The book of Ezekiel opens with its setting. We’re given the year and location. It says it was the thirtieth year. It wasn’t 30BC or something like that. It must be referring to the 30th year of the exile to Babylon. That’s the setting of this book. Ezekiel was among the exiles in Babylon. This is the same exile that brought Daniel to Babylon and into the service of Nebuchadnezzar.
Ezekiel sees the heavens open and sees visions of God. We’re told that the hand of the Lord was on him there.
He sees a vision of heaven and these four strange creatures there. I won’t try to interpret their description, except for this one, “Wherever the spirit would go, they went, without turning as they went.”
There is one further similar description, “Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went.”
May it be said of us the same, that wherever God wanted us we went. The Spirit doesn’t have its own will. Where He wants to go is where God wants to go. I want the same said of me as well, that I don’t have a will apart from God, that His will is my will, what He wants is what I want.
I want to go where He’s going and do what He’s doing and say what He’s saying.
I want to do it without turning to the right or to the left. I want my eyes fixed on Jesus, my heart fixed on pleasing the Father, and my whole self one with Him that we live as one and I don’t act apart from Him. I pray that I not only go straight ahead, but I wouldn’t even glance to the right or to the left. I don’t want anything else catching my eye. I want my sights set on the beautiful One, Jesus Christ, and don’t want anything else to ever draw my eye away from Him. I want my gaze fixed straight ahead on His glorious presence.
When Moses asks to see God’s glory, God says that He will cause all His goodness to pass before Moses. Here Ezekiel gets a glimpse of God’s glory, but it’s a different sight. It’s a vision of His majesty, holiness, splendor, His greatness and separateness and over and above-ness!