... but each had four faces, and each of them had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf's foot. And they sparkled like burnished bronze. -- Ezekiel 1:6-7
Though the creatures in Ezekiel's vision, as noted yesterday, have human form, they seem to be more than human. But then so is man, if we see homo sapiens only as a rather clever and not-so-hairy primate.
We are not so limited as the other creatures. We walk on land, like any other mammal, but we can plumb the depths of the sea like a fish. We fly great distances through the air like birds. We have crossed the emptiness of space and walked upon another world like gods. Our mastery of the elements — earth, water, air, fire, in the derived material universe speaks of what we are in that from which our material existence is derived. Our supremacy may easily become a source of pride, though it should be a sign to us, not only of the spirit that the Lord breathed into us at creation but of His grace and presence with us now.
While, as Christians, we usually think of ourselves as tripartite beings -- body, soul, spirit -- reflective of the Triune God, the three aspects combine into a whole. Father, Son, Spirit are One. Body, soul, spirit are one. Three faces are complete in the fourth. We may hit this point again when we think about what the four faces might represent. Perhaps Ezekiel saw man as he could be, should be, and will be.
Wings take us into another medium. We can travel, not with the speed of light, but with the speed of thought. Our words are heard immediately in heaven. The effects of our prayers can cross the universe in the twinkling of an eye. In the Spirit, we are unimpeded by time or space.
Their legs were straight -- we are meant to be upright creatures, vertical, oriented not in the horizontal direction of matter but toward God who draws us upward to Himself. The bronze, calf-like hooves of the creatures reminds us of the ability to stand sure-footed upon precarious heights in our walk with the Lord. Bronze also represents priestly judgment as the bronze altar in the court of the temple. We are a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) of the Lord, meant to carry out His decrees and execute His justice. Paul says that the saints will not only judge the world but angels (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).
We fail and flail in this world because we have lost sight of who we are. We are right to be humble, to ask, "O LORD, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him?" We are consigned to these jars of clay for the moment, but an unveiling awaits when we will see Jesus as He is, and we will be transformed.
Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)
2 comments:
I'll be honest, I find those biblical beings a little disturbing.
Good interpretation. I wouldn't have thought along those lines. I tend to be literal minded. Makes me symbolically challenged.
We were at a party the other night standing around a fire with some atheist tweens discussing our origins. They insisted that we simply evolved from matter and were no more special albeit more complex than other animals. I asked what other animals stand around campfires and discuss their origins? Don't know if I cracked the shell. We are obligated to try I suppose.
You do what you can -- sowing or watering, who knows?
As the old Genies' song says:
Who's that knocking on my door
All last night and the night before
Boom boom boom, bang bang bang
I can't stand this awful thing
Who's that knocking on my door
Who's that calling, calling my name
Tossed a brick through my window pane
Boom boom boom, bang bang bang
Rap, rap, rap is driving me insane
Who's that knocking on my door
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