Ezekiel 1; Ezekiel 2; Hebrews 11:1-19

1 I was 30 years old. I was with my people who had been taken away from their country. We were by the Kebar River in the land of Babylonia. On the fifth day of the fourth month, the heavens were opened. I saw visions of God.

2 It was the fifth day of the month. Jehoiachin had been king of Judah. It was the fifth year since he had been brought to Babylon as a prisoner.

3 A message came to me from the Lord. I was by the Kebar River in Babylonia. The LORD put his strong hand on me there. I am Ezekiel, the son of Buzi. I'm a priest.

4 I looked up and saw a windstorm coming from the north. I saw a huge cloud. The fire of lightning was flashing out of it. Bright light surrounded it. The center of the fire looked like glowing metal.

5 I saw in the fire something that looked like four living creatures. They appeared to have the shape of a man.

6 But each of them had four faces and four wings.

7 Their legs were straight. Their feet looked like the feet of a calf. They were as bright as polished bronze.

8 The creatures had a man's hands under their wings on their four sides. All four of them had faces and wings.

9 Their wings touched one another. Each of the creatures went straight ahead. They didn't change their direction as they moved.

10 Here's what their faces looked like. Each of the four creatures had a man's face. On the right side each had the face of a lion. On the left each had the face of an ox. Each one also had an eagle's face.

11 That's what their faces looked like. Two of their wings were spread out and lifted up. Each one touched the wing of another creature on either side. The other two wings covered their bodies.

12 All of the creatures went straight ahead. Anywhere their spirits would lead them to go, they would go. They didn't change their direction as they went.

13 The living creatures looked like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth among the creatures. It was bright. Lightning flashed out of it.

14 The creatures raced back and forth like flashes of lightning.

15 As I looked at the living creatures, I saw wheels on the ground beside them. Each creature had four faces.

16 Here's how the wheels looked and worked. They gleamed like chrysolite. All four of them looked alike. Each one seemed to be made like a wheel inside another wheel at right angles.

17 The wheels could go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced. The wheels didn't change their direction as the creatures moved.

18 Their rims were high and terrifying. All four rims were full of eyes all the way around them.

19 When the creatures moved, the wheels beside them moved. When the living creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose.

20 Anywhere their spirits would lead them to go, they would go. And the wheels would rise along with them. That's because the spirits of the living creatures were in the wheels.

21 When the creatures moved, the wheels also moved. When the creatures stood still, they also stood still. When the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose along with them. That's because the spirits of the living creatures were in the wheels.

22 Something that looked like a huge space was spread out above the heads of the living creatures. It gleamed like ice. It was terrifying.

23 The wings of the creatures were spread out under the space. They reached out toward one another. Each creature had two wings covering its body.

24 When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings. It was like the roar of rushing waters. It sounded like the thundering voice of the Mighty One. It was like the loud noise an army makes. When the creatures stood still, they lowered their wings.

25 Then a voice came from above the huge space over their heads. They stood with their wings lowered.

26 Above the space over their heads was something that looked like a throne made out of sapphire. On the throne high above was a figure that appeared to be human.

27 From his waist up he looked like glowing metal that was full of fire. From his waist down he looked like fire. Bright light surrounded him.

28 The glow around him looked like a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. That's what the glory of the LORD looked like. When I saw it, I fell with my face toward the ground. Then I heard the voice of someone speaking.

1 He said to me, "Son of man, stand up on your feet. I will speak to you."

2 As he spoke, the Spirit of the LORD came into me. He raised me to my feet. I heard him speaking to me.

3 He said, "Son of man, I am sending you to the people of Israel. That nation has refused to obey me. They have turned against me. They and their people before them have been against me to this very day.

4 The people I am sending you to are very stubborn. Tell them, 'Here is what the LORD and King says.'

5 "They might listen, or they might not. After all, they refuse to obey me. But whether they listen or not, they will know that a prophet was among them.

6 "Son of man, do not be afraid of them or of what they say. Do not be afraid, even if thorns and bushes are all around you and you live among scorpions. Do not be afraid of what they say. Do not be terrified by them. They always refuse to obey me.

7 "You must give them my message. They might listen, or they might not. After all, they refuse to obey me.

8 Son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be like those who refuse to obey me. Open your mouth. Eat what I give you."

9 Then I looked up. I saw a hand reach out to me. A scroll was in it.

10 He unrolled it in front of me. Both sides had words written on them. They spoke about sadness, sorrow and trouble.

1 Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see.

2 That is what the people of long ago were praised for.

3 We have faith. So we understand that everything was made when God commanded it. That's why we believe that what we see was not made out of what could be seen.

4 Abel had faith. So he offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. Because of his faith Abel was praised as a godly man. God said good things about his offerings. Because of his faith Abel still speaks. He speaks even though he is dead.

5 Enoch had faith. So he was taken from this life. He didn't die. He just couldn't be found. God had taken him away. Before God took him, Enoch was praised as one who pleased God.

6 Without faith it isn't possible to please God. Those who come to God must believe that he exists. And they must believe that he rewards those who look to him.

7 Noah had faith. So he built an ark to save his family. He built it because of his great respect for God. God had warned him about things that could not yet be seen. Because of his faith he showed the world that it was guilty. Because of his faith he was considered right with God.

8 Abraham had faith. So he obeyed God. God called him to go to a place he would later receive as his own. So he went. He did it even though he didn't know where he was going.

9 Because of his faith he made his home in the land God had promised him. He was like an outsider in a strange country. He lived there in tents. So did Isaac and Jacob. They received the same promise he did.

10 Abraham was looking forward to the city that has foundations. He was waiting for the city that God planned and built.

11 Abraham had faith. So God made it possible for him to become a father. He became a father even though he was too old. Sarah also was too old to have children. But Abraham believed that the One who made the promise was faithful.

12 Abraham was past the time when he could have children. But many children came from that one man. They were as many as the stars in the sky. They were as many as the sand on the seashore. No one could count them.

13 All those people were still living by faith when they died. They didn't receive the things God had promised. They only saw them and welcomed them from a long way off. They openly said that they were outsiders and strangers on earth.

14 People who say things like that show that they are looking for a country of their own.

15 What if they had been thinking of the country they had left? Then they could have returned to it.

16 Instead, they longed for a better country. They wanted one in heaven. So God is pleased when they call him their God. In fact, he has prepared a city for them.

17 Abraham had faith. So he offered Isaac as a sacrifice. That happened when God put him to the test. Abraham had received the promises. But he was about to offer his one and only son.

18 God had said to him, "Your family line will continue through Isaac."(Genesis 21:12) Even so, Abraham was going to offer him up.

19 Abraham believed that God could raise the dead. In a way, he did receive Isaac back from death.