God's Glory Goes Wherever His People Go

Ezekiel stands at the end of Isaiah and Jeremiah as the diaspora prophet, the prophet who receives God's revelation while living with the exiles in Babylon. Isaiah had warned long before exile, Jeremiah had told the exiles to build houses, plant gardens, raise families, and seek the shalom of Babylon, and Ezekiel now shows that God is not trapped in Jerusalem. God gives comfort and challenge together through three truths, G O D: glory, outgoing, and dwelling.

Ezekiel begins in a surprising place, not Jerusalem, not the temple, not even the promised land, but by the Kebar River in Babylon. Ezekiel was from a priestly family, and at thirty years old he should have entered full service in the temple. Instead, Ezekiel sits in exile with his calling apparently shattered. But heaven opens, and because Ezekiel cannot go to the temple, the God of the temple comes to him. Hallelujah. God shows that exile did not end Ezekiel's calling, but became the place where God gave him a new calling.

The glory of God appears with cherubim and wheels within wheels, and those wheels show that God's throne is majestic and mobile. God's glory is not confined to Jerusalem. God's throne is sovereign and mobile, not stationary and motionless. God goes wherever he wants.

Ezekiel 10 shows the glory of the Lord leaving the temple slowly and gradually, from above the cherubim to the threshold, then to the east gate, then east of the city. The glory of God is going toward Babylon, toward exile, toward the pain and shame of God's people. God says, in effect, “I’m going with you.” The temple without the glory of God becomes like a human body without soul, and that is a rude awakening. God’s people must worship the God of the temple, not the temple of God.

Ezekiel 11 reverses the bad theology of those left in Jerusalem. The people assumed the exiles were far from the Lord because they had lost land and temple, but God says he himself will be a sanctuary for them. God becomes their dwelling place even in exile. They lost the sanctuary, but they did not lose God.

John 1 takes Ezekiel’s vision to perfection: the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among people. Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of God's glory dwelling among humanity. God did not just dwell among people, God became one of them, and through the Holy Spirit God now makes a permanent dwelling in the heart. God left the building, but he did not just leave; he came home with his people.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God’s glory is majestic and mobile [05:31] God’s glory is not locked inside a holy place, even when that place was appointed by God. The wheels within wheels show that God’s throne moves with sovereign freedom, and his presence cannot be managed by human geography. A shattered plan may become the very place where God opens heaven and gives a new calling. [05:31]
• 2. Never take presence for granted [07:37] The temple became empty when the glory departed, and the most frightening loss was not land, comfort, or status, but God’s presence. Religious motion without the joy of God can look alive while being like a body without soul. The storm can become mercy when it reveals the idols that were quietly replacing the Lord. [07:37]
• 3. God becomes sanctuary in exile [10:41] The exiles looked far from God to the people still sitting in Jerusalem, but God reversed that whole theology. The loss of the building did not mean the loss of the Lord, because God himself became sanctuary in the countries where they had gone. Shame and displacement do not have the final word when God chooses to dwell with his people there. [10:41]
• 4. Christ is glory dwelling near [12:22] Ezekiel’s river vision reaches its fullness when the Word becomes flesh and dwells among humanity. Jesus is not only a sign that God visits suffering people, but the glory of God who comes all the way into human life. The Spirit then makes that dwelling permanent, so God's presence is not occasional, distant, or confined to a building.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:13] - Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel
• [01:26] - G O D: Glory, Outgoing, Dwelling
• [01:41] - Ezekiel by the Kebar River
• [03:05] - A Priest at Thirty in Exile
• [03:56] - The God of the Temple Comes
• [05:31] - God’s Mobile Glory
• [06:28] - Glory Leaves the Temple
• [07:20] - God Goes Toward Exile
• [07:37] - Do Not Take Presence for Granted
• [10:41] - God Becomes Their Sanctuary
• [11:35] - The Word Dwells Among Us
• [12:52] - God Left the Building
• [15:26] - Closing Prayer

1. Ezekiel 1:1 — “In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” [02:03]
2. Ezekiel 10:18-19 — “Then the glory of the LORD went out from the threshold of the house and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the earth before my eyes as they went out, with the wheels beside them. And they stood at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the LORD, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them.” [06:29]
3. Ezekiel 11:16 — “Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: Though I removed them far off among the nations, and though I scattered them among the countries, yet I have been a sanctuary to them for a while in the countries where they have gone.'” [10:34]
4. John 1:14 — “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” [11:50]

1. In Ezekiel 1:1, where is Ezekiel when the heavens open, and what does he see there? [02:03]
2. What details in Ezekiel’s calling make his situation feel especially painful and surprising, especially at age thirty? [03:05]
3. In Ezekiel 10:18-19, what movements of God’s glory are described, and which direction does it go? [06:29]
4. In Ezekiel 11:16, what does God say he will be for his scattered people in other countries? [10:34]

1. Ezekiel was far from Jerusalem, far from the temple, and living with the exiles when God opened heaven to him. What does that suggest about how God meets people when life has not gone the way they expected? [03:56]
2. The wheels in Ezekiel’s vision point to God’s glory as majestic and mobile. Why does it matter that God’s presence is not confined to one holy place? [05:31]
3. God’s glory leaves the temple slowly and moves east toward Babylon. What does that reveal about God’s heart toward people in pain, shame, and exile? [07:20]
4. John 1:14 says the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. How does Jesus bring Ezekiel’s vision of glory, presence, and dwelling to its fullest meaning? [12:22]

1. Ezekiel’s calling seemed shattered, yet that same place became the place of new calling. Where has life felt disappointing, delayed, or broken for you, and how might God be meeting you there instead of somewhere else? [04:14]
2. It is possible to hold onto religious activity while losing joy in God’s presence. What are some signs that a person is going through the motions spiritually? Do any of those signs feel familiar right now? [08:42]
3. God’s people must worship the God of the temple, not the temple of God. What good gift, habit, place, or ministry role could quietly become more important than God himself in a person’s heart? [07:48]
4. Storms can expose idols and show where false joy has been hiding. Has a hard season revealed anything about what you were leaning on besides God? [09:03]
5. God says, “I have been a sanctuary to them” even in foreign lands. In what part of life do you most need to remember that God himself is your sanctuary right now? [10:41]
6. Jesus did not only come near for a moment; by the Holy Spirit, God makes his dwelling with his people. How would this week look different if you really believed God was present with you at home, at work, and in your stress? [12:43]
7. God’s presence is not limited to a church building or a “spiritual” setting. Where do you most need confidence that God can meet you—your workplace, your family life, your loneliness, your failure, or somewhere else? [14:39]