a pretty incredible thing.
The being on the throne glowed like hot metal above with fire all around, and something like fire below the waist. He was surrounded by radiating light, and the prismatic colors of the rainbow all around. It was such an incredible sight that Ezekiel’s immediate reaction was to fall on his face in awe and wonder.
Now, you can’t plan these things, but I just finished reading “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” by C.S. Lewis. In that, they have some incredible adventures, but toward the end of the book they approach the eastern edge of Narnia, where they think they might find Aslan’s country. As they sail across the waters at the end of the world, they make the startling discovery that the water is sweet.
They drink nothing but the water for days and days, and it is described something like liquid light. As such, their eyes are able to withstand the radiance of the sun, grown 6x larger and brighter, and they begin to be able to stare right at it as flocks of white birds fly forth from the direction of the sun every morning.
When they finally reach the edge of the world, they find a white lamb, so fiercely bright white that were their eyes not strengthened by the waters of liquid light, they would go blind. Yet they are not, and instead they are greeted by Aslan himself as he changes back into the more familiar form of a radiant golden lion.
Moses asked to see God’s face and was told that he would die if that happened. Can you fathom the glory that could cause the human form to fail utterly at the mere sight? Moses was then allowed to see the fading glory after God had passed by and His back was then turned, and his own face glowed for days. So strongly, in fact, that the Israelites asked Moses to cover his face as they couldn’t bear to see it.
We grow used to a God we cannot see and we forget His magnificence, His splendor and might. We ought to remember, for our world is a rainbow of colors, and His wonders are everywhere, even in the people we meet each day. Yet here is something else incredible, that the God who created this world, the Universe and all that we can see, hear, etc. He does not come to knock us off our feet, but to walk with us.
The very God who brought Ezekiel to fall on his face, sent His Son to rescue us, to live with us, and gives His Spirit to dwell within us. Wow! We should be eternally grateful, that God has chosen us, out of all creation, to walk with Him, to talk with Him, and to know Him. Even though it is (at present) only “in a mirror dimly”, we should remember the image that we cannot see, our mighty Creator who beckons to us daily to walk hand in hand.