Ezekiel 1:4-28 - Vision of Heaven

⁴ As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. ⁵ Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. ⁶ Each of them had four faces and four wings…. ¹⁰ As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. ¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. ¹⁶ The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl…. ²⁴ I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings…..
Ezekiel 1:4-28

Ezekiel’s vision of these heavenly beings can be compared to the similar visions of Isaiah and the Apostle John in Revelation. One of the questions when approaching the Bible should always be, what can we learn from this passage? It might be hard to sit down and read because the whole description sounds so incredibly out of this world. Indeed it is a picture of living beings which are apparently angels or some other form of creature in the Spiritual world. One thing we should remember is there is a very real spiritual realm.

Each of the creatures had four faces which I find fascinating. The face of an eagle, an ox, a man, and a lion are seen on each creature. Now we know that the Messiah is also known as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He is also seen as a suffering servant which would be seen as the ox. We learn from the new Testament as well that Jesus Christ is also fully God and fully man. We can take the eagle to be the symbol for God as it is the only bird who can fly directly into the sunlight. These idioms being in place create a fourfold picture of Jesus Christ as presented by the creatures and also the four gospel books.

Ezekiel is being prepared for a call which will change his life. He has already been separated from his home by a forced exile of his nation. Now he waits along with the rest of the Jewish nation wondering if there is any hope left, any reason to praise God or if they should just give up and turn to the Babylonian idols. The message is going to be clear that God desires for His people to come to Him. Ezekiel is told no matter what to stick with the call and tell the people about the God who is King over all.

Ezekiel 1:1-3: Ezekiel the Priest

Word of Truth - Ezekiel

On July 31 of my thirtieth year, while I was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. ² This happened during the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. ³ (The Lord gave this message to Ezekiel son of Buzi, a priest, beside the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians, and he felt the hand of the Lord take hold of him.)
Ezekiel 1:1-3

Ezekiel was a young man when he and his family were sent into Exile along with the Nation of Judah. Babylon took Judah in 597 BC which places the events of chapter one around 593. Ezekiel was thirty and at the right age to begin ministering in the temple, but it remained back in Israel. Still God calls him to be a watchman and to warn the people of Israel of coming judgment.

It is in the nation of Babylon while he is in exile that Ezekiel will receive a heavenly vision of the Lord Almighty as well as a call to be a message carrier. God put a heavy responsibility on Ezekiel as a watchman to Israel, so as long as he carried through on the message he was being obedient. It was then up to the people to listen and obey.

We are watchman on the wall of the city, warning the world of the dangers brought about by sin and wickedness. There is danger in being too polite and trying to not offend too many. Ezekiel’s warnings are for today as much as they were for the people of Israel. And as it is read there will be sweetness in the mouth and bitterness in the stomach for His Word has been lost to this generation.

Growth as Child Care Professional and Christian

Professionals always sound like people with lots of notebooks and pens at their sides at all times. These kinds of people who seem to know everything about everything- especially the area they have studied. It seems though now as I have previously studied in the area of Biblical studies and find myself in the world of child care and teaching, “professional” means so much more.

As a man who dearly loves the Word of God and also enjoys being around kids daily, I am drawn with excitement toward teaching. It has been a goal, at least since high school, to be in a teaching setting. It is what drew me into the Bible college route to begin with. It seems though, over the years, it has been made clear to me that I am better suited toward working with children, as I am myself a big child at times.

Back to the term “professional” for a moment I have changed my outlook since I am now working toward being one in the area of childcare. My desire is not to be the best teacher in the world but to be the best teacher I am. First it is about knowing there is always something new to be learned. The course of study has shown me there are many flaws within myself and many weak areas which would keep me back without confidence and assurance this is the right place to be for me.

It is the Lord who works and moves in our lives and centers His will in all things. Two and a half years ago I quit my day job and became a stay at home dad. A year later I started a home daycare out of my house in order to bring other kids in to play with my twins as well as gain some extra income. It was through the daily work with my kids plus a few others that I realized how rewarding the act of teaching young children is and will be. I am inspired daily by my kids as they are a constant puzzle of lessons and mysteries to me. God is never finished using them as ways to teach me new things I need to work on while I work to teach them.

Career Plan for the future

My perspectives on what it means to be a teacher and how to teach have changed a great deal through the course of my study. Certainly, my patience is producing character from within and I believe that is always where the Lord starts working with His children. Each class, one after another, has not just taught me how to teach but how to be a teacher. It is not just about the developmentally appropriate practices, or creative lesson strategies, but about being the kind of person from whom children want to learn.

Once I have attained my degree with Oklahoma Wesleyan, I will continue my studies at North Eastern State University. It has been called the teaching school of Oklahoma since many of the greatest teachers in this state have studied to become the professionals they now are. With my degree completed, I will pursue teaching grade school levels somewhere of God’s choosing.

There has been much I have learned about how to be a good teacher and good role model for my kids to follow. I believe it is important to instruct children not just with book knowledge but heavenly wisdom. The ways of this world are destructive so it is important to season everything with the salt of the Word of God. Everything I have learned so far about being a teacher will carry through as I begin to impart to my future students life lessons wrapped up in truth. Even in a public school setting I will still remain strong to my beliefs in how a teacher should behave.

Philosophy on early childhood education

Every child is a unique individual capable of learning, understanding, and responding to education. Children come from all different backgrounds, and are placed in with a mix of others who are all in the same way going to respond to everything in their own way. I have always believed it is important to understand what a child is saying and respond to them with respect and kindness. There really can be no other way as a teacher, as teachers are called to teach and guide.

Early childhood education is the very roots of the rest of a persons’ life. As that child grows up to be an adult what they learned while young will have greater influence on them as anything else they experience. Kids are going to take the things they learned growing up, from the classroom environment to the home environment and use those lessons to become who they are in the world.

When I first approached early childhood courses I believed I would be taught a lot of information on what I would be teaching- not so much the methods on how to teach. I realized, through the course of time that it is of greater value for me to learn how to be a teacher than to start right off with knowing all of the things I need to know. It would be like handing a new parent all of the diapers, wipes, crib material, and everything else that comes with a baby but not giving them any instructions on how to be a parent. Early childhood education takes the teacher and tells them how they should look at themselves first as a teacher and model to the kids and then go from there to understand what they will be teaching.

With each new child I teach I will look at them as a created individual made by a God who thinks they are special and loves them. That child will deserve my attention, along with all of their classmates, and acceptance that they do not know everything yet. I can be confident in what I know and am able to teach them. I will be ready; knowing everything I do is a reflection of what I believe. My faith will be seen in my actions. Because of this it is always important to be strong and true to the Lord in all things and continue to press on toward the high privilege of teaching just as God has taught me, with grace and truth.