Letting Down Our Wings

I was intrigued the other morning when I read this passage describing Ezekiel's vision. ”As they [four living beings] flew, their wings sounded to me like waves crashing against the shore or like the voice of the Almighty or like the shouting of a mighty army. When they stopped, they let down their wings. As they stood with wings lowered, a voice spoke from beyond the crystal surface above them." (Ezekiel 1:24, 25)

Bees, dragonflies, mosquitoes, and other insects make a great deal of noise with the vibration of their wings, sometimes buzzing very annoyingly. Some birds, too—quails, for example--make a notable whirring sound when they are flushed up from their nests on the ground. Although humans don't have wings, how do you suppose we came up with the expression "busy as a bee"? Surely it must indicate the great stir created as we "fly" from one task to another, first this activity and then the next. We make a great deal of noise, both externally and within, as we buzz about.

The creatures that Ezekiel described ceased their flying about—and it was a most unusual ability that they exhibited—when God was ready to speak. They stood quietly, their wings folded, paying attention. What do you suppose would happen if, on a regular basis, we let down our wings and listened to the voice from above?

MaryMartha

Scripture quotation from The Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. United States of America. All rights reserved.

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/