Wheels in Wheels (Shekina)
Ezekiel begins his work of prophecy with a vision of the glory of God. Ezekiel is in Babylon as an exile. He had likely been a witness to the loss of the temple and in his prophecy, he will warn of the fall of Jerusalem. How could God let Jerusalem be overtaken by a Godless nation? Where was God when the armies came? Ezekiel begins his book with a vision of God’s glory, His shekinah, departing from the temple. The living creatures and the wheels of his vision represented God’s shekinah. “Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” Ezek. 1:28
Ezekiel foretells the destruction of the city as God prepares to abandon the Israelites. God left the temple to supervise the destruction of those not marked as faithful. Ezekiel then describes the destruction that followed, summing it up with, “Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women…” Make no mistake, God is done with the Israelites and the next thing Ezekiel will tell us is that God leaves the temple. This is big news. Not only does He leave but He doesn’t return. A second temple structure would eventually be built by the Israelites, but there is no mention of God ever moving in.
He returned in the person of Jesus in order to establish a new kingdom and temple. That is what Jesus did. Jesus did visit Herod’s temple but neither He nor God dwelled there. John tells us that Jesus manifested the glory of God. (John 1:14) Later, in chapter two, Jesus declares himself to be a temple. The shekinah came to earth in the person of Jesus. Instead of dwelling in Herod’s temple, Jesus built a new temple, not made of stones but of living people. Those who experienced a new birth became a new temple for God to dwell in. “Do you not know that you (plural) are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.” (1 Cor. 3:16-17)
Not only was this true of the church but it was also true of every born again Christian. “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So, glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19)
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