Recently I had three separate people, in three distinct settings begin a thought with, "If I were a bird."
Bizarre, right? At the first comment, I began to joyfully hear Nelly Furtado's "I'm Like a Bird" song in my head. By the third comment, in a matter of just forty-eight hours, I was curious. I could not recall ever hearing anyone share such a thought before, and then to have a few in a short matter of time had me wondering. Seemed either an odd coincidence or God was getting my attention.
Just as I was pondering my options a new worship song came across my feed, "If I Were a Bird" by Mission House. Turns out the song is at least two years old but it was new to me. Right then and there, I opted for the “God was speaking” to me option.
I have a dear friend who, not long ago, received a prophetic word that she is like an indigo bunting. The name itself seems fitting for my beautiful confidant, but the unique details of the fowl reveal the uncanny similarities to my pal! Driving down the road while listening to the worship song, I was reminded of her story when suddenly, I heard, "She understands me as an eagle, I want you to understand me as ox."
This word from the Lord blew me away. I was familiar with the scriptures in Ezekiel and Revelation that refer to the heavenly visions of the lion, ox, man, and eagle, but these marked sections of the Bible were not my area of expertise. What does understanding God as an ox even mean?
The first chapter of Ezekiel is interesting to say the least. Ezekiel's eyes are opened to an intense spiritual scene while he is in exile. What Ezekiel described is like a human with ox feet, wings, and four faces. The face of a man was in the front, the lion faced the right side, the ox faced the left side, and the eagle faced the back. Weird, huh?
Verse 12 struck me, "And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went." (AMP)
There was lots going on in the vision but I was interested in the fact that the living creatures followed the Spirit of God. The scripture went on to describe huge wheels that move with the beings. The spectacle is surprising and spectral. In the midst of the awesome and awful experience, Ezekiel is commissioned to go to the people of Israel.
John's vision recorded in the book of Revelation closely matches Ezekiel's vision. Worship is what distinguished John's encounter. We are told that the creatures never stop saying, "Holy, Holy, Holy [is the] Lord God, The Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all], who was and who is and who is to come [the unchanging eternal God]." (AMP)
At the praises of the four creatures, the twenty-four elders fall down and throw their crowns at the feet of God, in worship.
Consider reading for yourself the two similar accounts of men who come into contact with the spirit realm. I am guessing you will have questions of your own after reading them.
Proverbs 25:2 tells us, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out the matter.” (AMP) This "king" shall continue to search for the meaning of God's words to me. I will share what else I discover next week.
Until then. . .
The Season of the Ox
Last week we were given thick imagery in both Ezekiel and Revelation of what is going on in heaven in regard to the four living creatures. If you are like me, you have questions.
Most scholars believe the four creatures represent the four gospels.
The man is believed to represent the Gospel of Matthew because the book begins with Jesus' genealogy as a human.
Mark can be symbolized by the lion. The book of Mark starts off not with Jesus but His forerunner, John the Baptist who was like a roaring lion. The seed that grows by itself (Mark 2:26-29) is only mentioned in the Gospel of Mark. This idea peers back to the garden where vegetation grew without toil and man had dominion. The "king of the jungle" easily encapsulates ideas of dominance.
Luke is the only gospel that details Jesus' birth and infancy. Labor is painful and the mother sacrifices herself for new life. The Gospel of Luke is depicted by an ox because of all the gospels, Luke focuses the most on the sacrificial character of Jesus and oxen were used in the Temple sacrifices.
The Gospel of John is portrayed by the eagle. John emphasized Jesus as lovingly caring for Israel and His people. Exodus 19 described God as delivering the Israelites out of Egypt as on eagle's wings. Eagles are an expression of the prophetic because of the eagle's higher perspective.
Some theologians believe that the four creatures symbolize God's divine timeline. First was the time of priests and sacrifices (ox), secondly was the time of kings (lion), then the time of prophets (eagle), and finally the Messiah (man).
When I think of an ox, I think of carrying a heavy load. Matthew teaches us that the Lord has rest for the weary. In this passage Jesus is inviting all to come to Him and take His yoke and learn from Him.
At the beginning of the year, I was given the word “render.” You might be surprised that render has six meanings. While I was looking up the definition my bathroom plaster was being replaced and one of the meanings is “cover stone or brick with a coat of plaster.” The definition served as an ironclad confirmation. At the time, the definition which felt the most significant was “melt down.”
Now, almost six months later, the Lord reveals Himself as an ox. The sacrificial, burned on the alter, burden carrying ox.
Have you ever been rendered by the Lord? I have gone through a stripping season before but it dealt with sin and the things of the world. This time the removal is of the dreams God has given me over the years.
Why would God call me or anyone to die to dreams that He Himself birthed?
There are a few reasons. For one, I may have gotten a dream from God but started “making it happen” out of my own strength instead of relying on God’s Spirit. I may have also taken up a dream that I was never meant to hold onto which could be hindering God’s actual plans.
It may just be that God is jealous and I have made my God-dreams into idols before Him. Another option is that He just wants me to be like the twenty-four elders and throw my crowns at His feet. It could be a little of all those possibilities or fully all of them.
I was surprised to learn that oxen are often castrated to remove their aggression which makes them more submissive for labor. If that doesn't preach, I don't know what does.
While I may not have to figure it all out, I believe that I do need to surrender my dreams to God on a new level. The ox symbolizes ultimate surrender and dying to the flesh for God.
How would you describe the season of life you are currently in? Do you connect with God to processes the ever changes stages of life? Are you learning the lessons God has for you at this time in your life?
Comments
Post a Comment