The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Ezekiel 28:22,
"This is what the Sovereign Lord says: 'I am against you, O Sidon, and I will gain glory within you. They will know that I am the Lord, when I inflict punishment on her and show myself holy within her.'"
The Lord delivers a prophecy against Sidon, one of Israel's neighbors. He is going to "gain glory within" her.
We learn from Scripture that the glory of God far exceeds a repute or acknowledgement of someone that is wonderful and awesome. God's glory is the radiance of the perfections of his being. It is both an objectively seen presence in a radiance that was witnessed by the Israelites at the tent of meeting and in the temple. It was seen as a reflection in Moses' face after he had spent time with the Lord on Mt. Sinai. His glory is also a subjective experience that takes place in the hearts and minds of his creatures as they behold his majestic splendor; one who creates a sense of overwhelming awe, adoration as well as a sense of fear and terror.
I see this last sense of God's glory at play in this prophecy against Sidon. The Lord goes on to say that he will gain this glory as he sends both plague and sword against Sidon. He says, "I will send a plague upon her and make blood flow in her streets. The slain will fall within her, with the sword against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord." He gives as his reason for this judgment against Sidon, "No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns." And, the outcome he will achieve, "Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord."
Scripture speaks of God's glory often. I long for it. I think we all do – all mankind. My feeling is that we were designed to experience his glory, to embrace his glory and to exult in his glory. I wonder if the emptiness and absence we at times experience or feel in our lives is due to the removal of God's glory from our lives as a part of his judgment against mankind for our sin and rebellion. Those of us who have become God's children by embracing him in faith see glimpses and small snatches of God's glory and we long for more – I know I do. As we read of the resurrection this longing becomes our hope as we know we will behold God in all his glory and have the opportunity to exult in it forever.
And then again, as I read of what the Sidonians beheld as God's glory, as I read of the fear and trembling of Moses as he had his encounter with the Lord, as I read of Peter, James and John and the fear they experienced on the Mount of Transfiguration, I think there are aspects of God's glory that must be far beyond just "sobering". Something fearful that I can only imagine…
The Lord delivers a prophecy against Sidon, one of Israel's neighbors. He is going to "gain glory within" her.
We learn from Scripture that the glory of God far exceeds a repute or acknowledgement of someone that is wonderful and awesome. God's glory is the radiance of the perfections of his being. It is both an objectively seen presence in a radiance that was witnessed by the Israelites at the tent of meeting and in the temple. It was seen as a reflection in Moses' face after he had spent time with the Lord on Mt. Sinai. His glory is also a subjective experience that takes place in the hearts and minds of his creatures as they behold his majestic splendor; one who creates a sense of overwhelming awe, adoration as well as a sense of fear and terror.
I see this last sense of God's glory at play in this prophecy against Sidon. The Lord goes on to say that he will gain this glory as he sends both plague and sword against Sidon. He says, "I will send a plague upon her and make blood flow in her streets. The slain will fall within her, with the sword against her on every side. Then they will know that I am the Lord." He gives as his reason for this judgment against Sidon, "No longer will the people of Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful briers and sharp thorns." And, the outcome he will achieve, "Then they will know that I am the Sovereign Lord."
Scripture speaks of God's glory often. I long for it. I think we all do – all mankind. My feeling is that we were designed to experience his glory, to embrace his glory and to exult in his glory. I wonder if the emptiness and absence we at times experience or feel in our lives is due to the removal of God's glory from our lives as a part of his judgment against mankind for our sin and rebellion. Those of us who have become God's children by embracing him in faith see glimpses and small snatches of God's glory and we long for more – I know I do. As we read of the resurrection this longing becomes our hope as we know we will behold God in all his glory and have the opportunity to exult in it forever.
And then again, as I read of what the Sidonians beheld as God's glory, as I read of the fear and trembling of Moses as he had his encounter with the Lord, as I read of Peter, James and John and the fear they experienced on the Mount of Transfiguration, I think there are aspects of God's glory that must be far beyond just "sobering". Something fearful that I can only imagine…
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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