Weekly Meditation

In the Bible, lapis lazuli is closely linked to God's heavenly throne, divine splendor, and precious beauty. While many older English translations use the word "sapphire," biblical scholars and lexicons note that the original Hebrew word sappīr most often refers to deep-blue lapis lazuli flecked with gold. 

In Exodus 24:10: When Moses and the elders of Israel went up Mount Sinai and saw the God of Israel, they described a brilliant surface "under his feet" made of clear, sky-blue lapis lazuli.

Ezekiel 1:26 and 10:1: The prophet Ezekiel describes the appearance of the expanse over the heads of the cherubim—and the very throne of God—looking like a sparkling stone of lapis lazuli. 

Lapis lazuli means wisdom, truth, and spiritual enlightenment and symbolizes heavenly splendor, the very presence and throne of God, and divine law. 

John’s vision is reminiscent of that of the prophet Ezekiel, who saw “something that looked like a throne made of blue lapis lazuli. And on this throne high above was a figure whose appearance resembled a man. From what appeared to be his waist up, he looked like gleaming amber, flickering like a fire. And from his waist down, he looked like a burning flame, shining with splendor. All around him was a glowing halo, like a rainbow shining in the clouds on a rainy day. This is what the glory of the Lord looked like to me. When I saw it, I fell face down on the ground” (Ezekiel 1:26–28, NLT).