In the land where God’s captured people were taken, a man named Ezekiel was by the river one day and the sky opened up above
and he saw God.
A wind came spinning out of the north, a huge cloud with shiny brightness folding over and over
inside it.
Four beautiful creatures came out of it and each of them had four wings.
They came and went from God like flashes of lightning.
Their voices sounded like God’s voice, like a mighty crashing waterfall.
Over their heads was a great shiny ocean that looked like diamonds but smooth as
glass.
And on top of that was an amazing throne that looked blue like sapphire
with a man sitting on it who was shiny bright like living fire and shining out from Him were the most beautiful
rainbows.
That was what God looked like and when Ezekiel saw it he fell on his face, bowing down and heard
the voice of God speaking.
The Lord God said, Son of man, stand up and I will talk to you.
The Lord said to Ezekiel, I am sending you to the children of Israel, bad ones who turned their
back to Me, and still do it today.
They are wild brats but I still love them and want you to tell them, even if they won’t listen to you, that I am here for
them.
Don’t be scared of the mean looks on their faces because they are brats.
But you, listen to me. Don’t be a bad brat like them.
Open your mouth and I will fill it with the best things.
Then Ezekiel saw a hand reach out
holding the roll of a book that was written on both sides, sad songs about the trouble.
And He said to me, Let your heart eat what I give you
by reading all the words on this scroll.
So I read the words and let them come into my heart, the words of the roll that the Lord gave me
and it was sweet like honey.
Then He said, Go tell the words to the house of Israel. I am sending you to people who understand
the same words; I am not sending you to a different people who talk another language.
But still they won’t listen to you.
I have made your face strong against their face because they will give you hard looks with their
faces.
Then the Spirit of the Lord lifted me up and I heard a great voice of rushing saying, Best
happiness to the shiny brightness of the Lord.
The Spirit of the Lord lifted me up and took me away but the Lord’s hand was strong on
me.
I was so amazed that I couldn’t talk for 7 days. Then the word came from the Lord to me. It said,
I have made you the watchman over the house of Israel to give them My warnings.
When I tell the ones doing bad that they will die for it, You tell them what I say. If you don’t tell them, the bad will be on
you.
When the ones doing bad, turn back to Me, then they will be ok.
If you tell them and they don’t come back to Me, you will still be ok.
So I got up and went out to the plain and the shiny brightness of the Lord stood there, and I
fell on my face.
The Spirit came into me and set me on my feet and talked with me. It said, Go and shut yourself inside your
house.
Only talk words when I give you words and when I open your mouth to say
them.
Let the people hear and come back to Me if they will.