It’s a strange question to ask when you first come to Ezekiel 1. Ezekiel is a priest who has been carried away from Jerusalem into exile. He is far from home, far from the temple, and far from the life he expected to have. And then something astonishing happens:
“The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” (Ezekiel 1:1)
God’s glory appears to Ezekiel—not in Jerusalem, but in Babylon.
Why? Because God had gone with his people into exile.
Israel’s exile was not an accident. It was the consequence of their rebellion against God. They had sinned against him, and God’s judgment was real. But even in judgment, God did not abandon them.
He went with them.
That is one of the remarkable truths Ezekiel wants us to see. God’s glory is not confined to a building. His presence is not limited to a particular place. Israel may have been far from Jerusalem, but they were not beyond the reach of God.
In fact, Ezekiel discovers God precisely where he might least expect to find him.
There is something comforting about that.
Sometimes we assume that difficult circumstances must mean God has left us. We find ourselves in our own kind of “Babylon”—a place we didn’t choose, a circumstance we didn’t expect, a season of suffering, disappointment, loss, or uncertainty—and we wonder, Where is God?
Ezekiel reminds us that our circumstances do not determine God’s presence.
You may be in a place you never wanted to go, but you are not beyond the reach of God.
You may feel far from where you thought your life would be, but God has not moved.
You may not understand what God is doing, but the throne is still occupied.
And there is an even greater reason for hope.
The God who went with his people into Babylon ultimately came into our world.
He did not remain distant from our suffering and rebellion. In Jesus Christ, God came near. He entered our brokenness, took upon himself the judgment we deserved, and came to bring us home.
The God who pursued his people into Babylon has pursued us all the way to the cross.
We ran from God, but God came looking for us.
We deserved exile, but God came into our exile to bring us home.
This is the kind of God we have.
A God whose glory cannot be confined.
A God who remains faithful when his people are faithless.
A God who does not abandon his people in their darkest places.
And a God who, in Christ, has come all the way to us.
So perhaps the question for us is not simply, “Why am I here?”
Perhaps the better question is, “Where is God?”
Ezekiel gives us the answer.
He is still on the throne.
He is still glorious.
And he is still with his people.
For further study:
I’ve put together some background notes on the book of Ezekiel to orient you to this amazing book of the Bible.
