Study Desk

Then the glory of the God of Israel rose up from between the cherubim, where it had rested, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. And the Lord called to the man dressed in linen who was carrying the writer's case.

The moving wings of the cherubim sounded like the voice of God Almighty and could be heard even in the outer courtyard.

And as I watched, the cherubim flew with their wheels to the east gate of the Lord 's Temple. And the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

These were the same living beings I had seen beneath the God of Israel when I was by the Kebar River. I knew they were cherubim,

so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.

Then the cherubim lifted their wings and rose into the air with their wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered above them.

Afterward the Spirit of God carried me back again to Babylonia, to the people in exile there. And so ended the vision of my visit to Jerusalem.

In this way, the people of Israel will learn not to stray from me, polluting themselves with sin. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I, the Sovereign Lord , have spoken!'"

Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord : When I chose Israel—when I revealed myself to the descendants of Jacob in Egypt—I took a solemn oath that I, the Lord , would be their God.

Then I said to them, ‘Each of you, get rid of the vile images you are so obsessed with. Do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, for I am the Lord your God.'

‘I am the Lord your God,' I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations,

and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.'

"Son of man, give the prince of Tyre this message from the Sovereign Lord : "In your great pride you claim, ‘I am a god! I sit on a divine throne in the heart of the sea.' But you are only a man and not a god, though you boast that you are a god.

"Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Because you think you are as wise as a god,

Will you then boast, ‘I am a god!' to those who kill you? To them you will be no god but merely a man!

You were in Eden, the garden of God. Your clothing was adorned with every precious stone— red carnelian, pale-green peridot, white moonstone, blue-green beryl, onyx, green jasper, blue lapis lazuli, turquoise, and emerald— all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created.

I ordained and anointed you as the mighty angelic guardian. You had access to the holy mountain of God and walked among the stones of fire.

Your rich commerce led you to violence, and you sinned. So I banished you in disgrace from the mountain of God. I expelled you, O mighty guardian, from your place among the stones of fire.

They will live safely in Israel and build homes and plant vineyards. And when I punish the neighboring nations that treated them with contempt, they will know that I am the Lord their God."

No other cedar in the garden of God could rival it. No cypress had branches to equal it; no plane tree had boughs to compare. No tree in the garden of God came close to it in beauty.