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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 1:1

Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ezekiel 1:1

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I [was] among the captives by the river of Chebar, [that] the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

FIRST DIVISION, CH. 1 24, PROPHECIES OF THE DESTRUCTION OF THE KINGDOM

First Section. Ch. 1 3:21

The section consists of two divisions: First, Ch. 1 inaugural vision of Jehovah; second, Ch. 2 3:21, the various steps by which Jehovah, thus seen, initiated the prophet into his work.

The inaugural vision Ch. 1. has two parts; (1) Eze 1:1-3, definition of the time and place of the appearance of the vision of God; and (2) Eze 1:4-28, description of the vision itself, with its influence upon the prophet. 1 3. The manifestation of Jehovah was made to the prophet in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, and in the midst of the captives by the river Chebar ( Eze 1:1); or, it was on the fifth of the month, in the fifth year of the captivity of king Jehoiachin, and in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar ( Eze 1:2-3). Eze 1:1-3 appear to contain two superscriptions, one in Eze 1:1, in which the prophet speaks in the first person, and which is syntactically connected with Eze 1:4 seq.; and one in Eze 1:2-3, in which the prophet is spoken of, his name and descent and priestly rank stated, and the thirtieth year of Eze 1:1 identified with the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin. The language in Eze 1:1 is precisely similar to almost all the other specifications of time in the Book, e.g. Eze 8:1, Eze 20:1, Eze 24:1, Eze 26:1 Eze 29:1; Eze 29:17, Eze 30:20, Eze 31:1, Eze 32:1; Eze 32:17, Eze 33:21, Eze 40:1. In two cases the phrase “and it came to pass” is not used (Eze 29:1, Eze 40:1). If the verse stood alone the natural inference from the other dates would be that the year was the thirtieth of Jehoiachin’s captivity, as in other cases, or as it is put in two instances “our captivity” (Eze 33:21, Eze 40:1). The latest date mentioned in the Book is the 27th year of the captivity (Eze 29:17), and it has been conjectured that Eze 1:1 refers to another prophecy or vision three years later, and that Eze 1:2-3 form the real heading. Against this, however, is (1) that the specification of circumstances and place in Eze 1:1 is natural in an introductory statement, but not to be expected in any other. In point of fact it nowhere occurs after the introductory visions by which the prophet received his commission, except in references to these visions (Eze 10:15; Eze 10:20; Eze 10:22, Eze 43:3). And (2) the words “which was the fifth year” Eze 1:2 evidently refer to some year already mentioned, which is now said to coincide with the fifth of Jehoiachin’s captivity. The two parts of the superscription are awkwardly connected, but neither of them can be wanted, though it is quite possible that they do not appear in their original form.

The thirtieth year might refer to some event or era from which Ezekiel reckoned. (1) As such an event the discovery of the Book of the Law and Josiah’s consequent reformation of worship (621 b.c.) already occurred to the Chaldee translator. Between this date and 592, the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity there is a period of 29 years. There is, however, no other instance of such a kind of reckoning, nor any evidence that the discovery in Josiah’s eighteenth year was ever regarded as an era. (2) That the prophet should refer to a Babylonian era is quite possible, seeing he lived in Babylonia. But no such era has been discovered. The beginning of the reign of Nabopolassar, when Babylon became independent of Assyria, is usually dated in 625; and the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity would be the thirty-third year of such an era. (3) It is possible that the prophet might refer to the year of his own age. The conjecture that Ezekiel, being a priest, would have entered upon office in his thirtieth year, and that his prophetic call coincided with this date, has little to support it, as the age at which priests might undertake office is nowhere fixed in the Law; and the reference to the year of the prophet’s age in Eze 1:1 would be extremely unnatural. Neither is there much probability in the suggestion (Klostermann, Stud. u. Krit. 1877) that Eze 1:1 is a fragment of a longer passage in which the prophet’s history before his call was narrated. In such a case reference to the thirtieth year of his age would certainly lose its strangeness, but such a history would be without example, as a prophet’s life always opens with his call.

the river of Chebar ] Not to be identified with the Chabor (2Ki 17:6) which falls into the Euphrates at Circesium. More probably the Chebar was some stream much further south in Babylonia proper (2Ki 24:15; Jer 29:15; Jer 29:20).

heavens were opened ] In his trance the prophet saw the heavens opened ( Eze 1:3).

visions of God ] Might be visions given by God, or visions in which God was seen. The expression is probably to be taken somewhat generally, as meaning heavenly or divine visions (Eze 8:3).

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

The thirtieth year – being closely connected with as I, is rather in favor of considering this a personal date. It is not improbable that Ezekiel was called to his office at the age prescribed in the Law for Levites Num 4:23, Num 4:30, at which age both John the Baptist and our Lord began their ministry. His call is probably to be connected with the letter sent by Jeremiah to the captives Jer. 29 written a few months previously. Some reckon this date from the accession of Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, 625 b.c., and suppose that Ezekiel here gives a Babylonian, as in Eze 1:2 a Jewish, date; but it is not certain that this accession formed an era in Babylon and Ezekiel does not elsewhere give a double date, or even a Babylonian date. Others date from the 18th year of Josiah, when Hilkiah discovered the Book of the Law (supposed to be a jubilee year): this would give 594 b.c. as the 30th year, but there is no other instance in Ezekiel of reckoning from this year.

The captives – Not in confinement, but restricted to the place of their settlement.

The fourth month – Month is not expressed in the original. This is the common method. Before the captivity the months were described not by proper names but by their order, the first, the second, etc.; the first month corresponding nearly with our April. After the captivity, the Jews brought back with them the proper names of the months, Nisan etc. (probably those used in Chaldaea).

Chebar – The modern Khabour rises near Nisibis and flows into the Euphrates near Kerkesiah, 200 miles north of Babylon.

Visions of God – The exposition of the fundamental principles of the existence and nature of a Supreme God, and of the created angels, was called by the rabbis the Matter of the Chariot (compare 1Ch 28:18) in reference to the form of Ezekiels vision of the Almighty; and the subject was deemed so mysterious as to call for special caution in its study. The vision must be compared with other manifestations of the divine glory Exo. 3; Exo 24:10; Isa 6:1; Dan 7:9; Rev 4:2. Each of these visions has some of the outward signs or symbols here recorded. If we examine these symbols we shall find them to fall readily into two classes,

(1) Those which we employ in common with the writers of all ages and countries. Gold, sapphire, burnished brass, the terrible crystal are familiar images of majestic glory, thunders, lightnings and the rushing storm of awful power. But

(2) We come to images to our minds strange and almost grotesque. That the Four Living Creatures had their groundwork in the cherubim there can be no doubt. And yet their shapes were very different. Because they were symbols not likenesses, they could yet be the same though their appearance was varied.

Of what are they symbolic? They may, according to the Talmudists, have symbolized orders of Angels and not persons; according to others they were figures of the Four Gospels actuated by one spirit spread over the four quarters of the globe, upon which, as on pillars, the Church is borne up, and over whom the Word of God sits enthroned. The general scope of the vision gives the best interpretation of the meaning.

Ezekiel saw the likeness of the glory of God. Here His glory is manifested in the works of creation; and as light and fire, lightning and cloud, are the usual marks which in inanimate creation betoken the presence of God Psa 18:6-14 – so the four living ones symbolize animate creation. The forms are typical, the lion and the ox of the beasts of the field (wild and tame), the eagle of the birds of the air, while man is the rational being supreme upon the earth. And the human type predominates over all, and gives character and unity to the four, who thus form one creation. Further, these four represent the constitutive parts of mans nature: the ox (the animal of sacrifice), his faculty of suffering; the lion (the king of beasts), his faculty of ruling; the eagle (of keen eye and soaring wing), his faculty of imagination; the man, his spiritual faculty, which actuates all the rest.

Christ is the Perfect Man, so these four in their perfect harmony typify Him who came to earth to do His Fathers will; and as man is lord in the kingdom of nature, so is Christ Lord in the kingdom of grace. The wings represent the power by which all creation rises and falls at Gods will; the one spirit, the unity and harmony of His works; the free motion in all directions, the universality of His Providence. The number four is the symbol of the world with its four quarters; the veiled bodies, the inability of all creatures to stand in the presence of God; the noise of the wings, the testimony borne by creation to God Psa 19:1-3; the wheels connect the vision with the earth, the wings with heaven, while above them is the throne of God in heaven. Since the eye of the seer is turned upward, the lines of the vision become less distinct. It is as if he were struggling against the impossibility of expressing in words the object of his vision: yet on the summit of the throne is He who can only be described as, in some sort, the form of a man. That Yahweh, the eternal God, is spoken of, we cannot doubt; and such passages as Col 1:15; Heb 1:3; Joh 1:14; Joh 12:41, justify us in maintaining that the revelation of the divine glory here made to Ezekiel has its consummation or fulfillment in the person of Christ, the only-begotten of God (compare Rev 1:17-18).

The vision in the opening chapter of Ezekiel is in the most general form – the manifestation of the glory of the living God. It is repeated more than once in the course of the book (compare Eze 8:2, Eze 8:4; Eze 9:3; 10; Eze 11:22; Eze 40:3). The person manifested is always the same, but the form of the vision is modified according to special circumstances of time and place.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Eze 1:1-3

The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

Gods care of His Church

1. God is not tied to places. He can in a dungeon, in a prison, in a Babylon, let down His Spirit into the heart of any servant of His, and raise him to a prophetical height.

2. No place is so wicked but God can raise up instruments to do Him and the Church service there.

3. See here a door open for the enlargement of the Church, a type of Gods goodness toward the Gentiles.

4. The godly are wrapped up in the same calamity with the wicked. Ezekiel is among the captives.

5. The godly are mingled in this world with the wicked and profane.

6. God hath a special care of His Church and people, when they are in the lowest and worst condition. They shall have a prophet, though in Babylon.

7. Take heed of judging the condition of men by their outward afflictions. Those that are in great affliction may be greatly beloved, when those who are in great prosperity may be greatly hated.

8. The wicked fare the better for the godly. (W. Green Hill, M. A.)

Visions of God

Observe the nature of the prophets preparation for his work. It was not an outward call; it was not a visible stamp of authority or office given to him that men might see–he had that as priest before he was called to be a prophet; but it was that secret vision of God, it was that unseen speech of his soul with the Spirit of his God and of the Spirit of God with his soul that he could never demonstrate or prove to other men. That for them might be a dream of dreams, a visionary record of what never happened; but for Him from that hour it was the most real of all realities–a living voice through all his life, that shaped and coloured it long after, and that drove him forth amongst his fellow men, now to speak to them, as he tells us, in the bitterness of his spirit, and now under the burden of the Lord to sit down astonished and silent with them in their sorrow; but that made him a new, a different man for the rest of his life–from the moment that he saw and heard those visions of God and the voice of God within them. This was the secret preparation of the prophet for the prophets work, and this is just that hidden preparation for Gods work amongst men which our Church distinctly recognises the necessity of in all those who seek her ministry, while she as distinctly recognises the need for the outward and visible call. The outward call does not do away with the need of the inward voice and calling, nor does the inward voice and preparation supersede the need of the outward call and mission. It was not so in Ezekiels case. The one joined itself on to and grew out of the other. When Ezekiel the priest was called by this hidden and overmastering voice of God, when he was called to do a special prophets work, it was not an unknown God whose glory he was bid to see; it was the God of his fathers, the God who had formed and organised the Jewish Church and the Jewish priesthood of which Ezekiel was a member. And the voice which bid him go was not to him an unknown voice; it was a voice that had led his ancestors through the wilderness, that had spoken to them Gods law from Sinai, and the very visions of glory that he beheld weaved themselves out of and grew, as it were, out of the priests memory of the worship of the temple. The inward call sprang out of, joined itself to, rose naturally, and all the more forcibly out of the outward position and the outward calling of the man. And so is it in all settled and orderly churches. Yes; this is the true preparation and the true mission of him who would be a prophet, a speaker for God amongst the sons of men. He must be, if he is to be a successful prophet for God, a man who has seen God for himself; he must be a man who has had that vision of God that none can see but each man for himself. There are visions of God that all men may have, and may have in common together. There are visions, for instance, which we may speak of as the reflective visions of God–visions of God in the glories of Nature; visions of God in the marvels of history and of Providence; visions of God in the revelation of His Word; visions of God in the worship and sacraments of the sanctuary; but there is one vision more, one hour of vision which should come to each man, if it were but once in his life, and woe to him who claims to be a prophet for God who has not seen that vision and passed through that hour when, the man lifting himself or lifted up above the low, and mean, and poor surroundings of the daily world in which he lives, with its strife, with its sorrows, with its cares, with its business, with its seductions, and rising high above these to the very heavens where the Lord dwells, sees God for himself, hears Gods voice speaking to him as His, and claiming him for His, and gives himself in answering offer, and gives himself to God and says, O Lord, here am I; send me to do Thy work amongst men: make of me Thine instrument and Thy servant, and give me the great glory of serving Thee, and telling Thy words in the ears of Thy people. The mission of the national Church is not first and before all things to be popular. It is first and before all things to be faithful to speak the living Word of the living God, as she learned it in her visions of God. Men seem to forget this great truth nowadays, and men seem with a faithless and an anxious timidity only eager to make the Church popular, and to make her popular with the masses, and many are the counsellors and various the advice that the Church is enjoying at this moment as to how she shall make herself popular and successful. Again, there are those who would have us trust to the attractiveness of our sanctuaries and the beauty of our worship, and who tell us we shall win the masses and the people back to our deserted churches, if only we will have bright and hearty services and beautiful aesthetic churches, and all that is charming and attractive to win the senses of the multitude. You are beginning at the wrong end when you strive to win the masses to God with attractive services. Make men feel their need of the services; make men understand that when they come to the house of God they come there that they may see visions of God, see the glory of the Lord, hear His voice, learn His will, offer Him their homage and their respect; make men thus feel their need of the worship of the sanctuary, and they will come whether the sanctuary be beautiful or not, and if they come for the beauty of the sanctuary, they are degrading it by an unreal worship, unless they come for the glory of Him whom they should seek to meet there. What the Church needs for her work now is what she has always needed–men whose hearts are filled with visions of the living God, and with a firm faith in this–that He has given them a work to do, a message to speak amongst their fellow men, and the thought of that burns as a very fire in their bones, and they cannot keep back from speaking Gods message and Gods word of life amongst their suffering fellow citizens and fellow countrymen. Their hearts are moved by the thought that they have to go out amongst them of their captivity, though they feel it to be a rebellious house. They have to go out to people tied and bound in the chains of their sins, as they lie without the limits of the kingdom of Christ. (Archbishop Magee.)

Visions of God

1. Thoughts of heaven must receive their character from views of God. If we could see into heaven and did not see signs of God there, we should remain in spiritual darkness. We must pass into the house to perceive the householder. All beliefs of our interest in the heavens will be blighted unless they are steps on our way to know we have a living, almighty, perfect Friend.

2. All true views of God are given by God. He alone opens the inward eyes and presents the aspects He wants to reveal. He may open them through some outward impulse, or by action on the heart, but in either case the ripple of sensational life is hushed by the flow of a grander life, and the reasoning faculty stands still, waiting to know what it shall receive. Then, as the light air comes to a hanging leaf and stirs it, as a fathers love and wisdom come to an erring child and prompt to confession, so the subject of visions of God knows that God has affected him–that God alone could accomplish that which has happened to him.

3. Visions of God require a conscious apprehension by men. Men can look upwards or downwards, outward or inward; but they may shut their eyes, So they decide whether they will see the things of God or not–whether they will accept the fuller manifestations of God or not.

4. Various aspects of God are presented. Wonderful in number and variety are the views which God has provided for willing hearts. They are new every morning. (D. G. Watt, M. A.)

Visions of God

Seasons of illumination are granted to men; moments of intellectual or spiritual insight in which they obtain deeper knowledge of the mysteries of life, than in years of laboured activities. Life is conditioned by depth more than by length of days. The current of history may be changed in a day, the geography of a continent is determined by the achievements of one day. God works in moments, and when the heavens are opened and visions of God are granted to men, the day becomes a creative epoch, from which they date their redemption. The momentum of that day will not be exhausted for generations. That one day of spiritual illumination has lighted up the dark passages of centuries, and the glory of the vision has dispersed forever the gloom of the captivity. The vision by Chebar is not the solitary experience of Ezekiel. God makes Midian the training ground of Israels emancipator, and the hills of Bethlehem for Israels greatest king, and Jesus lived in Nazareth. The minimum of opportunity yields the maximum of results. Men have visions of God in coal mines as well as in cathedrals. The prophet in exile makes the disadvantages of his position tributary to his highest successes. The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. Visions of God are only possible when the heavens are opened. Heaven is the source of all illumination, more revelations are given to this world than discoveries made in it. Stars and suns are set aside, that the prophet may see God. It is a moment never to be forgotten when God appears in unveiled splendour. It becomes imperative at times that our faith be established by visions of God. Crises in our personal history have called for special revelations. Such was the captivity to Israel. We need the vision in captivity more than in our native land, with its temples and its priests. Israel thought that God had forsaken them; the vision proved that they had forsaken God. The way of communication between heaven and earth was still open. The hope of the race lies in the unbroken connection between heaven and earth, and the opening heavens in times of great peril proclaim that God lives and loves. Chebar has become a river of life, and the exile the gate of heaven. (G. T. Newton.)

Visions of God

To impart to man some degree of religious sensibility, it seems only necessary to lead him to a consideration of himself. Teach him to examine his own nature, to look a little into the wonderful mechanism which is going on in his own breast, and there will be found one of the most effectual means of awakening him to a real sense of the true character of his existence, and of the high and exalted relations which that existence sustains. Next, from the consideration of himself, let him turn to the consideration of the wonderful works existing out of himself. Let him look around on the green earth, with all its diversities of hill and dale, and wood and water, and sunshine and shade; and then from the plains below, let him look up to the canopy above, bright with stars and burning with suns,–and there will be seen visions of God, visions of power, wisdom, and goodness transcending his utmost powers to measure and fathom. By consciousness and observation we know how different a being a man generally is from what, considering his nature and destiny, we might reasonably expect him to be. Look at him, pursuing with passionate interest today what tomorrow will have passed into utter oblivion; now entering into contests where victory will bring no honour, and then striving after possessions whose acquirement will confer no happiness. View man in this situation and under these circumstances, and then remember that this is a being whose days upon earth are rapidly coming to an end; that he is born for eternity, for which he is here to prepare himself; and that that preparation, though embracing the interests of futurity, is also most conducive to the best enjoyment of the present,–and nothing can account for the course of conduct which he so often pursues, but that moral insensibility and stupor into which his connection with the world imperceptibly betrays him. In the first and early period of our existence, it is our nature to be governed chiefly by sensible impressions. Our thoughts, our wishes, our enjoyments, all lie within a narrow boundary. As we advance in years, our views extend, our hopes are expanded, our expectations are enlarged. We think more of what shall be and of what may be. Our happiness is more bound up with internal feelings, apprehensions, hopes, and anticipations. Hence arises one of the great advantages attending the good, that in their minds the thoughts and feelings connected with the future must necessarily be of a far brighter and happier description than those which are experienced by persons of an opposite character. It is, however, scarcely possible at the present moment for the best of our race to regard the course of human affairs without observing much to trouble and perplex them. Often will the spirit of the thoughtful and humane faint within him at the recollection of the magnitude and extent of the distresses and afflictions that have their residence on earth. For a moment he may feel as if his faith and piety were giving way; but deeper reflection comes to his aid, and restores him to confidence and hope. Visions of God rise up before his mind, and in those visions he sees the hand of Omnipotence stretched out over the angry and tempestuous waves of mortality, and bidding them into stillness and peace. In spite, then, of the difficulties by which we are surrounded, and notwithstanding the distressing occurrences that present themselves from day to day, the Christian believer will not let go his conviction that all is under the benignant care of a wise and merciful Providence, and will eventually be made to terminate in the establishment of truth and righteousness. He pretends not to dive into the depths of the Divine counsels. Knowing how absurd it would be to expect that he, who is but of yesterday, should be able to interpret the plans and proceedings of Him whose goings forth have been from of old, even from everlasting to everlasting, he submits in reverential silence to what appears most inscrutable and mysterious, believing and trusting that, as the government of human affairs is in the hands of the same Being who first made man a living soul and breathed into him the breath of life, it cannot but tend to a blessed and happy consummation. The more he reflects on all this, the more satisfied does he feel that the Author of his existence cannot be indifferent to the workmanship of His own hands, to the offspring of His own benevolence, and that whatever appearances there are which seem to imply the contrary, are only appearances, and melt away at the touchstone of examination, like midnight vapours at the approach of day. In the midst of our labours and duties, harassed perhaps by care, wearied with trouble, trembling with apprehension, our safety, our strength, our consolation will be best sought and obtained in those retirements of the soul when the veil is removed, and our eyes are opened to see visions of God. (T. Madge.)

Visions of God


I. Thy seer of the visions.

1. A priest. Of all men, they who minister to others in spiritual things need first to have their own visions of God. A spiritually-blind priest can only give dead, formal, perfunctory service.

2. A prophet. The prophet must first be a seer. No one can speak for God who has not first heard the voice of God or seen the glory of His truth.


II. The time of the visions. Early maturity–thirty years old.

1. After years of preparation.

2. Before a life of work.


III. The circumstances of the visions.

1. Ezekiel was among the captives.

(1) Banished from his native land; but not from God.

(2) Surrounded by sorrowful men among the captives. Atmosphere depressing. Yet light of heaven broke through it.

(3) Himself a captive. Trouble revealed the need of God, and invited His gracious help.

2. Ezekiel was by the river Chebar. In a quiet scene of nature. God is in the broad earth as surely as in any temple.


IV. The source of the visions.

1. From heaven. Then the prophet must look up. There is a spiritual astronomy which claims our study as much as the facts of man and earth.

2. Through the opening of heaven. God must reveal Himself. Revelation is the rolling back of the curtain, opening the gates of the unseen.


V. The nature of the visions. Seeing some rays of the Divine glory, some fringe of the robe of the Almighty. This is the highest of all visions. We can see it in the human countenance of Jesus. (W. F. Adeney, M. A.)

Vision and duty

(with Isa 6:1 and Act 26:19):–These three incidents to which our texts refer have some significant characteristics. In the case of each man, this vision of God was his call to the prophetic or apostolic office, not to a short season of special service. Moreover, each is related with the purpose of justifying the speakers conduct. The position of this vision in Isaiahs book is very significant. He has begun to prophesy and had spoken many things in the hearing of the people. They would not heed him but bade him be silent. He tells the story of his call, and says to them and to himself, I must speak. I am not my own master. I have seen the Lord of hosts, and He said, Go. I cannot get behind or away from that vision. Very similar are the circumstances under which the prophet Ezekiel tells his story. It is quite obvious, from the opening chapters of his book, that he shrank from the task of preaching to the exiles. But he could not help himself. Whether they hear or whether they forbear, speak he must, for he too has been told by God to go. So he relates what he saw when God appeared to him, and that must silence every qualm and query. Paul, too, is on his defence. Worldly people who recognise his genius, but pity his apparent sacrifice, and enemies who are conscience-stricken by his words are trying to silence that eloquent tongue. But he meets all their threats and entreaties with the unanswerable argument, The risen Lord appeared to me. I had a vision, and I dare not be disobedient to that.


I. The imperative constraint of a vision of God. We are all familiar with the fact that every life of successful achievement must be the result of concentration. The natural tendency is for the elements of our life to fly off at a tangent, and there must be some centripetal force which will keep them circling round the centre if any work is going to be done. We need to come under the unifying influence of a dominant purpose which shall weld the elements into a homogeneous whole; otherwise there will be discord and dissension. No man can build up a colossal business, or become a successful artist, or secure lasting fame in literature, who does not feel the spell of this purpose and walk under its constraint. Now, the most powerful constraint which can fall upon any man is that due to a vision of God. By that I do not mean just a belief in the existence of a Divine Being. A man may believe so far and be practically unaffected by his belief. It was something very far removed from a mere intellectual assent which transformed the lives of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Paul. The attempts to describe what each saw vary immensely, and show wide differences of literary ability. No one would put Isaiahs majestic chapter and Ezekiels rather involved and labouring effort upon the same plane of literary merit. But Isaiah and Ezekiel and Paul are all attempting to describe a very real vision. Each knew that God had come into his life. For note the similarity of the immediate effects. Isaiah felt the whole building to tremble and the air seemed filled with the hissing steam which is emitted when fire and water mingle. He could only cry out in terror, Woe is me. Ezekiel fell upon his face before the appearance of the glory of the Lord, and then went away and sat amongst the captives for seven days dazed and astonished. Paul was stunned, blinded, smitten to the ground, and was led helpless into Damascus. And the ultimate consequences were similar also. And each man explains his conduct by declaring that he is under the imperative constraint of the vision of God. He dare not be disobedient to that. Nothing but death can break its spell. The vision of God will constrain us very powerfully! It will brook no disobedience. It will be more imperious than the dictates of prudence and of propriety. It will explain all our enthusiasm which the man who has never seen God cannot understand. There is no other influence which is powerful enough to oppose the disintegrating force of self-love and self-will within us, and to unite our hearts in the service of a true religion. Mere intellectual assent to dogmas about a divinity will not constrain us to forsake sin. Ceremonials and forms of worship cannot redeem us from callousness in worship and in conduct. The forces within us smite such barriers aside or leap over them at once. How noteworthy it is that in these three cases the ritual of the Jewish religion in which they had been trained is forgotten! There is no priest in the temple in which Isaiah stands, and no sacrifice is offered. Ezekiel the priest sees the glory of God as he sits in the plains by Babylons river. Saul, the punctilious and phylacteried Pharisee, meets Jesus face to face on the lonely road near Damascus. For years each man had been familiar with the most suggestive ritual which the world ever possessed, and it had only touched the surface: it had only succeeded in making them moral. It was the vision of God which revolutionised their life, making their nature reel to its foundations and turning the river of their energy into another channel. All devoted lives have been inspired by a vision of God, and not by the sight of a temple; by appropriation of the sacrificial offering, and not by kneeling before an altar. We shall only be blacklegs or hangers on, men called in to fill an emergency, if we depend for our inspiration upon anything less than a vivid personal experience of God. But is it possible for us to have a vision of God? According to the teaching of Jesus Christ, it is. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. He that hath seen Me, hath seen the Father. It is possible for us to have an encounter with the Divine Person; to feel the contact between His Spirit and ours; to stand amidst a busy world and to be oblivious to all, whilst we gaze with entranced souls upon the flashing glory of God. But this is not to be a solitary experience casting a spell over succeeding years. Verily the time when the Lord of Glory first came to our side will be the epoch from which we reckon time. But if we see God in the face of Jesus Christ, He is with us always, even unto the end. Am I wrong in interpreting the emotions which sometimes surge in our hearts as a kind of envy of those men who received such a call to the ministry as came to these three servants of God? We urge ourselves on with a whip into which the cords of duty, of necessity, of reward, are lashed; but it is painful progress. We wish that our rapt eyes might see the Lord upon a throne high and lifted up, or a flaming glory borne by wheels full of eyes, or that some blinding light from heaven might enfold us in its passionate embrace. Is it not blessedly possible for us to have such a vision of God as never gladdened the eyes of Isaiah or Ezekiel? There is one significant difference between the apology of Paul and that of the earlier prophets. They are seeking partly to satisfy their own hearts and quiet the storm within; they fell back upon their vision as the justification to themselves. Paul has no misgivings within to hush! Why not? Because the vision of God is for him constant. It cannot fade as did that given to Isaiah! The Christian man lives in the Divine presence. There is no necessity for us to travel back along the road to some sacred spot marked by its altar. The place where we are standing now may be the place of vision. And we have to practise the presence of God!


II. The contents of our vision of God determine the limitation of our work. Isaiah sees God exalted upon a throne, with sweeping robes filling the temple, before whom the cherubim veil their faces and the choirs of heaven chant Holy, and the smitten prophet cries, I am unclean. This is a vision of God as exalted in righteousness. It is the moral supremacy of Jehovah over against the sin of Israel which fills the vision of Isaiah. It is different with the vision granted to Ezekiel. He gazes upon a blazing glory, which is supported by the cherubim, and which moves throughout the world with the swiftness of lightning upon the wheels full of eyes. Obviously this is God as sovereign in nature and history; this is God as omnipresent and omnipotent, governing the councils of the nations and ruling over all. I do not mean that Isaiah and Ezekiel saw only this. Isaiah knew of Gods omnipotence, for the whole earth is full of His glory. Ezekiel understood Gods moral supremacy; but the over, powering conception of God of the two visions is different. Now see what a connection there is between the dominant idea of God in the vision, and the work which each man has to do. Isaiah is sent to a people living securely in Jerusalem, but sunk into great sin. He has to exalt the Holy One of Israel over against the impurity of the nations life. Ezekiel is a prophet sent to a later generation, a mere handful of exiles who have been led away from despoiled Jerusalem by the armies of the mighty king of Babylon. Sitting by the river Chebar, the harps hung on the willows in a strange land, it seems as if Jehovah is not able to help them. Then Ezekiel comes to exalt the Omnipotent King in place of the boasting, hustling strength of Nebuchadnezzar. Now turn to the vision given to Paul, and consider its meaning and contents in the light of his writings and work. He saw God revealed in Jesus Christ. That meant the God whom Isaiah saw, a God exalted in righteousness, whose holiness convicted the self-righteous Pharisee as the chief of sinners, and made him preach, All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That meant also the God whom Ezekiel saw, a God who is supreme above all the machinations of men and the swift vicissitudes of human experience, so that it is a part of his work to tell men that all things work together for good to them that love God, and therefore to rejoice in the Lord alway. But it meant also another aspect of God of which Isaiah and Ezekiel had only faint knowledge, namely, as the Father of men, who so loved the world as to send His Son to be the propitiation for all sin, and was calling all men everywhere to enjoy His salvation and to be reconciled to Him in Jesus Christ. And therefore Paul can be sent not to the few people of one nation to meet their special needs, but to all nations, to preach a Gospel which satisfied the universal and unchanging needs of the whole human race. So do the contents of our vision of God set the limits to our work. Our service in the world is determined by our knowledge of God. That is abundantly illustrated on the wide field of history. Any monk in mediaeval England could repeat a paternoster, but it needed a man whose heart was illumined by personal intercourse with the Father to translate the Bible for the people. The last century was satisfied with a most rigid and mechanical conception of God; and it was marked by a national life as meagre in its religious attainments as it was poverty-stricken in its religious ideals. It was only when men like Wesley and Carey, who had brooded over the Word of God and had become filled with His Spirit, delivered their message, that the Church was roused from its lethargy and began to save men at home and abroad. Herbert Spencer can write learnedly about the first principles of philosophical study; but he has no message to the sinful, because God is to him the unknowable, and that vision of God makes him powerless to serve. Matthew Arnold may compose clever essays which render a service within certain narrow limits, but he cannot preach to the mass of men, because his vision of God as only a power not ourselves which makes for righteousness is too dim to touch the heart of man. Huxley and Mill can tell people a great deal about the life history of a lobster or the laws of logic, but ask them to come to the bedside of a dying man or to comfort a sorrowing heart, and they are dumb, and must give place to the humble saint who has looked into the eyes of the Risen Christ. And so in all our work, its limitations are determined by the contents of our vision of God. A man who has never seen a holy God will not care much about holiness. Why is a man content to amass a fortune by a policy of greed and grab, though he leave the world worse than he found it? Because he has never been into a holy place and seen God giving up in love! And the other part of the truth is that the Christians vision of God is the only satisfying one. It is no disparagement of the work of Isaiah and Ezekiel to point out that it was limited. This was the necessary result of the imperfection of all pre-Christian knowledge of God. The jewel has many facets; and one man gazed upon one flashing surface, and another in different circumstances upon a second. But Paul saw God in Christ, who is the express image of His person; and we all may see the glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. This does not lift the veil from the secret nature of God. Nothing is more magnificent in these visions than their reverent reticence. No one can see God; only the appearance of His glory. But we see all that glory in Jesus Christ. Failure to interpret God through Jesus Christ only has always spelled disaster. The vision of God in Jesus Christ crucified and risen again is the only vision which can satisfy all the needs of our own heart and fit us to render permanent service to men in all circumstances. And this is the vision of God upon which we may gaze today. We shall not stand in any smoke-filled temple and gaze upon a throne high and lifted up. We shall not watch the whirling wheels full of eyes which carry the burning glory. But we may see Jesus. He is no dim, fading figure upon times canvas. He stands before us a living Person, clear cut against the horizon of eternity. We know the life He lived, the death He died, and that He rose from the dead. The supreme business of every man in this life is to see God in Jesus Christ himself, and then to help others to have the vision. Deep down in the heart of every man is the longing which cries with the badgered patriarch, Oh that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat! I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father but by Me! It is the voice of Jesus that I hear. Jesus brings us to our Father, and puts our hand in His strong grasp. (J. E. Roberts, M. A.)

The added sense

I had visions of God. So said Ezekiel. He was selected from a crowd that he might have them, and he had them. There is something that is arbitrary in Gods selection of a prophet; so that the man is, as Paul said, apprehended, and cannot choose but hear. There are also qualities in the man that cause him to be chosen. He will be a man of sense. He will be a man of intellectual power, for a prophet must not be a fool; and of moral power, one in whose heart are certain abiding convictions. But chiefly he will have the spiritual sense, the seeing eye. The soul has senses as the body has, and the pure in heart shall see God. It is quite conceivable that when our Lord chose His disciples He may have done so at first sight, for He knew what was in men. Perhaps it is more easily conceived that He had known, watched, studied them for months, and had said within Himself that when the time came for beginning these were the men who should be His chosen ones. Either way, they were chosen because they were fit to be, a preliminary fitness being implied. When we are told that a certain man had visions of God, it implies that beside the God who gives it there is the man who can receive it; and when He speaks there is a man who, being aware of it, stands in a listening attitude. The added sense which certain prophets have had is not a mere human faculty invested for the time with keener powers, but is a distinct and particular thing. The poets eye sees visions not shown to others; and what were the world if it were robbed of the poets dreams? The practical man has his uses–he who knows that two and two are four, utilitarian to his core; who never had a waking dream in his life. But where should we be without the man who sees the heavenly glories and calls things by their truest names? He has visions, this man, and so perhaps the astronomer may have, and the historian and the biographer, but they are not the visions given to him of the added sense, the pure in heart, and the prophet by the river, nor are they worth as much. Take away the seers, the mystics, the dreamers, and we are bankrupt. These men find the gold, mint it, and scatter it abroad for commoner men to find. Someone has expressed his pity for the blind man for this reason among others, that he has knowledge at one entrance quite shut out. For it is perfectly true that he who adds a sense to us adds in effect a world. If you can unstop the ears of a deaf man, and so give him the sense of hearing, you give him immediate entrance to the world of sound, the sweet world of the breeze, the bird, and the speaking friend. This explains why it is that the great realities of the spiritual world are myths, names, and dreams to so many people, and why there are so many people to whom one cannot speak of his deepest experiences. Words are only symbols to convey impressions and when there is no appreciation or reception of the impression, what is the use of words? When you talk to these people about the markets and the price of corn and coal, or when you go to a higher level and speak of pictures, poetry, and music, you speak intelligible words; but when you speak of grace in any of its thousand terms, you treat of things they do not know. The expressed mission of Christ was to open the eyes of the blind. It was His condemnation of the wilfully blind around Him that they had eyes but could not perceive. It was then, and still is, the emphatic cry of the Christian, I see, the meaning, the shore, the eternal Face. It is an interesting conception that one has when he thinks it might have pleased God to have made our mortal nature differently, and to have endowed it with four senses instead of five. Suppose it had been thought sufficient that we should be able to see and to hear, to feel and taste, but were denied the sense of smell; and yet God, denying us this, had filled the world with odorous buds and fragrant trees as now. Then the meadow-sweet were vain, the perfume of the violet unreal, and all sweet scents non-existent, But God had presently, let it be imagined, repented, and had given to one solitary and selected man the sense of smell; and this man, forgetting the deprivation of the rest of us, came to us with his question, Can you tell me why there should be so great a difference between the fragrance of the violet and the rose? My dear sir, we should reply, we do not understand you; the shape of the flowers and their size and colour we can speak of, but what this fragrance is we are unable to understand. And should he go on to speak such words as smell, odour, and scent, we could only insist on our denial. The lack of sense makes it so. And it is precisely in the same way that visions of God are impossible to some men, and so frequent with others. A man is not necessarily beside himself because he sees what the rest say is not there, or hears a voice when all the world declares there was no sound. For then suppose the cure were worked on us, and we should walk through the gardens with a new sense added. With what wonder we should become aware of their odours, and go from flower to flower to try them all The more the world grows sordid, and, as it terms it, practical, the more it needs the added sense. When a man is wholly given to trade, and a woman to frivolity, the day of seeing visions of God is gone. What is needed is the added sense; for then the Church sees something more than organisations, and the nation more than colonies; and even the common man sees the encircling hills run back and life grow wide with astonishing speed. There is a prayer which, if answered, would meet the necessities of the case: Open the young mans eyes, that he may see. Lord, that I may receive my sight. (A. J. Southouse.)

Spiritual ministries

Some men never had any religious experience even of the lowest type; some men never prayed: are we to go and ask such men what they think of prophets, inspired souls, minds that burn with enthusiasm? We shall go to them for religious judgment when we go to the blind for an opinion of colour, and to the deaf for an opinion of sound. There are some men whose opinion we do not take upon any subject. On the other hand, when a man says he has seen heaven opened, and has seen a Divine vision, and has felt in his heart the calm of infinite peace, we are entitled to question him, to study his spirit, to estimate his quality of strength and tenderness, and to subject his testimony to practical trial. If the man himself is true, he will be better than his certificate; and if the man himself is false, no certificate can save him from exposure and destruction. Let us attend to this man awhile. He comes amongst us with unique pretensions. He says he was among the captives by the river of Chebar. Then was Ezekiel a captive? The historical answer is, Yes; the religious answer is, No. He was a prisoner, and yet he was enjoying the liberty granted to him by enlarging heavens and descending visions. Have we not had experience of this kind? May we not so far claim the companionship of the prophet? You do not live in the prison. Plato said that when Socrates was taken to prison the prison ceased; it was the prison that gave way. A right mind can never be in prison. What did Ezekiel see?–visions of God. By this term we are not to understand simply great visions. Ezekiel saw God, hints of God, gleams of the Divine presence, indications and proofs of Gods nearness; verily, they were sights of God. The word of the Lord, he continues, came expressly unto him. By expressly understand directly, certainly, without mistake. The voice of God cannot be mistaken: it startles men; then it soothes men; then it creates in them an attentive disposition; then it inspires men; and then it says, Evermore, till the work is done, shall this music resound in your souls. Then there is a word of the Lord, actually a word. There is some word the Lord has chosen, taken up, selected, held up, stamped with His image? Yes. Where is it? Every man knows where it is. The word of God is nigh thee, in thee, is in a sense thyself. To want God is to have Him; to demand the word of the living God is to know it. What may come of expansion, enlargement, higher and higher illumination, only eternity can disclose; but the beginning is in the very cry that expresses necessity or desire. Then comes the vision itself. Who may enter upon it? Personally, I simply accept it. We are not all poets, prophets. Some of us have but one set of eyes; the best thing for us to do is to listen, and wonder, and believe. We are rebuked by these revelations. We think we see everything when we see nothing. What have we seen? Trees? No: only the wood in which trees grow. Flowers? Not one; but things that want to be flowers, aspirations, struggles towards beauteous expression and fragrance. We have not yet seen one another. We have seen nothing as it really is. When a man, therefore, has seen aught of God or spirituality, we should listen to him with entranced attention. The talk is to us lunacy, the words are madness, until we are touched with a kindred spirit, sublimed by a kindred faith; then all things are known to be possible with God. The need of every age is a spiritual ministry. Spirituality and superstition are not the same thing. We want men who will give us ideal visions of life, high conceptions of morality, sublime forecasts of destiny, and a deepening sense of the sinfulness of sin. We need men who can create, not moral commandments and stipulations, but a moral atmosphere, which a bad man cannot breathe. It is better to pray than to doubt; it is mentally stronger to believe than to deny. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God; the prophet hath said in his faith, The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. I would rather listen to the second man than to the first. The probabilities, at least, are on his side. Already there are intimations that the universe is larger than any fool has discovered it to be. Let us hear the prophet. (J. Parker, D. D.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET EZEKIEL

Chronological Notes relative to the commencement of Ezekiel’s prophesying

-Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3409.

-Year of the Jewish era of the world, 3166.

-Year from the Deluge, 1753. -Second year of the forty-sixth Olympiad.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to the Varronian or generally received account, 159.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Cato and the Fasti Consulares, 158.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Polybius the historian, 157.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Fabius Pictor, 153.

-Year of the Julian Period, 4119.

-Year of the era of Nabonassar, 153.

-Year from the foundation of Solomon’s temple, 409.

-Year since the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 126.

-Second year after the third Sabbatic year after the seventeenth Jewish jubilee, according to Helvicus.

-Year before the birth of Christ, 591. -Year before the vulgar era of Christ’s nativity, 595.

-Cycle of the Sun, 3.

-Cycle of the Moon, 15.

-Twenty-second year of Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of the Romans: this was the eighty-sixth year before the consulship of Lucius Junius Brutus, and Publius Valerius Poplicola.

-Thirty-first year of Cyaxares, or Cyaraxes, the fourth king of Media.

-Eleventh year of Agasicles, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Proclidae.

-Thirteenth year of Leon, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Eurysthenidae.

-Twenty-fifth year of Alyattes II., king of Lydia, and father of the celebrated Croesus.

-Eighth year of AEropas, the seventh king of Macedon.

-Sixth and last year of Psammis, king of Egypt, according to Helvicus, an accurate chronologer. This Egyptian king was the immediate predecessor of the celebrated Apries, called Vaphres by Eusebius, and Pharaoh-hophra by Jeremiah, Jer 44:30.

-First year of Baal, king of the Tyrians.

-Twelfth year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

-Fourth year of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah.

CHAPTER I

This chapter contains that extraordinary vision of the Divine

glory with which the prophet was favoured when he received the

commission and instructions respecting the discharge of his

office, which are contained in the two following chapters. The

time of this Divine manifestation to the prophet, 1-3.

The vision of the four living creatures, and of the four

wheels, 4-25.

Description of the firmament that was spread over them, and of

the throne upon which one sat in appearance as a man, 26-28.

This vision, proceeding in a whirlwind from the NORTH, seems to

indicate the dreadful judgments that were coming upon the whole

land of Judah through the instrumentality of the cruel

Chaldeans, who lay to the north of it.

See Ezek 1:14; Ezek 4:6; Ezek 6:1.

NOTES ON CHAP. I

Verse 1. In the thirtieth year] We know not what this date refers to. Some think it was the age of the prophet; others think the date is taken from the time that Josiah renewed the covenant with the people, 2Kg 22:3, from which Usher, Prideaux, and Calmet compute the forty years of Judah’s transgression, mentioned Eze 4:6.

Abp. Newcome thinks there is an error in the text, and that instead of bisheloshim, in the thirtieth, we should read bachamishith, in the fifth, as in the second verse. “Now it came to pass in the fifth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month,” &c. But this is supported by none of the ancient Versions, nor by any MS. The Chaldee paraphrases the verse, “And it came to pass thirty years after the high priest Hilkiah had found the book of the law, in the house of the sanctuary,” &c. This was in the twelfth year of Josiah’s reign. The thirtieth year, computed as above, comes to A.M. 3409, the fourth year from the captivity of Jeconiah, and the fifth of the reign of Zedekiah. Ezekiel was then among the captives who had been carried way with Jeconiah, and had his dwelling near the river Chebar, Chaborus, or Aboras, a river of Mesopotamia, which falls into the Euphrates a little above Thapsacus, after having run through Mesopotamia from east to west. – Calmet.

Fourth month] Thammuz, answering nearly to our July.

I saw visions of God.] Emblems and symbols of the Divine Majesty. He particularly refers to those in this chapter.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Now: this does not refer to any particular time before mentioned, though sometimes this English particle now connotes particular time, (the Hebrew is and, so the Greek and Latin,) but is a phrase in use on entering upon discourse.

It came to pass in the thirtieth year, of the prophet’s age, or from the finding the book of the law in the eighteenth year of Josiah, when the threats were read which now were executed on the Jews, according to 2Ki 22:16, from which date to the fifth year of the captivity are thirty years; or in the thirtieth year of the Chaldean monarchy, founded by Nabopollassar. Other accounts omitted, you are left to your own thoughts which of these two latter are more probable; both have very weighty authority for them; and indeed they both concur and meet in the fifth year of the captivity, and so either computation may without mistake be followed.

In the fourth month; the original hath only in the fourth, concisely, but it is certainly the month, but whether in account from Marchesvan, October with us, to Shebat, January, or from Nisan, March, unto Tamuz, July, is more questionable; the latter I guess to be the rightest account; so from Nisan, which is part of our March and April, to Tamuz, part of our June and July, will be the fourth month; and this account in church things best suits the prophet’s design.

In the fifth day of the month; it was the third day of our July, probably it was the sabbath day, when the Jews would be free from labour, and at leisure to hear the prophet; and indeed such declarations of the will of God are an entertainment suitable to the consecration of the seventh day to God.

As I was among the captives; Heb. and I, &c. Though a priest and prophet, the first by birth and lineal descent, the other by extraordinary commission, yet I also found as little respect as my countrymen.

Among the captives; in the midst of the captivity, so the Hebrew idiom; perhaps the prophet rather useth the abstract itself than the concrete, to express the grievousness of it: they were captive, nay, captivity rather, under extreme bondage; as darkness for dark.

By the river; either there commanded to dwell, or thither retiring, that more freely they might lament their own sins, and Jerusalem’s desolation: or what if it were to keep, as they might, their sabbath, in which the spiteful Babylonians interrupt them, and with scorn require them to sing a temple song, Psa 137:3.

Chebar; a branch of Euphrates, or that part which Chobar advised should be made to divert the violence of Euphrates, lest it damnify the city Babylon. Or rather a river now called Giulap, arising out of the mountain Masius, and falls into Euphrates, somewhat below a city called by the same name, Giulap or Chaboras; as Ferrarius and Hotoman observe.

The heavens were opened; the firmament or lower parts of the celestial arch either really did, or to appearance seemed to divide, and the contiguous parts withdrew as a curtain, to give the prophet the view of what was within; or as folding doors set open that he might look into that apartment where this unusual sight was prepared.

Were opened; expressed thus in the passive to let us see that there was a supreme, sovereign, and Divine power and authority by which this was done; it is not said the heavens did open, but they were opened. It was no meteor, chasm, or yawning, which is naturally a figured semblance of a breach in the visible heavens, whence appears a gulf or deep and wide pit to the eye. It was not thus, but a supernatural and extraordinary aperture or opening, wrought by the immediate power of God, who was now appearing to the prophet, and commissioning him. It might probably be somewhat like that which appeared to the proto-martyr Stephen, Act 7:56.

I saw; I had a distinct, full, and clear sight of what appeared, I was awake and with my eyes discerned what I shall now write, the things I am about to publish, how stupendous soever they are, what I am sure I saw, and am as sure they will be accomplished.

Visions; in the plural, either because they were many distinct visions, or because it was made of many distinct parts, each part might seem to be one vision.

Of God; excellent and wonderful. So by the name of God the Hebrew expresses any excellency, as, cedars of God, man of God. Or,

of God, wherein I saw God, who appeared to the prophet; or else,

of God, i.e. which God did make me to see. It was not a dream of man’s brain, it was a Divine vision, either corporeal or intellectual.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

1. Now it came to passrather,”And it came,” c. As this formula in Jos1:1 has reference to the written history of previoustimes, so here (and in Rth 1:1Est 1:1), it refers to theunwritten history which was before the mind of the writer. Theprophet by it, as it were, continues the history of the precedingtimes. In the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign (Jer51:59), Jeremiah sent by Seraiah a message to the captives (Jer29:1-32) to submit themselves to God and lay aside theirflattering hopes of a speedy restoration. This communication was inthe next year, the fifth, and the fourth month of the same king (forJehoiachin’s captivity and Zedekiah’s accession coincide in time),followed up by a prophet raised up among the captivesthemselves, the energetic Ezekiel.

thirtieth yearthat is,counting from the beginning of the reign of Nabopolassar, father ofNebuchadnezzar, the era of the Babylonian empire, 625 B.C.,which epoch coincides with the eighteenth year of Josiah, that inwhich the book of the law was found, and the consequent reformationbegan [SCALIGER]; or thethirtieth year of Ezekiel’s life. As the Lord was about to be a”little sanctuary” (Eze11:16) to the exiles on the Chebar, so Ezekiel was to be theministering priest; therefore he marks his priestly relation to Godand the people at the outset; the close, which describes the futuretemple, thus answering to the beginning. By designating himselfexpressly as “the priest” (Eze1:3), and as having reached his thirtieth year (the regular yearof priests commencing their office), he marks his office as thepriest among the prophets. Thus the opening vision follows naturallyas the formal institution of that spiritual temple in which he was tominister [FAIRBAIRN].

Chebarthe same asChabor or Habor, whither the ten tribes had been transported byTiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser (2Ki 17:6;1Ch 5:26). It flows into theEuphrates near Carchemish or Circesium, two hundred miles north ofBabylon.

visions of GodFourexpressions are used as to the revelation granted to Ezekiel, thethree first having respect to what was presented from without, toassure him of its reality, the fourth to his being internallymade fit to receive the revelation; “the heavens were opened”(so Mat 3:16; Act 7:56;Act 10:11; Rev 19:11);”he saw visions of God”; “the word of Jehovah cameverily (as the meaning is rather than ‘expressly, EnglishVersion, Eze 1:3) unto him”(it was no unreal hallucination); and “the hand of Jehovah wasupon him” (Isa 8:11; Dan 10:10;Dan 10:18; Rev 1:17;the Lord by His touch strengthening him for his high and arduousministry, that he might be able to witness and report aright therevelations made to him).

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year,…. Either from the last jubilee, as R. Joseph Kimchi r, Jarchi, and Abendana; or from the time that the book of the law was found by Hilkiah the priest s; so the Targum, which paraphrases the words thus,

“and it was in the thirtieth year after Hilkiah the high priest found the book of the law, in the house of the sanctuary, in the court under the porch, in the middle of the night, after the moon was down, in the days of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah;”

or, according to Jerom t, from the time of the prophet’s birth, who was now thirty years of age, and was just entered into his priestly office; or rather it was the thirtieth year of Nabopolassar, or the father of Nebuchadnezzar: this was the twelfth year of the captivity, reckoning from the third of Jehoiakim, which was the first captivity, and from whence the seventy years are to be reckoned, and also the twelfth of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign; and if two years are taken, as Vitringa u observes, from the twenty one years, which are given to Nabopolassar in Ptolemy’s canon, in which Nebuchadnezzar his son reigned with him, there will be found thirty years from the beginning of Nabopolassar’s reign to the fifth of Jeconiah’s captivity, when Ezekiel began his prophecy, and which, as Bishop Usher w, Mr. Bedford x, Mr. Whiston y, and the authors of the Universal History z, place in the year 593, before the birth of Christ:

in the fourth [month]; the month Tammuz, as the Targum expresses it; which answers to part of June, and part of July:

in the fifth [day] of the month; which some take to be on a sabbath day; because, seven days after, the word of the Lord came to him again Eze 3:16; just as John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, Re 1:10; between one of whose visions and this there is a very great likeness, as will be seen hereafter:

as I [was] among the captives by the river of Chebar; which is another agreement in circumstance between Ezekiel and John, when they had their visions: John was an exile in Patrons, and Ezekiel among the captives by the river Chebar in Chaldea. Some think this is the same river which is called by Ptolemy a Chaboras; and is said by him to pass through Mesopotamia: others say it was a river that was drawn off from the river Euphrates, by the order of one Cobaris, or Gobaris, a governor, from whence it had its name; that the river Euphrates might not, by its rapid course, hurt the city of Babylon; and by the Assyrians it was called Armalchar, or Narmalcha b, the king’s river; though it seems to be no other than Euphrates itself; and Kimchi observes, that in some copies of the Targum on this place it is interpreted of the river Euphrates; and he says their Rabbins of blessed memory say, that Chebar is Euphrates; and so Abarbinel; see

Ps 137:1. Monsieur Thevenot c speaks of a river called Chabur, which is less than Alchabour, another mentioned by him; and has its source below Mosul, and on the left hand to those that go down the Tigris, and at Bagdad loses itself in the Tigris which he takes to be the same as here:

that the heavens were opened; as at our Lord’s baptism, and at the stoning of Stephen; and so when John had his vision which corresponds with the following, a door was opened in heaven Re 4:1;

and I saw the visions of God; which God showed unto him, and which were great and excellent; as excellent things are called things of God, as mountains of God, and cedars of God, Ps 36:6; and indeed he had a vision of a divine Person, in a human form; to which agrees the Targum,

“and I saw in the vision of prophecy, which abode on me, the vision of the glory of the majesty of the Lord.”

The Arabic and Syriac versions read, “the vision of God”.

r Apud R. D. Kimchi in loc. s Seder Olam Rabba, c. 26. t Preafat. in Ezek. tom. 3. fol. 9. D. u Typus Doctrin. Prophetic. sect. 7. p. 41. Vid. Witsii Miscel. Sacr. tom. 1. l. 1. c. 19. w Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3409. p. 127. x Scripture Chronology, p. 681. y Chronological Tables, cent. 10. z Vol. 21. p. 61. a Geograph. l. 5. c. 18. b Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 26. c Travels, par. 2. B. 1. ch. 10. p. 46.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

The Appearance of the Glory of the Lord. – Eze 1:1-3. Time and place of the same. – Eze 1:1. Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth (month), on the fifth (day) of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. Eze 1:2 . On the fifth day of the month, it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, Eze 1:3 . The word of the Lord came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Busi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

Regarding at the beginning of a book, as e.g., in Jon 1:1, cf. the note on Jos 1:1. The two notices of the year in Eze 1:1 and Eze 1:2 are closely connected with the twofold introduction of the theophany. This is described in verse first, according to its form or phenomenal nature, and then in verses second and third, according to its intended purpose, and its effect upon the prophet. The phenomenon consisted in this, that the heavens were opened, and Ezekiel saw visions of God. The heaven opens not merely when to our eye a glimpse is disclosed of the heavenly glory of God (Calvin), but also when God manifests His glory in a manner perceptible to human sight. The latter was the case here. , “visions of God,” are not “ visiones praestantissimae ,” but visions which have divine or heavenly things for their object; cf. Isa 6:1; 1Ki 22:19; 2Ki 6:17. Here it is the manifestation of Jehovah’s glory described in the following verses. This was beheld by Ezekiel in the thirtieth year, which, according to verse second, was in the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin. The real identity of these two dates is placed beyond doubt by the mention of the same day of the month, “on the fifth day of the month” (Eze 1:2 compared with Eze 1:1). The fifth year from the commencement of Jehoiachin’s captivity is the year 595 b.c.; the thirtieth year, consequently, is the year 625 b.c. But the era, in accordance with which this date is reckoned, is matter of dispute, and can no longer be ascertained with certainty. To suppose, with Hengstenberg, that the reference is to the year of the prophet’s own life, is forbidden by the addition “in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month,” which points to an era generally recognised. In the year 625 b.c., Nabopolassar became king of Babylon, and therefore many of the older expositors have supposed that Ezekiel means the thirtieth year of the era of Nabopolassar. Nothing, however, is know of any such era. Others, as the Chaldee paraphrast and Jerome, and in modern times also Ideler, are of opinion that the thirtieth year is reckoned from the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, because in that year the book of the law was discovered, and the regeneration of public worship completed by a solemn celebration of the Passover. No trace, however, can elsewhere be pointed out of the existence of a chronology dating from these events. The Rabbins in Seder Olam assume a chronology according to the periods of the years of jubilee, and so also Hitzig; but for this supposition too all reliable proofs are wanting. At the time mentioned, Ezekiel found himself , “in the midst of the exiles,” i.e., within the circuit of their settlements, not, in their society; for it is evident from Eze 3:15 that he was alone when the theophany was imparted to him, and did not repair till afterwards to the residences of the settlers. Eze 1:3. By the river Chebar, in the land of the Chaldees, i.e., in Babylon or Mesopotamia. The river , to be distinguished from , the river of Gosan, which flows into the Tigris, see on 2Ki 17:6, is the Mesopotamian Chabioras, (Strabo, xvi. 748), or (Ptolem. v. 18, 3), Arab. cha=bu=r (Edrisi Clim. iv. p. 6, ii. p. 150, ed. Jaubert and Abulf. Mesopot. in the N. Repertor. III. p. xxiv.), which according to Edrisi takes its rise from “nearly three hundred springs,” near the city Ras-el-‘Ain, at the foot of the mountain range of Masius, flows through Upper Mesopotamia in a direction parallel with its two principal streams, and then, turning westward, discharges itself into the Euphrates near Kirkesion. There the hand of Jehovah came upon Ezekiel. The expression ‘ ) ( always signifies a miraculous working of the power or omnipotence of God upon a man-the hand being the organ of power in action-by which he is placed in a condition to exert superhuman power, 1Ki 18:46, and is the regular expression for the supernatural transportation into the state of ecstasy for the purpose of beholding and announcing (cf. 2Ki 3:15), or undertaking, heavenly things; and so throughout Ezekiel, cf. Eze 3:22; Eze 8:1; Eze 33:22; Eze 37:1; Eze 40:1.

Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament

Ezekiel’s First Vision by the River Chebar.

B. C. 595.

      1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.   2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,   3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.

      The circumstances of the vision which Ezekiel saw, and in which he received his commission and instructions, are here very particularly set down, that the narrative may appear to be authentic and not romantic. It may be of use to keep an account when and where God has been pleased to manifest himself to our souls in a peculiar manner, that the return of the day, and our return to the place of the altar (Gen. xiii. 4), may revive the pleasing grateful remembrance of God’s favour to us. “Remember, O my soul! and never forget what communications of divine love thou didst receive at such a time, at such a place; tell others what God did for thee.”

      I. The time when Ezekiel had this vision is here recorded. It was in the thirtieth year, v. 1. Some make it the thirtieth year of the prophet’s age; being a priest, he was at that age to enter upon the full execution of the priestly office, but being debarred from that by the iniquity and calamity of the times, now that they had neither temple nor altar, God at that age called him to the dignity of a prophet. Others make it to be the thirtieth year from the beginning of the reign of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, from which the Chaldeans began a new computation of time, as they had done from Nabonassar 123 years before. Nabopolassar reigned nineteen years, and this was the eleventh of his son, which makes the thirty. And it was proper enough for Ezekiel, when he was in Babylon, to use the computation they there used, as we in foreign countries date by the new style; and he afterwards uses the melancholy computation of his own country, observing (v. 2) that it was the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. But the Chaldee paraphrase fixes upon another era, and says that this was the thirtieth year after Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the house of the sanctuary, at midnight, after the setting of the moon, in the days of Josiah the king. And it is true that this was just thirty years from that time; and that was an event so remarkable (as it put the Jewish state upon a new trial) that it was proper enough to date form it; and perhaps therefore the prophet speaks indefinitely of thirty years, as having an eye both to that event and to the Chaldean computation, which were coincident. It was in the fourth month, answering to our June, and in the fifth day of the month, that Ezekiel had this vision, v. 2. It is probably that it was on the sabbath day, because we read (ch. iii. 16) that at the end of seven days, which we may well suppose to be the next sabbath, the word of the Lord came to him again. Thus John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, when he saw the visions of the Almighty, Rev. i. 10. God would hereby put an honour upon his sabbaths, when the enemies mocked at them, Lam. i. 7. And he would thus encourage his people to keep up their attendance on the ministry of his prophets every sabbath day, by the extraordinary manifestations of himself on some sabbath days.

      II. The melancholy circumstances he was in when God honoured him, and thereby favoured his people, with this vision. He was in the land of the Chaldeans, among the captives, by the river of Chebar, and it was in the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity. Observe,

      1. The people of God were now, some of them, captives in the land of the Chaldeans. The body of the Jewish nation yet remained in their own land, but these were the first-fruits of the captivity, and they were some of the best; for in Jeremiah’s vision these were the good figs, whom God had sent into the land of the Chaldeans for their good (Jer. xxiv. 5); and, that it might be for their good, God raised up a prophet among them, to teach them out of the law, then when he chastened them, Ps. xciv. 12. Note, It is a great mercy to have the word of God brought to us, and a great duty to attend to it diligently, when we are in affliction. The word of instruction and the rod of correction may be of great service to us, in concert and concurrence with each other, the word to explain the rod and the rod to enforce the word: both together give wisdom. It is happy for a man, when he is sick and in pain, to have a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, if he have but his ear open to discipline, Job xxiii. 23. One of the quarrels God had with the Jews, when he sent them into captivity, we for mocking his messengers and misusing his prophets; and yet, when they were suffering for this sin, he favoured them with this forfeited mercy. It were ill with us if God did not sometimes graciously thrust upon us those means of grace and salvation which we have foolishly thrust from us. In their captivity they were destitute of ordinary helps for their souls, and therefore God raised them up these extraordinary ones; for God’s children, if they be hindered in their education one way, shall have it made up another way. But observe, It was in the fifth year of the captivity that Ezekiel was raised up amongst them, and not before. So long God left them without any prophet, till they began to lament after the Lord and to complain that they saw not their signs and there was none to tell them how long (Ps. lxxiv. 9), and then they would know how to value a prophet, and God’s discoveries of himself to them by him would be the more acceptable and comfortable. The Jews that remained in their own land had Jeremiah with them, those that had gone into captivity had Ezekiel with them; for wherever the children of God are scattered abroad he will find out tutors for them.

      2. The prophet was himself among the captives, those of them that were posted by the river Chebar; for it was by the rivers of Babylon that they sat down, and on the willow-trees by the river’s side that they hanged their harps,Psa 137:1; Psa 137:2. The planters in America keep along by the sides of the rivers, and perhaps those captives were employed by their masters in improving some parts of the country by the rivers’ sides that were uncultivated, the natives being generally employed in war; or they employed them in manufactures, and therefore chose to fix them by the sides of rivers, that the good they made might the more easily be conveyed by water-carriage. Interpreters agree not what river this of Chebar was, but among the captives by that river Ezekiel was, and himself a captive. Observe here, (1.) The best men, and those that are dearest to God, often share, not only in the common calamities of this life, but in the public and national judgments that are inflicted for sin; those feel the smart who contributed nothing to the guilt, by which it appears that the difference between good and bad arises not from the events that befal them, but from the temper and disposition of their spirits under them. And since not only righteous men, but prophets, share with the worst in present punishments, we may infer thence, with the greatest assurance, that there are rewards reserved for them in the future state. (2.) Words of conviction, counsel, and comfort, come best to those who are in affliction from their fellow sufferers. The captives will be best instructed by one who is a captive among them and experimentally knows their sorrows. (3.) The spirit of prophecy was not confined to the land of Israel, but some of the brightest of divine revelations were revealed in the land of the Chaldeans, which was a happy presage of the carrying of the church, with that divine revelation upon which it is built, into the Gentile world; and, as now, so afterwards, when the gospel kingdom was to be set up, the dispersion of the Jews contributed to the spreading of the knowledge of God. (4.) Wherever we are we may keep up our communion with God. Undique ad clos tantundem est vi–From the remotest corners of the earth we may find a way open heavenward. (5.) When God’s ministers are bound the word of the Lord is not bound, 2 Tim. ii. 9. When St. Paul was a prisoner the gospel had a free course. When St. John was banished into the Isle of Patmos Christ visited him there. Nay, God’s suffering servants have generally been treated as favourites, and their consolations have much more abounded when affliction has abounded, 2 Cor. i. 5.

      III. The discovery which God was pleased to make of himself to the prophet when he was in these circumstances, to be by him communicated to his people. He here tells us what he saw, what he heard, and what he felt. 1. He saw visions of God, v. 1. No man can see God and live; but many have seen visions of God, such displays of the divine glory as have both instructed and affected them; and commonly, when God first revealed himself to any prophet, he did it by an extraordinary vision, as to Isaiah (ch. vi.), to Jeremiah (ch. i.), to Abraham (Acts vii. 2), to settle a correspondence and a satisfactory way of intercourse, so that there needed not afterwards a vision upon ever revelation. Ezekiel was employed in turning the hearts of the people to the Lord their God, and therefore he must himself see the visions of God. Note, It concerns those to be well acquainted with God themselves, and much affected with what they know of him, whose business it is to bring others to the knowledge and love of him. That he might see the visions of God the heavens were opened; the darkness and distance which hindered his visions were conquered, and he was let into the light of the glories of the upper world, as near and clear as if heaven had been opened to him. 2. He heard the voice of God (v. 3): The word of the Lord came expressly to him, and what he saw was designed to prepare him for what he was to hear. The expression is emphatic. Essendo fuit verbum Dei—The word of the Lord was a really it was to him. There was no mistake in it; it came to him in the fulness of its light and power, in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit; it came close to him, nay, it came into him, took possession of him and dwelt in him richly. It came expressly, or accurately, to him; he did himself clearly understand what he said and was abundantly satisfied f the truth of it. The essential Word (so we may take it), the Word who is, who is what he is, came to Ezekiel, to send him on his errand. 3. He felt the power of God opening his eyes to see the visions, opening his ear to hear the voice, and opening his heart to receive both: The hand of the Lord was there upon him. Note, The hand of the Lord goes along with the word f the Lord, and so it becomes effectual; those only understand and believe the report to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed. The hand of God was upon him, as upon Moses, to cover him, that he should not be overcome by the dazzling light and lustre of the visions he saw, Exod. xxxiii. 22. It was upon him (as upon St. John, Rev. i. 17), to revive and support him, that he might bear up, and not faint, under these discoveries, that he might neither be lifted up nor cast down with the abundance of the revelations. God’s grace is sufficient for him, and, in token of that, his hand is upon him.

Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary

EZEKIEL – CHART I

(Seven Major Divisions.-Prophetic Strains) introduced by the phrase, “The hand of the Lord was upon me.”

I.Ezekiel’s preparation, call, and commission, Eze 1:3 to Eze 3:9; His first vision, 3:15.

II.His commission as a watchman, Eze 3:10-21 —Note v. 17, “I have made thee a watchman.”

III.His second vision of the glory of the Lord, result in service to Him, Eze 3:22 to Eze 7:27.

IV.Justification for God’s sending His people into captivity, Eze ch. 8:1 to 33:20. This last verse Eze 33:20 is a summary key to the whole division of the book.

V.Future Kingdom of the Son (Heir of David), Eze 33:21 to Eze 36:38.

VII. Two overlapping prophetic themes: 1) The restoration of all Israel and the Davidic Kingdom. 2) Judgment on the Gentile nations, Eze 37:1 to Eze 39:29.

VIII. Israel Restored to Her Land During the Kingdom, (Millennial) Age, Eze 40:1 to Eze 48:35.

INTRODUCTION TO EZEKIEL

I.Who writes? The writer and prophet of this book was Ezekiel, a priest of the common people of Israel, on the banks of the Chebar river, in Babylonian captivity, at Tel-abib, Eze 1:13; Eze 3:15-17. He is known as “The prophet of visions,” Eze 1:1. He too is called “The prophet of the captivity,” the only prophet whose prophecy was distinctively and restrictedly to captive Jews. He was carried to Babylon about 597 B.C., 11 years before Jerusalem was destroyed, in the second deportation of the Jews. Daniel had been carried there eight or nine years earlier, in the first deportation. Though Daniel had been there eight years in the palace at Babylon he had no message, did no prophesying to the captive Jews. Jeremiah too was contemporary to Ezekiel, but his prophecy was back in Jerusalem.

II.To whom? To all Israel in her days of Babylonian captivity, Ezekiel prophesied and wrote, Eze 2:3; Eze 3:1; Eze 3:17. While Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Daniel each confronted issues of the day involving Kings, Governors, and Rulers, Ezekiel’s message was to all the Jews of Chaldea or Babylon only.

III.About what? Ezekiel affirmed to the captive Jews that their captivity was a judgment by Divine decree, to last for 70 years, a thing the false prophets among them disputed; yet it came to pass, Jer 25:11-12; Dan 9:1-2. It was prophesied by Jeremiah, and certified by Daniel, and the same message was pressed upon all the common captivity by Ezekiel.

IV.When did he prophesy? His prophecies began six years before the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred 586 B.C. and lasted for a period of 16 years thereafter, lasting some 22 to 25 years. He seems to have begun at the age of 30 years, the required age for a priest to enter his duties, Num 4:3; Eze 1:2. It was a time of idolatry and false prophets among his own people, seven in their captivity, Eze 2:3-8; Eze 3:4-11.

V.What was the occasion? His mission call was to explain why God had permitted them to be taken captive by heathen kings and rulers. It was because of their abominable, immoral, and unethical conduct, acting as heathens in their own land of Israel, city of Jerusalem, and the desecration of the Holy Temple, that they had been Divinely permitted to suffer captive oppression in Babylon, to call them to repentance, as provided in their own law, chapters 1-24; Deu 28:15-20; Deu 28:32-33; Deu 28:49; Deu 28:63-68; 2Ch 7:14. His early message was one of certain desolation that was to befall the land, the city, and the people of Israel, with later assurance of their restoration.

PREFACE TO EZEKIEL AND DANIEL

Ezekiel and Daniel were captivity or exile prophets who were living and prophesying at the same time in Babylon or Ancient Chaldea. Ezekiel prophesies to the Jews in captivity in the land while Daniel prophesied to the Gentile rulers and leaders of both Babylon and Medo Persia. He was the major prophet to the Gentiles in Old Testament times. Daniel, however, was carried captive into Babylon 8 years before Ezekiel and had attained much fame before Ezekiel arrived, Eze 14:14; Eze 14:20; Eze 28:3. Daniel prophesied in the palace of Babylon, restrictedly to the Gentiles, while Ezekiel prophesied in the country to the captive Jews. It is not known whether they may have met often. It is clear that Daniel never prophesied directly to his own people, Though he prophesied much about them.

EZEKIEL – CHART II

SUMMARY OF WORKS OF EZEKIEL

(by Babylonian calendar)

As the “prophet of visions” no prophet was more meticulous than Ezekiel in certifying or documenting the exact date when each of the twelve visions came to him, as follows:

Eze 1:2 in 5th year, 4th month (July)5th day 592 B.C.

Eze 8:1 in 6th year, 6th month (Sept.)5th day 591 B.C.

Eze 20:1 in 7th year, 5th month (Aug.)10th day 590 B.C.

Eze 24:1 in 9th year, 10th month (Jan.)10th day 587 B.C.

The Seige of Jerusalem Began in the 9th year,

10th month, 10th day

Eze 26:1 in 11th year, 5th (?) month (Aug.)1st day 586 B.C

Eze 29:1 in 10th year, 10th month (Jan.)12th day 586 B.C.

Eze 29:17 in 27th year, 1st month (April)1st day 570 B.C.

Eze 30:20 in 11th year, 1st month (April)7th day 586 B.C.

Eze 32:1 in 12th year, 12th month (March)1st day 584 B.C.

Jerusalem Fell 11th year, 4th month, and 9th day

Eze 32:1 in 12th year, 12th month (March)1st day 584 B.C.

Eze 32:17 in 12th year, 12th (?) month (March)15th day 584 B.C.

Eze 33:21 in 12th year, 10th month (Jan.)5th day 584 B.C.

Eze 40:1 in year, (April) 10th day 572 B.C.

Ezekiel was carried captive with king Jehoiachin 597 B.C., which he called “our captivity”, Eze 33:21; Eze 40:1.

He had a wife and a home in Telabib by the river of Chebar, the great ship channel branching off from the Euphrates, north of Babylon, and running through Nippur to the Tigris river; See Eze 3:15; Eze 3:24; Eze 8:1; Eze 24:15-18; Eze 33:21; Eze 40:1.

Ninety times Ezekiel is addressed as “Son of man.” It is used in Eze 7:13 concerning the Messiah, a term Jesus often used, referring to Himself, Joh 1:14. Ezekiel surely bare His message to the captive Jews in Babylon. His messages abound with visions given in parables, allegories, figures and symbolic acts, to veil a message from the heathen of the land, to avoid offense, yet with deep spiritual meaning for Israel.

His life had many painful sufferings. He had to remain dumb for a long period of time, Eze 3:26; Eze 24:27; Eze 33:22. He had to lie on his side in one position one time, for more than a year, Eze 4:5-6,. and ate loathsome food, Eze 24:15. His wife, whom he loved dearly, was suddenly taken from him, Eze 24:16-18. He shared, like our Lord, every kind of pain and humiliation that man is heir to, white sojourning for his Lord, Heb 4:15-16.

EZEKIEL – CHART III

His Call and Commission, Ch. 1-3

His Desolation Prophecies ch. 4-24 (Before the fall)

1) Of the Land of Palestine

2) Of the City of Jerusalem

3) Of the Holy Temple

4) Of the People of Israel

Prophecies of Israel’s Captivity by the Gentiles

Their dispersion among Gentile nations, ch. 25-32

His Prophecies of Israel’s Restoration, ch. 33-48

1) Of her Land, Palestine

2) Of her Holy City, Jerusalem

3) Of her Holy Temple

4) Of her People

EZEKIEL – CONTENTS

I. His Preparation and Commission, ch. 1 to 3:9

Chapter 1

Introduction, v. 1

The first vision of glory, v. 2-28

Chapter 2

The filling of the Spirit, v. 1, 2

Ezekiel’s mandate from the Lord, v. 3-10

Chapter 3

His mandate continued, v. 1-9

II. His commission as watchman, v.10-21

III. His second vision of Divine Glory, v. 22, 23

A new empowering of the Spirit, a seizure of dumbness, v. 24-27

Chapter 4

The sign of the tile and symbolic action, v. 1-17

Chapter 5

The sharp knife sign, famine, pestilence, and the sword, v. 1-17

Chapter 6

Prophecy against the mountains of Israel, v-17

A remnant to be spared, v. 8-10

Desolation to cover the land, v. 11-14

Chapter 7

Continuing description of desolation of the land, v. 1-27

IV. Captivity Judgment Divinely Justified, ch. 8 to 33:20

Key verse Eze 33:20

Chapter 8

Return of God’s hand upon Ezekiel, v. 1

His third vision of Glory, v. 2-4

Past profaning of the Temple charged, v. 5-18 x

Chapter 9

A vision of human slaughter in Jerusalem, v. 1-11

Chapter 10

The vision of altar fire scattered over Jerusalem, v. 1-7

The cherubim described, v. 8-22

Chapter 11

A vision of wrath upon the remnant, v. 1-13

A Divine promise to spare the remnant, v. 14-16

Israel to be restored to her land and converted, v. 17-21

Departure of Divine Glory from Israel visualized, v. 22-25

Chapter 12

Vision of the prophet as a sign (v. 11) also v. 1-16

Complete captivity then near at hand, v. 17-28

Chapter 13

Special message against lying prophets, v. 1-23

Chapter 14

A vision of Israel’s elders, v. 1-11

No hope for Israel to be spared, v. 12-23

Chapter 15

The vision of the burning vine, v. 1-8

Chapter 16

Harlotry of Jerusalem described, v. 1-59

Future blessings of Israel and the land under two covenants,

v. 60-63 a) The Palestinian covenant, Deu 30:1-10 b) The New Covenant, Heb 8:8-12

Chapter 17

The great eagle parable, v. 1-10

Rebellion of Zedekiah and its results, v. 11-24

Chapter 18

Ethical directions for Israel in captivity, v. 1-32

Chapter 19

Lamentation of the Princes of Israel, v. 1-14

Chapter 20

Jehovah’s vindication in Israel’s chastisement, v. 1-32

Israel’s yet future judgment, v. 33-44

Parable of the forest of the south field, v. 45-49

Chapter 21

Parable of the sighing prophet, v. 1-7

The sword of God parable, v. 8-17

No further King until the Messiah comes to reign, v. 18-32

Chapter 22

Sins of Israel enumerated, v. 1-16

The dross in the furnace parable, v. 17-22

Sins of the priests, princes, prophets, and people, v. 23-31

Chapter 23

The parable of Aholah and Aholibah, v. 1-49

Chapter 24

The boiling pot parable, v. 1-14

Ezekiel made a sign to Israel, v. 15-27

Chapter 25

Prophecy against the Ammonites, v. 1-7

Coming judgment pronounced upon Moab, v. 8-11

Coming judgment pronounced upon Edom, v. 12-14

Philistia also to be judged, v. 15-17

Chapter 26

Coming judgment upon Tyre, v. 1-21

Chapter 27

Tyre lamented, v. 1-36; (Rev 18:1-24)

Chapter 28

The King of Tyre rebuked, v. 1-19

Zidon to be judged, v. 20-24

Future regathering of Israel, v. 25, 26 Chapter 29

Prophecy against Egypt, v. 1-21

Chapter 30

Egypt in the day of Jehovah, v. 1-19

Jehovah resists Pharaoh in the war with Babylon, v. 22-26

Chapter 31

Prophecy against Pharaoh, v.1-18

Chapter 32

Lamentation for Pharaoh, v. 1-16

Lamentation for Egypt, v. 17-32

Chapter 33

Ethical instructions for the captivity, v. 1-20

V.Future kingdom of the Son of David, 33:2 to 36:38

The hands of the Lord upon Ezekiel confirmed, v. 21, 22

Hearers, but not doers, of the Word, v. 23-33

Chapter 34

Direct Divine message to false shepherds of Israel, v.1-10

Israel to be restored, Davidic Kingdom set up, v. 11-31

Chapter 35

Prophecy against Mount Seir, v. 1-15

Chapter 36

Another message to the mountains of Israel, Restoration

further predicted, v. 1-15Past sins of Israel, yet her restoration and conversion are

certain, v. 16-38

Chapter 37

VI.Three things certified, 1) Israel to be restored; 2)

The Davidic Kingdom to be restored; and 3) The Nations to be judged: chs. 37:1 to 39:29

Valley of Dry Bones vision, v. 1-10

The vision explained, v. 11-14

The two sticks sign, v. 15-28

Chapter 38

The prophecy against Gog, v.1-23

Chapter 39

The prophecy against Gog enlarged, v. 1-29

Chapter 40

VII. Israel in Her Land in the Kingdom Age, chs. 40:1 to 48:35

Man with the measuring reed vision, v. 1-43

Chambers of the singers and priests of Israel, v. 44-47

The Temple porch, v. 48, 49

Chapter 41

Description of the Temple, v. 1-26

Chapter 42

Temple description continued, v. 1-20

Chapter 43

Glory of the Lord fills the Temple, v. 1-6

Throne place of the future Kingdom, v. 7-12

The measure of the altar, v. 13-18

The offering, v. 19-27

Chapter 44

The Gate for the Prince, v. 1-3

Divine Glory fills the house, v. 4-8

Priests of the future Temple, v. 9-31

Chapter 45

The Lord’s portion of the land, v. 1-6

The prince’s portion, v. 7-25

Chapter 46

Worship of the prince and the people, v. 1-18

Boiling place of the offerings, v. 18-24

Chapter 47

The river of the Sanctuary, v. 1-2

The borders of the land, v. 13-23

Chapter 48

The division of the land, v. 1-9

The priests and the Levites, v. 10-20

The portion for the prince, v. 21-29

The city and its gates, v. 30-35

EZEKIEL – CHAPTER 1

Verses 1-3:

Verse 1. “Now” indicates “at this period of time” in Israel’s history and Ezekiel’s life. “In the thirteenth year” seems to refer to about 595 B.C., at which time Ezekiel is believed to have become 30 years of age, the age which Jews were permitted to become public teachers, in the “fourth” month and on the “fifth” day, (July 5th, 595 B.C.) In exile he was given visions of God, in the fourth year of Zedekiah’s reign, Jer 51:59. It is believed to have been on a sabbath day, for seven days later he received a further commission or Divine mandate, Eze 3:16. There is a similar experience that came to John, also in exile, on the isle of Patmos, later, Rev 1:10.

He dwelt as a captive, among the captives of his Jewish people, in despond, “by the river Chebar,” north of Babylon. There he heard his people jeered, taunted, and tormented as the people said, “sing us one of the songs of Zion.” They had been carried there by Tiglathpileser and Shalmaneser, 2Ki 17:6; 1Ch 5:26. But they could not sing “in a strange (heathen) land,” Psa 137:1-4. They were a rebellious backslidden nation, needing repentance before restoration, 2Ch 7:14; 1Jn 1:8-9; Psa 51:8-13.

“The heavens were opened,” rolled back for an heavenly vision, much as it was to Stephen, to Peter, and to John the revelator, Act 7:10, Revelation ch. 1. And he “saw visions,” revelations of the glory of God and the Godhead, Mat 3:16; Act 7:56; Rev 19:11. He was later himself in visions, but this one was of God only.

THE GLORY OF THE LORD, v. 2-28

Verse 2 certifies that this was the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. He had been carried exile by Nebuchadnezzar as the last of David’s family life, traced through Solomon, ever to reign in Judah or over Israel, as he died childless.

Verse 3 affirms that “the Word of the Lord came expressly”, distinctly, clearly, or specifically to Ezekiel, indicating that the message he was to give was of Divine order, impulse, or mandate. It was similar to Isaiah’s message which he saw of Judah and Jerusalem; and to that of Amos which he saw concerning Israel; and to that of Daniel, Paul, Peter and John, who saw visions and heard Divine instructions in connections therewith, Isa 1:1; Amo 1:1; Daniel ch. 7, 8, 9, 10; Act 8:1-8; Act 26:13-19; Act 10:7-16; Rev 1:9-20.

He was “the son of Buzi the priest,” as indicated by a clear translation of the Hebrew. Ezekiel too was a priest by descent or family lineage, though in captivity, he had likely performed no priestly function. The name Ezekiel means “God is strong,” or “will strengthen,” indicating that He will strengthen His servants whom He calls, Php_4:19; Psa 23:1. God could call and use His Jewish prophet in Chaldea as surely as in the Land of Judah or Israel.

“The hand of the Lord,” is an oft-repeated phrase that indicates that what was to be said and done by Ezekiel was to be done in the strength and under the submission of the Lord’s direction, not by his own will or strength. Note the following lesson:

a) Daniel heard a Divine message at the touch of an hand, Dan 10:10.

b) John received the great Revelation at the touch of a Divine hand, Rev 1:17.

c) And without or apart from Him one can do nothing, Joh 15:5.

In every major message Ezekiel asserted that the “hand of the Lord” was upon him (Eze 3:14; Eze 3:22; Eze 8:1; Eze 33:22; Eze 37:1; Eze 40:1; 1Ki 18:46; 2Ki 3:15). May it ever be so to each child of God.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

We see that the Prophet was called to the office of a Teacher in the fifth year after Jehoiachin had voluntarily surrendered himself to the king of Babylon, (2Kg 24:15); and had been dragged into exile, together with his mother: for it was, says he, “in the thirtieth year.” The greater part of the Commentators follow the Chaldee Paraphrast, and understand him to date from the finding of the Book of the Law. It is quite clear, flint this year was the eighteenth of king Josiah; but in my computation, I do not subscribe to the opinion of those who adopt this date. For this phrase — “the thirtieth year,” would then appear too obscure and ‘forced. We nowhere read that succeeding writers adopted this date as a standard. Besides, there is no doubt that the usual method among the Jews was to begin to reckon from a Jubilee. For this was a point of starting for the future. I therefore do not doubt that this thirtieth year is reckoned from the Jubilee. Nor is my opinion a new one; for Jerome makes mention of it, although he altogether rejects it, through being deceived by an opposite opinion. But since it is certain that the Jews used this method of computation, and made a beginning from Jobel, that is, the Jubilee, this best explains the thirtieth year If any one should object, that we do not read that this eighteenth year of king Josiah was the usual year in which every one returned to his own lands, (Lev 25:0) and liberty was given to the slaves, and the entire restoration of the whole people took place, yet the answer is easy, although we cannot ascertain in what year the Jobel fell, it is sufficient for us to assign the Jubilee to this year, because the Jews followed the custom of numbering their years from this institution. As, then, the Greeks had their Olympiads, the Romans their Consuls, and thence their computation of annals; so also the Hebrews were accustomed to begin from the year Jobel, when they counted their years on to the next restoration, which I have just mentioned. It is therefore probable that this was a Jubilee year — it is probable, then, that this was the Jubilee. For it is said that Josiah celebrated the passover with such magnificent pomp and splendor, that there had been nothing like it since the time of Samuel. (2Ch 35:18.) The conjecture which best explains this is, not that he celebrated the passover even with such magnificence, but that he was induced to do so by the peculiar occasion, when the people were restored and returned to their possessions, and the slaves were set free. Since, then, this was the Jubilee, the pious king was induced to celebrate the passover with far greater splendor than was usual — nay, even to surpass David and Solomon. Again, although he reigned thirteen years afterwards, we do not read that he celebrated any passover with remarkable splendor. We do not doubt as to his yearly celebration; for this was customary. (2Kg 23:23.) From this we conclude that the celebration before us was extraordinary, and that the year was Jobel. But though it is not expressed in Scripture, it is sufficient for us that the Prophet reckoned the years according to the accustomed manner of the people. For he says, that this was “the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity :” who is called also Jehoiakim; for Jehoiakim succeeded Josiah, and reigned eleven years. The thirteen years which remain of Josiah’s reign and these eleven, make twenty-four. (2Kg 23:36.) Now, “his successor,” Jehoiachin, passed immediately into the hands of king Nebuchadnezzar, and was taken captive at the beginning of his reign, and reigned only three or four months. (2Kg 24:8.) After that, the last king, Zedekiah, was set up by the will of the king of Babylon. We see, therefore, that nine years are made up: add the space of the reign of Jehoiachin: so it is no longer doubtful as to the reckoning of “the thirtieth year” from the eighteenth of king Josiah. It is true that the Law of God was found during this year, (2Ch 34:14,) but the Prophet here accommodates himself to the received rule and custom.

We must now come to the intention of God in appointing Ezekiel as his Prophet. For thirty-five years Jeremiah had not ceased to cry aloud, but to little purpose. When, therefore, this Prophet Jeremiah was so occupied, God wished to give him a coadjutor. Nor was it but a slight relief when at Jerusalem Jeremiah became aware that the Holy Spirit was speaking through another mouth in harmony with himself; for by this means the truth of his teaching was confirmed. In the thirteenth year of Josiah, Jeremiah undertook the prophetic office: (Jer 1:2 🙂 eighteen years remain: add the eleven years of Jehoiakim, and it will make twenty.-nine: then add another year, and five more, and we shall have thirty-five years. This then was his hard province, to cry aloud continually for thirty-five years, to the deaf, nay, even to the insane. God, therefore, that he might succor his servant, gave him an ally who should teach the same things at Babylon which Jeremiah had not desisted from proclaiming at Jerusalem. He profited not only the captives, but also the rest of the people who still remained in the city and the land. As far as the captives were concerned, this confirmation was necessary for them: for they had false Prophets there, as we learn from Jer 29:21; there was Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah; they proudly boasted that they were endued with the Spirit of revelation; they promised the people marvels, they derided the softness of those who had left their country, they said that they were determined to fight to the very last, and to run the risk of their lives rather than voluntarily give up the inheritance of divine promise. In this way they insulted the captives. After this there was Shemaiah the Nehelamite, (Jer 29:24,) who wrote to the high priest Zephaniah, and reproached him for being careless and neglectful, because he did not severely punish Jeremiah as an impostor and a fanatic, and a false intruder into the prophetic office. Since, therefore, the Devil had his busy agents there, God stationed his Prophet there, and hence we see how useful, nay, how necessary it was, that Ezekiel should discharge his prophetic office there. But the utility of his instructions extended much further, since those at Jerusalem were compelled to listen to the prophecies which Ezekiel uttered in Chaldea. When they saw that his prophecies agreed with those of Jeremiah, it necessarily happened that they would at least enquire into the cause of this coincidence. For it is not natural that one Prophet at Jerusalem, and another in Chaldea, should utter their prophecies, as it were, in the same key, just as two singers unite their voices in accordance with each other. For no melody can be devised more perfectly complete than that which appears between these two servants of God. Now we see the meaning of what our Prophet says concerning “the years.” In the thirtieth year: then in the fourth month, (the word month being’ understood,) and in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives

Before I proceed any farther, I will briefly touch on the subjects which Ezekiel treats. He has all things in common with Jeremiah, as I have said, with this peculiarity, that he denounces the last slaughter against the people, because they ceased not to heap iniquity upon iniquity, and thereby inflamed still more and more the vengeance of God. He threatens them, therefore, and that not once only, because such was the hard-heartedness of the people, that it was not enough to utter the threatenings of God three or four times, unless he should continually impress them. But, at the same time, he shows the causes why God determined to treat his people so severely; namely, because they were contaminated with many superstitions, because they were perfidious, avaricious, cruel, and full of rapine, given up to luxury and depraved by lust: all these things are united by our Prophet, that he may show that the vengeance of God is not too severe, since the people had arrived at the very last pitch of impiety and all wickedness. At the same time, he gives them, here and there, some taste of the mercy of God. For all threats are vain, unless some promise of favor is held out. Nay, the vengeance of God, as soon as it is displayed, drives men to despair, and despair casts them headlong into madness: for as soon as any one apprehends the anger of God, he is necessarily agitated, and then, like a raging beast, he wages war with God himself. For this reason, I said, that all threats are vain without a taste of the mercy of God. The Prophets always argue with men with no other intention than that of stirring’ them up to penitence, which they could never effect unless God could be reconciled to those who had been alienated from him. This then is the reason why our Prophet, as well as Jeremiah, when they reprove the people, temper their asperity by the interposition of promises. He also prophesies against heathen nations, like Jeremiah, especially against the children of Ammon, the Moabites, the Tyrians, the Egyptians, and the Assyrians. (Jer 26:0 -29.) But from the fortieth chapter he treats more fully and copiously concerning the restoration of the Temple and the city. He there professedly announces, that a new state of the people would arise, in which both the royal dignity would flourish again, and the priesthood would recover its ancient excellence, and, to the end of the book, he unfolds the singular benefits of God, which were to be hoped for after the close of the seventy years. Here it is useful to remember what we observed in the case of Jeremiah: (Jer 28:0 🙂 while the false Prophets were promising the people a return after three or five years, the true Prophets were predicting what would really happen, that the people might submit themselves patiently to God, and that length of time might not interrupt their calm submission to his just corrections.

As we now understand what our Prophet is treating, and the tendency as well as the substance of his teaching, I will proceed with the context.

He says: as I was among the captives While some skillfully explain the words of the Prophet, they think that he was not in reality in the midst of the exiles, but refer this to a vision, as if; when he uses the word “among,” signifying “in the midst,” its sense could be, that he was in the assembly of the whole people: but his intention is far otherwise, for he uses the above phrase that he may show that he was an exile together with the rest, and yet that the prophetic spirit was granted to him in that polluted land. Hence the words, “among the captives,” or, “in the midst of the captives,” do not mean the assembly, but simply narrate, that, though the Prophet was far from the Sacred Land, yet the hand of God was extended to him there, that he might excel in the prophetic gift. Hence the folly of those is refuted, who deny to our Prophet the possession of any spirit of revelation before he went into exile. Although they do not err so much through mistake and ignorance as through willful stupidity; for the Jews took nothing so ill as the thought of God’s reigning beyond the sacred land. To this day, indeed, they are hardened, because they are dispersed through the whole world, and scattered through all regions, and yet retain much of their ancient pride. But then, when there was any hope of return, this profanation seemed to them scarcely tolerable, if the truth of God were to shine forth elsewhere than in the holy land, but especially in the Temple. The Prophet then shows, that he was called to the office of instruction when he was in the midst of the exiles, and one among them. God’s inestimable goodness is conspicuous in this, because he called the Prophet, as it were, from the abyss: for Babylon was a profound abyss: hence the Spirit of God emerged with its own instrument, that is, brought forth this man, who should be the minister and herald of his vengeance as well as of his favor. We see, therefore, how wonderfully God drew light out of darkness, when our Prophet was called to his office during his exile. In the meantime, although his doctrine ought to be useful to the Jews still remaining in this country, yet God wished them not to return to him without some mark of their disgrace. For, because they had despised all the prophecies which had been uttered at home, in the Temple, the Sanctuary, and on Mount Zion, these prophecies were now to issue forth from that cursed land, and from a master who was sunk, as I have said, in that profound abyss. We see then, that God chastised their impious contempt of his instructions, not without putting them to shame. For a long time Isaiah had discharged the prophetic office; then came Jeremiah: but the people ever remained just as they formerly were. Since then prophecy when flowing freely from the very fountain was despised by the Jews, God raised up a Prophet in Chaldea. Blow, therefore, we see the full meaning of the clause.

He says, “by the river of Chebar,” which many understand to mean the Euphrates, but they assign no reason, except their not finding any other celebrated river in that country; for the Tigris loses its name after flowing into the Euphrates, and on this account they think the Euphrates is called Chebar. But we are ignorant of the region to which our Prophet was banished: perhaps it was Mesopotamia, or else beyond Chaldea, and besides, since the Euphrates has many tributaries, it is probable that each has its own name. But since all is uncertainty, I had rather leave the matter in suspense. Because the Prophet received his vision on the banks of the river, some argue from this, that the waters were, as it were dedicated to revelations, and when they assign the cause, they say that water is lighter than earth, and as a prophet must necessarily rise above the earth, so water is suitable for revelations. Some connect this with ablution, and think that baptism is prefigured. But I pass by these subtleties which vanish of themselves, and very willingly do I leave them, because in this way Scripture would lose all its solidity: conjectures of this kind are very plausible, but we ought to seek in Scripture sure and firm teaching;, in which we can acquiesce. Some for instance torture this passage, “By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept,” (Psa 137:1,) as if the people betook themselves to their banks to pray and worship; when the situation of that country only is described, as being watered by many rivers, as I have just mentioned.

He says, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God God opens his heavens, not that they are opened in reality, but when, by removing every obstacle, he allows the eye of the faithful to penetrate even to his celestial glory; for if the heavens were cleft a thousand times, yet what great brightness must it be to arrive at the glory of God? The sun appears small to us, yet it far exceeds the earth in size. Then the other planets, except the moon, are all like small sparks, and so are the stars. Since, therefore, light itself grows dark before our glance penetrates thus far, how can our sight ascend to the incomprehensible glory of God? It follows therefore when God opens the heavens, that he also gives new eyesight to his servants, to supply their deficiency to pierce not only the intervening space, but even its tenth or hundredth part. So, when Stephen saw the heavens open, (Act 7:56,) his eyes were doubtless illuminated with unusual powers of perceiving far more than men can behold. So, at the baptism of Christ, the heavens were opened, (Mat 3:16,) that is, God made it appear to John the Baptist, as if he were carried above the clouds. In this sense the Prophet uses the words, the heavens were opened, He adds, I saw visions of God Some think that this means most excellent visions, because anything excellent is called in Scripture divine, as lofty mountains and trees are called mountains and trees of God; but this seems too tame. I have no doubt but that he calls prophetic inspiration “visions of God,” and thus professes himself sent by God, because he put off as it were his human infirmities when God intrusted to him the office of instructor. And we need not wonder that he uses this phrase, because it was thought incredible that any prophet could arise out of Chaldea. Nathaniel asked whether any good thing could come out of Nazareth, and yet Nazareth was in the Holy Land. How then could the Jews be persuaded that the light of celestial doctrine could shine in Chaldea, and that any testimony to the grace of God could spring from thence? and that there also God exercised judgment by the mouth of a Prophet? This would never have been believed unless the calling of God had been marked in some signal and especial manner. Since he next adds, this was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, (or Jechoniah, or Jechaniah,) it is plain that by these very words he reproves the obstinacy of the people. For when God afflicts us severely, at first we are much agitated, but by degrees we necessarily become submissive. Since, however, the willfulness of the people was not subdued during these five years, we infer that they persevered in rebellion against God. Nor does he spare those who remained at Jerusalem, for these took credit to themselves for not going into exile with their brethren, and so they despised them, as we often find in Jeremiah. Since then those who remained at home pleased themselves and thought their lot the best, the Prophet here marks the time, because it was necessary to allay their ferocity, and since they resisted the prophecies of Jeremiah, to use a second hammer that they might be completely broken in pieces. This is the reason why he speaks of the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

SEEING VISIONS OF GOD

Eze 1:1-28

IN the preparation of this series of sermons, constituting the forty volumes of The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist, it has been my custom to write the introduction after I had finished the chapters; but in taking up Ezekiel, a few introductory words are both appropriate and essential.

The word Ezekiel means, The Strength of God. It does not signify that he equals the Divine One in strength, but it does indicate that Divine strength was imparted to him.

The life of Ezekiel overlapped that of Jeremiah; but the writings of Ezekiel are a natural sequence to those of Jeremiahhis co-Prophet, since Jeremiah, in the Book that wears his name, gives himself largely to prophecy, while Ezekiel experiences the history made in the fulfilment of the same.

You, who have been auditors to the exposition of Jeremiah, have revealed a constant and even increasing interest in the study. We are confident, however, that Ezekiel will excite a more vivid interest still, since the Book itself is characterized by greater variety of thought and vividness of expression.

Turning, then, to the text, we find in this first chapter the Priest made Prophet, The Vision of the Four Living Creatures, and of The Wheels Within the Wheel.

THE PRIEST MADE PROPHET

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachins captivity,

The Word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the Priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him (Eze 1:1-3).

Ezekiel, then, had an exceedingly definite experience. Like the man who has long lived in sin and dwelt in slums, but is suddenly saved and truly sanctified, Ezekiel will point to the month and day, and almost minute of the day when God visited him.

It came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month.

That is definite! All people do not have the same experiences. Lydia is very quietly converted. Peter is persuaded by his brother to become acquainted with the Lord. Paul is struck to the earth by a light from Heaven and left blind a few days, that the Light that lighteneth every man that cometh into the world might shine into his soul.

But each of them has a history of conversion to rehearse, and as St. Pauls salvation was altogether the most dramatic, his report of it is oft repeated. Three times over in the Book of Acts he tells how it happened, and when it happened, and he dates everything worth while from that hour, when, on the way to Damascus, he was smitten and heard the voice from Heaven. His experience is recorded in Acts 9. He told it to the Jews in Acts 22; he rehearsed it to Agrippa in Acts 26; he referred to it in his Epistle to the Gal 1:13-16; he recurred to it in his Epistle to the Php 3:4.

John Newton, we are told, once preached in Newgate to the prisoners. He took as his text 1Ti 1:15: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief, and as he rehearsed his own history, in coming out of darkness into light, he wept, and the men brought under conviction for sin, wept with him.

Herrick, in his volume, Some Heretics of Yesterday, speaking of Thomas Bilney, tells how he was led out of the tyranny of Rome, by opening up the Bible one day to the same text, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1Ti 1:15). Afterward, at Cambridge, he heard a young Englishman who was just graduating from the Divinity School, denouncing people for studying the Scripture, speaking indignantly against the attacks that had been made upon the Papacy, and at the appointment of the university itself, walking at the head of the university parade as the official crossbearer, finally delivering his Bachelor of Divinity oration against Philip Melancthon.

Bilney admired the spirit of the man, but detected in what he said, a soul unrest; so he sought the young man out at his study and asked him if he might relate to him his Christian experience, and as they were both members of the Catholic church, the Cambridge graduate consented, and then Bilney rehearsed his own conflict, how he had done penance, paid for masses and absolutions, and that he had diligently applied himself to all the soul remedies which the young divine had recommended in his oration, but never finding peace. At last he had gone to the Scriptures and, there, in the revelation of Gods free love and the gift of His Son, he found a soul-rest that passed knowledge. The young priest listened; was profoundly impressed, and at last got his own consent to look into the same prescribed Scriptures, and lo, he too, discovered the saving Son of God. That priest was Hugh Latimer who became one of the mightiest of Christs missionaries.

Perhaps there is no witness more valuable than that of the man who can tell of a definite dealing with God, or, better yet, of how God definitely dealt with him. Ezekiel knew that it was the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month that God found him.

The circumstances were propitious for spiritual revelation. The captivity was on and Ezekiel was himself a slave in a foreign land; and as he sat by the riverside, doubtless grieving the bondage into which his own kin, many of his people (he himself included) had fallen, his meditations were such that God could speak to him.

God is not likely to get the ear of a man who is driving his automobile fifty miles an hour in order to make the office on time. God is not likely to get the ear of the man who has to put in the day making out bills to those who are indebted to him. God is not likely to get the ear of the man who has the pleasing job of clipping interest coupons; but God is likely to get the ear of the poor wretch who sits, in solitary confinement, back of prison walls. God is very likely to get the ear of a man who, after he has tramped all day in search of a job, has to set his face homeward where the children will probably meet him at the door crying for bread. God is very likely to get the ear of a man whose grief is so great that he cant endure to talk to anybody else but God.

God got into Bunyans mind when he was in Bedford Jail, and gave him marvelous visions. God got into Miltons heart when his eyes were blinded and all the world was black, and made him the Master poet. God sat in counsel with Robert Hall when such afflictions had befallen him as to render him a hopeless, helpless invalid.

Henry Van Dyke says, It was suffering that wrought in Christ that beauty of holiness, sweetness of patience, wealth of sympathy and grace of compassion which constitute His Divine attraction and seated Him on the throne. Once, when the cloud fell on Him, He said, Father, save Me from this hour, but when the cloud lifted, Jesus saw of the travail of His soul, and said, I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me. In the upper room, Jesus was cast down for an instant and then Iscariot went out to arrange for the arrest, and Jesus, revived at the sight of the Cross: Now is the Son of Man glorified!

The same writer says, Humanity has fought its way upwards at the point of the bayonet, torn and bleeding, yet hopeful and triumphant. As each nation suffers, it prospers; as it ceases to suffer, it decays.

Once more I tell you that our dark days are not our worst days. The biggest blessing that ever came to Ezekiel reached him when he was in the spiritual dumps, his head down, his heart heavy; and that was the blessing that changed him from a Priest to a Prophet, from a man who tinkered with things and ceremonies, to an inspired spokesman for God.

These visions involved Ezekiels commission.

The Word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the Priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him (Eze 1:3).

He was not only to see; he was to speak. Honors are comparative, but the superlative honor is to be a spokesman for God. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace! How noble is the office of him who becomes the ambassador for the Most Highthe mouthpiece of the King.

The visions that are to follow were but the credentials of the Prophet. They carry to the public the proof of Divine appointment,and what an honor!

Phillips Brooks, in one of his volumes, speaking of visions and tasks says,

To furnish truth to the believing heart, and to furnish believing hearts to truth, certainly there is no nobler office for a human life than that.

How marvelous was the counsel given by old Eli to little Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if He call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth!

Oh, for that submission that makes possible a revelation, and for that willingness that enables us to be prophets! Would God that all the Lords people were prophets!

THE FOUR LIVING CREATURES

We come here upon such highly figurative things that many students of the Bible make little or nothing out of them; but this, also, we believe, will yield richest returns to diligent study:

And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire.

Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

And every one had four fades, and every one had four wings.

And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calfs foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.

And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings alike.

Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle,

Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies,

And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went,

As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of torches: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning (Eze 1:4-14).

What does it mean? Whats the matter with Ezekiel? Is he out of his mind? Nay, verily, he is en-rapporte with God, and is being made to receive a marvelous revelation of Truth in dramatic symbol.

The cloud out of the northwhen did one ever come out of that quarter without clearing the atmosphere; and the fire infolding itself * * as the colour of amberGods shininga brightness above the shining of the sun, and out of the midst of this the likeness of four living creatures that had the likeness of a man.

Mark you, it does not say that these were four living creatures. They may have been only the likeness of four living creatures,the picture, so to speak, of great and special truths that God wanted to get into the mind of the Prophet and, by the way of His pen, reach our minds with the same. At any rate, some lessons are clear.

These Heavenly symbols or creatures were manlike. What does that mean? It means that man is the climax of Divine creation, and that when we get Home to Heaven and join with the sons of God who never sinned, we will not find in them an order of beings so unlike ourselves that we can have no interest in them, no sympathy with them, no love for them.

All the pictures you see of angels are like men, like women. Why? Because they also were created in the likeness of God, and having a common Father, they are alike His children. That such is absolutely true is made clear in Lukes Gospel.

One day some of those smart mensmart in their own opinions of themselvescame to Jesus for the catch-question. They were the Sadduceesthe modernists of His timethe materialists of His day, and they said,

Master, Moses wrote unto us, If any mans brother die, having a wife, and he die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother,

There were therefore seven brethren: and the first took a wife, and died without children.

And the second took her to wife, and he died childless.

And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died.

Last of all the woman died also.

Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them is she? for seven had her to wife.

And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:

But they that shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:

Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection (Luk 20:28-36).

For they are equal or like the angels. Then Gods angelic beings are like men. Each of the four had the face of a man.

When, therefore, we come to Heaven, we will not meet an alien creation with which we cannot company, but other children of the king. Being children, the highest creations of the Heavenly Father, they will be our kith, our kin; and the fellowship of saints and angels will be as sweet as eternity is endless.

Ye angels who stand round the throne

And view my Immanuels face,

In rapturous song make Him known,

O tune your soft harps to His praise;

He formed you the spirits you are,

So happy, so noble, so good;

When others sank down in despair,

Confirmed by His power, you stood.

Ye saints who stand nearer than they,

And cast your bright crowns at His feet,

His grace and His glory display,

And all His rich mercy repeat,

He snatched you from hell and the grave,

He ransomed from death and despair,

For you He was mighty to save,

Almighty to bring you safe there.

O when will the period appear

When I shall unite in your song?

Im weary of lingering here,

And I to your Saviour belong;

I want, O, I want to be there,

To sorrow and sin bid adieu,

Your joy and your friendship to share,

To wonder and worship with you.

Again, these Heavenly creatures excel men in perfection. Thats the meaning of the strange thingEveryone had four facesthe face of a man; the face of a lion; the face of an ox, and the face of an eagle.

What does that mean? The face of a man, God-like intelligence; the face of a lion, unlimited strength; the face of an ox, patience and endurance, and the face of an eagle, swiftness in service.

In all these, Gods unfallen ones surpass. Angels are intelligent. They know infinitely more than men. They have been at the fountain of wisdom itself. They have dwelt at the feet of God who is wisdom.

Angels are mighty! Ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word.

Of Jonathan and David, the mutual friends, who fought together and fought for God, it is said, They were swifter than eagles; and yet, men are slow in comparison with the flight of angels. That, in my judgment, is the meaning of the fact that their feet were straight feet, like the sole of a calfs foot, or of a deerfleet; and their eternal support was in the circumstance that underneath their wings were the hands of a manthe manthe God-man, a support that will never fail.

Hark! hark, my soul! angelic songs are swelling

Oer earths green fields and oceans wave-beat shore;

How sweet the truth those blessed strains are telling

Of that new life when sin shall be no more.

Angels, sing on! your faithful watches keeping;

Sing us sweet fragments of the songs above,

Till mornings joy shall end the night of weeping,

And lifes long shadows break in cloudless love.

But, even these creatures confess Gods utter superiority. Every one had two pair of wings. Their wings were joined one to another,

And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.

And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies (Eze 1:22-23).

In other words, they dared not attempt to look full into the face of God. Their holiness regarded His greater glory and they were abashed in His presence.

Modernism seeks to dethrone God, and modernism essays to set man on the pinnacle of the universe and crown him king. It is the devils attempt being repeated. It is the exact principle and process by which Lucifer, son of the morning, fell from Heaven to hell. This vision of the highest, and the Heavenly creatures, covering their faces in His holy presence, should be to us a gentle reminder of our mean estatecharacter consideredand of our necessity of bending the knee before Him and acknowledging God as over all and above all.

THE WHEELS WITHIN THE WHEEL

There is a strange mixture of these weird likenesses, and these moving wheels, that bring men and women again to say of Ezekiel: What does he mean?

It will be noticed that these living beings came out of the heavens and were associated with the clouds. But the wheel stands upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces (Eze 1:15).

We have learned something, and something valuable, as we believe, about the Heavenly beings. Now, may the Spirit show us something helpful for earthly beings.

What is the significance of this wheelberyl in colourfilled with eyes round about its rim, moving as the living creatures moved, and resting when they rested, as if the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. Are not angels administrators of Gods will?

What is this but the picture of Divine providences? Gods glory is revealed in the splendor of the upper world, but, as Matthew Henry said, It is also shown in the steadiness of His government of things on the earth.

The heavens do declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handywork, but the earth also is the place of His providences. Around it He moves as the wheel might move,with steadiness and regularity. His presence, in all its affairs, should be regarded; and His direction to all the movements of its life even lifes cross-currents should be valued.

One of the greatest lessons in this life is to learn to trust the providences of God. There are literally thousands of men who lose their lives because they cannot wait for God to move, nor believe that He will come to their aid.

A gentleman said, I was in a hotel and it was swept with a ruinous fire. I had found refuge on a window-ledge. Just below me, fifty feet, I could see the firemen busy, taking off the wagons hooks and ladders, and every moment was a temptation to quit my resting-place and leap. While I sat there, I saw a score of people jump into the air and dash their lives out on the pavement below. Each of them was dead when he was picked up from the ground, and yet, twenty times in as many minutes, I had selected the spot where I should strike.

The hardest thing I ever did was to command myself and say, Wait; wait; help will come, and surely enough, shortly the ladder was at my feet, the fireman was there to calmly and carefully help me to the ground. Wait; I say, on the Lord! Stand still and see the salvation of God!

Wheels move; God moves!

God moves in a mysterious way

His wonders to perform;

He plants His footsteps in the sea

And rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

With blessing on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense

But trust Him for His grace;

Behind a frowning Providence

He hides a smiling face.

Blind unbelief is seen to err

And scan His work in vain

God is His own Interpreter

And He will make it plain.

And their rings were full of eyes.

Here is the symbol of the Divine wisdom. The eyes looked every-whither as the wheels moved. Gods eyes are everywhere. He sees; He knows!

There is a dual suggestion in this fact. Thou God seest me, should be a warning against sin; a certainty that it cannot be covered up; and Thou God seest me should also be an inspiration to perfected service.

When Phidias, carving the statue of Diana for the Acropolis of Athens, was carving the back hair with exceeding care bringing out every line and filament, a passer-by stopped and watched his work, and by and by dared to say to him, Why such painstaking to the back of her head; it will not be seen by the people? Phidias looked up, and with indignation said, The gods will see it, and carved on.

Finally, we have here the administration of the Divine will.

And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.

And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.

As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake (Eze 1:26-28).

How marvelously the different and distinct portions of Gods Word harmonize!

John was in the Isle of Patmosthat dreary rock, on the Lords Day, and he had a vision, and he saw one like unto the

Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire (Rev 1:13-14).

And again he saw that a

Throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne.

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne (Rev 4:3).

Who will doubt that John and Ezekiel saw the same; that they saw the King of Glory and the vision was a vision of His power? He reigns and it is His right to reign.

Who will doubt the wisdom of God? Who will question His right to reign, and why are we so foolish as to fail in willing submission to His administration?

God knows best what is best for me.Why should I worryor anxious be,Trying to fathom the course I take,Grasping at bubbles that fade and break?One step is all I have need to see,God knows best what is best for me.

God knows best what is best for me Through all time and eternity.In my Fathers House is goodly storeOf all I needforevermore.With Him I rest, for I know that He Always gives what is best for me.

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

I.THE DIVINE CALL OF EZEKIEL. CHAPS 13, 15

1. THE DESIGNATION OF THE PROPHET TO HIS WORK (Chap. Eze. 1:1-3)

EXEGETICAL NOTES.Eze. 1:1. Now, the usual Hebrew connective particle, united to a tense which signifies an action associated with something which has already transpired. It seems to have place here, neither because the Book of Ezekiel is a continuation of that of Jeremiah, nor because a preceding portion of Ezekiels prophecies has been lost, but rather because of thoughts which were in the mind of the writer, and in succession to which his call came. In the thirtieth year. No note is given to define the point from which this date takes its origin. It was the thirtieth from the last jubilee year, or from the finding of the Book of the Law in the reign of King Josiah (2Ki. 22:8), or from the era fixed by the father of Nebuchadnezzar as the commencement of the Chaldean dominion, or from the birth of the prophetsuch are the suggestions made by various expositors. The first and the last are the most improbable; still, it would be misapplied labour to discuss whether the third or the fourth is the more likely. There is no part of the prophecies depending for illustration upon a settlement of the point from which Ezekiel reckons. No doubt it had some bearing upon him and his contemporaries; it seems to have none upon us. In the fourthmonth is omitted in the Hebrew, as frequently with Ezekiel. The fourth month of the ecclesiastical year corresponds to our JuneJuly, when nature is prolific with storms. In the fifth day of the monthwas this a Sabbath? So it has been affirmed because seven days after he received a further commission (Eze. 3:16). This is too precarious a footing from which to trace a parallel to the case of the banished John (Rev. 1:10). As I was among the captivesliterally, and I in the midst of the captivity. He has not yet mentioned who he is, so by this silence he calls special attention to his environment. He sets forth that he was amongst, and was one of those Jews who had been carried away from their ancestral land, and subjected to the shame and pain of captivity. He was a troubled man along with other troubled men. Not that he was under enforced servile labour, as the Israelites were in Egypt, the house of bondage; he had a considerable amount of personal liberty; but he was far from the land of promise, and oppressed with a sense of his exile. By the river of Chebar. It is not at all certain to-day where this river was. It is not necessary to suppose that Ezekiel was beside it, because the murmur of the water might dispose to quietude, and prepare his mind for openness to God. Something less sentimental than that took him thither. He had been located in the district, through which the water flowed, by the paramount power as a district which could be easily superintended, and in which there was need of population. Such wars as Nebuchadnezzar carried on, like the wars which modern Turks have waged, could not but have been the occasion for large parts of his dominions to fall out of cultivation. It would be politic to settle an industrial people like the Jews in such places, and grant them full permission to build houses and dwell in them, and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them. Abundance of water was needed for such operations. So the captive Jews were by a river. All was not pleasant there. Just as the later Jews were confined to the slums of Rome on the right bank of the Tiber, and satirised as Transtiberini, so was scorn heaped upon the earlier captives by the rivers of Babylon. There they were teased and tormented. They that carried us away captive required of us a song, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. A somewhat truculent temper was engendered; but God did not forsake them, and even there did exceeding abundantly above what they thought. The heavens were opened. The exile perceived the sky cleft open. Perhaps it was not materially so, but only to the eye of faith. Yet as he speaks of it as an actual fact, it is preferable to consider the appearance to have been shown to eyes open, as was that to John the Baptist, to Stephen, to Peter. I saw visions of Godphenomena produced by God and relating to His Godhead; He was at once the author and the object of them. They were somewhat differently presented from those which Ezekiel received afterwards, which were in visions (chaps. Eze. 8:3, Eze. 11:24, Eze. 40:2).

Eze. 1:2. The fifth year of King Jehoiachins captivity. Jehoiachin had been placed on the throne of Judea be Nebuchadnezzar; but, following advice from the partisans of an Egyptian alliance, and in defiance of the protestations and threatenings of Jeremiah, he had pursued a procedure at variance with the interests of the Babylonian empire. Nebuchadnezzar soon trampled down the feeble revolt, and, in little more than three months of kingship, Jehoiachin was made captive and carried away to Babylon with the prophetic denunciation ringing in his ears that he would die childlessthe last of the line of David which was traced through Solomon. His captivity was rigorous for years. He was kept in confinement and clothed in prison garments, and that, with their own troubles, must have made the thousands of Jews who had been transported with him to regard the date of their exile as deeply significant. So Ezekiel says to themhis contemporaries and hearersthat four years of their captivity had gone by, and then he was made cognisant of manifestations of God. This mode of dating he adheres to in his succeeding prophecies, never again referring to the thirtieth year of Eze. 1:1.

Eze. 1:3. The word of the Lord. Appearances were fortified, as so often in Gods revelations, by words heard. Came expressly. Ezekiel uses here a form of Hebrew emphasis, i.e., repeating the same verb. Such a repetition, in this connection, can scarcely mean that the word came directly to him, but rather that it was certainly, verily, really a divine word which in coming came to him. It needed a special attestation, and that was given to it. The same authenticating feature is exhibited in the frequent reiterations and assertions by Ezekiel that he was acting under divine impulse and authority. Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi. The order in the Hebrew, is, Ezekiel, the son of Buzi the priest. Of course Ezekiel was a priest by descent; but this order of the Hebrew may be intended to signify that, being in captivity, he had never fulfilled any specific priestly functions. His name, as usual among the Jews, has a meaning, and is to be translated either God is strong, or God will strengthen. Hengstenberg decides for the former, and says it is to be explained that Ezekiel was he in relation to whom God is strong. Baumgarten chooses the latter, and says it signifies he whose character is a special confirmation of the strength of God. The idea insisted on by Hengstenberg, following an older commentator, that it is not a name he had borne from his youth, but an official name which he had assumed at the beginning of his calling, appears to be groundless. It is true of all the prophets, both that God is strong to fulfil His purpose, and that He will give strength to His servants for that part of His work which He has assigned them. In the land of the Chaldeans. This topographical addition seems to be intended for a further attestation that it was the word of the Lord which really came to Ezekiel. The Chaldee version interpolates thus, In the land [of Israel, and again a second time He spake to him in the land] of the Chaldeans. It is believed that the Jews had a notion that the Shechinah could not overshadow a prophet out of the Holy Land. Perhaps a strain of this notion is to be heard in the wail of the captives by the rivers of Babylon when they ask, How can we sing the Lords song in a strange land? The notion was to be eradicated. God could endue a man with prophetic power even in Chaldea, and that is further witnessed to by the words was there upon him. The hand of the Lord is a frequent Scriptural expression, and indicates that the thing which was to be done was done in submission to the restraining or the impelling energy of the Lord.

HOMILETICS

(1.) GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE DESIGNATION

I. The time to receive fuller knowledge of the Lord is uncertain. Who can tell why the call to Ezekiel came in the fifth year, and not in the first, second, &c.? The pain and pressure of exile galled, no doubt, as deeply in the earlier years as in the later, yet Ezekiel had not seen the heavens opened. What is uncertain to men is fixed with God. He is the only wise God. He sees the end from the beginning of all lives. He alone knows where it is best to lead the brook across the way of His people, by drinking of which they will lift up their heads. Though uncertain, men are not to be unconcerned. Having no criterion as to the appropriate time for special unfolding of the will of God, that does not sanction an utter indifference as to what they would have Him do. They must wait on the Lord and keep His way, ever hoping that He will exalt them to see what they do not yet see of the glorious majesty of His kingdom. Though uncertain, men should always be on the alert. Waiting for blessing is not real and valid waiting, except they who wait are sensitive to the approach of the Lord. His word comes to comfort, strengthen, open up a duty, and those are the good and faithful servants who honour Him by receiving it, no matter at what time, convenient or inconvenient to them, He may vouchsafe it. Though uncertain men must never lose faith. However long it be ere a word comesone year or five yearsthey must believe in God. He has not forgotten His people. Let them trust that in some month He will bestow favour on them and His depressed interests.

II. The place is undistinguished. It has no memorable associations. The land of the Chaldeans was devoid of that instructive relation to the Jews which both Egypt and the mountains of Sinai had. The river of Chebar could not stir their thoughts as the Jordan could. But God can produce in an obscure or obnoxious place that which will be a hallowed memory. He can make communications in a garden as to Adam, in an outlying district of Luz as to Jacob, in a cave of the desert as to Elijah, in exile as to Ezekiel. He may manifest Himself anywherein ship or customhouse, by road or rail, in a family or alone. It has no recognised religious privileges. The captives could not make yearly pilgrimages to the City of the Great King; they could not approach to the place where His honour dwelt. For them there was no treading of His courts, no appearing before Him, no burnt-offerings and sacrifices to offer for His acceptance. Their hearts might thirst and faint for His altars, but they could not be relieved. As Nathanael in after times, they might have put a question expressive of contempt and unbelief, Can any good thing be obtained by the rivers of Babylon? They had not yet learned by experience that the Lord would make a little sanctuary for them in the place to which He had driven them, and there reveal His justice and His grace. So when Ezekiel was constituted an organ of new revelations, they were blessed where they did not look for blessing. Happy is it that the help of God is for the feeble who cannot, for the charged with duty who must not, for the wanderers who may not enter into the assemblies of worshippers, as well as for those who have all means of grace at their command. In all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.

III. The person is inconspicuous. So far as is known, there was nothing to give prominence to Ezekiel over other members of priestly families, or the general body of his fellow captives. There is no respect of persons with God. He does not limit His manifestations by any classifications which men may make. Base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen. The boy with a good education or the boy without it, children who are taught by their parents the truth in Jesus from their earliest days, or children who have learned no more than they learned in a Sunday-school, may equally obtain from God an entrance into the secret of His covenant.

This designation of Ezekiel furthermore suggestsGod can provide fit agents in unexpected circumstances. He only knows when and where it is required that He should make special additions to mens knowledge of Him and His ways, and He has the wisdom and the power to select the persons to whom that knowledge can be given. So He finds Enoch amid gigantic iniquities, Moses in the palace of Pharaoh, Ezekiel among the captives of Babylon, Paul (Saul) among the fiercest of persecutors, Luther in a monastery. Lowly places or prominent places cannot be obstacles in His path of goodness and mercy. He proves that His strength is made perfect in weakness.

God can bestow great boons on the person He may call. An exile amongst exiles, with none of the appointed external means of worship, in the face of political disabilities, pressed upon by social troubles, allied to men who had no heart to help him, yet Ezekiel not only found God near, but, moreover, saw heavenly things, and was touched by a hand which made him one of the forces of the world. It tells us that not any circumstances of life, not any conditions of body need to prevent us from being dignified by a faith in the unseen, and sitting in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

God can increase His servants power by connecting him with an organisation. Robinson Crusoe, alone on Juan Fernandez, might have received large favours from God, but he could not use those favours for the welfare of neighbours. Power with men depends more or less upon the links which bind us to them. There is influence from a family. When the solitary are set in families it is that they may give and find help which could not have been otherwise secured. Each member has a power to affect the rest who are within the same circle. There is influence from a caste. Commercial, social, intellectual, religious interests bind men to one another, and that bond enables them to carry out schemes which could not have been accomplished individually, e.g., guilds, trades unions, companies, an aristocracy, an army, a priesthood, a denomination of Christians. There is influence from a nation. The members of a small nation are not so powerfully backed as those of a large. Civis Romanus sum was a phrase which gave, to the person who could employ it, greater consideration and security than were given to the citizens of any other state contemporary with the Roman. The phrase, I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews,however the speaker of it might have been counted as the offscouring of all things,was pregnant with mightier influences than have been wielded by the nationalities of those who derided him. The use of a nations influence cannot be indifferent to God who loveth righteousness; and in Ezekiel He designated a man who had received a certain education and status on account of his priestly origin, and who, because he was a Jew and could contribute to Hebrew literature, has obtained a position which commands the suffrages of the world. This also is of the Lord of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in working. Organisations may be hurtful by checking the fair development of personal life, but they can also add to personal power.

(2.) PRELIMINARY STEPS TO THE DESIGNATION

I. Ezekiel, the son of Buzi the priest (Eze. 1:3).

It is sometimes argued that Ezekiel was trammelled by his connection with the priestly organisation, that his lineage induced him to weave a sacerdotal element into his prophecies, that he presents a Levitical turn of mind, in virtue of which he sets a high value upon sacred customs. Attempts to prove this do not appear eminently successful. When commentators say that his sacerdotalism is shown in the demands he makes for obedience to the requisitions of the Law, we seem to hear in that statement, not a simple reading of the prophecies, but a reading with interpolations from fancy or prepossession. Isaiah, Jeremiah make the same demands, and, taking account of the different circumstances of Ezekiel, he exhibits no more of a sacerdotal tendency than they do. It would have been an odd place in which to manifest a genuine priestly turn of mindwhatever that may meanthe place where he could not by any means fulfil the special functions of the priesthood; but a very suitable place in which to endeavour to impress the captives with the conviction that they were still under the law to God, even though far from the Temple of Jehovah. It would be as hard to signify where Ezekiel exhibits a strong priestly feeling, marking him off from other prophets, as it would be to exhibit a strong pastoral and fruit-gathering feeling in Amos (chap. Eze. 7:14). Yet Fairbairn writes, In Ezekiel alone of the later prophets does the priestly element become so peculiarly prominent and prevailing as to give a tone and impress to the general character of his ministrations, and to render even his prophetical labours a kind of priestly service (p. 8). We seewhat we expect to see! God chooses prophets not to unfold their own ancestral or technical habits, but His true and broad righteousness and love. That Ezekiel, when acting in accordance with this, should employ imagery borrowed from the Law and worship of Israel was natural. He did it, however, not as one who would exalt whatever the priests had to carry out, but as one who had been taught that against the degrading tendencies of Israel there was no barrier, against heathenism there was no power, in Temple, offerings, or priests. He was taught that there was no preservative in the evil days of dire captivity save in the latent energy and intrinsic truth of the lively oracles given by Moses. So he sets himself, not to do a service for priestliness, but for the Law. As a priest he was doubtless one of that kind whose lips kept knowledge, and as an enforcer of the Law was the messenger of the Lord of hosts (Mal. 2:7).

II. Now I was among the captives (Eze. 1:1).

Ezekiel had been, apparently, by himself. His mind had been exercised upon the sad days that were passing over him and his people. He had been laying himself open to thoughts of the Lord, and then he was called into a nearer communion than he had ever experienced. Unconsciously he was stepping forward to receive competency to do actions for God. He does not tell how he had been movingonly that, while so employed, it came to pass that God spoke to him. They who would learn of Christ must:

1. Go alone with Him. Things pass in secret from Him which no stranger need intermeddle with, and no personal insufficiency need intercept.

2. Go with all cares. Outer circumstances may be harassing, associates may be lukewarm or ungodly, prospects may seem utterly blank, but neither ignore them nor make light of them before Him, for He careth for you.

3. Go in hope that He will manifest Himself. Unlooked for light may be lifted up on you, strength may be infused, faith be increased, and new scenes in your history be entered on; for He is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond what you think.

III. The heavens were opened (Eze. 1:1).

1. Men have faculties for realising what is beyond the earth: We dwell on the borders of the unknown, and can take interest in noticing the traces of what may be therein. Gods hands have made us and fashioned us so that this is possible. To use only animal functions, to develop only earthly aims, and to present a mutilated nature to all the influences which play upon us, is a spectacle darkened with criminality in reference to ourselves and our Maker. But to use our faculties for looking at the things unseen and eternal, that is the part of full and true manhooda token that our life is a life worth living.

2. God adopts methods for acting on those faculties. As light is made to suit the organ of sight, and sound the organ of hearing, so His Spirit is able to operate upon us in order that we may discern spiritual things. The person who sees light or hears a sound cannot prove to another person that he sees of hears. He can only affirm, witness. So a person, who has the eyes of his heart enlightened to know what is his inheritance in the heavens, cannot give any demonstration of the change which he is conscious of, he can only affirm, witness, that he does know what he did not know. Whereas I was blind, now I see, is as applicable to heavenly as to earthly things. All men do not receive the benefit of Gods methods. Some deny their operation, and some their validity. Some acknowledge them only to neglect them, and some hope that they will see the heavens opened though they do not go to the only door thereinto. But whatever the reason be for their deficiency, the light has been opened up to the world, and men are judged for not believing in it. The Son of God has come from heaven and has again ascended to His Father: through Him heaven is always open, and open to every one who will. Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth.

IV. I saw visions of God (Eze. 1:1).

More is meant than that Ezekiel saw grand and vast visions. His expression is not to be limited to visions given by the action of God, or to visions notifying the will of God, but embraces also the marvellousness of revelations of God. He was made a seer of God in order to be a prophet for God. Observe

1. Thoughts of heaven must receive their character from views of God. If we could see into heaven and did not see signs of God there, we should remain in spiritual darkness. We must pass into the house to perceive the householder. We are vagrants still, as to all moral progress and undertakings, if we do not find ONE who can enlighten and guide and strengthen us. All beliefs of our interest in the heavens will be blighted unless they are steps on our way to know we have a living, almighty, perfect Friend.

2. All true views of God are given by God. He dwelleth in light, which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see. Human power cannot make Him manifest Himself. The highest knowledge which men of themselves can reach does not embrace one of the secrets of His being. He alone opens the inward eyes and presents the aspects He wants to reveal. He may open them through some outward impulse, or by action on the heart, but in either case the ripple of sensational life is hushed by the flow of a grander life, and the reasoning faculty stands still, waiting to know what it shall receive. Then, as the light air comes to a hanging leaf and stirs it, as a fathers love and wisdom come to an erring child and prompt to confession, so the subject of visions of God knows that God has affected himthat God alone could accomplish that which has happened to him. The visions are real. The prophet did see some appearances of God; and, whether it were by an external operation or by his own inward rapt attention, he was prepared to avouch it as confidently as he would a vision obvious merely to his physical sight. How many He gives! Is there a week, a day passing in which He does not set forth something of His glory?

3. Visions of God require a conscious apprehension by men. Men can look upwards or downwards, outward or inward; but they may shut their eyes. So they decide whether they will see the things of God or notwhether they will accept the fuller manifestations of God or not. And the bowed in heart, the seeker for the truth learns that, back of the material world and its forces, is He whom they all obey, and whom hearts should believe in. They yield themselves up, not by the push of a blind necessity, but according to the laws of their own freedom, and yet they are elevated, guarded, and assured of the reality of their visions by the supreme Spirit operating.

4. Various aspects of God are presented. No man can see God, and all that is perceived by the most favoured seer is but the back parts of His goodness and glory. Parts of His ways are recognised; but how little a portion is heard of Him? but the thunder of His power who can understand? He is working in the earth which He has filled with good; in the heavens which declare His glory; in the movements of mens spirits which accuse themselves, repent, trust, love; in the prosperous or depressed trade of nations, in their freedom from or subjection to calamities; in the birth, life, death, resurrection, and exaltation of the Son of His love who hath declared Him. Wonderful in number and variety are the views which God has provided for willing hearts. They are new every morning. It is a sign of no reverence or true knowledge when some assume to tell just what God must show of Himself, just what God must do. They forget that He gives no account of His mattersthat He dwells in the thick darkness. It is for men to be humble before Him, even though He may let them see many a token of His will. They are to look and wait. I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what He will say unto me. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie (Hab. 2:1-3).

V. The word of the Lord came expressly (Eze. 1:3).

This is an evidence of the fact that the vision and the word were closely allied in prophetical phenomena. Isaiah saw the word which he received concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Amos begins his book thus, The words of Amos which he saw concerning Israel. Daniel was overwhelmed by a great vision, yet heard the voice of his words. Paul had visions and revelations of the Lord. John in Patmos saw one like unto the Son of man, and then listened to what He said. So was it with Ezekiel now.

Notice:

1. God is His own interpreter. Symbols and scenes are less capable of definite explanation than words. It is hazardous to take impressions, feelings, &c., as intimating the will of God, in the absence of His Word or of principles which His Word embraces. So He spake in time past in the prophets, and in these last days in His Son. He can make His visions, manifestations, plain, and no one who wants to know His will in sincerity can live without having some signs of what that will really is.

2. There are tests for learning what God the Lord doth speak. It has often perplexed mens minds how to discern between a suggestion from God and a suggestion from some other source. There is no short and easy method applicable to all cases. Not the strength of the impression, not mere unhesitating confidence in its divineness, not its apparent conformity to what has been done, not the memory of words of Scripture which seem to sanction it, can decide the doubt. Conscience, though willing to do only the will of God, may give different promptings from those of the Spirit of God. We are left without any infallible guide; but surely no one who wants to order his conduct aright will fail to discern, sooner or later, what is of God or of man. It may be there was for His prophets a special light in which they saw that they were addressed by God, and so were both made sure and warranted to say, Thus saith the Lord God; but it is not likely that they could have given any explicit information on the point. They knew His voice, as the sheep of the Good Shepherd know His, yet are unable to explain how they do so. Let it be believed that God is our Father, and we shall find little difficulty in granting that He can make His children know He is speaking to them and that they are not deceived.

3. Gods servants must teach according to the Word of God. They cannot make truth; they must receive it from above. Their souls should be as a mirror on which He casts His rays, and which send forth a faithful reflection. They are to be as a channel through which the water of life may flow unimpeded. Each one may exhibit his own characteristic qualities of mind, as water takes the tint of the rocky bed over which it runs. No prophet is a reproduction of any other prophet. No apostle is a copy of another apostle. No believing man or woman is exactly like to any one else among the saints of the Most High. The Lord of all makes each seed to have its own body, and envelops therein some property which is of use to other existences, so has He constituted each soul distinct, and each is capable of acting in behalf of the King of Truth. Therefore should every one strive to grow by feeding on His Word. Only thus can they teach to profitonly thus can they expect the demonstration of the Spiritwhen not the words of mans wisdom but the words of the only wise God are declared.

4. We can have access to the Word of God. It is not now a gift bestowed upon a few selected individuals; it is the endowment of mankind. The Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. We can come to the Light and Life, and hear Him at all times. All the history, all the psalms, all the prophecies of the Old Testament have some more or less portion of the testimony of Jesus. Search the Scriptures, for they testify of Him. Come to Him, for whosoever will may come. We are in a more lofty position than Ezekiel was, and can see and hear more fully from God and of God than he did. What manner of persons ought we to be! Obeying the truth through the Spirit, abiding in Christ, and the word of Christ abiding in us. Take heed how ye hear.

VI. The hand of the Lord was there upon him (Eze. 1:3).

Hand is equivalent to sovereignty in its fullest meaning, and sovereignty in that meaning does not admit of degrees (The Aryan Household). It is a symbol in Scripture of impulse, power, &c., and capable not only of laying the foundation of the earth and of spanning the heavens, but also of being laid gently on the heads of little children as well as on sorrowing, awestruck men. Its touch prepared for another stage in Ezekiels development. It infused strength for seeing and acting in his new vocation. It sanctified him, set him apart, so that he was constituted a true and capable prophet to Israel. Observe

1. The real power in serving the Lord. It is contact with Him. Daniel could not hear the divine messages till a hand touched Him (Dan. 10:10). John could receive the revelation after the right hand of the Glorified had been laid on him (Rev. 1:17). Every disciple must be strengthened by the Spirit in the inner man (Eph. 3:16), in order to will and to do of His good pleasure. Obstacles lie in mans heart which have to be overcome, and the hand of the Lord presses them down or sweeps them away. When it is laid on us, then we can do all things; then, whatever may be accomplished, with money, with words, with deeds for the kingdom of God in the world, owes its success to His giving His hand to it. Severed from me, ye can do nothing. We must have the word of Christ, and also Christ Himself to dwell in us, else we shall fail in fulfilling the word of the truth of the gospel. Prayer, reading and hearing the Word, teaching and preaching it, are as tinkling cymbals if the power of Christ do not rest on us.

2. Be at the disposal of the Lord.

(1.) Implicitly. Let there be no obstructions, no reserves. The creature has no claim except in correspondence to that of his Creator, the bondsman no choice but that of his lord, the ransomed no half-heartedness towards his deliverer. Whosoever is touched so that he is impelled to say It is the Lord, then no hesitancy, no trouble should be regarded by him in any light but that of a temptation out of which a way of escape is to be found.

(2.) On the spot. In our own houses or lodgings, in business or worship, in health or ailments, in agreeable conditions or disagreeable, begin to obey the pressure of Gods hand there. The one secret of life and development is not to devise and plan, but to fall in with the forces at work, to do every moments duty aright, that being the part of the process allotted to us; and let come, not what will, for there is no such thing, but what the Eternal thought wills for each of us, has intended for each of us from the first (G. Macdonald).

(3.) Confidingly. Darkness may fall, weakness may be experienced, opponents may bar the way, fear not. He upholds by the right hand of His righteousness. Maintain the thought of a present Lord, in contact with your spirit, putting you forth but also going before you, and you will find a force which will more than conquer all against you. It is no dream, no cunningly devised fable, that Christ Jesus is with us.

3. Trust to receive impulses from the Lord. The life of God in the soul is not a constantly equal force. It is sometimes hardly distinguishable from the life of sense, and at other times it is as if it was more than conqueror over the world and the flesh. Prayer is now easy, but then it is a drag. Here we walk in darkness, and have no light on the ways of the Lord; and there we seem enabled to mount up on wings as eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint. The God of all grace will stablish, strengthen, perfect, settle. From ordinary earthly surroundings He can lead so that we shall, first, be made to feel that another world affects us; then, that God manifests Himself to us; and afterwards, that He imparts to us of His own strength. Thus may we be filled with the Spirit.

4. Our ordinary places of sojourn may be made memorable. Not only nations remember places where events historically important to them have occurred; not only cities and towns keep up memories of persons and actions interesting to their inhabitants; but also individual believers in God can record of one spot or another that the Lord met them there. How precious a thought it is that there is no place whatever but may become a Bethela house of Godto any traveller towards eternity! A private room, a church, a prison, a street, a hillside, a river-bank will be sacred, as no other place can be sacred, if they have witnessed a stimulating manifestation of what God can do. Be we where we may, we may be there with the unseen Christ, and He will be its glory.

Thus Ezekiel was designated. He was not consecrated by any enactment of the law of Moses. No oil of anointment was poured upon his head to authorise him to prophesy. No hands of predecessors were laid upon him. He is chosen and set apart by the Lord alone, and he, with all true prophets, is a type of the coming time when the children should be all taught of the Lord, for the Spirit would be poured out upon us from on high. We are under this dispensation. We must guard against supposing that human appointments to ministry for the Lord are valid if He has not called to it. There is no true ordination but that of the hand of the Lord, and there is no true service but that which opens out to more service. Vague longings for God may be turned into real manifestations; visions of God may prepare for feeling the hand of God. Such are the ways of the God of Israel, who giveth strength and power to His people: blessed be God! Of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

I saw visions of God

THE SOURCES OF RELIGIOUS SENSIBILITY

1. Man must consider himself. Let him examine his own nature, look at the wonderful mechanism which is going on in his own breast, and he will surely awake to a sense of the high and exalted relations which his existence sustains. But he lives in the world. Material objects engross and enthral his mind. He converses not with his own spirit. He considers not what manner of being he is. Let this thoughtlessness be laid aside, and it will not be strange if he come to a living conception of that mighty Being from whom we all spring, and by whom we all subsist.

2. He must consider the wonderful works external to himself. The green earth and its diversities of scenery, the canopy above it, bright with stars and burning suns, show visions of power, wisdom, goodness transcending his utmost ability to measure and fathom. Let him think of these, and will he not feel how awful and stupendous the Author of such prodigies must be?

3. He must consider how different man is from what he might have been expected to be. With eyes to see visions of God, he bends them to the earth. He does not realise the purposes for which he is made, the character he is to acquire, the destiny placed within his reach. How much is there in the course of human affairs to trouble and perplex? Ignorance and superstition brood over a large portion of the habitable globe. In Christian countries how little is seen of that purity, faith, and piety which Christ enjoins. But all that need not destroy the conviction that we are under a wise and merciful Godthat it is impossible for Him who has displayed in the frame of man, in the constitution of the outer world, in the gospel of Christ, such tokens of wisdom and love, to exercise other than a government of perfect benevolence. It is absurd to suppose that we, who are but of yesterday, should be able to interpret the many mysterious and inscrutable events in human affairs, though all will be clear when the day shall dispel the midnight vapours.

4. He must consider how God has been trusted in. We know of men who have been subjected to heavy assaults because they believed in the Word of Godof Jesus Christ, in despisal and rejection, upheld by communings with His Father; and we learn that in duties, harassments, weariness, death, our safety, strength, consolation will be obtained in those retirements of the soul where our eyes are opened to see visions of God.MADGE (condensed).

ILLUSTRATIONS

Dates.The Jews, if there is any truth in their history at all, were a journalising people. The prophets keep a diary of their visions. Everywhere do they record the dates, the year, the day of the month, the attending chronological circumstances of the burdens and messages with which, as they allege, they-have been commissioned by the Lord. If these dates are put in by compilers, long after the times of the prophetic visions, then there is no reason for it, no meaning in it. It is an easier theory that every word of the prophetic writings had been forged. There is but one other supposition: the dates and the visions are from the same persons, and these are the prophets themselves writing and speaking at the times they profess to write and speak, and in relation to actual existing events that form the subjects of their warning. The seers, the times, the nation, the national life, it is all one true picturein its parts most truthful and natural; in its whole suggestive of an extraordinary and difficult problem. Let any man attempt to explain its natural without bringing in its supernatural, or some other supernaturalif he can.Taylor Lewis.

Names.What is the real historical significance of the deeply religious character of Jewish names, their strong theistic or rather monotheistic aspect, their continual expression of faith and hope, their so frequent allusions to the ideas of covenant and redemption? And why too, may we ask, do so many of these appellations end in El and Jah, ever calling up the two great divine names with their most holy ideas? Let the reader ponder well the fact, and see if he can find any other reason for this national seal, this naming after the Lord, as we may call it, than the great all-explaining fact that they were indeed a chosen people, an elect people, whom for high and world-wide reasons God had taken as His own when he separated the sons of Adam and gave the nations their inheritance. It is a standing memorial, handed down from generation to generation, that this was the people whose God, whose El or Mighty One, was Jehovah, the God of the Covenant, who had been their fathers God, and who had given them those glorious promises, ineffaceable by the bondage of generations, that in them and in their seed all the nations of the earth were to be blessed.Taylor Lewis.

Visions.Thankfulness for being made capable of seeing this burning west [glorious vision of Arran], and of being so affected by its beauty, gave place to thankfulness for the spiritual eye opened in me, by which I saw the Eternal Light and the Eternal Beauty; thankfulness that was much mingled with self-condemnation, as I reflected that that which my spiritual eye saw is an ever-present glory, to be seen wherever the eye opens on it; and yet my memories of it were of what had been seen only at long intervals in a solemn sense of choice. I say in a sense of choice, because I do not feel in reality that the opening of the eye that sees the spiritual, so that the spirit is flooded with its proper light, is so simple a matter, or so absolutely to be determined by a mere volition, as the opening of the bodily eye. That glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ we do not see in its brightness simply by turning to it. For such vision beyond habitual faith we wait on the Holy Spirit, and have it not in our own hand. But still we know that he that soweth bountifully reaps bountifully.Macleod Campbell.

Power.The distinction is always assuming more and more importance to my mind, viz., that between the special acting of the Divine Spirit in the revelation of truth not previously revealed to men, and His acting in enabling us to apprehend that truth, and to advance in its light and the life which it feeds. No explanation seems adequate which admits notrather, assumes notthat God can, and when it seemeth good to Him does give the human spirit to know His own presence, and His own touch, otherwise than in that highest way which is communion with Himself in the light of life. This the whole record of Revelation seems to me to teach as to those great events in the history of intercourse between God and men which we have been accustomed to receive as Divine Revelation, viz., a knowledge of being spoken to by the living God which was not an inference from the nature of that which God spakea knowledge common to Balaam and Jonah with Moses and Samuel, and distinct from all communion in the word that came to them. What this was I know not, and may never know. What we seek to know is, surely, the actual fact as to what God does in the earth, of which we may not make our own experience the measure; while we cannot be too thankful for that clear consciousness of seeing light in Gods light which may be our temptation to do so.Macleod Campbell.

Experience of God.Now and then a great experience comes unexpected and unsought. It touches the greater chords of the soul, and lifts it above the common level of emotion, outruns all former knowledge. But what other experience is like that of the personal disclosure of God in the soul. There comes an hour to some, to many, of transfiguration. It may be in grief; it may be in joy; it may be the opening of the door of sickness; it may be in active duty; it may be under the roof or under the sky, where God draws near with such reality, glory, and power that the soul is filled, amazed, transported. All before was nothing; all afterwards will be but a souvenir. That single vision, that one hour, is worth the whole of life, and throws back a light on all that went before. It gives to the soul some such certainty of invisible, spiritual truths as one has of his own personal identity. When one has had this hour of divine disclosure, of full and entrancing vision, it never can be retracted, or effaced, or reasoned against, or forgotten.Ward Beecher.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Chapter Two

EZEKIELS INAUGURAL VISION
1:128

Before a prophet could speak to others, God had to speak to him. A special call vision catapulted the apprentice priest Ezekiel into the prophetic ministry. The vision of the divine chariot the Merkabah as it is known in Jewish literature is a fitting introduction to his career. Jewish mystics have always been fascinated with this material. More recently science fiction writers have subjected the Merkabah to the most detailed scrutiny in search of evidence that spaceships from other worlds have landed on this planet, Much has been written on this chapter of Scripture. Often the discussion has centered on the mechanics of the Merkabah rather than the message which God is trying to communicate through this vision.

In chapter 1 of his book Ezekiel discusses (1) the setting (Eze. 1:1-3) and (2) the substance (Eze. 1:4-28) of his inaugural vision. s

1. THE SETTING OF THE VISION 1:13

TRANSLATION

(1) NOW it came to pass in the thirtieth year, the fourth month, the fifth day of the month that I was in the midst of the captives beside the river Chebar. The heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. (2) In the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the captivity of King Jehoiachin) (3) the word of the LORD came most assuredly to Ezekiel son of Buzi, the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans beside the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD came upon him there.

COMMENTS

The first three verses are in the nature of a preface to the Book of Ezekiel. Two distinct statements can be identified here. Eze. 1:1 is in the first person and Eze. 1:2-3 are in the third person.[51] Some critics think two distinct superscriptions are used here, superscriptions which at one time headed separate collections of Ezekiels writings. It is better, however, to regard Eze. 1:2-3 as a parenthetical insertion by Ezekiel himself designed to explain the puzzling, indefinite expressions in Eze. 1:1. That Eze. 1:2-3 are an integral part of this book can be seen in the fact that they provide, in addition to the date for the book, the customary information about the author. The following chart sets forth the differences between the autobiographical and parenthetical superscriptions to the book.

[51] Eze. 1:3 is the only verse in the book in which Ezekiels personal experiences are described in the third person.

THE SUPERSCRIPTION TO THE BOOK

Eze. 1:1

Eze. 1:23

FORM

First Person

Third Person

DATE

Thirtieth Year

Fifth Year of Jehoiachins Captivity

Fourth month
Fifth day

Fifth day

PLACE

In the midst of the captives by the river Chebar

In the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar

EXPERIENCE

Heavens were opened, 1 saw visions of God

Word of the lord came assuredly unto Ezekiel
Hand of the LORD was there upon him

RECIPIENT

Ezekiel son of Buzi the priest

The preface to the Book of Ezekiel (Eze. 1:1-3) presents the setting for the inaugural vision of the prophet. These verses set forth information regarding (1) the recipient; (2) the time; (3) the place; and (4) the nature of the vision.

A. The Recipient of the Call Vision

The author of the book identifies himself for the first time in Eze. 1:3. He is Ezekiel the son Of Buzi. The name Ezekiel means God strengthens. Nothing further is known of his father beyond what is said here. The title the priest properly belongs to the name Buzi as is indicated by the Hebrew accent marks. Ezekiel would also be a priest, however, as the Old Testament priesthood was hereditary.

In the first three chapters of Ezekiel that moment in time is described in which the fledgling priest was called to be a prophet. A prophet is one who speaks for another (Exo. 7:1; Exo. 4:16). This involved speaking for God to man through sermon and oracle, and it involved speaking for man to God in intercessory prayer. While the priesthood was hereditary, one could only become a prophet who was divinely chosen to be so. Priests interpreted the law of God and led in the divinely ordained Temple rituals. Prophets interpreted history in the light of the Law, urged compliance to the spirit of the Law in the present, and announced Gods plans for the near and distant future as those plans related to Israel and the neighboring nations as well. While both priest and prophet fulfilled vital functions, the ministry of prophet was somewhat broader and less affected by time Priests were concerned with Old Covenant law and ritual the types and shadows which according to Gods grand plan were to pass away. Prophets were concerned with basic timeless principles and with the ultimate developments of Gods program for this earth. While the names of even the greatest priests are scarcely known today, the prophets through their writings continue to instruct, challenge, guide and rebuke the sons of men

B. The Time of the Call Vision

Ezekiels inaugural receives double dating. In Eze. 1:1 the vision is dated in terms of Ezekiels own life; in Eze. 1:2, according to the captivity of King Jehoiachin.

1. The personal dating (Eze. 1:1). Ezekiel was thirty years old when he received the divine call to be a prophet.[52] From Eze. 1:2 it can be computed that the call vision fell in the year 593 B.C. This would mean that Ezekiel was born about 622 B.C. during the reign of good King Josiah. He was born four years after Jeremiah began his ministry, and one year before the discovery of the lost book of the Law in the Temple. The dated prophecies in this book cover a span of twenty-two years, and thus Ezekiels prophetic activity centered in the period of his life between the ages of thirty and fifty-two.

[52] This interpretation of the thirtieth year in Eze. 1:1 seems to have been proposed first by the church father Origen (d. A.D. 253). The objection has been raised that it is rather unusual for a prophet to call attention to his age. It must be remembered, however, that Ezekiel was an unusual prophet, Eze. 1:1 presents certain unique characteristics on any interpretation. See Harrison, JOT, p. 838.

It is strange that nothing is said in the Old Testament or in Jewish tradition about the age at which a priest began to serve. However, under the Law of Moses Levites entered into their service at the age of thirty (Num. 4:23; Num. 4:30), and the probability is rather strong that this was the normal age for entering priestly service as well.[53] If this is so, then Ezekiel never functioned as a priest prior to his deportation in 597 B.C., for as Eze. 1:2 clearly shows, his thirtieth year fell in 593 B.C. While he never officiated in the Temple, Ezekiel must have studied for years the intricate details of priestly ritual. His thirtieth birthday would have been particularly sad for the son of Buzi because he knew he would never succeed his father in the sacred vocation for which he had prepared throughout his youth. This was a crucial time in the life of Ezekiel. Since it would not be possible for this godly man to serve the Lord as a priest, God called him to another and even more vital sphere of service.

[53] It was at this age that Jesus commenced his priestly ministry. John the Baptist was also in his thirtieth year when he began to preach on the banks of Jordan.

Some scholars feel that the thirty years should be reckoned from some fixed point in Babylonian or Jewish history. Thus in one scheme the thirty years are counted from the accession of Nabopolassar in 626 B.C. This would yield a date of 596 B.C., one year after the deportation of Ezekiel and ten thousand of his countrymen. This computation would not square with the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin mentioned in Eze. 1:2. Even less justification exists for counting the thirty years from 621 B.C. when the lost lawbook was discovered in the Jerusalem Temple.[54] As important as this event was in the history of the monarchy, no example of reckoning time from this year can be adduced in the Old Testament.[55]

[54] An interpretation advocated in the Targum and in Fisch, SBB, p. 1.

[55] For a host of other interpretations of the thirtieth year see Blackwood, EPH, pp. 3536. Blackwood overstates the difficulty of the expression when he calls the interpretation here an insoluble puzzle.

So important was the inaugural vision in the life of Ezekiel that he dates it as to month and day as well as year. The call came in the fourth month. Ezekiel here follows the normal preexilic custom of numbering rather than naming the month. In post-exilic times the fourth month was known as Tammuz. Converted into modern day equivalents, Ezekiels call vision occurred on July 31, 593.

2. The national dating (Eze. 1:2). The vision is further dated to the fifth year of King Jehoiachins captivity. Jehoiachin was taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar when he surrendered to the Chaldean conqueror on March 20, 597 B.C. The fifth year of the captivity would thus fall in 593 B.C.

Most of the dates in Ezekiel are given in terms of the captivity of Jehoiachin. It has been suggested that Ezekiel regarded Jehoiachin as the legitimate ruler of the Jews even though he had reigned only for three months after the death of his father Jehoiakim (2Ki. 24:8).[56] However this may be reading too much into Ezekiels dating system. The captivity of Jehoiachin involved Ezekiel as well, and may simply have been the most convenient way of measuring time for the captives.

[56] Carley, BPE, p. 10.

The call of Ezekiel did not occur in a historical vacuum. There were antecedents to that inaugural vision. False prophets had arisen in Babylon peddling their nauseating platitudes to the effect that Jerusalem would never be conquered by the Chaldeans and that those Jews in Babylon would shortly be heading home. At least two of the false prophets who were stirring up the captives against the Chaldean government were executed by being burned in a furnace (Jer. 29:21-22). Jeremiah wrote a letter to the captives urging that they settle down and submit themselves to the will of God. The prophet from Anathoth predicted that the Babylonian empire would endure for seventy years, and only then would there be any hope of return to Palestine. This letter was sent shortly after the deportation of 597 B.C. Furthermore, in the fourth year of the captivity (594 B.C.) Zedekiah the puppet king of Judah had attempted to throw off the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar. When rumors of the conspiracy reached the ears of Nebuchadnezzar he summoned Zedekiah to Babylon to renew his vassal commitment (Jer. 51:59). All of this produced confusion in the camp along the Chebar. In the midst of this ferment Ezekiel was called to deliver Gods infallible word to the exiles.

C. The Place of the Vision

The inaugural vision took place in the land of the Chaldeans (Eze. 1:3). Although originally the Chaldeans and Babylonians were ethnically distinct groups, at this stage of history the two terms were used interchangeably. The land of the Chaldeans is the southern Mesopotamian basin. It is not altogether certain when the Chaldeans began to filter into this region from the SyroArabian desert, but the Assyrian kings found the Chaldeans a formidable force under the leadership of Merodach-Baladan in the late eighth century. Under Nabopolassar (626605 B.C.) the Chaldeans were able to extricate southern Mesopotamia from the grip of the Assyrians and found what was destined to become the most powerful and wealthy empire which had heretofore existed on the face of the earth.

Ezekiel was by the river Chebar (Eze. 1:1) at the time God called him to the prophetic ministry. The Jewish captives were not in confinement, but were restricted to a certain area of the land. It is now known that the river Chebar was not actually a river, but an enormous irrigation canal. The remains of this canal are known as Shatt en Nil. The canal started from the Euphrates above Babylon, flowed southeasterly sixty miles through Nippur, and re-entered the Euphrates near Uruk. Evidence of one large Jewish settlement near Nippur has come to light. The river Chebar is known in Babylonian inscriptions as Naru Kabari, the grand canal.

He was in the midst of the captives (Eze. 1:1) when he received his majestic vision. What a mixed group they were! Some had given up on God because of the misfortunes which had befallen them. They had compromised with the materialistic culture of Babylon. Others clung desperately at the outset to the illusion that God would never let Jerusalem be destroyed that God would shortly bring them back to their homeland.

Ezekiel was not the first to receive divine revelation during the Babylonian exile. Daniel had preceded Ezekiel into captivity in 605 B.C. and had begun his prophetic ministry in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar (603602 B.C.; Dan. 2:1 ff.). But whereas Daniel spoke only to government officials, Ezekiel spoke to the needs of the Jewish captives.

Some critics are unable to accept these statements regarding Ezekiels location at face value. They think that because this prophet shows such familiarity with the Temple and with the situation in Jerusalem that he must have actually written this book in Palestine. Therefore, it should be underscored that here in the preface Babylon is stipulated as the place of his call, and time and again throughout the book it is mentioned as the place of his labors.[57]

[57] See Eze. 3:11; Eze. 3:15; Eze. 3:23; Eze. 10:15; Eze. 10:20; Eze. 10:22; Eze. 11:24-25

D. The Manner of the Call Vision

In the preface of his book Ezekiel states in a general way what he will amplify in the rest of chapters 13. The vision began when the heavens were opened. Whether to the prophets mental eye or to his physical eye, the heavens unfolded like curtains of a stage to reveal to him the divine glory.

The phrase visions of God could be legitimately understood in more than one way. Often the Hebrews would add the name of God to a noun to express greatness or majesty. Thus, Psa. 36:6 in the Hebrew refers to the mountains of God by which is meant great mountains.[58] Thus, visions of God could be translated great or majestic visions. But Currey is correct when he observes that . . the visions were not only supremely majestic, but visions of the majesty of God.[59] The Hebrew then may also be translated divine visions, i.e., visions concerning God or devised by God.

[58] See also Psa. 80:10; Psa. 65:9

[59] Currey, BC, p. 18.

By means of visions and dreams God communicated to individuals known as prophets in Old Testament times (Num. 12:6). The Israelite prophet (nabhi) was also known as a seer (roeh or chozeh). The term roeh is used of Samuel and Hanani (1Sa. 9:9; 2Ch. 16:7). Isaiah still employed this term in reference to prophets in the eighth century (Isa. 30:10). The Chronicler uses the title chozeh for such prophets as Gad and Iddo (2Ch. 9:29; 2Ch. 29:25). The prophecy of Isaiah begins with the phrase, The vision (chazon) of Isaiah . which he saw (chaza) . Add to this data the numerous passages within prophetic literature where a prophet describes what he saw. From all of this one must conclude that the visionary experience was an important aspect of the prophetic consciousness in Israel.

These visions of God are further identified as being the word of the LORD (Eze. 1:3). This is the most frequently used expression in the Old Testament to affirm that a prophet had received direct communication from God.[60] The phrase is not to be restricted to the oral directions which came to Ezekiel in chapter two. Rather the word of the LORD embraces all the revelatory experiences of the prophet.

[60] See 1Sa. 15:10; 1Ki. 12:22; Isa. 38:4; Jer. 1:2; Hoses Eze. 1:1; Joe. 1:1.

The problem of authority was crucial for Ezekiel. The somewhat shocking nature of his message required that his credentials be impeccable. For this reason Ezekiel makes the strongest possible claim that he was commissioned of God. The word of the LORD came most assuredly[61] to him. No doubt existed in his own mind that he had in fact received a heaven-sent vision. In the opening words of Eze. 1:3 Ezekiel insists that this book be read as prophecy. Those who communicated the divine will to Israel were said to be in possession of the word of God. The claim to bear the divine word is found often in Old Testament prophecy (cf. Amos 7; Hosea 1).

[61] Hebrew infinitive absolute.

Prophets were not called to dispense their own opinions, nor to feed the fantasies of faithless men. They were called to declare the whole counsel of God. So it was that the word of God came to Ezekiel. The messages he preached were not of his own choosing not necessarily of his own liking. That which he spoke forth was the word of God.

The phrase word of the LORD includes what was seen in vision as well as what was heard. The term word (dabhar) in the Old Testament has a much broader meaning than it does in modern English. The Old Testament use of the term word prepared the way for the grand revelation of John 1 that the eternal Word became flesh and dwelled among mankind.

God not only gave this captive priest a message, He also endowed him with the power to deliver that message. Such is the import of the sentence, the hand of the LORD was there on him (Eze. 1:3). Proclaiming the unpopular word of God is never easy Add to that the relative youth of Ezekiel. Young men were to be seen, not heard. All wisdom resided in the elders of the nation! Thus Ezekiel needed the reassurance of the hand of the Lord. He needed that unseen hand to guide, strengthen and protect him.

Reference to the hand of the LORD (or God) is frequent in the Old Testament. This anthropomorphism refers to the authority, power or protection of the Lord. In reference to individuals the expression is used somewhat sparingly. The hand of the Lord is said to have come upon Elijah (1Ki. 18:46) and Elisha (2Ki. 3:15). In the former case the hand of the Lord bestowed upon the prophet unusual physical power and endurance; in the latter case, oracular power. In the Book of Ezekiel the expression is used four times besides the present passage to introduce a visionary experience (Eze. 3:22; Eze. 8:1; Eze. 37:1; Eze. 40:1), In two passages the hand of the Lord refers to the divine constraining or sustaining power as it manifested itself in the physical stamina of the prophet (Eze. 3:14; Eze. 33:22).[62] The evidence then points to the following definition for this expression: The hand of the Lord refers to the supernatural manifestation of divine power in the life of a prophet such as would enhance his physical abilities and enable him to see that which the unaided human mind could never grasp or ascertain. Whereas the term visions of God in Eze. 1:1 points to the mystical transcendence of the prophetic experience, the hand of God points to the divine immanence.

[62] Cf. Rev. 1:17; Dan. 8:18; Dan. 10:10.

Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series

(1) The thirtieth year.On this date see Introduction, 4. It may be added here that the concurrence of the fifth day of the month in connection with this epoch, and with that of Jehoiachins captivity in Eze. 1:2, shows that the years of the two epochs began at the same time.

Among the captives.i.e., in the midst of the region where they were settled. The vision which follows was seen by Ezekiel only, and was probably vouchsafed to him in solitudes The captives, or rather, the captivity, as it is in the original, is the same word as is used of Jehoiachin in the next verse, and yet must be somewhat differently understood in the two cases. Jehoiachin was actually in prison for many years; his people, within certain limits, were free. They were more than exiles, but less than prisoners. (On the heavens were opened, comp. Mat. 3:16; Act. 7:56.)

Visions of God.Not merely great visions, as the Divine name is often added in Scripture to express greatness or intensity (see Gen. 10:9; Psa. 36:6, marg., Psa. 80:10, marg.; Jon. 3:3, marg.; Act. 7:20, marg.), but Divine visions, visions sent from God, as in Eze. 8:3; Eze. 40:2.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

INTRODUCTION. CHAPTERS 1-3.

Ezekiel’s Account of His Call to the Prophetic Office.

1. I This is personal narration. All critics agree that we have here a genuine account of the spiritual experiences of this ancient prophet written by himself. This book throbs with the intense life of a sensitive and majestic personality. (See Introduction, “IV. Ezekiel’s Personality.”) Literally, 1 And it came to pass in the thirtieth year on the fourth, on the fifth of the month, and I in the midst of the captivity by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth of the month; that is, the fifth year of the captivity of king Jehoiachin, 3 Surely came to pass the word of Jehovah unto Ezekiel, son of Buzi the priest, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar. And the hand of Jehovah was upon him there. This is a very difficult passage. It is peculiar that the largest date mentioned by Ezekiel is in the first verse of the book. The other dates given are as follows: Eze 1:2, fifth year; Eze 8:1, sixth year; Eze 20:1, seventh year; Eze 24:1, ninth year; Eze 26:1, eleventh year; Eze 29:1, tenth year; Eze 29:17, twenty-seventh year; Eze 31:1, eleventh year; Eze 32:17, and Eze 33:21, twelfth year; Eze 40:1, twenty-fifth year. Eze 40:1, gives Ezekiel’s ordinary method of reckoning: from the “year of our captivity.” If the text really represents Ezekiel’s introduction to this prophecy, he refers to a thirtieth year which corresponds to “the fifth year of our captivity.” In this case the most natural supposition would be that the thirtieth year would refer to his own age (Kraetzschmar, etc.), although Mr. Wesley, following the Targum, believed the thirtieth year was reckoned from the discovery of the book of the covenant. Some scholars believe, however, that Eze 1:1, and perhaps also Eze 1:2, were originally the introduction to certain prophecies of Ezekiel which are now lost. Josephus seems to have heard that Ezekiel left two books of his prophecies. Ewald supposes Eze 1:2-3 to be a comment added by Ezekiel in his last revision of the book. Cornill regards the first verse as the gloss. But most modern commentators agree that Ezekiel wrote this first verse, and that the “thirtieth year” refers to some Babylonian era, probably that of Nabopolassar, who became king of Babylon 625-624 B.C., just about thirty years previous to this time (594-592 B.C.), while Eze 1:2-3 were comments added by a later editor. Professor John F. Peters (Journal of Biblical Literature, 11:39) offers what seems to be the true explanation of how this gloss arose. The era of the first verse is probably Babylonian, perhaps the era of the independence of Babylon. To use a non-Jewish era was not in accordance with Jewish usage; this peculiarity therefore led some one to write on the margin, between the lines, the date according to the Jewish era, the second verse being merely a comment on the first. This annotation finally crept into the text. The form of these annotations is familiar in the Midrashim, and in Jewish commentaries of all eras, with this very form: , that is. Considering Eze 1:2-3, with the exception of the closing phrase, as marginal glosses, we get a very forcible introduction to the book, “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God, and the hand of Jehovah was upon me there.” Ezekiel could never forget the day, which was the fifth day of the mouth Tammuz (June-July).

The captives There were several deportations of Judah and Israel to the east: 1, by Tiglath-pileser to Assyria (2Ki 15:29), 741 B.C.; 2, by Shalmaneser to “Habor by the rivers of Gozan [Pasture Land], and in the mountains of the Medes” (LXX., 2Ki 17:6); 3, by Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon (Jer 25:11-12). Nebuchadnezzar seems first to have carried off Daniel and his companions, afterward Jehoiakim and his court ( 2Ki 24:1-2 ; 2Ch 36:6-7; Jer 24:5-6), including Ezekiel (see S. B. A., Eze 15:2). Ezekiel himself tells of later raids upon Palestine and the deportation of its population. No doubt these captives were distributed in various localities. Babylonian records show that there was a “Jewish quarter” in various great cities of Babylonia, and speak also of certain new cities receiving the bulk of their population from foreigners thus transported. These captives were not treated harshly. They could buy, and sell, and build, and have most, if not all, of the privileges of citizens, if they were only willing to forget their native land and be true to the ruling government.

The river of Chebar Hebrews Kebar, “great.” The Chabor of Mesopotamia (2Ki 17:6) must not be confounded with the Chebar of Babylonia. The distinction is shown in the Hebrew text, though it has been only recently recognized by expositors. The Chebar was supposed by Pliny (vi, 24) to be a branch of the Euphrates, called the Gabaris. Many ingenious conjectures have been offered by modern cuneiform scholars, the general opinion being that the Chebar must have been the technical name of one of the leading canals of Babylonia; even to this day in Egypt the word for canal being bahr, “river.”

This view has been confirmed by the brilliant discovery of Dr. Hilprecht, in 1897, of an inscription of the fifth century B.C., in which this very name Kabari is used of the large navigable canal near Niffer (Nippur). The inscriptions also reveal a large Jewish element in the population of Niffer itself, as is shown by the scores of Jewish names, like Benjamin, Shimeon, Samson, and Zebediah. Local names of Palestinian towns are also of common occurrence; for example, Ashkelon, Heshbon, etc. It is suggestive that these names and their archaic form correspond with remarkable accuracy to those used in Ezra and Nehemiah. It has become almost certain, therefore, that we have at last discovered the very district in which Ezekiel and his friends resided. The traditional tomb of Ezekiel is still shown not far from that place.

Heavens were opened This was not a dream, it was a manifestation (Mat 3:16; Mat 17:2). Whether these heavenly visions appeared on the Sabbath or not (Wesley), they prove the devout spirit of the seer. It is only to deep contemplative natures that such revelations are given.

I saw The heavens are always full of glory, but they are not always open to human eyes. The open eye is as necessary to the vision as the open heaven (2Ki 6:17).

Visions of God This was better than to see the golden streets and the pearly gates of a New Jerusalem. This was the best vision the open heaven could disclose. The quest of the Holy Grail was worth long travel and sorrow; to see God was worth Ezekiel’s trip to Babylon and exile from his Judean home.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Now it happened in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives (literally ‘the captivity’) by the River Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.’

Ezekiel regularly dates his visions, but usually in terms of the date of the captivity (Eze 1:2). Thus Eze 1:1 is a bit of an enigma. To what does the ‘thirtieth year’ refer? The probable answer is that it refers to his coming of age as a levitical priest (compare Numbers 4). Although he would never fulfil priestly functions he recognised that God had given him a different ministry among the exiles as a priest-prophet, and that he had now come of age in God’s purposes.

(Other suggestions have included thirty years since the last jubile year, thirty years since the finding of the Law, the thirtieth year of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, and so on, but all fail on the basis that this would surely have been mentioned.)

These captives had settled at Tel Abib by the River Chebar (Eze 3:15). The Chebar may possibly be identified with the ‘nari kabari’ (the Great Canal), the name used in a Babylonian text from Nippur for the Shatt-en-Nil canal running east of that city, although it is not certain. There is a poignant note in his words, ‘among the captivity’. They were very much aware of their unhappy position. Jerusalem, their holy city, was far away and they were not free to return. Nebuchadnezzar’s purpose in bringing them there was so that they may settle there and make it a permanent home. They were never intended to return. Their hearts were very heavy.

‘That the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.’ This is an introductory comment on the many things that followed. The phrase ‘the heavens were opened’ is simply an indication that he knew that what he saw came from God. Its source was heavenly. But it was very important. It indicated that God was there and had not forgotten them or totally rejected them.

‘I saw visions of God.’ These words gave hope. It meant that God still had a message for them, and had much to say to them. The first vision of God will now be described. It would be futile to try to analyse what was meant by ‘visions’. We only know that Ezekiel saw the unseeable. We cannot really go further than that. (See Eze 1:26-28; Eze 8:4; Eze 40:2 and compare 2Ki 6:17).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Ezekiel’s Vision – The description of God coming down from Heaven to intervene in the affairs of man in this passage is very similar to the vision that David recorded in Psa 18:7-12 when the earth shook and trembled. In addition, both David and the children of the Babylonian captivity were experiencing distress during this visitation from above.

Eze 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

Eze 1:1 “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month” Comments – While many of the other prophet books date their collection of prophecies by the names of the ruling kings of Judah and Israel, Ezekiel give a unique introduction. He describes an event that takes place in the thirtieth year (Eze 1:1), which corresponds to the fifth year of their captivity (Eze 1:2). Many different suggestions have been given as to meaning of the phrase “thirtieth year.” However, scholars have not been able to associate the thirtieth year with a royal date. For example, this date could not refer to the reign of the Jewish King Josiah (640 to 609 B.C.), since the deportation of King Jehoiachin was approximately 597 B.C., which serves as a reference point mentioned in Eze 1:2. Neither can this date refer to the thirtieth year of the reign of the Babylonian King Nabopolasser (626-605 B.C.), the first king of Babylon because the numbers again do not accurately correspond to the fifth year of Jecoiachin’s deportation. The two most plausible interpretations among scholars today suggest the phrase “thirtieth year” either refers to the date of the closing of the prophecies and publication of his book, or to the age of the prophet, with the latter being the most popular view.

(1) The Date of the Babylonian Captivity Efforts have been made to associate the thirtieth year with the other twelve chronological dates that Ezekiel places within his collection of prophecies (Eze 1:2; Eze 8:1; Eze 20:1; Eze 24:1; Eze 26:1; Eze 29:1; Eze 29:17; Eze 30:20; Eze 31:1; Eze 32:1; Eze 32:17; Eze 40:1), beginning from the fifth year to the twenty-seventh year of his captivity, as stated in the first and final date (Eze 1:2; Eze 40:1). This would mean that Ezekiel received his opening vision at the end of his ministry in the thirtieth year of his captivity. However, most scholars have a difficult time corresponding this opening date with the chronological dates placed throughout the book. For example, a prophet receives his divine commission at the beginning of his ministry and not at the end.

(2) Ezekiel’s Age when Called into the Prophetic Ministry The most popular view is to associate the thirtieth year with the age of the prophet Ezekiel when God commissioned him into the prophetic ministry because it is the easiest interpretation to work with in the biblical text. According to Jewish historian Josephus, Ezekiel was a priest by birth ( Antiquities 10.5.1), and from the Law of Moses we know that a priest began his duties at the age of thirty (Num 4:1-49, 1Ch 23:3). Thus, the opening verse of the book of Ezekiel indicates that Ezekiel probably received his commission at the age of thirty because he then was able by the Mosaic Law to serve as a priest to the children of Israel who were in exile. In this commission, he became a “watchman” for Israel and for the surrounding nations.

1Ch 23:3, “Now the Levites were numbered from the age of thirty years and upward: and their number by their polls, man by man, was thirty and eight thousand.”

An additional support for this view of Ezekiel’s age can be found in the Old Testament. Gen 8:13-14 gives Noah’s age as a reference to the event of the flood in the same way that Ezekiel’s age is probably described in Eze 1:1.

Gen 8:13-14, “And it came to pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off the earth: and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dried.”

Eze 1:1 “as I was among the captives” Comments – God has a divine way of intervening in the history of man to deliver His redeeming word to him. He placed Ezekiel among the captives of Israel in a distant land. He allowed Ezekiel to go through the same trials that backslidden Israel experienced so that he would be there to speak words of hope and redemption. We sometimes do not understand why our circumstances are difficult when we have lived godly. Ezekiel must have questioned the cause of his difficulties; but the Lord gave him understanding in these things.

Eze 1:1 “by the river of Chebar” Comments – Ralph Alexander says the river Chebar has been identified by scholars “with the “naru kabari” (mentioned in two cuneiform texts from Nippur), which is a canal making a southeasterly loop near the ancient site of Nippur, connecting at both ends with the Euphrates River.” [12]

[12] Ralph H. Alexander, Ezekiel, in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 6, ed. Frank E. Gaebelien, J. D. Douglas, Dick Polcyn (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub. House, 1976-1992), in Zondervan Reference Software, v. 2.8 [CD-ROM] (Grand Rapids, Michigan: The Zondervan Corp., 1989-2001), comments on Ezekiel “Introduction: Place of Origin and Destination.”

Eze 1:1 “that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God” Comments – The book of Ezekiel is similar to the book of Revelation in that both men saw apocalyptic visions of future events. Ezekiel saw future events in Israel’s redemption, while John the apostle saw future events in the Church’s redemption.

Eze 1:1 Comments The Manner in which Divine Oracles were Delivered unto the Prophets – God spoke through the Old Testament prophets in various ways, as the author of the epistle of Hebrews says, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Heb 1:1). The Lord spoke divine oracles ( ) through the Old Testament prophets in three general ways, as recorded in the book of Hosea, “I have also spoken by the prophets, and have multiplied visions; I have given symbols through the witness of the prophets.” (Hos 12:10) ( NKJV) In other words, the prophets spoke to Israel through the words they received, they described divine visions to the people, and they acted out as divine drama an oracle from the Lord.

(1) The Word of the Lord Came to the Prophets – God gave the prophets divine pronouncements to deliver to the people, as with Hos 1:1. The opening verses of a number of prophetic books say, “the word of the Lord came to the prophet” Thus, these prophets received a divine utterance from the Lord.

(2) The Prophets Received Divine Visions – God gave the prophets divine visions ( ), so they prophesied what they saw ( ) (to see). Thus, these two Hebrew words are found in Isa 1:1, Oba 1:1, Nah 1:1, and Hab 1:1. Ezekiel saw visions ( ) of God.

(3) God Told the Prophets to Deliver Visual Aids as Symbols of Divine Oracles – God asked the prophets to demonstrate divine oracles to the people through symbolic language. For example, Isaiah walked naked for three years as a symbol of Assyria’s dominion over Egypt and Ethiopia (Isa 20:1-6). Ezekiel demonstrated the siege of Jerusalem using clay tiles (Eze 4:1-3), then he laid on his left side for many days, then on his right side, to demonstrate that God will require Israel to bear its iniquities.

Eze 1:2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,

Eze 1:2 Comments – Jehoiachin, the son of Jehoiakim, begin his reign in Jerusalem in 597 B.C. The fifth year of his captivity would be 593 B.C.

Eze 1:3 The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.

Eze 1:3 Word Study on “Ezekiel” PTW says the name “Ezekiel” means “God strengthens,” which meaning summarizes the theme of this great prophetic book.

Eze 1:5 Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

Eze 1:5 “Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures” Comments – The fact that the living creatures came forth from the midst of the fiery whirlwind signifies that they are coming from the presence of God. These creatures will later be identified in Eze 10:15 as cherubim.

Eze 10:15, “And the cherubims were lifted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.”

Eze 1:8 And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

Eze 1:8 “and they four had their faces and their wings” Comments – The NIV reads, “All four had faces and wings.”

Eze 1:9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

Eze 1:9 “Their wings were joined one to another” Comments – The RSV says, “their wings touched one another.” The fact that their wings touched as they flew signifies their unity in executing their divine ministries, just as flocks of birds fly in formation.

Eze 1:9 “they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward” Comments – These creatures were sent forth from the presence of God to perform His will. Their straight, unaltered path signifies the fact that God’s plans and purposes are predetermined and planed. It also signifies that God’s plans are unaltered and will surely come to pass.

Eze 1:10  As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

Eze 1:10 Comments – These four faces represent the work and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. The face of a man symbolizes the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. The lion symbolizes Jesus as the King of Kings, the highest office held by man. The ox represents the most expensive offering that an Israelite can bring from the flock. The calf symbolizes Jesus as the sacrifice for sins on the altar. The eagle symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His exalted position at the right hand of the Father (Pro 23:5).

Pro 23:5, “Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven .”

These creatures are very similar to the four creatures that John saw in his vision (Rev 4:6-7).

Rev 4:6-7, “And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle.”

The four living creatures, or cherubim, standing around the throne of God in the book of Revelation, symbolize the character, or person, of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as the twenty-four elders represent the saints of God. Twelve elders represent the twelve tribes of Israel and twelve elders represent the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Thus, these twenty-four elders represent the nation of Israel as well as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Eze 1:11 Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.

Eze 1:11 “and two covered their bodies” Comments – The creatures covered themselves with their wings in a gesture of humility.

Eze 1:12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

Eze 1:12 Comments – These four living creatures were being sent forth from the presence of God to perform His divine will. Their straight, unaltered path signifies the fact that God’s plans and purposes are predetermined and planned. It also signifies that God’s plans are unaltered and will surely come to pass. The spirit here most likely represents the Holy Spirit of God, which leads and empowers these creatures to perform God’s will just as the Holy Spirit guides each believer. The fact that they turned not when they went indicates their total obedience and submission to the Holy Spirit. The four heads going straight forward signifies that they were of one mind and one purpose. (Compare the angel’s interpretation to John the apostle of the unity of a multi-headed beast with the multi-headed creatures in Ezekiel [Rev 17:12-13 ]).

Rev 17:12-13, “And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind , and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.”

If we believe that demons can trouble mankind and devise wicked plans to hinder them, then how much more should God’s holy angels be able to go forth to implement good plans from the hand of God.

Eze 1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.

Eze 1:13 Comments – The element of fire in the midst of the creatures is very significant. Fire often represents divine judgment and purging in the Scriptures. Ezekiel will later explain in chapter 10 that these coals of fire will be taken from between the wheels and dispersed over the city of Jerusalem as a symbol of God’s coming judgment (Eze 10:2).

Eze 10:2, “And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.”

In is interesting to note that these coals of judgment were not scattered upon the seven surrounding nations that God also judged. Perhaps because the judgment upon Jerusalem overflowed into these surrounding nations since they promoted and delighted in the fall of Jerusalem.

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

Ezekiel’s Commission (Comparison with John the Apostle on the Isle of Patmos) – In Eze 1:1 to Eze 3:21 we are given a description of Ezekiel’s supernatural vision and divine commission to be a witness to the Jews in Captivity. In a similar way that John the apostle was banished on the isle of Patmos and had a heavenly vision, so does Ezekiel have a vision in his banishment by the river Chebar. The Lord gave both of them a tremendous revelation using symbols of future events. Both of their books open with a vision. Both visions begin with a visitation from the throne of God. John the apostle was visited by Jesus Christ, who was now ascended to this heavenly throne. Ezekiel simply saw the throne with it glory, for Jesus Christ had not yet taken upon Himself the form of man. Both apocalyptic visions end with a description of heaven, where those who are faithful will abide eternally. Both men are given symbolic revelations of those events that will lead up to the fulfillment of all things.

Both are given books to eat. They both experienced the books to taste like honey. John says that it became bitter to his belly, while Ezekiel says that he went in bitterness of spirit.

Eze 3:1-2, “Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll , and go speak unto the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.”

Eze 3:3, “And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness .”

Eze 3:14, “So the spirit lifted me up, and took me away, and I went in bitterness, in the heat of my spirit ; but the hand of the LORD was strong upon me.”

Rev 10:9, “And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey .”

While John seems to emphasize the role of the Church in the last days, Ezekiel places emphasis upon the role of the nation of Israel.

Eze 1:1 to Eze 3:21 Ezekiel’s Divine Commission (Comparison with Other Divine Commissions) Eze 1:1 to Eze 3:21 describes the prophets divine commission to be a witness to the Jews in Captivity. We often find a divine commission at the beginning of the story of God’ servants in the Scriptures. We see in the book of Genesis that Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob each received their commissions at the beginning of their genealogies, which divide the book of Genesis into major divisions. We also see how Moses received his divine commission near the beginning of his story found within Exodus to Deuteronomy. Joshua received his commission in the first few verses of the book of Joshua. In addition, we see that Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel each received a divine commission at the beginning of their ministries. The book of Ezra opens with a divine call to rebuild the Temple and the book of Nehemiah begins with a call to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, which callings Ezra and Nehemiah answered. In the New Testament, we find Paul the apostle receiving his divine commission in Act 9:1-22 at the beginning of the lengthy section on Paul’s life and ministry.

Each of these divine callings can be found within God’s original commission to Adam in the story of Creation to be fruitful and multiply. For these men were called to bring the about the multiplication of godly seeds. The patriarchs were called to multiply and produce a nation of righteousness. Moses was called to bring Israel out of bondage, but missed his calling to bring them into the Promised Land. Joshua was called to bring them in to the land. Esther was called to preserve the seed of Israel as was Noah, while Ezra and Nehemiah were called to bring them back into the Promised Land. All of the judges, the kings and the prophets were called to call the children of Israel out of sin and bondage and into obedience and prosperity. They were all called to bring God’s children out of bondage and destruction and into God’s blessings and multiplication. The stories in the Old Testament show us that some of these men fulfilled their divine commission while others either fell short through disobedience or were too wicked to hear their calling from God.

The awesome vision of God in the opened heavens would leave a deep impression on Ezekiel throughout his entire life as a priest to the children of Israel. This vision of God’s holiness would always stand as a measuring rod for Ezekiel as he spoke to the corrupt and wicked hearts of God’s people.

Moses had such an experience at the burning bush to launch him into his ministry (Exodus 3-4). God gave the children of Israel a similar vision as they stood before Mount Sinai and beheld God’s descent upon the mount (Exodus 19). We see Isaiah being given a vision of God on His throne (Isaiah 6). Jeremiah received his calling and a vision in the opening chapter of his book. Paul the apostle was struck down on the road to Damascus with a vision by which God called him into his ministry (Act 9:1-22).

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

The Four Living Creatures

v. 1. Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, either of the Prophet’s life or of some period or era which can no longer be definitely determined, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, for, having been led into captivity with Jehoiachin, he settled near this stream, which may have been one of the large irrigation ditches of the Euphrates Valley, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God, the very first sentence of his book thus emphasizing Ezekiel’s divine authorization, he was in a state of ecstasy, during which divine revelations were vouchsafed him, as opposed to any visions of his own heart, the empty fancies of false prophets. Note that Ezekiel names the thirtieth year, this being the one in which the priests entered upon the duties of their office. So God here prepared His servant, not by an unreal hallucination, but by an actual manifestation, for the ministry in which he was to testify of the Word made known to him. The time is now further specified with reference to a well-known date.

v. 2. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, with whom the second company of exiles had been brought to Babylon,

v. 3. the word of the Lord came expressly, or “verily, truly,” so that there can be no doubt of the fact, unto Ezekiel, the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him, so that, by this divine manifestation of power, he was endowed with the faculty of seeing and proclaiming heavenly truths. The prophet now immediately launches forth in a description of time heavenly vision.

v. 4. And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, an emblem of God’s mighty judgments, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, literally, “taking itself within itself,” which does not merely mean, formed into a ball or lump of fire, but at the same time flashing as if there was a continual kindling of flame within time fiery mass forming the center of the cloud, and a brightness was about it, so that it glowed like gold being refined in the assayer’s furnace, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, metal glowing in the melting-pot, out of the midst of the fire, as though the heart of it were made of polished brass.

v. 5. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man, possessing tile general structure of a human body.

v. 6. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings, similarly as the seraphim in Isa 6:2 had six wings apiece.

v. 7. And their feet, evidently only two in number, were straight feet, literally, “a foot of straightness,” not only firm, but without a bend at the knee, altogether upright and symmetrical; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot, standing vertically, not horizontally; and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass, thereby indicating the purity of God’s essence and the glory of his avenging justice.

v. 8. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides, the wings thus being fastened at the shoulders, whence the hands proceeded likewise; and they four had their faces and their wings, one each on every one of the four sides.

v. 9. Their wings were joined one to another, connected or interlaced with one another. They turned not when they went, namely, in twisted maneuvers; they went every one straight forward, due to the fact that their wings were thus joined.

v. 10. As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man and the face of a lion on the right side, namely, of one beholding them; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle, evidently on the side turned away from the beholder. The meaning of these four faces may have been to symbolize the strength, the power, the wisdom, and the nearness of God.

v. 11. Thus were their faces; and their wings were stretched upward, literally, “parted from above,” the heads being set on four separate necks; two wings of every one were joined one to another, the ends of the outstretched pinions being thus interlaced, and two covered their bodies, as in holy fear and reverence in the presence of God.

v. 12. And they went every one straight forward, keeping their direction with unswerving directness; whither the spirit, the life-breath of God in them, was to go, they went, the four acting always in perfect unison; and they turned not when they went, in confusing maneuvers.

v. 13. As for the likeness of the living creatures, the impression made by their appearance in general, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like kindled coals, and like the appearance of lamps, in a quick and flickering motion, like the play of lightning; it went up and down among the living creatures, moving back and forth between them; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning, in a threatening effect toward the outside.

v. 14. And the living creatures ran and returned, always straight before them, as the appearance of a flash of lightning, with the suddenness of an electric flash. The Lord, if he so chooses, is able to reveal His will in a most startling and majestic mariner, as also some phenomena of nature show to this day.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

EXPOSITION

For the life of the prophet prior to the vision which this chapter relates, and which constituted his call to that office, see Introduction.

Eze 1:1

Now; literally, and. The use of the conjunction indicates here, as in Jon 1:1, that the narrative that follows links itself on to something that has gone before. In Exo 1:1 and 1Sa 1:1 it may point to a connection with the book that precedes it. Here the sequence is subjective. We may think of Ezekiel as retracing the years of his life till he comes to the thirtieth. Then, as it were, he pulls himself up. That must be the starting point of what he has to say. Our English use of “now” is nearly equivalent to this. In the thirtieth year. I incline, following Origen, Hengstenberg, Smend, and others, to refer the date to the prophet’s own life. That year in Jewish reckoning was the age of full maturity. At that age the earlier Levites (Num 4:23, Num 4:20, Num 4:39, Num 4:43, Num 4:47) had entered on their duties. It is probable, though no written rule is found, that it was the normal age for the functions of the priesthood. In the case of our Lord (Luk 3:23) and of the Baptist it appears to have been recognized as the starting point of a prophet’s work. Jeremiah’s call as a “child” was obviously exceptional. Other theories are:

(1) That the years are reckoned from the era of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, dating from his throwing off the sovereignty of Assyria, and giving here the date B.C. 595 (Michaelis, Rosenmuller, Ewald, and others); but against this it may be urged

(a) that there is no evidence that that era was in use in Ezekiel’s time, and

(b) that he nowhere else uses a double historical chronology.

(2) That the years are reckoned from the discovery of the book of the Law in the reign of Josiah (2Ki 22:8; 2Ch 34:14), as a turning point or era in the history of Judah (Targum, Theodoret, Jerome, Havernick), which would again bring us to B.C. 595. This view is, however, open to the same objections as (1). We have no proof that the Jews ever reckoned from that event, and Ezekiel did not want, here or elsewhere, another point to reckon from, as far as his people’s history was concerned, than the captivity of Jehoiachin. In the fourth month. Both here and in verse 2 the months are probably reckoned from Abib, or Nisan, the month of the Passover, with which the Jewish year began (Exo 12:2; Neh 2:1; Est 3:7), so that the fourth month, known by later Jews as Tammuz, would bring us to June or July. Among the captives (literally, the captivity) by the river of Chebar. By most earlier commentators the Chebar has been identified with the Chaboras of the Greeks (now the Khabour), which rises in Upper Mesopotamia, at Ras-el-Ain, and falls into the Euphrates at Carcesium, a city which modern geographers distinguish from the Carchemish of the Old Testament. Recent critics, however (Rawlinson, Smend, and others), have urged that this was too far north to be in the “land of the Chaldeans” (verse 3), or Babylon (2Ki 24:16), and have suggested that the Chebar of Ezekiel is the Nahr-Malcha, or Royal Canal of Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest of that king’s irrigation works, to which, therefore, the name Chebar (i.e. uniting) would be appropriate. The identification of Chebar with the labor of 2Ki 17:6, to which the ten tribes had been deported (whether, with Rawlinson, we think of that river as identical with the Chaboras, or still further north, near an affluent of the Tigris of the same name), must, for like reasons, be rejected. The two names are, indeed, spelt differently, with initial letters that do not interchange. The heavens were opened. The phrase, not found elsewhere in the Old Testament, appears in Mat 3:16; Joh 1:51; Act 7:56; Act 10:11; Rev 4:1. Visions of God. The words admit of three interpretations:

(1) Great, or wonderful, visions; as in the “mountains of God” (Psa 36:6), the “cedars of God” (Psa 80:10), the “river of God” (Psa 65:9);

(2) visions sent from God; or

(3) actual theophanies or manifestations of the Divine glory, of these (3) is most in harmony with what follows, here and elsewhere, on the phrase (comp. Eze 8:3; Eze 40:2; Eze 43:3). Such a theophany constituted in his ease, as in that of Isaiah (Isa 6:1), Jeremiah (Jer 1:9), Zechariah (Zec 1:8-14), his call to the office of a prophet. The visions may be thought of as manifested to his waking consciousness in an ecstatic state, and are thus distinguished from the dreams of sleep (comp. Joe 2:28 for the distinction between the two”visions” belonging to the young, and “dreams” to the old). The visions of Balaam, seen in a “trance,” but with his “eyes open” (Num 24:3, Num 24:4), and of St. Paul, “whether in the body or out of the body” he could not tell (2Co 12:2, 2Co 12:3), present suggestive parallels.

Eze 1:2

The fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. The date of this deportation stands as B.C. 599 (2Ki 24:8-16; 2Ch 36:9, 2Ch 36:10), and thus brings us to B.C. 595 4 as the time of Ezekiel’s first vision. It was for him and for his fellow exiles a natural starting point to reckon from. It would have been, in one sense, as natural to reckon from the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign, as Jeremiah does (Jer 39:1, Jer 39:2), but Ezekiel does not recognize that princewho was, as it were, a mere satrap under Nebuchadnezzaras a true king, and throughout his book systematically adheres to this era (Eze 8:1; Eze 20:1; Eze 24:1, et al.). About this time, but a year before, the false prophets of Judah were prophesying the overthrow of Babylon and the return of Jeconiah within two years (Jer 28:3), and the expectations thus raised were probably shared by many of Ezekiel’s companions in exile, while he himself adhered to the counsels of the leter which Jeremiah had sent (Jer 29:1-23) to the Jews of the Captivity. To one who felt himself thus apart from his brethren, musing over many things, and perhaps perplexed with the conflict of prophetic voices, there was given, in the “visions of God” which he relates, the guidance that he needed. They did not break in, we may well believe, suddenly and without preparation on the normal order of his life. Like other prophets, he felt, even before his call, the burdens of his time. and vexed his soul with the ungodly deeds of these among whom he lived.

Eze 1:3

The word of the Lord came expressly, etc.; literally, coming, there come the word of the Lord; the iteration having (as commonly in this combination in Hebrew) the force of emphasis. The phrase stands, as elsewhere, for the conscious inspiration which made men feel that Jehovah had indeed spoken unto them, and that they had a message from him to deliver. To give parallel passages would be to copy several pages from a concordance, but it may not be without interest to note its first (Gen 15:1) and last (Mal 1:1) occurrences in the Old Testament, and its reappear, race in the New Testament (Luk 3:2). Unto Ezekiel. We note the transition from the first person to the third; but it does not give sufficient ground for rejecting either verse 1 or verse 2, 3 as an interpolation. (For the prophet’s name, which appears only here and in Eze 24:24, see Introduction; and for “land of Chaldeans,” note on Eze 24:1.) The hand of the Lord. Here again we haw a phrase of frequent occurrence, used of Elijah (1Ki 18:46), of Elisha (2Ki 3:15), of Daniel (Dan 8:18; Dan 10:10), of Isaiah (Isa 8:11), of St. John (Rev 1:17). The “hand” of the Lord is the natural symbol of his power, and the phrase seems to be used to add to the consciousness of inspiration, that of a constraining, irresistible power. Ezekiel continually uses it (Eze 3:14, Eze 3:22; Eze 8:1; Eze 33:22; Eze 37:1; Eze 40:1).

Eze 1:4

A whirlwind came out of the north. What, we ask, was the meaning of this symbolism? In Jer 1:13, Jer 1:14 a like symbol is explained as meaning that the judgments which Judah was to suffer were to come from the north, that is, from Chaldea, upon the prophet’s countrymen. Here the prophet is himself in Chaldea, and what he sees is the symbol, not or calamities, but of the Divine glory, and that explanation is, accordingly, inapplicable. Probably the leading thought here is that the Divine presence is no longer in the temple at Jerusalem, It may return for a time to execute judgment (Eze 8:4; Eze 10:1, Eze 10:19, Eze 10:20), and may again depart (Eze 11:23), but the abiding glory is elsewhere, and the temple is as Shitoh had been of old (Psa 78:60). Ezekiel was looking on the visible symbol of what had been declared in unfigurative language by Jeremiah (Jer 7:12, Jer 7:14; Jer 26:6, Jer 26:9). That the north should have been chosen rather than any other quarter of the heavens is perhaps connected

(1) with Job 37:22, where it appears as the region of “fair weather,” the unclouded brightness of the “terrible majesty” of God;

(2) with Isa 14:13, where “the sides of the north” are the symbols of the dwelling place of God. For the Jews this was probably associated with the thought of the mountain heights of Lebanon as rising up to heaven (Currey, on Eze 1:4, in ‘Speaker’s Commentary’), or with the fact that the “north side” of Zion (Psa 48:2), as the site of the temple, was the “dwelling place of the great King.” Parallels present themselves in the Assyrian hymns that speak of the “feasts of the silver mountains, the heavenly courts” (as the Greeks spoke of Olympus), “where the gods dwell eternally” (‘Records of the Past,’ 3:133), and this ideal mountain was for them, like the Meru of Indian legend, in the farthest north. So, in the legendary geography of Greece, the Hyperborei, or “people beyond the north,” were a holy and blessed race, the chosen servants of Apollo. Possibly the brilliant coruscations of an Aurora Borealis may have led men to think of it as they thought of the glory of the dawn or the brightness of the lightning, as a momentary revelation of the higher glory of the throne of God. (For the “whirlwind” as the accompaniment of a Divine revelation, see 1Ki 19:11; Job 38:1; Act 2:2.) A great cloud, etc. So far the signs of the approaching theophany were like those on Sinai (Exo 19:16, Exo 19:18) and Horeb (1Ki 19:11). With a fire infolding itself; the Revised Version margin gives flashing continually. The Authorized Version suggests the thought of a globe of fire darting its rays through the surrounding darkness. The colour of amber; literally, the eye. The Hebrew word for “amber” (chashmal) occurs only here and in Isa 14:27 and Isa 8:2. It is almost absolutely certain that it does not mean what we know as “amber.” The LXX. and Vulgate give electrum, and this, in later Greek and Latin authors, has “amber” for one of its meanings. Primarily, however, it was used for a metallic substance of some kind, specifically for a compound four parts of gold and one of silver (Pithy, ‘Hist. Nat.,’ 23.4, s. 23). Some such compound is probably what we have to think of here, and so the description finds a parallel in Dan 10:6; Rev 1:15. This, in its ineffable brightness, is seen in the centre of the globe of fire. One may compare Dante’s vision of the Divine glory (‘Paradise,’ 33:55).

Eze 1:5

The likeness of four living creatures. The Authorized Version is happier here in its rendering than in Rev 4:6, where we find “beasts” applied to the analogues of the forms of Ezekiel’s vision. There the Greek gives , as the LXX. does here, while in Dan 7:3-7 we have In Eze 10:15 they are identified with the “cherubim” of the mercy seat; but the fact that they are not so named here is presumptive evidence that Ezekiel did not at first recognize them as identical with what he had heard of those cherubim, or with the other like forms that were seen, as they were not seen, in the temple (1Ki 6:29; 1Ki 7:29), on its walls (2Ch 3:7), and on its veil or curtain (Exo 36:35). What he sees is, in fact, a highly complicated development of the cherubic symbols, which might well appear strange to him. It is possible (as Dean Stanley and others have suggested) that the Assyrian and Babylonian sculptures, the winged bulls and lions with human heads, which Ezekiel may have seen in his exile, were elements in that development. The likeness of a man. This apparently was the first impression. The “living creatures” were not, like the Assyrian forms just referred to, quadrupeds. They stood erect, and had feet and hands as men have.

Eze 1:6

We note the points of contrast with other like visions.

(1) In Isa 6:2 each seraph has six wings, as each “living creature” has in Rev 4:8.

(2) In Rev 4:7 the four heads are distributed, one to each of the “living creatures,” while here each has four faces, and forms, as it were, a Janus quadrifrons. The wings are described more minutely in Rev 4:11.

Eze 1:7

Their feet were straight feet, etc. The noun is probably used as including the lower part of the leg, and what is meant is that the legs were not bent, or kneeling. What we may call the bovine symbolism appears at the extremity, and the actual foot is round like a calf’s. The LXX. curiously enough gives “their feet were winged ().“ Burnished brass. Probably a shade less brilliant, or more ruddy, than the electrum of Eze 1:4 (see note there).

Eze 1:8

They had the hands of a man, etc. The prophet seems to describe each detail in the order in which it presented itself to him. What he next sees is that each of the four forms has two hands on each of its four sides. Nothing could supersede that symbol of activity and strength.

Eze 1:9

Their wings were joined, etc. As interpreted by Eze 1:11 and Eze 1:24, two of the wings were always down, and when the living creatures moved, two were extended upwards, so that their tips touched, and were in this sense “joined.” When at rest, these were let down again (Eze 1:24). They turned not, etc. We note the emphasis of the threefold iteration of the fact (Eze 1:12, Eze 1:17). None of the four forms revolved on its axis. The motion of what we may call the composite quadrilateral was simply rectilinear. Did the symbolism represent the directness, the straightforwardness, of the Divine energy manifested in the universe?

Eze 1:10

As for the likeness, etc. The Revised Version rightly strikes out the comma after “lion.” The human face meets the prophet’s gaze. On the right he sees the lion, on the left the ox, while the face of the eagle is behind. What did the symbols mean?

(1) The human face represents the thought that man, as made “after the image of God” (Gen 1:27), is the highest symbol of the Eternal. So long as we remember that it is but a symbol, anthropomorphism is legitimate in thought, and appropriate in visions; though, like theriomorphism, it becomes perilous, and is therefore forbidden (Exo 20:4; Deu 4:17) when it takes concrete form in metal or in stone. So Daniel (Dan 7:9, Dan 7:13) sees the “Ancient of Days” and “one like unto a son of man;” and St. John’s vision (Rev 1:13) represents the same symbolism.

(2) The lion had been the familiar emblem of sovereignty, both in the temple of Solomon (1Ki 7:29) and in his palace (1Ki 10:20; 2Ch 9:18 :19). So, in Gen 49:9, it is the symbol of the kingly power of Judah, and appears with a yet higher application in Rev 5:5; while, on the other hand, it represents one of the great monarchies of the world in Dan 7:4. Its modern heraldic use in the arms of England and elsewhere presents yet another analogue.

(3) The ox had appeared, as here, so also in 1Ki 7:25, 1Ki 7:44, in company with the lion, notably in the twelve oxen that supported the “sea” or “laver” in the temple. Here also we have a kind of sovereigntythe natural symbol of a strength made subservient to human uses. Both the lion and the ox, as we have seen, may have become familiar to Ezekiel as a priest ministering in the temple or as an exile.

(4) The eagle was, in like manner, though not taking its place in the symbolism of the temple, the emblem of kingly power, and is so employed by Ezekiel himself in Eze 17:3, Eze 17:7; while in Dan 7:4 the lion has eagle’s wings (comp. Hos 8:1; Isa 46:11; Oba 1:4; Hab 1:8). In Assyrian sculpture Nisroch (the name is cognate with the Hebrew for “eagle,” nesher) appears as an eagle-headed human figure, and is always represented as contending with or conquering the lion and the bull. The facts suggest the inference

(1) that Ezekiel may have seen this symbol;

(2) that over and above the general thought that all the powers of nature are subject to the government of God, there was also the more specific thought that the great kingdoms of the earth were but servants of his, to do his pleasure? The reproduction of the fourfold form, with the variation already noticed, in Rev 4:7, is every way suggestive, and it is, at least, a natural inference that the symbols had acquired a new significance through the new truths that had been revealed to the seer of Patrons; that the human face may have connected itself with the thought of the Son of man who shared in the glory of the Father; the ox with that of his sacrifice; the lion with that of his sovereignty over Israel, as the Lion of the tribe of Judah (Rev 5:5); the eagle with that of his bearing his people as on eagles’ wings, into the highest heavens (Exo 19:4; Deu 32:11) The patristic interpretation, which finds in the four living creatures the symbols of the four evangelists, must be considered as the play of a devout imagination, but not as unfolding the meaning of either Ezekiel or St. John. In the later Jewish tradition the four forms are assigned, taking Ezekiel’s order, to the tribes of Reuben, Judah, Ephraim, and Dan, as the “standards” (Num 2:2) which they generally bore when encamped in the wilderness; but this is obviously outside the range of the prophet’s thoughts.

Eze 1:11

Thus were their faces: and, etc.; better, with Revised Version, and their faces and their wings were separate above; i.e. were stretched upward, touching the neighbouring wings at the tip, and so “joined,” while the other two covered the bodies and were never stretched (comp. Isa 6:2).

Eze 1:12

Whither the spirit was to go, etc. The description passes on to the originating force of the movement of the mysterious forms. The Hebrew noun may mean “breath,” “wind,” or “spirit,” the meanings often overlapping one another. Here the higher meaning is probably the true one. The “Spirit” (as in Gen 1:1; Gen 6:3; Psa 104:30; Psa 139:7; Isa 40:7, Isa 40:13; and in Ezekiel himself, passim) is the Divine Source of life in all its forms, especially in its highest form, moral, intellectual, spiritual. It is this which gave unity and harmony to the movements of the “living creatures,” as it gives a life, harmony, and unity to all the manifold manifestations of the might of God of which they were the symbols. (On “they turned not,” see note on Eze 1:9.)

Eze 1:13

Like burning coals of fire, etc. It may not be amiss to note the fact that the phrase throughout the Bible denotes incandescent wood. The nearest approach to its use by Ezekiel is in 2Sa 22:9, 2Sa 22:13. For “lamps,” read, with the Revised Version, “torches.” Here the vision of Ezekiel, in which the living creatures were thus incandescent, bathed, as it were, in the fire that played around them, yet not consumed, followed in the path of previous symbolsof the burning bush (Exo 3:2), of the pillar of fire by night (Exo 13:22), of the fire on Sinai (Exo 19:18), of the “fire of the Lord” (Num 11:1-3), and the “fire of God” (2Ki 1:12). Speaking generally, “fire,” as distinct from “light,” seems to be the symbol of the power of God as manifested against evil. “Our God is a consuming Fire” (Deu 4:24; Heb 12:29). The red light of fire has in it an element of terror which is absent from the stainless white of the eternal glory, or from the sapphire of the visible firmament. Lightning (comp. Exo 19:16; Exo 20:18; Dan 10:6; Rev 4:5; Rev 8:5; Rev 11:19; Rev 16:18).

Eze 1:14

Ran and returned. Compare the “to and fro” of Zec 4:10. The comparison implies at once suddenness (as in Mat 24:27) and overwhelming brightness.

Eze 1:15

Behold one wheel, etc. As the prophet gazed, yet another marvel presented itselfa “wheel” was seen. It is “by” or “beside” (Revised Version) the living creatures, and “for each of the four faces thereof” (Revised Version); i.e. as the next verse states definitely, there were four wheels. We may compare the analogues of the “wheels” of fire in the theophany of Dan 7:9, and the chariot of the cherubim in 1Ch 28:18.

Eze 1:16

Like unto the colour of a beryl. The Hebrew for “beryl” (tarshish) suggests that the stone was called, like the turquoise, from the region which produced it. Here and in Dan 10:6 the LXX. leaves it untranslated. In Exo 28:20 we find ; in Eze 10:9 and Eze 28:13 , i.e. carbuncle. It is obvious, from this variety of renderings, that the stone was not easily identified. Probably it was of a red or golden color, suggesting the thought of fire rather than the pale green of the aquamarine or beryl (see especially Dan 10:6). They four had one likeness, etc. A closer gaze led the prophet to see that there was a plurality in the unity. For the one “wheel” we have four; perhaps, as some have thought, two wheels intersecting at right angles, perhaps, one, probably seen behind, perhaps also below, each of the living creatures. They are not said actually to rest upon it, and the word “chariot” is not used as it is in 1Ch 28:18. They would seem rather to have hovered over the wheels, moving simultaneously and in full accord with them. The “wheels” obviously represent the forces and laws that sustain the manifold forms of life represented by the “living creatures” and the “Spirit.” In each case the number four is, as elsewhere, the symbol of completeness. A wheel in the midst of (within, Revised Version) a wheel; i.e. with an inner and outer circumference, the space between the two forming the “ring” or felloe of 1Ch 28:18.

Eze 1:17

When they went, etc. The meaning seems to be that the relative position of the wheels and the living creatures was not altered by motion. On “they turned not,” see note on Eze 1:9. All suggests the idea of orderly and harmonious working.

Eze 1:18

As for their rings, etc. The “rings” or “felloes” of the wheels impressed the prophet’s mind with a sense of awe, partly from their size, partly from their being “full of eyes.” These were obviously, as again in Eze 10:12, and in the analogues of the “stone with seven eyes” in Zec 3:9; Zec 4:10, and the “four beasts [i.e. ‘living creatures’] full of eyes,” in Rev 4:6, symbols of the omniscience of God working through the forces of nature and of history. These were not, as men have sometimes thought, blind forces, but were guided as by a supreme insight.

Eze 1:19

The wheels went by them; better, with Revised Version, beside them; i.e. moving in parallel lines with them. And when the living creatures went, etc. The truth embodied in the coincident movements of the “living creatures” and the “wheels,” is the harmony of the forces and laws of nature with its outward manifestations of might. In the two directions of the movement, onward and upwardwhen the living creatures were lifted upwe may see

(1) the operations of the two when they are within the range of man’s knowledge, and, as it were, on the same plane with it; and

(2) those which are as in a higher region beyond his ken.

Eze 1:20

Whithersoever the spirit was to go, etc. The secret of the coincidence of the movements of the “living creatures” and of the “wheels” was found in the fact, which the prophet’s intuition grasped, that the phenomena of life and law had one and the same originating source. For “the spirit of the living creature” (singular, because the four are regarded as one complex whole), the LXX; Vulgate, and Revised Version margin, give “the spirit of life,” a rendering tenable in itself, but the contextual meaning of the word is in favour of the Authorized Version and the Revised Version text.

Eze 1:21

When those went, these went. The words, strictly speaking, add nothing to the previous description; but the prophet appears to have wished to combine what he had before said separately, so as to make the picture complete, before passing on to the yet more glorious vision that next met his gaze.

Eze 1:22

And the likeness of the firmament, etc. The word is the same as that in Gen 1:1-31, passim; Psa 19:1; cf. 1; Dan 12:3. It meets us again in verses 23, 25, 26, and in Dan 10:1, but does not occur elsewhere in the Old Testament. What met the prophet’s eye was the expanse, the “body of heaven in its clearness” (Exo 24:10), the deep intense blue of an Eastern sky. Like the colour of the terrible crystal, etc. The Hebrew noun is not found elsewhere. Its primary meaning, like that of the Greek , is that of “cold,” and I incline therefore to the margin of the Revised Version, “ice.” Rock crystal, seen, as it is, in small masses, and in its pure colourless transparency, hardly suggests the idea of terror; but the intense brightness of masses of ice, as shining in the morning sun, might well make that impression. Had Ezekiel seen the glories of a mountain throne of ice as he looked up, on his nay from Palestine to Chaldea, at the heights of Lebanon, or Hermon, and thought of them as the fitting symbol of the throne of God? We note, in this connection, the use of “terrible” in Job 37:22 (see note on Job 37:4).

Eze 1:23

Under the firmament, etc. The description must be read as completing that of Eze 1:11. The two upper wings of the “living creatures” were not only stretched out, but they pointed to the azure canopy above them, not as sustaining it, but in the attitude of adoration. Nature, in all her life phenomena, adores the majesty of the Eternal.

Eze 1:24

The noise of their wings, etc. The wings representing the soaring, ascending elements in nature, their motion answers to its aspirations, their sounds to its inarticulate groanings (Rom 8:26) or its chorus of praise. The noise of great waters may be that of the sea, or river, or torrents. Ezekiel’s use of the term in Eze 31:7, in connection with the cedars of Lebanon, seems in favour of the last. On the other hand, in Eze 27:26; Psa 29:3; Psa 107:23, the term is manifestly used for the seas. The thought appears again in Rev 1:15; Rev 19:6. In Psa 29:3, et al; the “voice of the Lord” is identified with thunder. For the voice of speech, which wrongly suggests articulate utterance, read, with the Revised Version, a noise of tumult.

Eze 1:25

And there was a voice from the firmament. Revised Version gives above. The prophet’s silence suggests that what he heard was at first ineffable, perhaps unintelligible. All that he knew was that an awful voice, like thunder (comp. Joh 12:29), came from above the expanse of azure, and that it stilled the motion of the wings, working peace, as in the midst of the endless agitations of the universe. The wings that had been stretched upward are now folded, like the others.

Eze 1:26

The likeness of a throne. The greatest glory was kept to the last. High above the azure expanse was the likeness of a throne (we note the constant recurrence of the word “likeness,” nine times in this one chapter, as indicating Ezekiel’s consciousness of the vision character of what he saw). The idea of the throne of the great King first appears in 1Ki 22:19, is frequent in the Psalms (Psa 9:4, Psa 9:7; Psa 11:4; Psa 45:6), notably in Isa 6:1. In the visions of St John (Rev 1:4, and passim) it is the dominant, central object throughout. As the appearance of a sapphire stone. The intense blue of the sapphire has made it in all ages the natural symbol of a heavenly purity. Ezekiel’s vision reproduces that of Exo 24:10. It appears among the gems of the high priest’s breastplate (Exo 28:18; Exo 39:11) and in the “foundations” of Rev 21:19. The description of the sapphire given by Pliny (‘Hist. Nat.,’ 37.9), as “never transparent, and refulgent with spots of gold,” suggests lapis lazuli. As used in the Old Testament, however, the word probably means the sapphire of modern jewellery. A likeness as of the appearance of a man. The throne, the symbol of the sovereignty of God over the “living creatures” and the “wheels,” over the forces and the laws which they represented, is not empty. There was “a likeness as of the appearance” (we note again the accumulation of words intended to guard against the thought that what was seen was more than an approximate symbolism) “of a man.” In that likeness there was the witness that we can only think of God by reasoning upward from all that is highest in our conceptions of human greatness and goodness, and thinking of them as free from their present limitations. Man’s highest thought of God is that it is “a face like his face that receives him.” He finds a humanity in the Godhead. It is noticeable that this preluding anticipation of the thought of the Incarnation, not recognized in the vision of Moses (Exo 24:10) or Isaiah (Isa 6:1), appears prominently in the two prophets of the exilehere and in the memorable Messianic vision of “One like unto the [‘a,’ Revised Version] Son of man” in Dan 7:13. What might have been perilously anthropomorphic in the early stages of the growth of Israel, when men tended to identify the symbol with the thing symbolized, was now made subservient to the truth which underlies even anthropomorphic thought (comp. Rev 1:13). Irenaeus (‘Adv. Haer.,’ 4.20. 10), it may be noted, dwells on the fact that Ezekiel uses the words, “‘haec visio similitudmis gloriae Domini,’ ne quis putaret forte eum in his proprie vidisse Deum.”

Eze 1:27

As the colour of amber. The “amber” (see note on Eze 1:4) represents the purity and glory of the Divine naturethe truth that “God is light” in his eternal essence. The “fire” which, here as ever, represents the wrath of God against evil, is round about within it, i.e. is less absolutely identified with the Divine will, of which it is yet an almost constant manifestation. It is, in the language of the older logicians, an inseparable accident rather than part of its essential nature.

Eze 1:28

As the appearance of the bow. The glorious epiphany was completed, as in Rev 4:3 and Rev 10:1, by the appearance of the rainbow. The symbol of God’s faithfulness, and of the hope that rested on it (Gen 9:13). was seen in the glory of the Divine perfection, even in the midst of the fire of the Divine wrath. Mercy and love are thought of as over arching all the phenomena of the world and its history, attempering the chastisements which are needed for those with whom that love is dealing. The whole complex appearances of Ezekiel’s descriptions, including the arch of prismatic colours, finds its nearest natural analogue, as has been before suggested (note on verse 4), in the phenomena of the Northern Lights. I fell upon my face. As in Eze 3:23; Dan 8:17; Rev 1:17, the prostrate attitude of lowliest adoration, the dread and awe of one who has seen the King, the Lord of hosts, and vet survives, was a preparation for the more direct revelation to his consciousness of the Word and will of Jehovah (comp. Dante ‘Inferno,’ 3:136; 5:142).

HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS

Eze 1:1

Exile and captivity.

It is not the soil which a people till that makes that people a nation. The Jews have more than once furnished a striking illustration of this principle; for no nation has suffered more from banishment and dispersion, and no nation has more tenaciously clung to its nationality, or more effectively preserved it in circumstances the most unfavourable. It is its religion which makes a people a nation; even more than a common language, a common ancestry, and common traditions. It has ever been so conspicuously with the Jews. The record of their captivity in the East is a record of their religious experience; the literature of their captivity is the literature of their prophets, amongst whom Ezekiel occupies a place of prominence and interest. His figure, as we see him in imagination, “among the captives by the river of Chebar,” is historically picturesque; but it is also suggestive of sacred and precious truth.

I. THE CAPTIVITY AND EXILE OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL MUST BE REGARDED AS RETRIBUTIVE CHASTISEMENT INFLICTED BY GOD ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR APOSTASY. Although much obscurity gathers around the earlier history of the “chosen people,” one fact stands out in undisputed clearnessthey were a people prone to idolatry and rebellion against Jehovah. Their own historians, men proud of their descent from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, men themselves profoundly attached to the one true God, record with unsparing fidelity the defections of their countrymen from the service and worship to which they were bound by every tie of gratitude and loyalty. Apostasy was not confined to any class; kings and subjects alike did wickedly in departing from God. As a nation they sinned, and as a nation they suffered. Surrounded by people more powerful than themselvesby Egypt, by Phoenicia, by Assyriatheir strength lay in their pure faith and their spiritual worship. But again and again they yielded to temptation, and fell into the idolatries practised by surrounding peoples. The punishment was foretold, the warning was repeated; but all was in vain. And it was in fulfilment of prophetic threats that the inhabitants, first of Northern and then of Southern Palestine, were transported to the East, and condemned to the existence which awakened their pathetic lamentations, when, strangers in a strange land, they wept when they remembered Zion. Ezekiel, when he awoke to a consciousness of his prophetic mission, found himself amongst those who were bearing the penalty due to their follies and sins.

II. THE CAPTIVITY AND EXILE OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL WERE THE OCCASION OF THE RAISING UP AMONG THEM OF GREAT SPIRITUAL TEACHERS AND LEADERS. It is obvious that, when separated from their metropolis and their temple, when denied the religious privileges to which their fathers had been accustomed, the Jews stood very especially in need of men who, by their character, their knowledge, their sympathy, and their moral authority, should rally the courage, inflame the piety, and inspire the hope of their countrymen. And it is a proof of God’s wonderful care and kindness that the Hebrews in their captivity were not left without such men. A noble, heroic, and saintly band they were; and right well did they fulfil a mission of no ordinary difficulty. It is sufficient to name Ezra and Nehemiah, who were commissioned to lead bands of the exiles back to the sacred soil; and Ezekiel and Daniel, who were directed to instruct their fellow countrymen in religious truth, to admonish and to comfort them, and to utter to the heathen nations around words of faithful warning.

III. THE CAPTIVITY AND EXILE OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL WERE THE MEANS OF SECURING TO THE FAVOURED NATION IMPORTANT AND MEMORABLE RELIGIOUS ADVANTAGES AND BENEFITS.

1. There were negative advantages. By means of the Captivity, the chosen nation was finally and forever delivered from the sin of idolatry. The witness of the prophets, the stern discipline of adversity, the opportunity of reflection and repentance, were not in vain.

2. There was this great positive advantage accruing to Israel through the exile in the Eastthe people were encouraged to turn to the Lord whom they had forsaken, to seek reconciliation and restoration, and to make vows of obedience and fidelity to him to whom their allegiance was justly due.T.

Eze 1:1

Visions of God.

God is; God lives; God everywhere and forever works and manifests himself. But spirit is only apprehensible by spirit. And the created intelligence finds its noblest exercise in tracing the presence and recognizing the attributes of the Supreme. An especial revelation was accorded to the prophets; but one great end of this special revelation doubtless was that by their intermediation and ministry men generally might be encouraged to look upwards, and to behold the gracious face of their Father in heaven.

I. MAN‘S CAPACITY FOR THE VISION OF GOD. This is often denied by those who seem to delight in degrading man to a mere observer of natural phenomena. But as upon earth the knowledge of our fellow men is more precious and excellent than the knowledge of material processes and physical laws; so do we find the full scope for the highest powers of our being when we pass from his works to the Divine Worker, and from his children to the Father of the spirits of all flesh. Whether we call the faculty the higher reason, or spiritual faith, there is a faculty by which we gain knowledge of the Author of our being. The greatest men have been those who have enjoyed the clearest vision of God. Such vision is possible only to natures endowed with intelligence, with moral capacity, with a free and spiritual faculty. Such natures “look unto him, and are lightened.” In his light they see light. It is the especial privilege of the pure in heart that they “see God.” Only the superstitious and ignorant can suppose that he who is the Eternal, Immortal, and Invisible is apprehended by sense. He is seen by the cleansed, illumined vision of the soul.

II. MAN IS SUBJECT TO MANY HINDRANCES WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM EXPERIENCING AND ENJOYING THIS VISION. God is Reason. and the nature must be rational which is to commune with him. There are many who, gifted with powers of intellect, rise to a rational apprehension of him who is the Eternal Law and Order behind all phenomena which appeal to sense. But God is Righteousness, Holiness, and Love, and the nature must be moral, and morally susceptible and loving, which is to experience a fuller communion with him. Worldliness, the absorption in the outward show of things; sin, the repugnance to submissive contact with the pure and blessed Spirit;-these are the hindrances which prevent men from seeing God. The eyes of the blind must be opened, the scales must fall from them, before the glorious vision of perfect goodness can be enjoyed, before the spirit of man can sun itself in the light of the Divine countenance.

III. THERE WERE MORAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR A SPECIAL AND PROPHETIC VISION OF GOD. Doubtless those who were summoned to be the vehicles of Divine truth to their fellow men were providentially selected and fitted for the office. Certain times, places, circumstances of various kinds, were chosen with this end in view. But we are more concerned with those moral preparations which made men meet to see “visions of God.” We especially note two characteristics of all honoured with this capacity and faculty.

1. Humility and receptivity. God reveals himself to the lowly, while he rejects the proud. Man must empty himself of self-conceit, self-righteousness, and self-confidence, in order that he may be filled with the Divine nature.

2. Aspiration. The look must be heavenward; the desire and longing must be Godward. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God!”

IV. PROPHETIC AID HAS EVER BEEN USED TO ENLIGHTEN MEN, AND TO ENABLE THEM TO EXPERIENCE VISIONS OF GOD. As a matter of fact, man does thus help his fellow man. Ezekiel brought God near to the hearts of the children of the Captivity. Readers of the inspired Scriptures have always been indebted to prophets and apostles for spiritual help; God himself has spoken through the enlightened nature of his special ministers, and his voice has thus reached multitudes who were profoundly in need of teaching, of guidance, of consolation. And this service is being rendered today. In the Church of Christ visions of God are daily enjoyed; and for those visions Christians are indebted to the agency, the ministry, of their fellow men. The service is constantly rendered, and is as constantly acknowledged with gratitude and appreciation.

APPLICATION. A clearer and completer vision of God is attained by those who are brought spiritually into contact with Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, and the true Light. A fuller illumination is effected by the agency of the Holy Spirit, whose presence has, ever since Pentecost; more abundantly enriched the Church. The children of the Captivity were indebted to Ezekiel for aid in recognizing and rejoicing in the eternal light; but we are far more under obligation to him who has come forth from God, and has gone to God, and who has assured us, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.”T.

Eze 1:3

The Lord’s word and the Lord’s hand.

The prophet felt and knew that God was drawing near to him. This experience he could only express in language drawn from human relations. Spiritual realities were by him expressed in terms derived from the acts of bodily life. The “word” and the “hand” here spoken of are metaphorical, but they are strictly true; i.e. the just idea is, as far as may be by language and emblem, thus conveyed to our mind. If God reveal himself to man, it must be by means of the characteristics of man’s spiritual nature; and such characteristics are pictured in the expressions here employed by Ezekiel. The “word” of the Lord means one thing, the “hand” another; yet the employment of both expressions is necessary in order to convey, with anything like completeness, the penetration of the prophet’s nature by Divine truth, the commission of the prophet to undertake Divine service.

I. THE QUICKENING AND ILLUMINATION OF THE MIND TO RECEIVE THE TRUTH. The word is the expression of the thought. The Divine word is the utterance of the Divine thought, and the Divine thought is truth. The expression here used implies a community of nature between man and God. God has thoughts and purposes which concern man’s good; and man’s highest well being is dependent upon the introduction of these into his spiritual nature. Man has not simply to hear and understand the word; it is for him to welcome and retain and ponder it, as a precious possession and a mighty power. The word of God, no doubt, came in a special sense to the prophets; there was a directness, an absence of any intermediary, in this communication. Through the prophet the word came to the people, to whom it might and did prove a word of enlightenment, of warning, of encouragement. That this might be so, the prophet’s nature needed to be yielded up to the penetrating, purifying, illumining grace of God himself.

II. THE SUBMISSION AND OBEDIENCE OF THE WILL PRACTICALLY TO ACKNOWLEDGE DIVINE AUTHORITY. The “hand of the Lord” is an expression frequently met with in the Scriptures. Nehemiah acknowledges the “good hand of God upon him.” To interpret the expression, it must be remembered that the hand is the symbol of activity, of the practical nature, of direction, of control, of protecting power. Now, a man could not fulfil prophetic functions simply by hearing the word of the Lord; there was something for him to do. In truth, the relations between God and man are such that it is necessary that God should command, and that man should obey. And if this is true of men generally, it is manifestly true of those who were called to the prophetic office. They had need not simply of revelation, but of guidance, of authority exercised and conveyed. What is this but to say that they needed that the hand of the Lord should be upon them? It must be remembered that the Prophet Ezekiel discharged his ministry, both by the communication verbally of Divine messages, and by the performance of certain actions. Of these actions some were symbolical, and others were directly and obviously instructive and directive. Thus the prophet needed, not merely the word of the Lord to enter his mind, but the hand of the Lord to control and govern his conduct.

APPLICATION. True religion is twofold. It enjoins upon us

(1) the reception of Divine truth, as graciously revealed in various ways to the human intelligence; and

(2) the subjection to Divine authority, as exercised with wisdom and compassion by him whose omnipotent hand can both point out the path of duty and service, and can clear away every obstacle which might prevent that path being pursued.T.

Eze 1:4-25

The glory of the Eternal.

This marvellous vision, which has correspondences with others to be found in Scripture, must be interpreted in the light of the prophet’s peculiar genius and imagination, and in the light of the canons and customs of ancient and Oriental art. To find significance in every detail would be to indulge an idle curiosity; to dismiss the figures as the product of an imagination dissociated from truth would be irrational and irreverent. It is plain that Ezekiel was possessed, and all but overwhelmed, by a conviction of the glorious attributes and universal sway of God. The imagery under which he conceived and represented the Divine presence and government is altogether different from either classical or modern art; but it would be a narrow pedantry which on this account would repudiate it as valueless or ineffective. In fact, it is opulent, varied, and impressive. Everything earthly must come short of setting forth Divine glory; yet much is communicated or suggested by this vision of the majesty of the Eternal which may aid us to apprehend God’s character, and reverently to study God’s kingly operations carried on throughout the universe.

I. THE GLORY OF THE ETERNAL IS SEEN IN NATURAL FORCES. It was in these, as in a setting, that the more specific forms discerned by the prophet were enshrined. The stormy wind from the north, the great cloud with its flashing fire, the amber brightness gleaming about it,all these are manifestations of an unseen but mighty power, recognized by the spirit as Divine. This is certainly a stroke of the true artist, first to portray the material, the vehicle, and then to proceed to paint in the more defined symbolic figures. The modern doctrine of the correlation and convertibility of forces points us to the unity which is at the heart of all things, and convinces us that we are in a universe, a cosmos, which, if it is to be explained by any rational and spiritual power behind it, must be explained by a power which is undivided and single. Poets and prophets alike find scope for their imagination in connecting all the phenomena and the forces of nature with the creative Spirit conceived as revealed by their means.

II. THE GLORY OF THE ETERNAL IS SEEN IN LIVING CREATURES. There is, of course, no intention to picture any actually existing animals under the imagery of the verses 5-14. But we have a symbolic representation of life. Every observer is conscious that, in passing from mechanical and chemical forces to consider the manifold forms of life, he is climbing, so to speak, to a higher platform. Living beings, in all their wonderful and admirable variety of structure and of formation, are witnesses to the wisdom and the power of the Creator. Let Science tell us of the order and of the process of their appearing; the fact of their appearing, in whatever manner, is a welcome taken of the Divine interest in this earth and its population. If the poet delights to trace God’s splendour in “the light of setting suns,” the physicist may with equal justice investigate in organic nature the handiwork of the All-wise. Late is the work of the living God, in whom all creatures “live, and move, and have their being.” A lifeless planet would lack, not only the interest with which our earth must be regarded, but something of the evidence which tells us God is here, and is ever carrying out his glorious plans.

III. THE GLORY OF THE ETERNAL IS SEEN IN HUMAN ATTRIBUTES. Each living one in the prophet’s vision possessed a fourfold aspect or countenance; the combination being intended to enrich our conceptions of the handiwork of God, and the witness of that handiwork to him. Interpretations differ; but it is not uncommon to recognize in the ox the sacrificial, in the lion the powerful and regal, in the eagle the aspiring, elements, added to the true humanity, and combining with it to complete the representation. The four Gospels have been generally regarded as exhibiting severally these four characteristics; and accordingly the symbol of Matthew is the man, of Mark the lion, of Luke the ox, of John the eagle.

IV. THE GLORY OF THE ETERNAL IS SEEN ESPECIALLY IN INTELLIGENCE. The wheels had their rings or felloes “full of eyes round about.” This is symbolical of understanding, because sight is the most intellectual of the senses, the eye being the medium of the greater part of our most valuable knowledge of the world without. Conscious intelligence can only arise through participation in the Divine nature; it is the subject, not the object, of knowledge. In an especial manner the intellect witnesses to the glory of God, for by it we have insight into the Divine reason. In the exercise of the prerogative of knowledge and judgment, in insight and intuition, we are putting forth powers which are in themselves among the most splendid and convincing testimonies to “the Father of lights.”

V. THE GLORY OF THE ETERNAL IS SEEN ESPECIALLY IN UTTERANCE. The prophet in his vision heard the noise of the wings of the living ones, and the voice above the firmamentappealing to the sense, not of sight, but of hearing. It is perhaps not fanciful to discern here a conscious, voluntary witness to God borne by his creation, and especially by those endowed with the human prerogative of speech, as the utterance and expression of thought and reason. The music of the spheres, the voice of the stars, “the melody of woods and winds and waters,” all testify to God. The poet represents the heavenly bodies as

“Forever singing as they shine,

‘The hand that made us is Divine.'”

Yet the articulate, definite, and intelligible utterances of beings endowed with intellect and with speech are necessary to enrich and to complete the chorus of adoration and praise offered by earth to heaven. The tongue, “the glory of the frame,” has its place to fill, its witness to bear, in the service of the vast, illimitable temple.

VI. THE GLORY OF THE ETERNAL IS SEEN IN THE COMMUNITY AND HARMONY APPOINTED BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH. The living creatures had wings by which they soared into the sky; they reposed and ran, however, upon wheels, by which they maintained their connection with the solid ground. This remarkable combination of wings and wheels seems to point to the twofold aspect of all creation. All things have an earthly and a heavenly side. If wheels alone were provided, earth would seem cut off from heaven; if wings alone, the terrestrial element would be lacking, which would be a contradiction to obvious fact. Man has a body, and bodily needs and occupations, which link him to the earth; but he has also a spiritual nature and life which witness his relation to the ever-living Godthe Spirit who seeketh such to worship him as worship in spirit and in truth. Yet his whole nature is created by God, and redeemed by Christ; and his service and sacrifice, in order to being acceptable, must be undivided and complete. Whether we regard the nature of the individual man, or regard the Church which is the body of Christ, we are constrained to acknowledge that all parts of the living naturebody, soul, and spiritare summoned to unite in revealing to the universe the incomparable majesty and glory of God.T.

Eze 1:26-28

He who is upon the throne.

There is a natural tendency to clothe the spiritual in material form, and thus to bring the invisible and impalpable within the range and sphere of sense. It must not be supposed that, when the inspired writers, in this and similar passages, depict in imagery of material splendour the presence of the Almighty, they are misled by their own language, and forget that “God is a Spirit.” Their aim is to represent, in such a way as shall impress the mind, the glorious attributes of the Eternal, to suggest the relations which he sustains to his creatures, and to inspire those emotions which are becoming to the subjects of Divine authority in approaching their rightful King. Thus understood, the language of this passage is fitted to help us to conceive aright of him whom no man hath seen.

I. THE ELEVATION AND SUPERIORITY OF THE DIVINE BEING. The living creatures are depicted as above the earth, but below the heavens. Above the firmament that was over their heads, the prophet in his vision saw the dim form which shadowed forth the presence of the Eternal. Position, we know, is relative, and it would be absurd to take this representation as literal. Yet how instructive and inspiring is this picture! Ezekiel took the same view of the great Author of all being as was taken by Isaiah, who saw the Lord “high and lifted up.” Raise our thoughts as we may, God is still immeasurably above us. When we speak of him as “the Most High,” we are striving, in such language, to set forth his infinite superiority to ourselves and to all the works of his hands.

II. THE AUTHORITY AND DOMINION OF THE DIVINE BEING. A throne speaks, not only of greatness, but of power and of right to rule. God is the King, to whose sway all creation is subject, and to whose moral authority all his creatures who are endowed with an intelligent and voluntary nature should delight to offer a glad obedience. His commands are the laws which we are bound to obey; his voice is for us the welcome voice of rightful authority. The religion of the Bible is a religion which enjoins and requires obedience and subjection. Christianity is the revelation of a kingdom which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

III. THE HUMANITY OF THE DIVINE BEING. Such language may at first hearing sound almost daring. And nothing would be further from the truth than to suggest that the Deity is subject to human frailties and infirmities, such as the heathenboth savage and cultivatedhave been in the habit of attributing to their gods. But there is great significance in the language of Ezekiel, when he tells us that upon the throne of universal empire “there was the appearance of a man.” We have thus brought before us the glorious truth that the human nature is akin to the Divine. We can reason to some extent from our own thoughts and feelings to those of the Infinite Spirit. The resemblance is of course partial, but it is real. And believers in the Incarnation cannot but recognize the justice and the preciousness of this representation of the prophet.

IV. THE SPLENDOUR OF THE DIVINE BEING. Ezekiel uses all the resources of nature to invest his representation of the Eternal with unapproachable splendour. He failed, where all must fail, in the attempt to portray that which cannot be portrayed. His language, glowing as it is, gives but hints and suggestions of glory which surpasses human apprehension. Yet, as he speaks of sapphire and amber, of fire and brightness, we feel that his mind was impressed with the Divine glory, and that his description is fitted to awaken our profoundest and lowliest reverence and adoration.

V. THE MERCY OF THE DIVINE BEING. No picture of the character and attributes of the Supreme would be complete which did not include mercy. Man stands pressingly in need of the Divine compassion. His weakness, his sin, his helplessness, are such, that Divine pity is his only hope. Now, the bow in the cloud is the emblem of mercy. The rain, the dense dark clouds, the floods upon the earth, represent affliction, chastisement, distress. But the sun of grace and kindness shines through the gloom; the rainbow spans the sky, and its beauty cheers the soul of the beholder, as with an assurance of compassion, as with a promise of relief. Mercy is the crowning attribute of the Supreme. God is our King and Judge; but he has not forgotten to be gracious; he is also our Father and our Saviour.T.

Eze 1:28

Reverence.

In order that the prophet might be prepared to discharge his prophetic ministry aright, it was necessary that, in the first place, he should experience a just conception of the greatness, holiness, and authority of the Being by whom he was commissioned. He could only then appear in a proper attitude before men when he had found what was his proper attitude before God. The fear of the King of heaven alone could preserve him from any fear of those whom he was directed to visit as an authorized ambassador. Hence there was first afforded to Ezekiel a vision of the Eternal Majestya vision which doubtless often recurred to his memory when he was fulfilling the duties devolving upon him as the servant and messenger of Jehovah to men, and when he encountered incredulity, neglect, scorn, or opposition.

I. MAN HAS A NATURE CAPABLE OF REVERENCE. Fear is one thing, reverence is another. Fear is awakened by the sense and apprehension of personal danger; reverence is enkindled by the sight of supreme goodness, purity, and power. It may be base to fear; it must be honourable and profitable to venerate. It is the prerogative of man to recognize, to admire, to adore supreme excellence.

II. GOD IS THE PROPER AND SUPREME OBJECT OF REVERENCE. Within limits it is right and good that we should honour and revere our fellow men. The child may justly revere the parent, the pupil, the teacher, the subject the king. Yet there is but One who may be revered with no qualification, with no reserve. The Divine attributes are such that, the more we study them, the more we shall find in them deserving of wondering and adoring awe, and the more shall we be assured that there is in them an infinity of excellence which is unfathomable, undiscoverable.

III. IN GOD‘S PRESENCE IT IS JUST THAT HUMAN REVERENCE SHOULD BE MANIFESTED AND EXPRESSED. Ezekiel says, with beautiful simplicity, “I fell upon my race.” Overcome with the vision of natural and moral perfection, the prophet felt himself unfit to look up, felt that his right place was in the dust. It is meet and proper theft we should manifest the emotions which we justly feel. With reverence and godly fear should human spirits, conscious alike of dependence and of ill desert, draw near to the Infinite Holiness and Strength. Familiarity in devotion is hateful and contemptible; lowly veneration is both becoming and acceptable.

IV. REVERENCE IS THE ATTITUDE IN WHICH MAN IS JUSTIFIED IN EXPECTING BLESSING FROM GOD.

1. It is good for us profoundly to feel our inferiority, our dependence, our innumerable necessities.

2. It is good for us to receive the revelation of God that is only made to the lowly and submissive.

3. It is good that reverent, prophetic spirits should be the channel by which men may submissively receive authoritative representations of Divine glory and Divine grace.T.

HOMILIES BY J.D. DAVIES

Eze 1:1-3

Introduction respecting the person and mission of the prophet.

I. HIS PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS. A real, though sometimes undiscoverable, fitness between the instrument and the task, is an invariable law in the procedure of God.

1. Mark the significance of his name, “God becomes strength.” Most probably the name had originated with God, who had, either secretly or openly, influenced his father Buzi in selecting it. A name, when God-given, is a revelation of what is unique and special in the man’s nature. Thus Israel, Nabal, Peter, Jesus.

2. He was designated from his birth, and by his birth, to special service for God. Every man’s entrance into life is designed to be an entrance upon Divine service. The world a capacious temple, and God its central Object. In Ezekiel’s case there was no diversion of purpose; no casting about for a definite vocation in life. His education, all through the stages of youth, was concentrated on this single objectto be Jehovah’s priest. The noblest types of the Levitical priesthood would be set before him as his model.

3. He had reached the maturity of his powers. By a merciful ordinance of God, in accommodation to human weakness, God had prohibited the priests from entering upon full service until they had attained the ripe age of thirty. Then strength would be developed; practical wisdom and knowledge of human affairs would be acquired; self-mastery might be attained. Acting on this declaration of the Divine will, John the Baptist (like Ezekiel, priest and prophet in one), and our Lord himself, began not their public ministry until they had reached their thirtieth year. There are nowhere signs of haste or impatience in the development of Jehovah’s plans. Premature action is a concomitant of weaknessan omen of failure.

4. His moral fitness. Many of the priests in the temple were mere functionariesprofessional automatens. The performance of the most sacred duties degenerated into mere mechanism. Men saw not the spiritual import of sacrifice, nor the awful significance of the temple ritual, and priests too often became “blind leaders of the blind.” But Ezekiel was alive to the moral greatness of his office. To him had been revealed the nearness and the holiness of God; the spirituality of the Law, which carried its sanctions into man’s interior nature; the dark facts of human sin; the need of atonement and of cleansing. Hence, as the ordained servant of a holy God, Ezekiel had cultivated humility, habits of devotion, a principle of childlike faith, candid truthfulness, conscientious fidelity, and unflinching courage. For such sublime service, the highest qualities of soul were demanded.

5. His fertile imagination. Many of the visions described in his prophetic book are based upon objects and scenes in the temple at Jerusalem. Commencing here (prior to the Captivity) to exercise his faith in the unseen; commencing here the practice of looking beneath the surface of material things, and acquiring a habit of spiritual penetration, he gradually learnt to discover in nature symbols of celestial truths, and to see God everywhere. Thus he trained his imagination for useful and distinguished service.

II. HIS FIELD OF SERVICE.

1. The vicissitudes of earthly affairs. While Ezekiel looked forward to the fulfilment of his peaceful vocation in Jerusalem, lo! war and defeat resulted in exile and bondage. With the dust of humiliation upon their heads, the chelsea people were conducted to Chaldea, and residence was allotted to them on the banks of the Chebar. Nothing is more fluctuating than earthly fortune. Jerusalem today, Chaldea tomorrow.

2. No outward circumstance is fatal to our real welfare nor a barrier to benevolent activity. Now it was to be seen that piety can flourish amid a dearth of external privileges. The seeds of religious truth shall be carried into new fields. The special capacity of Ezekiel shall find more fitting, scope for its exercise than amid the quiet grandeur of Solomon’s temple. He is a priest in an ampler templea priest for the world. The soul is superior to all imprisonment.

3. The permanency of spiritual work. The kingcraft of Nebuchadnezzar, the overthrow of Zedekiah, the honours and decorations of Chaldean captains,these things have long since ceased to exert any influence upon the life of the human race; but Ezekiel is still (and has been for twenty centuries) a teacher of men: his work still proceeds; his name is encircled with honour. Already king and captive have exchanged places. The first is last; the last, first.

III. HIS INVESTITURE WITH THE PROPHET‘S OFFICE. Jeremiah during Ezekiel’s time, and John afterwards, were, like him, priests and prophets too. In the case of other prophets, some special visit from Godsome suitable display of his gloryattended their special designation to office. We have parallel instances in Moses, Samuel, and Isaiah. The vision was supersensuous, and must be accounted for, partly by external, and partly by internal, causes.

1. External. “The heavens were opened.” The veil of material limitation was, for the time, withdrawn. The celestial realm was disclosed. A similar privilege was accorded to Elisha’s servant, in answer to his master’s prayer: “And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” To open the heavens to human view is to unveil, in part, the spiritual universe. So, to our Lord on the banks of Jordan, “the heavens were opened.” A Divine voice proceeded; the Holy Ghost was imparted. Ezekiel, like Moses and Isaiah, “saw visions of God.” The heavens were opened for the very purpose that the central Object might be seen. To see God; to have undoubted assurance of his presence, purity, and aidthis, every true prophet requires. “The word of God came expressly,” or rather verily, to him. The ear confirmed the vision of the eye. Not only a spectacle, but an articulate voice. So Hamlet sought to assure himself of the reality of the spectre, when he demanded that it should speak. The ear is a more trustworthy witness than the eye. “Faith comes by hearing.”

2. There was, on the part of Ezekiel, internal aptitude. Our organs o! sense have become dull, gross, earthly, by reason of the decline and decay of the soul’s true life. As vehicles by which the soul holds commerce with the spiritual realm, they are insufficient. Hence the spirit of a man has to be quickened by a special activity of God, so that it may, for the time being, transcend its native capabilities, its native sphere, in order to see God’s administration of the universe, and in order to receive new communications of his will. This is what is usually termed a state of ecstasy. In the creation of the material universe, a word was sufficient; but so indocile, intractable, are the elements of human disposition and will, that the hand of Jehovah must be exerted. “The hand of the Lord was upon him.”D.

Eze 1:4

Early symbols of Jehovah’s presence.

The materials of the vision are supplied from the storehouse of nature. We climb along the altar-steps of material nature up to nature’s God. Earthly phenomena serve

(1) as veils, which scarcely hide the Divine Artificer;

(2) as symbols, indicating his perfections;

(3) as instruments, with which he accomplishes his will.

For the vision before us, God chose to employ, not the grosser forms of inert matter, but the dynamic forces which are at work on every sidewind, light, heat.

I. The idea is brought before us of INSCRUTABLE MYSTERY. This is betokened by the whirlwind. In all revelation of his doings which God vouchsafes to man, there must be more or less of mystery. The finite cannot measure the infinite. How the wind originates, what its full mission, or whither its destination, we cannot tell. This was a stormy windpartly baneful, partly beneficent. It betokened a severe visitation of Jehovaha temporary calamity destined to issue in permanent good. “He rideth upon the wings of the wind.” As in the hotter climate of the East, a storm rapidly rises and sweeps the face of the earth; so, after repeated monitions, Jehovah suddenly visits men in judgment. “His footsteps are not known;” “He maketh his messengers winds.”

II. There is the idea of PARTIAL REVELATION. This is indicated by the cloud. The cloud both tempers the heat of the sun and conceals the wonders of the starry heavens. Whenever God has revealed his glorious majesty to men, there has been the attendant circumstance of the cloud. At the Red Sea, on Mount Sinai, over the mercy scat, on the Mount of Transfiguration, the glory of God was veiled within the drapery of a cloud. The eye of sinful man cannot sustain the overpowering brightness of the Deity. For what is at present concealed from us, no less than for what is disclosed to us, it becomes us to be sincerely thankful. “What we know not now we snail know hereafter.”

III. There is the idea of PURIFYING ENERGY. This is symbolized by the fire. One of the most potent and widespread agents at work in the material universe, is firean impressive emblem of the purity ann justice of the Most High. Nothing in nature is more destructive than fire. For the precious metals, it is the only agent that purifies. The flame was self-kindled, as was the flame that consumed the sacrifice on the temple altar. This vision was intended to extinguish the false hopes of the Hebrews. The design was threefold, viz. to produce

(1) suitable terror and alarm;

(2) genuine sorrow; and

(3) internal purification.

“A fire is kindled in mine anger.” Wood and hay and stubble will be consumed; gold and silver will be beautified.

IV. There is the PROSPECT OF EVENTUAL PROSPERITY. “A brightness was about it.” We have here a prefigurement of that “abounding grace” which is yet in reserve fur the chosen remnant of Israela picture of the “times of refreshing” which shall in due time come “from the presence of the Lord.” A prophet who announces only judgment is no less false than he who peals forth only the clarion note of mercy. The brightness is set forth here as suffusing the whole visionstorm, cloud, fire. Every part of Jehovah’s administration shall be covered with renown. He will graciously vindicate his ways to the satisfaction and joy of his saints. Immortal splendour will encircle the final result.D.

Eze 1:5-14

Unseen forms of intelligent ministry.

Man is only a part, though an integral part, of the active universe of God. Even inert matter is pervaded by dynamic throes, such as attraction, heat, and electricity; and every part of God’s creation is executing, either intelligently or ignorantly, his supreme will. To a heathen monarch he made a startling revelation, “1 girded thee, though thou hast not known me.” These cherubic forms (seen first at the gate of Eden, and again in symbol over the mercy seat) are representatives of all creature life, both terrestrial and super terrestrial. Human science not the measure of God’s kingdom.

I. OBSERVE THEIR NUMBER AND VARIETY. As all matter is cubical, having length, breadth, and thickness, so the number four is the prophetic sign for our terrestrial globe. Hence we have in the vision a four-laced form of life, with one aspect towards each quarter of the globe. There is completeness and sufficiency in all God’s arrangements. The manifold varieties of creature life are ordained to do their Master’s will, in whatever quarter of the world exigency may arise. This is an intimation of help to the righteous, but of vengeance to the wicked.

II. NOTE THEIR INTELLIGENT QUALITIES. The human form is prominent in the prophetic picture, indicative of the fact that intelligence and reason are the ruling attributes. The universe is not a promiscuous assemblage of dead atoms, nor is the life of men the march of inexorable fate. Combined with the intelligence of man, is the courage of the lion, the patient endurance of the ox, and the stilt speed of the eagle. The noblest service which God’s creatures can render, falls immeasurably short of the requirements of God. Yet are our powers never so ennobled or enlarged as when engaged in his work. To him must our very best be consecrated. Far from exhausting our strength, God’s service renews and refreshes the spirit. There is always a latent reserve of power. The more we do, the more we can do. Two wings are at rest, while two are in motion.

III. MARK THEIR INTENSE DEVOTION. “Their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps the fire was bright.” The nature of true servants was given to these living creatures. They glowed with sympathetic ardour to fulfil their Monarch’s will. The flame within was kindled and kept alive by an invisible hand, so that by virtue of its intense energy, it touched and beautified every part of their nature. As the ministers of Jehovah, they shared in his resplendent purity.

IV. SEE THEIR PROMPT AND GLAD OBEDIENCE. “They went every one straight forward whither the spirit was to go, they went.” Service was a delight. It would have been a restraint upon the impulses and energies of their naturea very painif no service had been allotted them. Hastening to execute the high behests of God, they go and return like a lightning flash. Personality was retained in its full integrity, but self was repressed; they moved spontaneously under the Divine impetus. Self-will sweetly coalesced and identified itself with the will of God. The perfection of a child spirit is reached when we can say, “I do always the things that please him.” No by-ends, nor sinister advantages, are sought by these dutiful servants. Each one moves in a straightforward line. The shortest course is pursued to reach the Divine end.

V. THERE WAS UNITY OF ACTION, COMBINED WITH DIVERSITY. Each form of creature life had its special mission to fulfil; yet each worked in harmony with the other for a common end. In appearance they were conjoined, and yet were separate. The particular service to be performed by the eagle’s wing could not be executed by the foot of the ox, nor by the hand of the man. There is scope in God’s service forevery quality and attribute of soul.

VI. NOTE THEIR SPECIAL COMMISSION. These ideal forms of creature life were commissioned to chastise the rebellious nations. They appear on this occasion as the executors of Divine vengeance. “Fire went up and down among the living creatures, and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.” When God comes forth to judge the earth, he is accustomed to employ a variety of agents. Sometimes he employs the material elements, as at Pompeii and Moscow. Sometimes he employs meneven “men of the world, which are his hand.” Sometimes he employs the principalities and powers of heaven. “The angels are the reapers;” “They shall bind the tares in bundles to burn them.” John heard a voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, “Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.” The Jews in their exile, when Ezekiel appeared upon the scene, were flattering themselves with the prospect of a speedy restoration to liberty and to home; but the mission of Ezekiel was designed to dissipate this false hope. A long night of chastisement was to precede the dawn of mercy. The glowing fire and the lightning flame were impressive portents of impending judgment. “Our God is a consuming fire.”D.

Eze 1:15-21

Nature’s material forces are the active servants of the Church.

New phenomena now appear to the prophet’s ecstatic vision. Wheels of vast and appalling magnitude are seen, and seen in combination with the cherubim. Now, wheels are essential parts of man’s mechanical contrivances; therefore we are compelled to regard the material earth and the encircling atmosphere as the scene of this activity. In a striking and instructive manner we perceive God working in and through material nature. We learn in this passage

I. THAT THIS TERRESTRIAL GLOBE IS THE STAGE ON WHICH GOD IS WORKING OUT HIS REDEMPTIVE ENTERPRISE. Other ends, which are plainly sought in nature, are evidently not final; they are steps to a loftier end. It is possible that, in other planets, other aspects of God’s glorious nature are in course of being unveiled; other purposes are unfolding; other principles (perhaps not comprehensible by men) are being developed. Our earth is consecrated and set apart for this high end, viz. that it may be the theatre for the display of moral redemption.

II. THAT ALL THE WHEELS OF NATURE MOVE TOWARDS THE EXECUTION OF THIS PLAN. By the wheels of nature are symbolized all mechanical and chemical forces. These are ever moving in their appropriate activities; are, in their sphere, resistless. For the most part these activities are a blessing to men; but if withstood, they injure and destroy. These great dynamic forces do not act in a capricious and haphazard manner. They follow implicitly the mandates of law; they are represented as “lull of eyes;” they are the docile, ready servants of the cherubim: “the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheals also.” The same Divine Spirit which dwells in angels and in men, possesses and potentiates (though in inferior measure) the forces of nature. Mechanical forces yield to chemical; chemical forces yield to vital; vital forces yield to intelligent; intelligent forces yield to spiritual. A graduated scale of subordination appears, and in all there is the manifestation of one controlling Spirit. This complete subordination of nature to the central purpose of redemption, is seen in the miracles wrought by Jesus Christ. The intervening agents are not within the range of human vision; yet, to a spiritual eye, they might have been (in part at least) discerned. For to Nathanael Jesus Christ affirmed, with special emphasis, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.”

III. THAT, BY THE FORCES OF MATERIAL NATURE, GOD‘S WILL IS SWIFTLY AND NOISELESSLY DONE. The idea conveyed to the mind by the vision of these mysterious wheels is easy and rapid motion. Celerity is made prominent by the fact that they went straight to their destination: “They turned not when they went.” It was enough that the volition of the Divine mind was expressed. “He spake: and lo! it was done;” “Whither the spirit was to go, they went;” “The spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.” If the cherubim were lifted up from the earth, these wheels were lifted up; or when the cherubim stood, the wheels stood. Service in any directionrest or motionthe wheels instantly and spontaneously followed the Divine behest. Here saints may find strong consolation: “God’s will is our sanctification.” His will shall be done. For who can finally resist it?

IV. THE VAST SCALE OF GOD‘S PLANS AND AGENCIES APPALLS OUR FINITE MINDS. “The felloes of these wheels were so high,” says the prophet, “that they were dreadful.” It is the ambition of the human mind to measure and grasp the universe; and when, at length, we begin to discover the magnitude and the minuteness of God’s works, we fall prostrate under a sense of our impotence. “It is higher than heaven; what can we know? It is deeper than Hades; what can” our feeble intellect do? It should temper our self-confidence, and induce in us profound modesty, to remember that we do not, while in the flesh, see objects as they absolutely exist; we see only the likeness and appearance of realities. A subjective element mingles with the objective, in our consciousness. “Now we know in part.“ We anticipate the time when imperfect knowledge shall give place to perfect certainty.

V. THAT ALL THE ACTIVITIES OF NATURE AND OF PROVIDENCE ARE TINGED WITH A MORAL PURPOSE. There is surely something to be gathered from the fact that the prophet makes mention of these several colours. The fire which enfolded upon itself was of the colour of amber. The throne on which the Eternal sat was in appearance like a sapphire stone. The living creatures were like burning coals of fire. The wheels were like the colour of the beryli.e. a bluish green. These colours are constituent elements of the perfect white, and imply that God’s righteousness (as well as his wisdom and goodness) is manifest in all his works. The universe is imbued with a moral purpose. “Truth shall spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down from heaven;” “The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills by righteousness.”D.

Eze 1:22-28

The vision of God is the source of prophetic inspiration.

We cannot fail to observe in Scripture that the prominent prophets were prepared for their responsible work by an ecstatic sight of Deity. Without a clear and overpowering sense of the greatness of God, along with the undeserved honour of being his messenger, mortal men shrink from the perilous task of reproving and warning their fellows. This was the royal university in which the prophets received their high commission; and every evangelic prophet, too, must hear his message from Jehovah’s lips before he can speak with authority to the people. In the words of St. Paul, modern preachers should be able to say, “I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you.” We learn

I. THAT GOD‘S ELEVATION ABOVE HIS CREATURES IS A MORAL ATTITUDE RATHER THAN MATERIAL DISTANCE. His eminence measured by intrinsic excellence, not by intervening space. That both angels and menall the principalities and powersare symbolized in the “living creatures” (or cherubim) is evident from the fact that immediately above the wings of these ideal beings stretched the floor of heavena crystal firmament, awe-inspiring in its splendourand on this was erected the sapphire throne of Deity. Between the blue transparent floor of the heavenly palace and the wings of the cherubim no distance intervened. “He is not far from every one of us; in him we live.” We may see, not only the rod, but also the hand that has appointed it. “Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved;” “The Lord of hosts is with us;” “Thou encompassest my path;” “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”

II. THAT GOD IS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF THIS UNIVERSE. He was seen by Ezekiel, as also by Isaiah, occupying a throne. This implies that he has not given himself up to majestic and well earned repose. The crystal firmament and the sapphire throne bespeak the presence of serene and perfect peace. Yet there is no indolence in heaven. Perfect life means constant activity. “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work;” “They serve him day and night in his temple.” It is an exploded fallacy of the sceptics that God has withdrawn himself from the scenes of earth, and takes no interest in human affairs. The very opposite is the truth. He acts mediately in the most minute changes and events. “His throne is prepared in the heavens: his kingdom ruleth over all.”

III. THAT THE MOST HIGH GOD DEIGNS TO REVEAL HIMSELF IN HUMAN FORM. This is an unquestionable honour put upon human nature. We have in these visions of Ezekiel mysterious forms of cherubic life, but God does not disclose himself to the view of the prophet in any of these forms. “Verily he took not on him the nature of angels.” It is nowhere said that God created the angels in his own image. It is said that man was formed after the likeness of himself. It is nowhere said that recovery was provided for fallen angels; for man it is provided, and at prodigious expense. Angels are uniformly styled “servants;” the redeemed from humanity are designated “sons.” In the apocalpytic visions of St. John, the angels stand in an outer circle round about the throne; while the eldersrepresentatives of the Churchsit on thrones nearer to the Deity. God has put stupendous honour on human nature. There is a Man upon the highest throne. God has stooped to our poor level, that he might raise us up to his. “We are to be partakers of the Divine nature.” In this vision granted to Ezekiel we have a forecast of the Incarnationan anticipation of Bethlehem.

IV. THAT GOD‘S NATURE GLOWS WITH FIERY INDIGNATION AGAINST SIN. The glorious Being who occupied the throne, presented in one respect a twofold appearance. From the loinsas a dividing lineupwards he appeared as chasmal, electronas when gold and silver are fused in the flame. From the loins downward there was the appearance of fire. No other interpretation can be put upon this, but that the God of heaven was about to proceed on an errand of judgment. It was still in his heart to forgive, if only men would abandon the abominable thing; but the lower parts of his personhis legs and feetburned with fierce resolve to vindicate his outraged honour. Similar is the declaration of the Apostle Paul, that “the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of his Son;” “He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire;” “Our God is a consuming Fire.”

V. THAT IN THE MIDST OF JUDGMENT GOD IS MINDFUL OF HIS COVENANTED MERCY, “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about.” The execution of righteous retribution upon the ungodly will be an occasion of advantage, and blessing to the redeemed. The blacker the storm cloud, the more clear and beauteous is the rainbow traced upon its departing form, when the Sun of Righteousness again shines forth. This is God’s repeated proclamation of mercythe renewal of his gracious covenant. This brightness was round about Jehovah’s heada halo of glory, a diadem of transcendent beautyredemption’s matchless crown. In it are blended all the attributes of Divine perfection, from the scarlet hue of righteousness to the soft blue of perfect peace. “He will be ever mindful of his covenant;” and it increases our strong consolation to be ever mindful of it also. On the raindrops this heavenly bow of beauty is sketched, as if to suggest that on the daily gifts which flow from the Divine hand we may discern the “everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure.”

VI. THAT THE SUPREME LORD OF HEAVES AND EARTH STOOPS TO HOLD INTERCOURSE WITH MEN. This series of magnificent visions was intended to prepare the mind of the prophet to receive new disclosures of truth, new commissions of duty. The splendour of the scene, when once the prophet’s visual organ was enlargedthe glorious sovereignty of Jehovah especiallyso impressed and awed the prophet’s mind, that he fell upon his face. Nothing so humbles the proud heart of man as the sight of God, or even a general sense of his nearness. In the presence of God’s greatness, he perceived by contrast his own littleness; in the presence of God’s purity, he saw his own vileness; under a sense of God’s absolute rule, he was constrained to render glad and preempt obedience. Such lowliness of spirit is a prerequisite for the Master’s service. “The meek will he teach his way.” Because the lawgiver of Israel was the meekest of men, God “made known his ways unto Moses.” So is it still. “With the froward thou wilt show thyself froward.” Humility of mind is the only attitude in which we can wait with patience at wisdom’s gate, and really pray, “Speak, Lord; for thy servants hear.” And still God speaks to humble men. Prayer is not a mere traditional custom of piety. It is a real application poured into the attentive ear of God, and gracious messages of love come to us in return. Said oar Lord in his last days on earth, “If a man love me, he will keep my commandments, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” Ezekiela man of like passions with ourselvesrecords, “I heard the voice of One that spake.”D.

HOMILIES BY W. JONES

Eze 1:1-3

The Divine summons to the prophetic mission.

“Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year,” etc. Our text authorizes the following observations. The Divine summons to the prophetic mission –

I. WAS ADDRESSED TO EZEKIEL AT A TIME WHICH HE VERY MINUTELY RECORDS. “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity.” This statement made with so much detail suggests:

1. That Ezekiel received this summons in vigorous manhood. We take “in the thirtieth year” as referring to the age of the prophet. The mighty call reached him when he had passed beyond the inexperience and immaturity of youth, and before the approach of the decay of either his physical or mental powers. Thirty years was the age at which the Levites in the wilderness entered upon their laborious duties (Num 4:3). Jerome says that the priests entered upon their office at the same age; but the statement is very questionable. John the Baptist began his ministry on the completion of his thirtieth year. And “the Light of the world” was not publicly manifested until our Lord had attained the same age.

2. That he desired to place the reality of his predictions beyond question. Some of these are very remarkable. “We should deem it impossible for any one,” says Fairbairn, “in a spirit of candour and sincerity, to peruse the wonderful and discriminating predictions contained in his writings respecting either the Jews themselves (those, for example, in Eze 5:1-17; Eze 6:1-14; Eze 11:1-25; Eze 17:1-24; Eze 21:1-32.), or the neighbouring nations, more particularly those of Tyre and Egyptpredictions which foretold in regard to the subjects of them very different and varying fortunes, and such as necessarily required ages for their accomplishmentwe should deem it impossible for any one in a proper spirit to examine these, and compare them with the fulfilment, without being persuaded that they afford indubitable evidence of a supernatural insight into the far distant future.” And the minuteness of the statement of time in the text, and the chronological order which is observed and stated in the prophecies, would emphasize the genuineness of these predictions and the certainty of their Divine origin.

3. That the summons made a deep impression upon the sold of the prophet. The careful particularity of the record indicates that Ezekiel felt profoundly the importance of that which he records. Those seasons in which God approaches most near to the soul, and communicates most directly with us, are momentous; they constitute epochs in our spiritual history.

II. WAS ADDRESSED TO HIM IN SIGNIFICANT CIRCUMSTANCES.

1. In a heathen land. “In the hind of the Chaldeans,” whither he had been carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar. The Chaldeans were idolaters. The Jewish rabbins assert that the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets only in the Holy Land. But here in Chaldea the inspiration of God quickens the soul of Ezekiel, heaven is opened unto him, visions of God are unfolded unto him, and the voice of God speaks to him. In the same land the Divine inspiration came to Daniel. And it was not at Jerusalem, but in Patmos, that St. John beheld his marvellous and glorious visions, and heard the mighty and awful voices of the great apocalypse. God is not limited to any place whatsoever. His Spirit can work as freely and effectively in one place as in another.

2. In a captive condition. “As I was among the captives,” or, “in the midst of the captivity.” With others of his fellow countrymen Ezekiel had been taken from Judaea and settled in Chaldea. That some of the captives painfully felt their condition is clear kern Psa 137:1-9. To the patriotic and the pious there was much in their exile to cause grief. They would mourn for the fatherland with its stirring and sacred memories, and for the temple and its precious privileges, kern which they had been removed. These sorrows the godly had to suffer in common with the wicked. Those who were faithful to the Lord their God had to bear the captivity which had come upon the people by reason of the general unfaithfulness. Ezekiel, Daniel, and his three noble companions in the court of Nebuchadnezzar, men eminent for their religious fidelity, suffered the privations and griefs of the captivity not less, but perhaps much more, than they did whose sins caused that captivity. In every age the good are subject to the same outward afflictions and trials as the wicked. They have no exemption from the common calamities of life. In this respect “all things come alike to all,” etc. (Ecc 9:2).

3. By the river of Chebar. We cannot with certainty identify this river. According to some it is “the modern Khabour, which rises near Nisibis, and flows into the Euphrates near Kerkesiah, two hundred miles north of Babylon.” But Professor Rawlinson is of opinion that it “is the Nahr Malcha, or Royal Canal of Nebuchadnezzarthe greatest of all the cuttings in Mesopotamia.” It is probable that there was quiet and solitude by this river, and these are favourable to the reception of Divine communications. It was amid the awful heights of Sinai that Moses on two occasions was alone with God forty days and forty nights (Exo 24:15-18; Exo 34:1-35.). And somewhere in the seclusion of the same mountain region “the Lord passed by” the Prophet Elijah, and the voice of God spake unto him (1Ki 19:8-18). And our Lord and Saviour frequently sought retirement for communion with his Father. Devout solitude and serenity are congenial with Divine manifestation and communication. Moreover, there is something very suggestive about a river. It tends to hush the tumults of the mind and to stimulate peaceful and pure thought. When the spirit of Elisha was agitated, he was incapable of exercising his prophetic office, but when the agitation was allayed by music, he was able to prophesy. “When the minstrel played the hand of the Lord came upon him.” And, as has been suggested by another, the gentle murmutings and rhythmic ripplings of the waters of the river may in like manner have attuned the spirit of Ezekiel to prophetic action and utterance.

III. WAS ACCOMPANIED BY DIVINE VISIONS. “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” These words indicate:

1. A remarkable faculty in man. He has power to behold “visions of God.” 1 do not attempt to determine whether he saw them with the eye of the body or of the mind. To me it seems almost certain that the vision was spiritual. But whether it was physical or spiritual does not affect the great truth that we have power to receive spiritual and Divine revelations. Doubtless the seeing faculty in the case of the prophet was purified and strengthened for beholding these sublime and celestial scenes (cf. 2Ki 6:17); but no new or additional faculties were given unto him. It behoves us to respect our nature, seeing that it is capable of beholding visions and hearing voices from God.

2. Great condescension in God. He opened the heavens, unfolded the glorious revelations, and empowered the prophet to behold them. The prophet speaks of them as “visions of God.” The expression indicates that:

(1) God was their Author. They proceeded from him.

(2) God was their Object. It is true that “no man hath seen God at any time.” The essential Deity “no man hath seen, nor can see;” yet these visions were manifestations of his majesty. Schmieder has beautifully said, “The Lord stooped to him, and his spirit was caught up to see God.”

IV. WAS ACCOMPANIED BY DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS. “The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest.” Or, more correctly, “The word of Jehovah came in reality unto Ezekiel.” The prophet not only saw Divine visions, but he also “heard the voice of One that spake” (verse 28). The true prophet is himself taught of God. His authority with men arises from the fact that he speaks not his own thoughts, opinions, or conclusions, but the word which he has received from God; that he conies to them with an assured “Thus saith the Lord.”

V. WAS ACCOMPANIED BY THE DIVINE IMPARTATION OF POWER. And the hand of the Lord was there upon him.” The power of God was acting upon the spirit of Ezekiel as an inspiring, strengthening, constraining force. “The hand of Jehovah was on Elijah,” and though weary, he put forth great physical exertion (1Ki 18:46). The right hand of the glorified Lord was laid upon St. John in his dread swoon, and he was revived and strengthened. Whom God summons to arduous service he strengthens for the discharge of the same. He gives power commensurate with duty.W.J.

Eze 1:4-28

The providential government of God.

This is acknowledged even by some of the ablest expositors to be a most difficult portion of sacred Scripture. Isaac Casaubon says that “in the whole of the Old Testament there is nothing more obscure than the beginning and the end of the Book of Ezekiel.” And Calvin “acknowledges that he does not understand this vision.” Yet we would humbly and reverently endeavour to set forth what appear to us to be the principal teachings of this marvellous vision. Its chief meaning the prophet himself tells us when he says that he saw “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah” (verse 28). But in this case that glory is his glory in the providential government of our world. In dealing with this subject we may perhaps bring out the main teachings of our text by considering

I. THE VARIETY OF AGENCIES EMPLOYED IN THE PROVIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD.

1. The entire animate creation is thus employed. Great is the diversity of opinion as to the meaning of the four living creatures, the likeness of which Ezekiel saw (verses 4-10). We will state what we believe to be their true significance. As delineated by the prophet “it is an ideal combination,” as Fairbairn says; “no such composite creature exists in the actual world.” And the name by which they are called, living ones, “presents them to our view as exhibiting the property of life in its highest state of power and activity; as forms of creaturely existence altogether instinct with life.” Hengstenberg says that the living creatures are “the ideal combination of all that lives on earth.” We regard them as intended to symbolize the whole living creation of God. And their composition, relations, and movements teach us that every variety and order of life is employed in his providential government of our world. The endeavour has been made to assign a specific meaning to each different portion of the living creatures. The symbolism unfolds itself to us thus: “The likeness of a man” indicates mental and moral powers; e.g. reason, conscience, affections, etc. “The hands of a man” indicate dexterity, power of skilful and active service. “The face of a lion” suggests strength (cf. Pro 30:30), courage (cf. Pro 28:1), and sovereignty. “The face of an ox” leads us to think of patient, diligent, productive labour (cf. Pro 14:4). And “the face of an eagle” suggests the power of soaring high above the earth (cf. Job 39:27; Isa 40:31), the keen, searching gaze, and the far extended vision. In the evolution of his providential government God employs powers of every kind and degree. The convincing reasoner and the eloquent speaker, the man of brilliant imagination and the man of patient investigation, the skilful inventor and the diligent handicraftsman, and men and women and little children even, having only feeble and commonplace abilities, God uses in the working out of his great designs. All creatures, from the lowest insect to the highest intelligence, are subject to his control and subservient to his purposes. It is doubtful whether the symbolism of the living creatures includes the angelic creation. But apart from this vision, we know that angels are employed by God in his providential government of our world. Illustrations of such employment abound in the sacred Scriptures. Endless in variety and countless in number are the agents which he employs.

2. The great forces of nature are thus employed by God. (Verses 15-21.) The wheels symbolize the powers of nature. Their relation to the living creatures, and the relation of both to the great God, is thus pictorially set forth by Hengstenberg: “The whole was designed to represent a kind of vehicle, in which the Lord occupied the place of the charioteer, the living creature the place of the chariot, under which are the powers of nature represented by the wheels.” This interpretation of the meaning of the wheels is confirmed by Psa 18:10 : “He rode upon a cherub, and did fly; yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind;” Psa 104:3, Psa 104:4 : “Who maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind,” etc.; Psa 148:8 : “Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word.” All the forces of nature serve God, and are used by him in the execution of his purposes. In the case before us these powers are represented as about to be employed for judgment upon the unfaithful Jews. But they are also employed for purposes of mercy and grace. He can use them for the protection of his faithful people, as well as for the punishment of the rebellious.

II. THE CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS OF THE OPERATION OF THE PROVIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD.

1. The immensity of its extent. It is said of the rings, or circumference, of the wheels that “they were so high that they were dreadful;” or, “they were both high and terrible.” How vast are the designs and doings of the providence of God! That providence goes back into the immeasurable and awful past; it reaches onward into the endless future. It embraces an infinity of events, some of which are of stupendous importance.

2. The complexity of its movements. We read of the wheels that “their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel” (verse 16). “The wheels are not ordinary wheels,” says Hengstenberg, “but double wheels, one set into the other.” Looking upon the working of an elaborate and intricate machine or engine, the uninitiated are bewildered by the movements, the relations and bearings of which they know not. Somewhat thus do we contemplate the operations of the providential government of God. “Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known;” “Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” Unfathomably deep to us are the mysteries of the Divine providence.

3. The wisdom of its direction. The rings of the wheels were “full of eyes round about them” (verse 15). Eyes are the symbols of intelligence. The forces of nature are not blind or aimless in their movements, but are directed by the All-wise. And however inexplicable to us the workings of the providential government of God may be, they are guided and controlled by infinite intelligence and goodness.

4. The harmoniousness of its operation. “When the living creatures went, the wheels went by them,” etc. (verses 19-21). One Spirit animated the whole. The one Power which employs and controls the whole living creation also governs the inanimate forces of nature, so that all cooperate towards one great and blessed end. Though the great powers at work in our world often seem to us to be in conflict, yet in his providence God is prompting some, and restraining others, for the accomplishment of his own gracious and glorious purposes. “All things work together for good to them that love God.”

5. The progressiveness of its movements. “They turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward” (Psa 148:9); “They went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went” (Psa 148:12). Real and great progress is being made in our world. The former days were not better than these. The social condition of the people improves; education advances along the whole line; science makes great and rapid strides; in the apprehension of revealed truth there is marked progress; and Christian principles and practice are ever extending their empire. Under the providential government of God, the world is moving, not to the darkness of midnight, but to the splendours of noontide.

III. THE SUPREME CONTROLLER OF THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE PROVIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. (Verses 22-28.) Notice:

1. The manifestation of the God-Man. We have spoken of the manifestation of the God-Man; but Ezekiel does not say that he saw either man or God. Very guarded are his words: “Upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it” (verse 26). He tells us that he also saw “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” (verse 28). It was a vision, perhaps as clear as the prophet was capable of receiving, of the Divine-Human. We can have no doubt of the Person thus indicated. It was a foreshadowing of the incarnation of the Son of God; an anticipation of God manifest in the flesh.

2. The supremacy of the God-Man. “Upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.” The Lord is upon the throne. He is the great Head of the providential government of God. All created life, and all nature’s forces, are subject to his control. “All power is given unto him in heaven and in earth.” This fact is rich in consolation and in inspiration to all who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

3. The gracious fidelity of the God-Man. “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness that was round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.” The meaning of “the bow that is in the cloud” is determined by Gen 9:12-17. It indicates that in the severe judgments which were coming upon the chosen people, God would not forget the gracious covenant which he had made with their fathers. Even the judgments would be inflicted for their well being, and after the judgments there would be a return of prosperity and of the manifest favour of God (cf. Isa 54:7-10). In wrath he remembers mercy. The God-Man presides over the providential government of our world in infinite fidelity and grace. He reigns to bless and to save.

CONCLUSION.

1. Let us believe in this glorious government. “The Lord reigneth.”

2. Let us render loyal obedience to the gracious King.W.J.

Eze 1:28 (part of)- Eze 2:2

The overwhelming and the reviving in Divine revelations.

“And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of One that spake. And he said unto me, Son of man,” etc. Two main lines of meditation are suggested by these verses.

I. THE MANIFESTATION OF THE DIVINE GLORY OVERWHELMS EVEN THE BEST OF MEN IN THEIR PRESENT STATE. When he saw “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord,” Ezekiel fell upon his face. We find the same thing in Eze 3:23; Eze 43:3; Eze 44:4. Isaiah felt himself “undone” when he “saw the Lord sitting upon a throne” (Isa 6:5). Daniel, after a vision of heavenly glory, was emptied of all strength (Dan 10:8). And even St. John, the beloved disciple, who had reclined upon the bosom of the Lord, when he saw the revelation of his majesty, “fell at his feet as dead” (Rev 1:17).

1. The sight of such glory humbles man with the sense of his own immeasurable inferiority. How vast is the disparity between the Creator and the creature! He, “the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is holy, and who dwelleth in the high and holy place;” we, frail men “that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in the dust, and are crushed before the moth.” It is humiliating to reflect upon the infinite distance between the glory of God and our insignificance and meanness and shame. Such considerations rebuke those persons who, in hymn or prayer, address the Most High in terms of unbecoming familiarity, or even of positive irreverence. Most inadequate must be their realization of the truth that he is “glorious in holiness,” and of their own unworthiness. “God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few.”

“The more thy glories strike mine eyes,

The humbler I shall lie.”

2. The sight of such glory overwhelms man by quickening his consciousness of sin into greater activity. Thus it was with Isaiah (Isa 6:5); and with St. Peter, when he was impressed with the superhuman powers of his Master, and perhaps realized that he was the Son of God (Luk 5:8). Such splendours as Ezekiel saw reveal the darkness and defilement of the hearts and lives of those who see them. The conscious presence of perfect holiness awakens or intensifies man’s sense of his own sinfulness. “I have heard of thee,” saith Job, “by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”

3. Such humiliation is a condition of hearing the voice of God. “I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of One that spake.” Pride and self-sufficiency cannot hear the Divine voice. “The meek will he guide in judgment; and the meek will he teach his way. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; and he will show them his covenant.” The highest revelations are for the simple, spiritual, and teachablethe child. like spirits (cf. Mat 11:25, Mat 11:26). Moses, eminent for his meekness, was admitted into communion and communication with God of special intimacy (Num 12:6-8). The humbling effect of Divine visions sometimes qualifies the soul to hear Divine voices.

II. GOD IN HIS GRACE RAISES AND REVIVES HIS SERVANTS OVERWHELMED WITH THE MANIFESTATIONS OF HIS GLORY. “And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet,” etc. Three remarks are suggested.

1. The design of such manifestations is not to overwhelm, but to prepare for service. The Divine intention in the vision which Ezekiel saw was to prepare him for the discharge of the arduous duties of his prophetic mission. So also was it with Isa 6:1-13 and with St. John (Rev 1:1-20.). And if spiritual visions of the true and the holy are granted unto God’s servants now, it is in order that they may more efficiently serve him amongst their fellow men.

2. The Divine summons to duty or service is accompanied by Divine strength to obey the same. “And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto me.” Here are three points.

(1) The title by which Ezekiel is addressed. “Son of man.” Expositors have discovered various meanings in this appellation; but it seems to us that the interpretation of Lightfoot is the true one. “This expression is of frequent use in Scripture, in the Hebrew rabbins, but more especially in the Chaldean and Syrian tongues Why Ezekiel, and no other prophet, should have been so often styled thus, has been ascribed to different reasons by different commentators. To me the principal reason appears to be thisthat, as his prophecy was written during the Babylonish captivity, he naturally made use of the Chaldean phrase, ‘Son of man,’ that is, ‘O man.'”

(2) The summons which was addressed to him. “Stand upon thy feet.” That is the attitude of respectful attention. It also indicates readiness for service.

(3) The strength which was communicated to him. “And the Spirit entered into me,” etc. It is the same Spirit which was in the living creatures and in the wheels. The Spirit was given to the prophet to set him upon his feet and to empower him to hear the word of the Lord. The entrance of the Spirit into him “is a quickening of mind and body conjointly, which brings about the transition from the revelation in vision to the revelation by word” (Schroder). When God commands, he also invigorates for the fulfilment of the command. When he summons man from spiritual death, he bestows the life-giving Spirit to every one who will receive him (cf. Eph 2:4-6; Eph 5:14). When he calls upon us to work out our own salvation, he encourages us to do so by the assurance that he worketh in us (Php 2:12, Php 2:13). When he sends us forth to arduous service, he says, “Certainly I will be with thee” (Exo 3:12). And when he calls us to painful endurance, he gives us the assurance, “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2Co 12:9).

3. After the Divine summons and strength comes the Divine voice. “I heard him that spake unto me.” Humbled by the vision of glory, and revived and strengthened by the Spirit, the prophet was now in a condition to hear the voice of the Lord (cf. 1Co 2:12, 1Co 2:13). “Signs without the Word are in vain. What fruit would there have been if the prophet had merely seen the vision, but no word of God had followed it?” (Calvin).

CONCLUSION. Here are two cheering considerations.

1. When God casts down it is in order that he may the more effectually revive us. (Hos 6:1, Hos 6:2.)

2. Whom God commissions he also qualifies.W.J.

Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary

Eze 1:1. In the thirtieth year, &c. Archbishop Usher, Prideaux, Calmet, and others, are of opinion, that these thirty years are to be reckoned from the time when Josiah, and all the people of Judah, entered into that solemn covenant mentioned 2Ki 23:3 which was in the 18th year of Josiah; from which time the same learned writers compute the forty years of Judah’s transgression, mentioned ch. Eze 4:6. This thirtieth year, according to Usher, was in the 3410th year of the world, the 5th after the captivity of Jechoniah, and the 5th of the reign of Zedekiah. Ezekiel was then in captivity by Chebar, a river of Mesopotamia, where he saw visions of God; that is to say, prophetical visions. See Eze 1:3. Houbigant reads the verses thus: It came to pass in the thirtieth year, Eze 1:2 which was the fifth year after the carrying away of king Jehoiachin, in the fourth month, in the fifth day, &c.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

A. FIRST PRINCIPAL PART.Eze 1:24

THE PROPHECY OF JUDGMENT
_________

I. THE DIVINE MISSION OF EZEKIEL.Eze 1:1 to Eze 3:11

1. The Vision of Glory (Ch. 1)

It has been customary, as at Isaiah 6 and Jeremiah 1, so also here, to read Ezekiels call to be a prophet as if it were his ordination or consecration to office. But even in the case of Isaiah 6., where the official activity of the prophet does not certainly first begin, but where we find ourselves already in the midst of his labours, one has been compelled for this reason to individualize and to define more exactly; and instead of making it a call to the prophetic office in general, has made it a call to a special mission. This necessity, which is occasioned there by the position of the 6th chapter, would not indeed be present here; for the history of Ezekiels call would be found exactly in the right, or at least in an unexceptionable place, namely, at the commencement of his official activity. It would be just as in the case of Jeremiah (Eze 1:4 sqq.), only not in equally simple circumstances, so far as the vision is concerned. But as regards Jeremiahs case, the historical call at a definite period of his life is from the first the element that falls into the background; what above all is prominent, is the divine consecration and appointment of Jeremiah as a prophet even before his appearance and birth in time. It is a thoroughly ideal history the history of the call of the prophet Jeremiah, and not to be compared with what Ezekiel relates to us in these chapters (13.). If then we keep by that which lies before us, is it anywhere a call to the prophetic office that is spoken of? If we bring closely together the detailed vision of Ezekiel 1., and the more compressed, briefer one of Isa 6:1-4, then also Eze 2:3 sqq. contains merely the mission of Ezekiel, which is represented as a divine one, just as Isa 6:8 sqq. contains that of Isaiah. It is this, and by no means to tell us how Ezekiel was called to be a prophet, that is the essential element in the opening chapters of our book. So much does the idea of the prophetic mission from God dominate the whole, that neither does the real incongruity of how a sinner among sinners is permitted to be the seer of the holy God (comp. Isa 6:5 sqq.), nor the seeming incongruity of how a man who is not eloquent, and too young, is sent as a prophet (comp. Jer 1:6 sqq.), come to a solution, but Ezekiel has simply to open his mouth and to eat what is given him by God (Eze 2:8 sqq.). The question, therefore, is not, how he becomes qualified for the office of a prophet,thus Isaiah, if such a view is held in his case, in the relation alleged, but more correctly perhaps for his special commission, is qualified by the removal of sin (Isa 6:6 sqq.); or Jeremiah, by means of the touch of Jehovahs hand (Jer 1:9);the question rather turns on this point simply, in what capacity Ezekiel will have to discharge his prophetic office, to execute his mission. The distinction between the call in general and a mission in particular might admit of being expressed as that between something more subjective and what is more objective, in some such way as this: that, in the call, the prophet as subject stands in the foreground; in the mission, the objective matter of fact preponderates, in which and through which the prophet has to develope his activity, which is Ezekiels case. For the more general call, of course in its individual character in the case of each, one might have to confine himself in the case of Ezekiel as well as of Isaiah to their names ( 1), while Jeremiahs name seems rather to express his mission. The divine legitimation of the mission of Ezekiel is the primary meaning of Ezekiel 1-3. On the whole, it approximates too much the peculiar nature of the prophetic office to the priestly and the kingly, when we speak in this way of the consecration of a prophet. The mission of a prophet is at all events in actual fact equivalent to his consecration to the prophetic office.

CHAPTER 1

1And it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was in the midst of the captivity, by the river Chebar, that 2the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the monthit was the fifth year [from the time] of the carrying away captive of king Jehoiachin3The word of Jehovah came in reality unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of 4Jehovah came upon him there. And I saw, and, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, and fire flashing into itself, and brightness round about it [the cloud], and out of the midst of it [the fire] as the look of the brightness 5of gold, out of the midst of the fire. And out of the midst thereof [of the fire] appeared the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. 6And every one had four faces, and every one of them four wings. 7And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calfs foot; and sparkling like the look of bright brass. 8And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and 9they four had their faces and their wings. Joined one to another were their wings; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 10As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; 11and they four had the face of an eagle. And their faces and their wings were separated above; in every one two were joined, and two covering their bodies. 12And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went. 13As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like kindled, burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches: this [the fire] was going round between the living creatures; and the fire had brightness, and out of the fire went forth lightning. 14And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. 15And I saw the living creatures, and, behold, one wheel was upon the earth beside the living creatures, for its four faces. 16The appearance of the wheels and their make was like unto the look of the precious stone of Tartessus: and they four had one likeness; and their appearance and their make was as it were a wheel in the midst of a wheel. 17When they went, they went upon their four sides: they turned not when they went. 18As for their felloes, there was a highness about them, and fearfulness was about them; and their felloes were full of eyes round about them four. 19And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they [the living creatures] went, thither Was also the Spirit to go [in the wheels]; and the wheels were lifted up beside them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21When those went, they also went; and when those stood, these also stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted 22up beside them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. And a likeness was over the heads of the living creature [Eze 1:20]an expanse, like unto the look of the terrible crystal, stretched out over their heads above. 23And under the expanse were their wings straight, the one toward the other: to every 24one two which covered, to every one two which covered their bodies. And I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of many waters, as the voice of the Almighty, to wit, in their going, the noise of tumult, as the noise of an host: 25when they stood, they let down their wings. And there came a voice from above the expanse which was over their head: when they stood, they let down their wings. 26And above the expanse that was over their head was there as the appearance of a sapphire stone, the likeness of a throne: and upon the likeness of the throne the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. 27And I saw as the look of the brightness of gold, as the appearance of fire, a house round about it; from the appearance of his loins and upwards, and from the appearance of his loins and downwards, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and brightness round about Him. 28As the appearance of the bow that will be in the cloud on the day of heavy rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And I saw, and fell upon my face, and heard the voice of one that spake.

Eze 1:2. Sept.: …

Eze 1:3. … . (Syr., Arab., and some MSS.: .)

Eze 1:4. … . . Vulg.: ignis involvens

Eze 1:5. … animalium.

Eze 1:6. Other readings: , , ; ,.

Eze 1:7. … . , . , . .et Scintillae quasi aspectus aeris candentis.

Eze 1:9. . . (anoth. read.: ).

Eze 1:10. Anoth. read.: .

Eze 1:11. .

Eze 1:12. Anoth. read.: .

Eze 1:13. . … (anoth. read.: ).

Eze 1:14. … .

Eze 1:16. Other readings: ;, wanting in Sept.; .

Eze 1:17. Anoth. read.: .

Eze 1:18. … … . , .

Eze 1:20. ( are wanting in some MSS. The Greek and Syriac translators and the Targ. (?) omit ).

Eze 1:22. Sept., Vulg., Syr., Chald., Arab, read .

Eze 1:23. … , , ,( are wanting in some MSS., Vulg., Sept., and Arab.)

Eze 1:24. … , … .

Eze 1:25. are wanting in some MSS., in Sept.?, Syr., and Arab.

Eze 1:27. …

EXEGETICAL REMARKS

Eze 1:1-3 a preface, which contains introductory matter in generalspecially to the vision which immediately follows, what is most necessary respecting the time, person, place, and subject-matter on hand. This latter, the subject-matter, is visions of God in the plural, which are separated by means of the expression: and I saw, and, behold (Eze 1:4; Eze 1:15), properly into two visions only, Eze 1:4-28; but it will commend itself to treat Eze 1:22-28 as a separate conclusion completing both visions.

Eze 1:1-3.Preface, Introductory

Eze 1:1. And it came to pass.The imperf. with consecut., as usual without Dagesh forte, indicating a continuation, an advance, connection with something going before, begins, as often elsewhere, so also here the book of Ezekiel. Since there is no real connection, as in the case of Exodus, Ezra, a connection in thought is to be assumed, as in the case of Ruth, Esther. The chronology, still more the inner relationship (comp. the Introduction, 2, 3, 4), suggests a connection with Jeremiah. Hengstenberg, while he lays stress upon the similar commencements, by which Joshua is connected with the Pentateuch, the book of Judges with Joshua, the books of Samuel and also Ruth with the book of Judges, understands, besides a special connection of Ezekiel with Jeremiah (whose letter (Jeremiah 29.), directed shortly before to the exiles, formed as it were the programme for the labours of our prophet), in general (as in the case of the book of Esther) the incorporation (represented by such a commencement) in a chain of sacred books, a connection with a preceding sacred literature. In a more definite way Athanasius brought into connection with this the passage in Josephus (Antiq. 10.)comp. Introd. 5and made out that the one book of Ezekiel, with which the present one is here connected by means of , had gone amissing through the negligence of the Jews. Pradus cites Augustine (on Psalms 4.) and Gregory the Great in support of a view according to which this is intended to connect the outward word of the prophet with what he had heard inwardly, with the inward vision (Corn. a. Lapide: What he had formerly seen in his spirit or heard from God he connects by means of and with something else which he saw and heard thereafter, and which he now relates). Very many expositors have been quite content with a pleonastic Hebrew idiom, and with changing the sense of the future into that of the preterite. (According to Keil, appealing to Ewald (Ausf. Lehrb. 231, b), it is merely something annexed to a circle of what is finisheda circle already mentioned, or assumed as known.)In the thirtieth year, etc. Where the divine legitimation of Ezekiel for his labours about to be described, and at the same time for his literary laboursthis book of hisis to be shown, and where accordingly the prophet speaks of himself in the first person, going on immediately to say: as I, so that in such close juxtaposition with looks like the usual phrase , there it ought to appear as simple as it is natural to think, with Origen and Gregory, of the thirtieth year of Ezekiels life. There was no necessity whatever for Hengstenberg (comp. Introd. 3) to urge the significance as respects the man of priestly family. The appointment of the thirtieth year in Numbers 4., with a view to the carrying of the sanctuary during the journey through the wildernessa work requiring the full vigour of manhood, cannot in actual fact be applied to Ezekiel; and we must then in a figurative way compare his prophetic labours in exile, especially his preaching of the glory of the Lord, and the circumstance that through Ezekiels exercise of the prophetic office the Lord became to the exiles as a sanctuary in the captivity (Eze 11:16), with that carrying of the tabernacle during the time of the wilderness. For theological exposition, of course, the entrance on office of the Baptist and of Christ after completing their thirtieth year may be kept in view. The indefiniteness of the statement of time, in the thirtieth year, is not greater than the indefiniteness with respect to the person: as I. As the latter indefiniteness is removed in Eze 1:3 by the mention of the name, etc., so (according to Kliefoth, and also Keil) the corresponding addition: in the fourth month, on the fifth day, by the repetition in Eze 1:2 of the fifth of the month, viz. the fifth day of the forementioned fourth month, is brought into connection with the objectivity of the fifth year from the carrying away captive of king Jehoiachin, and in this way relieved of all want of clearness, while at the same time expressly separated from the date: in the thirtieth year, just as this latter itself is so much the more evidently left to its simplest, natural acceptation of the thirtieth year of the prophets life. If then Eze 1:2 afterwards supplies the period according to which Ezekiel adjusts his first, subjective date, the supposition of another so-called publicly current era is superfluous, apart from the fact, that no such era has hitherto been pointed out. Recourse has been had (1) to a Jewish era, and (2) to a Babylonian one. (1) Thus Hitzig adheres to the opinion of many Jewish expositors, that the reference is to the thirtieth year from a jubilee1 (comp. on Eze 40:1), but combats what is yet so necessary, the more exact definition, e.g., of Raschi, that in this way the reckoning is from the eighteenth year of king Josiah, important on account of the finding of the book of the law, etc. (2 Kings 22. sqq.; 2 Chronicles 34. sqq.); while Hvernick declares this reckoning (already that of the Chaldee Paraphrast, Jerome, Grotius, and also Ideler) the only tenable one, as also that which is alone suited to the context: that with the last period of prosperity there stands contrasted the last period of misfortune (under Jehoiachin): the numbers are prophetically significant statements, pointing to the weighty circumstance of the prophets making his appearance in a memorable, fatal time. We must therefore assume a priestly mode of reckoning. Calvin lays stress upon the Greek analogy of Olympiads, as well as the Roman one of reckoning according to consulates, and in favour of the jubilee under Josiah brings forward the peculiarly solemn passover-feast at that time. (2) For accepting a Babylonian era one might urge the sojourn of Ezekiel in Babylon, especially his peculiar attention to chronology, which, dates from this seat of astronomical science. In this case the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin has been reckoned, as the year b.c. 595, and the thirtieth year from that as the year b.c. 625, when Nabopolassar ascended the Chaldean throne; and either the eighteenth year of Josiah has been taken as contemporaneous therewith, or the era of Nabopolassar merely has been clung to (e.g. by Scaliger, Perizonius). But the reckoning does not agree; according to Bunsen, at least, the fifth year of the captivity of Jehoiachin would be the year b.c. 593. Perizonius wished therefore to be at liberty to read in Ezekiel the thirty-second instead of the thirtieth year. J. D. Michaelis helps himself by making the reckoning start not from Nabopolassars ascending the throne, but from the conquest of Nineveh and Babylon by him. Comp. besides in Hitzig.The fourth month, since the first (Nisan) coincides for the most part with our March, corresponds to our June, or, according to J. D. Michaelis, Hitzig, Bunsen, to July nearly. The (probably Babylonian) name of it would be Tammuz; but the prophet follows still the custom of antiquity, which, with only some exceptions, did not give names to the separate months, but merely numbered them. . As the time is indicated by in the thirtieth year, so also next the place is indicated in a personal way: as I was, etc. That the clause might by itself mean, cum essem in medio captivorum, is beyond a doubt; but that the LXX. in this case translate more correctly than the Vulgate is not less undoubtedly clear from Eze 3:11; Eze 3:15. Hitzigs solution (favoured by Klief., Keil): in the district (region) of their (the exiles) dwelling-places (settlements), is superfluous; more accurate is his remark: and besides he himself was a captive. Rightly Ewald: in the midst of the captivity. The historical dates in the prophetic books have a certain designedness, something symbolic about them,are at all events not simply historical notices; they are intended to be understood in the light of the idea, exactly as that was to be realized in the case in hand, and hence characteristically as regards the prophet in question. In the midst of the misery the prophet was to behold the glory of God for his people (comp. Introd. 5). Calvin on this occasion enters into a polemic against the notion of the Jews, as if the hand of God were shortened towards the holy land, etc. Ezekiel was, according to Eze 3:11; Eze 3:15, alone by the river, and did not go, till he had had the vision, among the multitudes of his countrymen who dwelt or happened to be nearest him.By the river Chebar, comp. Introd. 4 (Calvin attaches indeed no importance to it, but he mentions the opinion of those who regard the rivers as places consecrated for revelations, inasmuch as they give prominence to their symbolical character [the lighter element of water, while the earth appears heavier], or inasmuch as others think of the cleansing power of water and the like. A kind of spiritual reference to Psa 137:1 Calvin looks upon as forced.) Hengstenberg compares Dan 8:2; Dan 10:4; Ezekiel is removed to the Chebar, because there he is far from the bustle of men, and allured to great thoughts by the rushing of the water.2 And then it is alleged he was there only in vision, as is clear from Eze 3:12; Eze 3:14! As if, forscoth, the Spirit could not have carried him to and from the actual river! Then we must understand in the midst of the captivity likewise as being in vision. In Daniel it is expressly said at Eze 8:2 to be in vision, and at Eze 10:4 as well as here it is to be conceived of as not being so. At Eze 8:3; Eze 11:24, the definition as to its being in vision is expressly added. (Some have also formed to themselves a conception of the sojourn by the water after the analogy of the Romish Ghetto, as Martial says instead of Jew transtiberinus.)The personal reference is kept up still in the description of the subject in hand, of what took place: the heavens were opened, and I saw; so much is the divine authorization of Ezekiel the leading thought. The opening of the heavens refers, as respects the form, as regards the character of the vision, to this vision which follows. There is in this respect nothing more general intended by it (Joh 1:32), as Keil seems to hint. Comp., however, Mat 3:16; Mar 1:10; Luk 3:21; Act 7:56; Act 10:10-11; Rev 4:1; Rev 19:11. As regards what is essential in all ways and forms, Calvin will be right in maintaining, that God opens His heavens, not that in reality they are cleft asunder, but inasmuch as, after the removal of all hindrances, He enables the eyes of believers to penetrate to His heavenly glory. As Jerome has already said: fide credentis intellige, eo quod clestia sint illi reserata mysteria. (Grotius makes the heavens to be rent open by repeated flashes of lightning.) He who says this, testifies that what he has seen he has not seen as something which has come out of the earth or existed first on the earth, but that it has descended from heaven, and consequently been visions of God (Cocceius). If the opening of the heavens depicts the manner of the thing, how it happened, then the expression, visions of God (Eze 40:2), specifies the thing itself under discussion, and that first of all in accordance with what follows, where the next thing is vision. The genitive relation cannot be rendered by: sublime visions, or the like (as Calvin already rejects as frigid the interpretation: visiones prstantissimas, quia divinum vocatur in scriptura quidquid excellit), but it might perhaps, in accordance also with linguistic usage elsewhere, pass as equivalent to: divine visions, i.e. in the manner of Isaiah 6., 1Ki 22:19, 2Ki 6:17, etc. (Hitzig: heavenly visions). Quia ex clo demonstratas, ideoque divinas et a Deo ostensas (Cocceius). As genitive of the subject (auctoris) it might be interpreted in accordance with Num 24:4; Num 24:16, either: visions which God (as well as they) sees, or: visions which God gives to see (which proceed from God); which would correspond with the aim of the following vision, that of legitimating Ezekiels call as a divine one. The divine visions stand opposed to the visions of ones own heart, the empty fancies of false prophets, Jer 23:25-26 (Hengstenberg). Otherwise it would have been incredible, that a prophet should have arisen out of Chaldea. Nazareth even (Joh 1:47) was still situated in the promised land. Thus the divine call needed to be confirmed as such in a special way (Calv.). As genitive of the object the meaning would be, visions which have reference to God, have Him as their object; which suits the contents of the vision as expressed at Eze 1:28. Here: visions of God; in Jer 1:1 : words of Jeremiah. is the complete form without apocope, as after the consecut. not seldom in the first person and in the later books.

Eze 1:2 is occupied with a reference to the dates. It was the fifth year from the carrying away captive of ting Jehoiachin, and it is meant of the objective common era (Hengstenberg),3 just as also in the sequel of this notice (Eze 1:3), which is better inserted immediately than later. Ezekiela thing which does not occur elsewhere in the book (Eze 24:24!)speaks of himself in the third person. Without verses 2, 3, with Eze 1:1 simply pushed forward to Eze 1:4, we would have the impression that a private document, a leaf of the prophets journal, lay before us. The explicit statement of Eze 1:2 was the more necessary, where already in Eze 1:1 the fifth of the fourth month was to be explained with reference to this fixed period, the most important of course for the immediate hearers of the prophet, and therefore easily intelligible for them, and also retained by the prophet throughout, but for others not equally clear. That Eze 1:2-3 interrupt (Ewald) the connection cannot be alleged; we shall find the opposite. in Eze 1:1 is essentially the same as in Eze 1:2, the distinction to be made being perhaps this, that the former refers more to the condition, the latter to the action.As to the historical fact, see 2Ki 24:6 sqq., 2Ch 36:9 sqq. as here, in 2 Kings, 2 Chron. , is called in Jer 22:24; Jer 22:28 , in Eze 24:1 of the same book , and in Eze 27:20 .Kliefoth, on the basis of the detailed exposition in Hvernick, gives prominence as regards this period, on the one hand, to the unpleasant impression of the first circular letter (Jeremiah 29.) to the exiles, and on the other hand, to the inflaming of their minds by the later prophetic announcement in Jer 51:59 sqq. Comp. in the remainder of the Introd. 5. That it was already the fifth year, is held up as a reproach to the stiffneckedness of the Jews (Calv.). The appearance of Ezekiel took place in the most hopeful period of the reign of Zedekiah, when false prophecy was making its voice heard at home and abroad. To all this seeming and fancied glory, opposed as it was to the divine word of the true prophets, Ezekiels vision of glory formed the divine antithesis.

Eze 1:3. , inf. absol., in solemnly rhetorical fashion emphasizing the divine attestation of the prophet: really, expressly, quite certainly. The full unquestionable reality of the transaction is to be indicated.Though Eze 1:1 spoke of the person, time, place, subject-matter, all the elements of the introduction, yet Eze 1:2 reverted to the time; and so Eze 1:3 speaks anew first of all of the subject-matter as , which came to Ezekiel, by which expression this same subject-matter, linking itself on to Eze 1:1 (there, visions of God; here, the word of Jehovah), is now designated according to its intrinsic, its essential character as the product of the Spirit (1Th 2:13). It is at the same time the exact announcement of what follows, and the introduction thereto; for at Eze 1:28 there is a transition from the I saw to the I heard the voice of one that spake, and this latter is shown from Eze 2:4 to be the Lord Jehovah.As to the name of the prophet and that of his father, as well as the priestly rank of both, with which the personal description is completed, comp. Introd. 1, 3. For the purpose in a quite objective way of making more prominent his divine legitimation, Ezekiel speaks of himself as of a third person. (Like the LXX., the Syriac and Arabic versions presuppose , the reading of several Codd.) Humility also, in a case where he had been deemed worthy of such a revelation (comp. the similar mode of expression in 2Co 12:2 sqq.), recommended his speaking in the third person.The renewed mention of the place is not a mere repetition of the words: by the river Chebar, but a more exact definition alike of this river, and especially of the phrase: in the midst of the captivity, both being defined by ,in the sense, however, of land of the Chaldeans=land of the enemy, to which at the close of the verse again points back, emphatically, as Calvin remarks. This locality was only too significant a corrective of presumption on the one hand, as of despair on the other, or rather of fleshly narrow-mindedness in general.If then, finally, the subject-matter is again brought into prominence, and that as respects its producing cause, viz. that the hand of Jehovah came upon him, this certainly is not said without reference to the statement: and I fell upon my face, in Eze 1:28, and might indeed have preceded the words: the word of Jehovah came in reality (Hitzig); but the immediately following subject-matter (Eze 1:4) demanded this or some such transition at the close of the verse. Thus verses 2, 3 complete the section. The formula of transition used is one that occurs again (Introd. 7), Eze 3:22; Eze 37:1; Eze 40:1. Comp. 2Ki 3:15. The expression the hand of Jehovah always means a divine manifestation of power, but in the sense of action, consequently with will and intention, by means of which self-will and refusal on the part of man are laid in the dust, and the man is prepared for the divine purpose. For whatever may be the natural basis subjectively (intellectually, morally, and spiritually), as well as objectively (as respects the nexus in the history of the time, or of the individual), the prophetic word as Gods word, as visions of God, is neither a product of ones own effort and exertion, reflection and investigation, nor a result of mere human instruction. It is not gifts, not study that makes the prophet, just as also we do not meet with inclination as a prophetic factor, but constraint must be put upon them,the prophets needed to be overpowered. Thus something lies in the . Comp. Jer 20:7. If this appears in a still stronger form where instead of , e.g. at Eze 8:1, we have , Eze 11:5 certainly explains by ; it is the power of the Spirit. He has thus expressed the energy of the divine Spirit (Theodoret). Hence the prophetic preparation in consequence of this is rightly given by Oehler in the first place as a divine knowledge (comp. Jer 23:18 with Amo 3:7), to which there cannot be wanting as a second element the sanctifying as well as strengthening efficacy (Psalms 1-16 sqq.; Mic 3:8). J. Fr. Starck quotes: impulsus inopinatus, illuminatio extraordinaria, spiritus propheti vehemens, afflatus Spiritus Sancti singularis. Thus he saw what other men did not see, then he recollected all that he had seen and heard, and understood the meaning of the Lord and did His commandment. Cocc. (On old pictures of the prophets, as well as in the frescoes of the church at Schwarz-Rheindorf, a hand is painted, which is stretched from heaven.)

Eze 1:4-28.Ezekiels Vision of the Glory of Jehovah

Isaac Casaubon, in his once far-famed Exercitationes, 16. de reb. sacr. et eccl. adv. Baronium (Geneva 1655), asserts: in the whole of the Old Testament there is nothing more obscure than the beginning and the end of the book of Ezekiel. Under the same impression Calvin declares, that he acknowledges that he does not understand this vision. Jerome had pronounced that in its interpretation all the synagogues of the Jews are dumb, giving as their reason that it transcends mans capacity, et de hoa et de dificatione templi, quod in ultimo hujus prophet scribitur, aliquid velle conari. The Jewish designation for the following vision is , chariot or team of four, in accordance with the four living creatures and the four wheels. Hvernick: It formed the basis and the point of support for the later mystic theology in its endless gnostic speculations about the divine essence and the higher spirit-world. As their natural theology is called among the Jews , so-the mystic is called . One is not to read before reaching his thirtieth year either the beginning of Genesis, or the Song of Songs, or the beginning and end of the book of Ezekiel; such is the admonition of Jewish tradition. Comp. Zunz, Die gottesdienstl. Vortr. d. Juden, p. 162 sqq. (the most important work of more recent times in this department).

Umbreit, while he denies him the poetic gift, ascribes to Ezekiel in the rarest degree the ability which is characteristic of the painter, of making visible to the eye what he has seen. But even the celebrated picture of Raphael in the Pitti Gallery at Florence may pass as a criticism of this assertion. There there is more than one feature quite passed over: what is separate appears grouped together; what is united, on the other hand, appears divided. To the artistic conception of the greatest painter the vision of Ezekiel presented itself with difficulty. We shall be compelled to assert even more positively, that with all the exactitude of delineation, and with the plastic art in the giving of details (Umbreit), an obscurity remains over the whole, even merely as respects the setting it before the eye, an invisibility, which is not certainly to be ascribed to overcrowding, but which lies in the subject-matter, the object of the vision, which results from the thing itself. The representation of Ezekiel wrestles with its subject, as the amplification, the repetition and recurrence again to what has been said, shows. It must indeed be the case, according to Exodus 33, that (Eze 1:22-23) only the back parts of the glory of God are capable of being seen by man here upon earth. Comp. 1Jn 3:2. Certainly, if Ezekiel, because he had been carried out of the body, were to have seen the face of the glory of God, his after-remembrance in the body of what he had seen would not have been capable of being expressed. Comp. 2Co 12:4; 2Co 12:3. The unapproachable light, in which God dwells (1Ti 6:16), remains from the time of the Sinaitic keynote theophany onwards for the whole of the Old Testament. Exo 19:9; Exo 19:16; Exo 19:20-21 (Deu 4:11; Deu 5:19); Lev 16:2; 1Ki 8:12; Psa 97:2 (Eze 18:12).

We may quote the remark of Umbreit, that Ezekiel repeats more frequently than any other prophet the statement: the word of Jehovah was thus made known to me, as if he had felt the word like a burden, and was unable to reproduce it as such in a very worthy manner; it is only to set down its symbol that he feels himself called in his inmost being. There is also to be found in Ezekiel as compared with the older prophets a greater complication in the symbolism, in which the following vision especially is expressed in its plastic art. Comp. Introd. 7.

Inasmuch as it is vision, and consequently the divine element is represented visibly in pictures, these pictures have a divine import, are symbols, so that there belongs to them at the same time a concealing, relatively veiling character, especially as regards the people. The word of God must accordingly come in addition to the vision of God, in order to explain it for the prophet and the people. Comp. the distinction between and , 2Co 12:1.

But it is not so much a peaceful picture which presents itself to our prophet, as rather a phenomenon of a very excited character inwardly as well as outwardly; a circumstance which must not remain unnoticed in the interpretation. The storm brings great clouds therefore. A strong brisk fire, which spreads its brightness round about, forms the interior of the cloud brought by the storm. Such is the first, outermost part of the vision, its porch as it were, which the prophet first of all enters (Eze 1:4). On a nearer view there are formed out of the intensive fire of the cloud as it were four living creatures, which have at first sight the appearance of a man, and are therefore to be carried back in thought to this in general, whatever else in detail more exact description perceives in them. And so the fourfold group of the creatures is individualized in a fourfoldness of each of them: man, lion, ox, eagle. In spite of such fourfoldness, which is perhaps also clear from other circumstances (thus they have wings, and at the same time the foot-soles of a calf, and yet the hands of a man, comp. at Eze 1:7), prominence is given expressly to a mutuality of relation, the unity of a whole, Eze 1:9; Eze 1:12; Eze 1:15; Eze 1:20-22 (Eze 1:5-14). Then, further, as the direction out of the north (Eze 1:4) has given the tendency of the vision in its immediate historical reference, so the wheels also bring the whole into connection with the earth. The more expressive connecting link will be the number four, the symbolic number (passing over from the living creatures to the wheels) of the cosmical relations, in which God reveals Himself. (Bhr, Symbolism of the Mosaic Cultus, 1 p. 341.) The glory of Jehovah from heaven manifests itself with this second part of the vision as a glorifying of Jehovah upon earth, inasmuch as the spirit of the living creature unites in the closest way wheels and creatures (Eze 1:15-21). Lastly, the holy of holies of the vision is opened with the vault as of heaven over the heads of the chajah. The living creatures, into union with which the wheels are taken up by means of the spirit, are by means of the voice, which comes from above the vault, and that while they are at rest, united to Him who is enthroned there, who looked like a man. From Him ultimately everything proceeds, just as to Him ultimately everything tends. As in the holy of holies of the tabernacle and of the temple, the vision culminates in the enthroning of Jehovah in His glory. Hence, too, it cannot be passed over without remark, that in this very excited phenomenon a thrice-repeated advance makes itself known. The first time the fire-cloud (Eze 1:4). The second time the fire-picture of the chajoth (Eze 1:13; Eze 1:7), with the height and dreadfulness and of the wheels (Eze 1:18; Eze 1:16). The third time: the , and the throne , and the fire-bright appearance of the Glorious One thereon, the description of which, however, at last terminates significantly in: As the appearance of the bow, etc. Fire, brightness, light,this remains the common feature all three times; it forms consequently the fundamental characteristic of the vision as respects its interpretation, in which, however, the meaning of the closing rainbow in the cloud must not be left out.

Let us now attempt to get at the meaning of the vision. Although the separate symbols must be left over to the exegesis, yet the symbolism as a whole must be understood beforehand, according to which the import of the vision, especially in comparison and connection with other similar visions of the Old Testament, will come to light. Ezekiel himself leaves us in no doubt as to the meaning of his vision, for he says expressly at the close: . It is therefore Jehovahs glory that presented itself to him, and presents itself to us in the vision. In so far as this can be distinguished more in its personal relation to Himself, and on the other side more in its active manifestation and execution of His will, as Jehovahs glory and as His glorification, the of Eze 1:28 may, by a glance at Eze 10:4; Eze 10:19, be more precisely explained by Keil (following Hitzig), but for the interpretation of the vision in Ezekiel 1 it is not advisable. As to the idea for glory, comp. on Eze 1:28. Although the of God stands for the appearance, hence for what is manifest (Introd. 10), yet the figurative representation of the same must not be taken as a matter of course for the essential idea. Gesenius says incorrectly in his Pocket Dictionary: The Hebrew conceives (?) of it as a clear shining fire, from which fire issues, and which is usually enveloped in smoke; for the Hebrew conceives of it rather (comp. Ges. himself) as weight, dignity, gravitas. To the divine essence there belongs a corresponding sovereign dignity and sovereign power,a glory (Herrlichkeit from hehr), as well as a dominion (Herrschaft from Herr). The two things conceived of as one idea, and not merely in antithesis to the world, but in the world as the light and the life of the world, is the of Godthe significance of God for the world. The heavens declare the glory of God (Psa 19:1), and the whole earth is full of His glory (Isa 6:3). Without it there is nothing but power and matter (Bchner), and our view of the world is an atomistic one. Although the manifest aim of creation has been turned by reason of sin into the goal, yet Psa 97:6 says and prophesies: The heavens declare His righteousness, and all nations see His glory; and in Num 14:21 Jehovah swears by His life, that the glory of Jehovah shall fill the whole earth. If with this far-reaching look at the worlds goal, and on the broad foundation of the divine aim as regards the world (Jehovah is certainly everywhere Elohim), Ezekiels vision of Jehovahs glory shapes itself first of all and predominantly as the righteousness of the Holy One, who will execute the judgment upon Jerusalem, and thus also upon that portion of Israel not yet in banishment by the Chebar, such a thing is easily understood as being necessary for that historical period, alike from the situation of affairs and as regards the persons. And this it is that is symbolized by the fire-cloud in particular, as well as in general by the fire-style, in which the whole is kept. Nevertheless there comes forth as the kernel of the fire-cloud the fire-picture of the four chajoth, whose meaning is as little reached when one goes back and gives them a Judaistic interpretation as the cherubim in the tabernacle or in the temple, as when one christianizes them by anticipation, as Kliefoth does, as the universality of the economy of salvation founded by Christ when He appeared, in contrast with the particularism and territorialism of the previous economy of salvation. It might rather be nearer the mark to adopt a third view which would keep fast hold of the glory of God as the original aim of the creation of heaven and earth is well as the ultimate goal of the history of the world; in connection with which the idea of life, so frequent with Ezekiel, pervading as it does the whole book, must not be overlooked (Eze 18:23; Eze 33:11; the whole of Ezekiel 37; Eze 18:9; Eze 18:13; Eze 18:17; Eze 18:19; Eze 18:21; Eze 18:24; Eze 18:28; Eze 18:32; Eze 33:12-13; Eze 33:15-16; Eze 3:18; Eze 3:21; Eze 16:6; Eze 20:11; Eze 20:13; Eze 20:21; Eze 20:25; Eze 47:9; Eze 13:18-19; Eze 13:22; Eze 7:13; Eze 5:11; Eze 14:16; Eze 14:18; Eze 14:20; Eze 17:16; Eze 17:19; Eze 18:3; Eze 20:3; Eze 20:31; Eze 20:33; Eze 33:11; Eze 33:27; Eze 34:8; Eze 35:11 : comp. Eze 26:20; Eze 32:23-27; Eze 32:32). For as Gods glory has its side for Him, according to which it is the self-representation of His life in a majesty invisible for man, so, on the other side, heaven and earth and the world of creatures mirror forth the divine life in a visible glory of God, inasmuch as through them Gods peculiar nature and power come to be seen in a manifoldness and fulness of life. This is His fame, His honour, which become known from creation conformably to its original design, according to which the investigation of nature was meant to be, as Prof. Fichte says, an uninterrupted worship, a rational and intelligent glorification of that uncreated wisdom which manifests itself in nature. And in like manner (according to Beck), all the threads of life, which the divine faithfulness in revelation preserves within the circle of sinful mankind from the beginning onwards, and evermore strengthens and perfects in a part of the same, converge at the end in a central manifestation of life: , 1Jn 1:2. The revelation of life in actual fact breaks the death-power of sin, 2Ti 1:10; life is the substance of salvation (Lehrwissenschaft, 1 p. 448); and this life-development of salvation exercises, on the one hand, a preserving, renewing, and perfecting influence on the still remaining life-power of the world, and on the other hand, a relaxing, judging, and annihilating influence on the death-power of sin, works creatively, so that man and the earthly system come forth as a new creation in eternal and unchangeable life from the catastrophe of conflict and judgment. As arising from such a connection of the life and glory of God, must the spiritual symbolism of the chajoth also be understood in Ezekiel. The retrospective reference to the cherubim of the ark has certainly its truth, but not till Ezekiel 10 (comp. at Eze 9:3 the explanation with respect to the cherubs in general), where Ezekiel also (Eze 1:20) expressly brings them forward; and even there (Eze 1:15; Eze 1:17; Eze 1:20) they are called, as here and at Eze 3:13, chajoth or chajah. Their symbolic character is necessarily clear even from the symbolic connection in which they appear. The prophet saw also merely a likeness of four living creatures, consequently what looked like four living creatures. To their symbolic character corresponds also their designation; the biblical ideas of life and death have a symbolic colouring. But, in particular, support is entirely wanting in Holy Scripture for conceiving of these living creatures, as Keil would have us, as beings who of all the creatures of heaven and earth possess and exhibit life in the fullest sense of the word, and who on this very account of all spiritual beings stand the nearest to the God of the spirits of all flesh, who lives from eternity to eternity, and surround His throne on every side. What would thus be affirmed of creatures, is applicable properly to the Son alone (Joh 1:4); and how would such representatives and bearers of the eternal blessed life harmonize even with the uniquely prominent position of man made in the image of God in the Bible! In opposition to actual individual beings of such a kind, in opposition to angelic beings of a higher order, there speaks too evidently their fourfold form, whose meaning, as already settled by the Rabbins, is this, that the vital power according to four types (of man above all and in general because of his life being in highest potency, because of his spirit and its eternal destiny),comp. Bhr, Symb. 1 p. 342 sqq.,is to find an expression, is to be represented in a fulness of the highest possible significance. From the reproach of being abstract ideas or ideal forms of the imagination, which would thus be represented as living beings, the purely symbolic view is released by this circumstance, that certainly the four types are taken from real life, only the manner of their application and their juxtaposition being ideal. There can be no question of abstraction, where rather the individual element is specially realized by means of the idea of the whole, viz. life. Hengstenberg [The Cherubim at the close of his Ezekiel, Clarks Trans.], who in Bhrs interpretation emphasizes not so much the ideal creature as the living creation, limits it, however, to the earth, holding that it must be viewed altogether apart from the heavenly creature. Passages, however, such as Gen 2:7; Gen 9:16, which he cites, leave sufficient room for the idea of the living creature in general, since, according to Gen 2:7, there by no means belongs to the living creature a double element, the earthly material and the quickening breath of God; but these two constitute merely the earthly man, and he rather becomes a living soul from the fact that God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, just as Gen 9:16 also limits every living creature by means of the words among all flesh that is upon the earth, the thing spoken of being life upon earth. Theodoret, however, may be right, that the angels likewise are living creatures, and that the relation of mortality is the distinction between their life and that of man. The contrast with death is not less justified than that with what is lifeless, and the expression the living God scarcely allows the idea of the living creature to be confined to man and beasts. Neither does the number four in itself point exclusively to the earth; comp. Bhr in the work quoted, 1 p. 156 sqq. Only the composition of the number four, consisting as it does of man, lion, ox, and eagle, has, according to the ingenious exposition of Hengstenberg, much of an earthly appearance. That ox and calf alternate in Eze 1:7 (Rev 4:7), does indeed make the representation of the (tame) cattle by means of the ox and that of the wild animals by means of the lion very probable. But the flying of the eagle would certainly be sufficiently represented by two wings, while the four wings expressly mentioned (Eze 1:6) point beyond this requisite, and in their parallel (Eze 1:8) with the hands of a manwhich give prominence to the human elementallow us on their side to conjecture something superterrestrial beyond man and beast, as Keil has rightly remarked. When Hengstenberg makes use of the cherubs of the tabernacle and in Solomons temple for his exposition, one does not easily understand how the furnishing of their human form with wings is to spring from this cause, that the class of birds in the history of creation opens the series of living creatures, just as man closes it; for in Gen 1:20 the aquatic animals still take the precedence, and in fact the large ones (Eze 1:21), which play such a part in Holy Scripture. Just as little can the bird take the last place, as being also that which is relatively lower, which is contradicted, as has been said, by the four wings. There is to be noticed in Eze 1:11 (23) the parallel to Isa 6:2 (comp. Eze 3:12). Perhaps, also, when speaking of the noise of their wings (Eze 1:24), the comparison (after Gen 32:2-3) is worthy of notice. The cherubs in Solomons temple (and also on the stands of the basins,4 1Ki 7:29) represented not life upon earth, according to its two extremities, but the terrestrial and superterrestrial life of creation. Thus only do the lions and oxen before us gain their significance: wild animals and cattle, the strictly animal world as contrasted with the earthly and heavenly spiritual world in their combination in the winged human figure. Otherwise they would not be necessary representations, inasmuch as they were certainly already represented by means of the irrational bird. With the palm trees and flowers (1Ki 6:29; Eze 41:18-19; Eze 41:25), the significant vegetable world, too, was added to the earthly creation; while, in the following vision, storm, clouds, fire, light (Eze 1:4) set before our eyes almost literally passages like Psalms 104 : O Lord, my God, Thou art very great. Thou clothest Thyself with splendour and glory, wrapping Thyself round with light as a garment,who maketh clouds His chariot, walketh upon the wings of the wind, making His messengers winds, His servants flaming fire. Psalms 50 : Our God shall come, etc. Fire devoureth before Him, and round about Him it is very tempestuous; He calleth the heavens from above, and the earth, to judge His people,and the heavens declare His righteousness. Psalms 18 : He bowed the heavens and came down, and cloudy darkness was under His feet, and He rode upon the cherub, and did fly, and was poised upon the wings of the wind, made darkness His covering, etc. At the brightness that was before Him His clouds passed away, hail and coals of fire. Although it will have to be conceded to Hengstenberg, that the earthly reference of the life of creation preponderates in the vision of Ezekiel, quite similarly as on the other side the human type preponderates, yet the whole continues to have an undeniably superterrestrial character. The fire-cloud with the four living creatures appears to the prophet (comp. Eze 1:1) out of the opened heavens, and it is only the wheels (Eze 1:15 sqq.) that intentionally set down the heavenly phenomenon as being at the same time something earthly. It is meant to be the human-earthly creation in the fulness of its vital power, as appearing from the background of the heaven-stirred, and also spirit-like elemental powers (air, fire), and still more (comp. Rev 4:8-9; Rev 5:8; Rev 5:14; Rev 19:4) as offering itself continually after the manner of the heavenly messengers and servants in obedience and voluntary surrender ( , Mat 6:10), in unceasing activity of service to His honour, and thus continually glorifying Him (Eze 1:19 sqq.). This we may suppose to be the most intrinsically heavenly element in the vision. It is certainly the case with the spectacle at the revelation on Sinai, which, moreover, unmistakably furnishes the keynote here, that the law was given in fire and cloud, but not less through the mediation of angels (Deu 33:2; Heb 2:2; Act 7:53; Act 7:38; Gal 3:19). Hengstenberg speaks strikingly of Ezekiel 1 as the great panorama of the universe; and there, certainly, the reference indicated could not be wanting. If the spirit (Eze 1:12) determines the first vital operation of the chajoth, their motion, and if (Eze 1:20-21) it is also the determining element for the motion of the wheels, then the (as one may express it) more spiritual motion of the whole, but especially of the chajoth, viz. the noise of their wings (Eze 1:24), is determined negatively, i.e. is brought to silence, to rest, by the voice from above (Eze 1:25); so that with this voice from the throne, and therefore with Him who is upon it (Eze 1:26 sqq.), each and all are united, and express themselves as well as move as He pleases (Eze 1:24), or rest according to His intimation. In this way the God of hosts, whom Hengstenberg only co-ordinates with Him who is enthroned upon the chajoth, is rather at the same time declared to be this latter, or the chajoth seem in such manner to be embraced in the idea of the heavenly hosts. To see in the wheels, then, the powers of nature, is certainly not so natural as to abide by the view of Hitzig, who appeals in support of it to Dan 7:9. Keil also must after all admit the idea of a throne-chariot. A throne which is to move upon the earth can hardly be conceived of without wheels. It is not so much, however, to show the possibility and the ease with which the throne moves to all the four quarters of the world, as rather to express the motion in the most living manner and expressly for the earth, specially in the first place with a view to Jerusalem, corresponding to the historical circumstances: it is for this reason that we have to do with wheels. The eyes in the wheels are parallel with the faces in the chajoth, and both are to be understood in connection with the spirit (), and perhaps also not without reference to the noise of the wings (2Ch 16:9). The sovereignty of Him who rules in heaven, whom all serve as to Him all live, as it is ready from heaven to manifest itself livingly upon earth, is represented at the close as being the sovereignty as of a man, which, when we take into account the rainbow of Eze 1:28 (notwithstanding the preponderating judicial character of the whole), allows of the coming forth full of promiseas the ultimate goal, as the victory of righteousnessof the kindness and love of God toward man (Tit 3:4), in grace and mercy toward Israel, and for the salvation of the world, so that the vision would have its fulfilment in Christ (comp. Joh 12:41 with Isaiah 6), Revelation 4.

After this interpretation of the symbolism of the vision as a whole, its meaning for the prophetic mission of Ezekiel (comp. the introductory remarks to Ezekiel 1-3) must be clear thus far, that above all the prophet will have to announce judgment, not merely in the first place upon Jerusalem, but farther upon the heathen also. To this the fire-characteristic points, which remains with the vision from beginning to end, and behind which whatever promise of mercy if in it steps into the background for the time, so that the prophet falls down under the impression received (Eze 1:28). For a so-called consecration as a prophet, this certainly would be too special in its tenor. For this one would be under the necessity of extracting, and that at the same time under a misapprehension of the dependence of our theophany on that manifestation of God at Sinai, as Keil does, in a more general way the symbols of that righteousness, holiness, and grace which God manifests in the upholding, governing, and perfecting of His kingdom. On the other hand, by means of the fire-character of judgment, which expressed its special tendency, this vision was an introduction of Ezekiel forth-with into his sphere of labour. Nothing else had the prophet at first to testify to the exiles, for their obstinacy with all its ungodly hopes was still founded on the apparent continuance of Jerusalem. The more such high ecstasya throwing inwards or spiritualizing, which has its sphere on the boundary of corporeal life (Eze 1:28), as Oehler brings out prominentlyalong with the mission of Ezekiel attested his call as a prophet, the less need was there of an official consecration for him; his mission under such a vision was so in the highest degree, or at least made a call, calling, consecration to the prophetic office be presupposed in a decided manner in his case, as the Talmudists, even in reference to in Eze 1:3 (in the interest certainly of the prophecy, as they assert, being attached to the ark), show therefrom, that Ezekiel was already before a prophet in the holy land. The vision does not by any means consecrate him as a prophet, but it certainly does transfer him to those banished to Tel-Abib (Eze 3:12 sqq.); it thus realizes itself as a mission. And pervading as it does the whole book, it likewise stamps and illustrates the prophetic activity of Ezekiel, Eze 3:23; Eze 8:4; Eze 43:2. The vision is, however, not merely as regards its fire-character, a programme for our prophet, but its much more essential contents informed him that he would have to represent the glory of Jehovah. Judgment in the first place, from the very beginning, however, not without mercy, but rather a glorification of the living God in His people to be accomplished in a glory of vital power, on the basis of creation, and thus from the outset with a view to the whole earth.5 The meaning of the chajoth in the vision, whence their designation (purposely not called cherubim in Ezekiel 1), and their so-varied form, and the accompaniment of spirit-moved wheels full of eyes are explained, cannot be settled by pointing to the Lords dwelling among His people in the holy of holies of the temple, nor explained by the cumenical character of the new economy of salvation, for the setting up of which the Lord shall appear upon earth (which is said to be represented in the fourfold figure of the cherubs and wheels); nor even can it be expressed characteristically enough with Keil in this way, that the moving of the throne to all quarters of the world is made conspicuous, not merely in order to indicate the spread of the kingdom of God over the whole earth, but in order to reveal the Lord and King, whose power stretches over the whole world, etc. (p. 28). The prophecy of glory is the characteristic of Ezekiel, whereby he stands distinguished from all prophets. With its destination for the exile,this too must be added in reference to the meaning of the following vision for the prophetic mission of Ezekiel,harmonizes the making God prominent, on the ground of the manifold fulness of life in His creation, as Himself the Living One in ruling, reigning, as well as all-filling uniqueness of life and glory. And so He must break forth in judgment on Jerusalem, where He is degraded to a lifeless, powerless, and therefore no longer believed in idol, side by side with other false gods. And as such He must manifest Himself to the heathen world, into whose power His people have been already, will be completely, given. The living God, and as such glorious, has, however, no pleasure in the death of the wicked, of him that dieth, as Ezekiel repeatedly testifies to the exiles; rather is the quickening of Israel to new life (Ezekiel 37), the stream of life (Ezekiel 47), His significant promise. As I live, why will ye die, O house of Israel? may be pronounced in this connection to be the prophetic voice of Ezekiel in the exile.

If we compare other similar visions in the Old Testament, in order to throw more light on the characteristic of Ezekiels, the Talmudists have identified that of Isaiah in Ezekiel 6. with that of Ezekiel, the only difference being as if a townsman and a countryman were to behold a king. But apart from the circumstance (introductory remarks to Ezekiel 1-3), that in the case of Isaiah it is after the self-legitimation in actual fact by means of the preceding discourses, which are designated as (Eze 1:1), (Eze 2:1), and which thus presuppose his consecration as a prophet, and not till Ezekiel 6 that the divine confirmation and introduction of the judicial mission of the prophet is related, so characteristically winding up what goes before as well as introducing what follows, while in the case of Ezekiel the vision opens his book; the theme with Isaiah is the thrice-Holy One over against the sin which has become ripe for the judgment of hardening, whereas, on the other hand, Ezekiel sees the glory of Jehovah in the midst of the misery of the exile. For Him who visibly appears as above the world, there is something becoming in the holy, holy, holy (comp. on the other hand, Eze 3:12), in holiness He manifests Himself in the heavens; and the circumstance that His glory fills the whole earth (Eze 1:3), shows how His intramundane manifestation (Introd. 10), in accordance with His heavenly holiness, must take shape in righteousness upon the earth. In accordance therewith, in accordance with the character of holiness belonging to Isaiahs vision, it is also seraphim that hover around the throne, that call one to another the holy, etc., and one of whom must hallow the prophet, who declares himself personally, and as a member of the community, unclean. How different what is said in Ezekiel as to the chajoth! And, accordingly, Ezekiel becomes like a dead man, whereas Isaiah became conscious to himself of being a sinner. As regards the visions of the Mosaic period, which are likewise appearances in glory, Exo 24:17 resembles the vision of Ezekiel in its pervading fire-character, and Eze 1:10 of the same chapter resembles the closing picture in Eze 1:26; but in Moses vision (Exodus 33, 34) the glory of Jehovah is spoken of as all His goodness ( . Comp. Eze 33:19 with Eze 33:22-23), with which corresponds also the revelation in word (Eze 33:19; Eze 34:6-7) in its main import. The preponderance of revelation in word and of the fulness of Gods love is in this case the distinguishing element on the one hand from Ezekiels vision, and on the other from that of Isaiah. Lastly, the vision of Daniel in Ezekiel 7 is closely related to that of Isaiah by means of the fulness of majesty of the divine holiness in Eze 1:9, just as it in so far coincides with Ezekiels, when at Eze 1:12 mention is made of respite of life for a season and time, while to the Son of man in Eze 1:14 is given an everlasting dominion. The four beasts out of the sea (Eze 1:3) present themselves, on the contrary, as the antithesis to the four chajoth. (Comp. in the New Testament, besides Rev. at the passage already quoted, Mat 17:5; 2Pe 1:17.)

The different interpretations of the following vision, from the multitude of persons and views, and because many of the differences are in matters of subordinate importance, can be brought forward in passing survey merely. Vitringa (in the work already quoted, 4. Eze 2:2) makes Abarbanel divide the interpretation of the Jewish teachers into three classes: (1) The traditional interpretation of the ancient school, viz. angels, in which mention is made of the four classes of the heavenly hosts, as leaders of which Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, Raphael are named, and the wheels also, by comparison with Dan 7:10, are held to be spiritual beings of higher or lower rank than the chajoth. (2) The philosophizing interpretation e.g. of Maimonides, who brought in the Aristotelian physics. (3) The historical interpretation (Kimchi), viz. of the four world-monarchies, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome, which are said to be meant by the wheels, while the chajoth are the heavenly spirits of these kingdoms. The Christian expositors held fast in general the idea of Divine Providence, as it manifests itself either in nature or in the kingdom of grace. The former is, for example, the opinion of Calvin even, of a Lapide, of Bochart: the chajoth are to them heavenly spirits, the wheels, the great movements in the world and the church in accordance with Gods decrees. The interpretation of the kingdom of grace more specially is the almost universal one in the ancient Church, according to which the chajoth are the four evangelists. Luther: The vision of Ezekiel is. nothing else but a revelation of the kingdom of Christ here upon earth in all the four quarters of the whole world. So also Osiander, Cocceius. If not the evangelists, then the apostles or certain things predicated of Christ (Arnd.: Incarnation, Sacrifice, Resurrection, Ascension) are dragged in. The wheels, according to some, are meant to symbolize the Church, and that in her apostles, prophets, evangelists, and pastors; while, according to others, the chajoth represent the lining Church of the New Testament, and the wheels the holy angels. (Origen found the four human passions represented. Some also have wished to find the four ensigns of the camp of Israel therein. According to others, Nebuchadnezzar himself; the king as a man, flew like an eagle, imposed the yoke of an ox, and became cruel like the lion! and more of the like sort. Comp. Jerome.) The sthetico-theologizing interpretation of Umbreit is as follows: The life-creating Spirit brings the Almighty, but He is not in the storm, nor in the cloud,it is only His chariot-throne,nor in the firethat is only the power of the natural life;but neither is He the light, not even the gleam (eye) of the metal in its look of greatest splendour is the eye of God. Even the four living creatures, the old well-known Mosaic pictures of the cherubim over the ark of the covenant, are not Himself, but the natural life of the creatures in its endlessly divided multiplicity and unity, as well as in its restlessly moving power, reaching in the likeness of man the phenomenon of highest beauty. The destination of the four living creatures is shown by the wheels, the elements, which the free, formative principle of the divine Spirit appropriates to itself in the creation of the creatures; we see into the soul of nature. The third part of the vision lifts us up to heaven: My thoughts are not your thoughts, etc. (Isa 55:8-9). The firmament, even with its crystal splendour, does not give us the likeness of God. It is the fourth part of the prophetic vision that first lets us see the glory of the Eternal King; we sink down with the prophet before this spectacle, but man bears Gods image, and the Word was made flesh, full of grace and truth, surrounded with the light of the rainbow of grace.

Eze 1:4-14.The Fire-Cloud (Eze 1:4) and the Fire-Picture of the Four Living Creatures (Eze 1:5-14)

The Fire-Cloud, Eze 1:4. That which is set in motion in what presents itself to the prophet in vision (and I saw), and must rouse his attention as well as ours (and, behold), is described in the outset by means of the moving cause, viz. , which, by reason of the repeatedly emphasized in what follows, is by no means = (Isa 29:6). , in place of , is properly a drawing together, in manifold applications, but always with the idea of life in the background, figuratively or in actual fact, which cannot be without significance for the already mentioned fundamental idea of the vision as a keynote,a keynote which we have pointed out in Ezekiel generally. We might almost translate: spirit of storm. (Umbreit: The storm announces the approach of the life-producing Spirit, who moved creatively upon the waters, poured His breath into the creatures, and who ever renews the face of the earth (Psa 104:30). But comp. Jer 23:19. Swiftly and violently, irresistibly devastating! Maldonatus: Such were the Chaldeans, and harsh besides, cruel, heartless, unfeeling people.) , of the violent impulse, the dashing, roaring along; in Jon 1:11 , of the raging violence of the sea when roused by the storm. (And I saw, viz. visions of God; and, behold, this was specially the vision which I saw.) the article, because of this quarter of the heavens being universally known and standing alone, and perhaps also because to his circle o! hearers and readers under the existing historical circumstances the quarter could not be a matter of question, but was determined by these. At all events, although from a verb to hold back, to conceal, to hide (, Eze 7:22), might be conjectured to be something mysterious, yet the idea of the hill of the gods is not rendered probable by anything here; and Hitzig is under the necessity of paving the way for it in our passage by saying: As the course of the sun makes the south appear inclined downwards, the north, it is conjectured (!!), lies higher, rises up to heaven with its high mountain chains, Lebanon, Caucasus, etc. A sacred quarter of the heavens in the north (Ewald) is not to be seen in the Bible. Nor are we necessitated to think of the north, as the land of gold of many of the nations of antiquity, by the mere comparison ; and Zec 6:1 sqq. (Herder, Umbreit) belongs still less to this category, since in that passage there is just as much mention of south as of north, and the abode of God is in some quite different place; comp. Eze 1:5 with Eze 1:1. Rather is the fundamental idea of what is concealed justified by the darkness which appears to the senses, alike by reason of the beclouding of the northern heavens, in contrast with the south, which is richer in light and poorer in rain, and also in respect of distance, of remoteness. This natural view of the north is, as is well known, the common one with the poets; but the mediating idea of darkness is also here, where a great cloud stands next at least for the outer part of the symbol, without our being compelled on that account to think of the dark holy of holies with the ark of the covenant and the cherubim, and that in a similar way the theophany presents itself here to our prophet; but perhaps for the meaning, the inner sense, we may, with Kliefoth, compare Eze 8:1 sqq., Eze 10:19, Eze 11:23, Eze 43:2, as showing that God comes from the north when He comes to judgment, and, on the other hand, that He comes from the east for salvation and grace; only we must not overlook as the ultimate reason for this the historical situation of Israel, as well as of the prophet and the vision, and consequently it is to be explained with Bunsen: an allusion to the Chaldeans coming from the north against Jerusalem, Jer 1:14; comp. Eze 26:7. And therefore the prophet does not need to have been transported in spirit to Jerusalem (Hvernick), into the temple, where one naturally expects the priest, for the prophets, as Hvernick even does not deny, assign to the north the Assyrians and Babylonians, that is, the region pregnant with destiny (Hengstenberg); from Syria usually the inroad of the Asiatic world-powers was made, because the east side of the holy land was protected by means of the great trackless Arabia Deserta. We shall also certainly have to take into account the relation of Ezekiel to Jeremiah (comp. Introd. 4), and along with that the parallel of the seething pot, Jer 1:13; Jer 4:6; Jer 6:1. (Against the north was the coalition of Jeremiah 27., Ezekiel 25. sqq. directed, which gave occasion for Ezekiel making his appearance. The storm from the north drives all the sanguine hopes which were founded on this coalition like withered leaves before it.Hengstenberg.) The moving cause manifests its working by means of the phenomenon of a great cloud (Hitzig: a thunder cloud; the chariot of God afterwards appearing more prominently), with its far-reaching and compact bulk covering the heavens; but not so much a cloud of a veiling character, as a cloud to serve as a visible sign of the impending judgment, Nah 1:3; Joe 2:2; Psa 97:2; Psa 18:10 sqq. Grotius: The great host of the Chaldeans, Jer 4:13; comp. also Eze 38:9.We are not, with a Lapide, to think of rain, hail, and still less of the arrows of the Chaldeans. The divine judicial character of the cloud is indicated by the well-known metaphor of fire (Deu 4:24; Deu 32:22), here Exo 9:24 (the parallel with Egypt is not unimportant): catching itself mutually (Hithp.), i.e. not merely; formed into a ball, a lump of fire, but at the same time flashing through and through itself, the flashes seizing one another, and as it were kindling themselves on one another. (Polanus: The fire which consumed the city was in itself, its own sins. J. Fr. Starck thinks of the camp-fire, and even of the sacred fire which the Chaldeans carried before them!) This fire in the cloud, because unceasingly, livingly,6 as Ewald expresses it, moving hither and thither in it, is the abiding characteristic kernel of the cloud. Comp. Eze 1:13 sqq. Hence, also, brightness round about it. refers to , because , although not without exception, is as a rule feminine. The cloud is the subject at present under discussion; and as its size determines the form, so the fire determines its substance, which, while it makes the cloud a fire-cloud, imparts to it also brightness round about. But with this brightness round about it, the light, and consequently the well-founded hope of love, grace, mercy, comes to its rights over the alarm-producing fire, cloud, and storm. The illusions of the transgressors and of a dead faith must not be destroyed to the injury of the believers. It is not yet indeed the cheerful brightness, as in Eze 1:28, for it proceeds immediately from the fire, but this fire is an abiding, essential one; and the sun pierces through the stormy element of his immediate mode of manifestation, and in its deepest ground the light is God, who is love. Hitzig and Hengstenberg also refer to the whole. Why? Storm and brightness do not tally; the fire has brightness of itself (Eze 1:13); thus, in fact, the cloud only remains. According to Hengstenberg, we have certainly to think of a brightness contrasted with the fire(!). The older expositors keep firmly and exclusively by the terrible majesty and glory of the presence of God. In quite an opposite direction, Umbreit: The light which pours forth the joy of existence on every side; for in the brightness of light life steps forth from its dark fire-ground into manifestation, and unfolds itself in its immeasurable fulness; God said at first: Let there be light. , as afterwards shows, refers to , which is thereby at the same time proved to be feminine. But is not a mere resumption of , which, especially as the latter occurs again in Eze 1:5, would certainly be too pleonastic. The contents of the cloud, by way of preparation for what follows, present themselves to the seer in such a form that he uses the comparison as to the effect of the internal fire upon him . (To look likebecause the matter in hand is not realities, but only the imperfect forms of realities.Hengstenberg.) only here, in Eze 1:27, in Eze 8:2 with paragogic, a word which has been the subject of much comment, perhaps formed by Ezekiel himself (Introd. 7). [According to Bochart (Hieroz. iii.), it is to be looked upon as a compound of = =, brass, and a Chaldaic word (questionable, however) , gold; while, according to Gesenius, with more certainty (?) it is to be regarded as = in Eze 1:7 (Hitzig: this is the Hebrew translation of the word), and a compound of with thrown off and the syllable smooth = shining; and thus in the former case it would mean gold-brass, in the latter, shining brass. Hvernick and Maurer have recourse to the Syriac, in order to get in this way a metallic product wrought in the fire, and therefore (?) emitting sparks, which does not at all suit the context here. E. Meier holds it to be a (perhaps dialectic) expansion of == , pure, solid gold. Frst, in the Concordance, explains it as from , like , brightness, with the termination al affixed: bright metal; Keil, according to the analogy of and , as from , probably to glow, with affixed: glowing brass. That probably means to glow, is a statement that goes for nothing, and just as unproved is the derivation of the meaning to be bright, from , although the interchange of and , and of and , would have nothing surprising in it, for the root , which occurs as a verb only once in the Niphal in Jer 2:22, might there perhaps mean: to be engraved, much the same as: to be recorded, were not this meaning generalized, as Hupfeld (on Psa 16:1) convincingly shows, from the more correct one: to be soiled, stained, which is also proved by the old translations, and which, besides, suits best the antithesis in Jeremiah 2, and if it did not need to support itself on the similarity of the fundamental idea of and (to write). Because is gold, to assume for , paid thus for , a meaning: to be bright, or: to be red-hot, is mere arbitrariness, inasmuch as, if the fundamental meaning: to conceal, to keep safe as a jewel or secret, is incapable of proof from the Arabic, a meaning synonymous to the Hebrew and Aramaic one (to be soiled), viz. to be dark-coloured, lies before us in Arabic, just as it alone corresponds to the usual designation of gold in all languages as the yellow, the dark metal, in contrast with the white silver. Besides, properly signifies: to hold back, which is traced back to a fundamental idea like: to divide, to separate, so that , gold, might perhaps mean what is separated, as being what is purified, pure, held back. For Meier seeks to point as a kindred meaning to the fundamental idea: to be firm, strong (hence in Arabic: to be fat, thick, and hard), so that might originally have designated: what is hard, firm, hence: brass, solid metal in general, while it would then have been transferred more definitely to a peculiarly bright brass.] To an impression of peculiar brightness the context of our passage points with indisputable necessity; nor must this brightness be conceived of apart from the fire, since it proceeds out of the midst of it, and has the more exact definition side by side with it. The question may, however, be asked, whether what is glaringly bright and destructive is to be indicated thereby, or not rather a glory of look that is full of life, which is favoured not merely by the immediately appearing kernel of fire and the picture of the chajoth, but also by the ingenious remark of Keil, that in all the three passages has its reference to Him who is enthroned above. We shall thus be compelled to abide by the view hinted at above on the brightness round about it, inasmuch as in the whole vision the brightness appears not indeed separated from the fire, but yet distinct from it, although not contrasted with it. [The Syriac translator has simply omitted the difficult word in question here, but at Eze 1:27 and Eze 8:2 he has given a conjectural interpretation: divine look. The Chaldee Paraphrase keeps it as it stands. The Sept. and Vulg. translate it by , electrum, which must not be confounded with amber (sucinum). Neither can the name be given to this latter from , nor (as Buttmann, Mythologus II., will have it) can the converse be the case, for the colour of amber is of too mild a brightness for it, the comparison of the same with the precious metals may rest on much else, and the meaning: amber, leads to a derivation from ,, (the drawer, draw-stone), while is derived from (the beaming sun, , Empedocles so named the element of fire), or at least a more fiery brightness than that of amber was the synonym. The brightness of amber does not certainly correspond sufficiently to the comparison in our verse, where a metal, not precious stones of any kind, is thought of; nor does the transparency of its brightness suffice here. Now the , everywhere mentioned along with gold and silver, was, according to the testimonies of the ancients (see Pape, Greek Lexicon), a natural metallic mixture of three or four parts of gold and one part of silver, which was also artificially prepared. (According to Oken, the electrum of the Mountain of Serpents in Siberia is gold, with an alloy of 36 per cent, of silver.) Hitzig, Bleek (Vorles. ber die Apokalypse), and others mention the peculiar (Rev 1:15; Rev 2:18), which is said to be compounded of the Greek and the Hebrew (= white-shining brass), but which might also mean brass from Lebanon (Ebrard, Peschito, Ethiopic Vers.). The Talmudists explain as from , quickness, and , rest (or speaking and silence). It passed also for the name of an angel with the Rabbins, and in fact for that of Ezekiels teacher. (See Leigh, Crit. S. p. 174) It has even been read backwards: , and understood of the Messiah (Calov. Bib. Ill.), who united the divine and human natures in Himself (Maldonatus, Pradus). J. F. Starck compares also the pillar of cloud and fire (Exo 3:2), specially for the exiles!] Usage always employs only of things, never of persons. As the look of chasmal means, moreover, not merely: as the aspect thereof, as it looks, but this as well: as it, so to speak, looks, looks on us. In the most poetic way, Umbreit, at all events, understands : the eye of metal, as the same concentrates itself when melting in a look of the greatest brightness (the so-called silver look!); perhaps it was a technical expression of the smelters, possibly compounded of and : fulness of brass, when the brass appears in the fulness of its brightness. J. D. Michaelis translates: a great cloud, under which the lightnings flashed through one another, and gilded its edge by the reflection (an aurora round about it), but in the middle it looked like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.

The Fire-Picture of the Four Living Creatures (Eze 1:5-14)

Eze 1:5. Not only what the prophet sees, but even his seeing itself is something progressive. It is by no means as if Ezekiel had first sketched the outlines, and were now depicting the interior also, for he has reproduced for us in Eze 1:4 alike inside and outside what was first seen, but his seeing itself grows more penetrating, and what looked upon him out of the midst of the fire (hence the repetition ), like chasmal looking out of the fire, shapes itself in the progressive advance of the vision to . Derived as it is from , and cognate with the Sanscrit sama (similis), is not so much: form, as: likeness, similitude, a substantival like as, and is used of what is living, but also of what is without life (Eze 1:26).With respect to the four (not beasts, as Luther makes them, following the Vulg.), see what is said in the introductory remarks to Eze 1:4-28. (According to Hofmann, Ezekiel was in this way to become aware that what he saw was not a thing, but a life. The intention was to represent to the prophet what there is about the presence of Jehovah: the judgment on His unholy people announced itself therein. Creature life, into which the unbroken fulness of the being of God pours itself, in order therein to become a manifoldness of power, serves the eternal God for the purpose of making Himself present to His world.) Formerly: the judgment of God rushing on, now: how not merely the power of the Chaldeans, against which one hoped at Jerusalem to accomplish everything with human leagues (Introd. 4, 2) and ones own prudence, but the whole creation in the entire universe, heaven and earth, is ready to execute this judgment of the living God! This threatening character the vision obtained from its connection with Eze 1:4, and from the circumstance that the chajoth came forth out of the fire (Hengstenberg). But in this way, at the same time, its symbolical character is manifest: life out of fire! (Eze 1:1) is vision, what is seen (); : how it is seen, hence: appearance. As to the plural form here and in Eze 1:13, and with in Eze 1:16, comp. Ewald, Ausf. Lehrb. 256; Gesenius, Gram. 91. 9.What first struck the prophet as being prominent in the vision, was the likeness of a man. ( with the full tone.) Likeness to man, where God has made man like God, is just the fulness of the times, Gal 4:4; Php 2:7-8. The angels also assume the ways of man; for man is a microcosm. All forms of the creature reach in his person a phenomenon of the highest beauty (Umbreit). At all events, man stands among the living creatures of the earthly world in the first, as in the highest place. In this way, first of all, the impression in general is stated, as Ezekiel received it from the four chajoth. What special feature in them produced this impression in his case, will become clear in the further progress of his description. And just because it will be expressly stated, a limit is drawn against arbitrariness in the application of mans corporeal form as a rule.

Eze 1:6. Just as, on the one hand, man, i.e. (inwardly considered) what is spiritual, what has spiritual life, characterizes the vision, so, on the other hand, in a more outward respect it is significantly defined by its fourfold character. Not only are there four chajoth in all (Eze 1:5), but four faces (Eze 1:10) are found in each, and four wings (Eze 1:8-9; Eze 1:11; Eze 1:23; comp. Eze 10:8) likewise in each of them. If the number 3, as the designation of the true, highest, most perfect being, is the number of God, then must the number 4 represent the conditional, dependent being, which has proceeded from the true being, and be the number of the world, as the sum of all created things. Time and space, the two most general forms of the universe, bear the number 4 in themselves, etc. (According to Bhr, comp. Symb. i. p. 156 sqq.) masculine form, which Hengstenberg here, as in what follows, explains from the masculine name cherubim standing in the background, which, however, here lies as yet too far off. The more probable supposition, as a Lapide has already shown, is the collective masc., this being the impression in general of the chajoth. As happens so frequently in looking at the sense, the reference to the grammatical form is let go and also the dual : stand as plurals. Some have incorrectly translated form, guise, so that each had only one, and that a human face and head, but had besides a fourfold figure, or expression of countenance, or headornament. No less incorrectly, some have assigned to every face 4 wings, and thus to each of the 4 chajoth 16, which would give a sum total of 64 wings. The Chaldee paraphrast understands just as many faces, and 256 wings in all.

Eze 1:7. Now that we have passed from the faces to the wings, in going downwards their legs (masc. suff.) come into consideration, not merely in the sense of the lower part only, the foot proper, which is distinguished as . is either conceived of distributively (Hitzig): and each of their legs was , without bending inwards of the knee, rising straight up (comp. Eze 1:23), or the dual is to be understood thus: as respects their 2 legs, it was (generically, without reference to the number, so Keil) a leg standing erect. is, what is firm, does not need to bend, to turn (Ewald), without joints (Maimonides), without front and back, smooth and symmetrical (Philippson): with which also the calfs foot agrees. Thus there is nothing of likeness to man in this connection, except the upright carriage in general, which results therefrom, but is not made prominent here. On the contrary, for the sole of the foot, even in special contrast to what is human, the comparison is taken from the beast, from the calf, i.e. the foot proper stood firmly, symmetrically rounded off (), while the human foot is extended lengthwise. (Hitzig makes the circumstance that they present in no direction a decided front, as also the want of distinction in the legs, parallel with the chajoth facing towards the four quarters of heaven. Similarly Hvernick before him: These feet fulfil the object of being able to move in all directions, without turning round (Eze 1:9); they symbolize the idea of freedom of motion. The human element of the vision, which in general is prominent, will be strengthened, next to the upright carriage, by the legs also being two in number, which is not indeed stated, but is certainly to be understood. This human element is represented, because of the bestial element as well as in spite of it, by the masc. suffix. As the the lion alsowhich, according to Bhr, is to come into consideration because of his strength, power, and fearful characteris not mentioned in the detail, the substitution of the calf for the bull (Eze 1:10) may possibly here set the latter also aside, so far as regards the power of generation, just as Hengstenberg takes into consideration only the representation of cattle, to ward off all heterogeneous ideas. Although each has a lions face, yet none has a lions feet or claws for tearing in pieces, nor those of the eagle, not even the foot of a man.Cocc.) masc. is meant, according to Hitzig, also to refer to the cherubim, yet Hengstenberg (because of Rev 1:15) admits that the reference, in point of fact, is specially to the feet, and as Gesenius maintains that is masc., although rarely, the explanation of Keil is at all events more probable: and the legs sparkled, etc. Hengstenbergs limitation to the sole of the foot: they were (there, on the sole of the foot) sparkling, is not forced, although it would apply to the legs also. Philippson: shining like a brazen hoof. (Ewald takes as feathers, as already the Sept., which omits what is said of the sole of the foot, but instead makes the feet feathered.), brass, is also in Dan 10:6 masc.; Gesenius: , copper. , Gesenius: shining; Bochart: polished, burnished; Hengstenberg (with a reference to Rev 1:15), properly: light [in weight]; but because what is light [in colour] is represented as lighter [in weight] than what is dark, just as what is sharp is represented as lighter than what is blunt, equivalent to: glowing, light brass. Hitzig grants the possibility of a derivation of light [in colour] from to be light [in weight], but asserts that is manifestly a substantive in the genitive, possibly from (to burn), meaning the red-hot or smelting furnace, akin to , a crucible. The sending forth of sparks refers to the special mission in hand, which is one of wrath (Hengstenberg). But the comparison with the effect of light brass attributes to them (Hvernick), at the same time, something glorious, according to Umbreit, imperishable freshness. (?)If the faces in general serve to express the quality in view, then, from the fact of there being four of them, this quality is expressly shown to have its sphere in the world; and the four wings in general portray the prompt, rapid dexterity towards the respective sides. (Umbreit: The living motion and the unceasing vibration of creaturely existence.) In addition, there is the firmness, the steadiness of the carriage, the sure and certain tread ( ). Umbreit: The forcibly-pressed sole of the ox. A mere symbol of fitness for service, viz. as regards God, although of any kind of rendering of service (as messengers or ambassadors of God) for men nothing is said (Hv.). It is the creation glorifying the living God in its ever ready power and fulness of life.

Eze 1:8. For the Qeri reads . Hengstenberg, on the other hand, upholds (comp. Eze 10:8) the singular , either: his mans hand, or: his hand, that of a man, because of the ideal comprehension of the quaternity in the unity of the cherub. Hitzig. likewise conjectures the singular; the suffix, according to him, pre-supposes (Eze 10:3; Eze 3:21) the genitive . Ewald accepts the Qeri: and mans hands, as also Keil, who declares to be an old mistake of the transcriber for . Hv., Maurer, and before them Kimchi, explain the concise form of the Kethibh by understanding an ellipse, punctuating , and taking the suffix distributively, thus: and his (each one of the fours) hands were hands of a man ( ). Keil: The wings sat accordingly on the shoulders, from, which the hands proceeded. Hence four wings, and are there not also four hands? and this also because of the four sides? The designation as mans hands determines nothing as to their number. Comp. on Eze 1:9. Umbreit: By means of the mans hands the mention of the bestial appearance is meant to be weakened. With the hands the description will ascend to the faces; for just as on occasion of the hands, the wings, as we saw, were very suitably mentioned on their four sides, so, because the four sides are formed by means of the four faces on each of the chajoth, mention may be made of the faces as well as of the wings: and they four had their faces and their wings (, as is known, from , four, signifies the fourth part, or here: one side of four (Eze 1:17). The emphasizing of the number four down to the minutest detail is to be noted). Hv. connects the last words with Eze 1:9-10 : and as regards their faces and their wings in the four, their wings were, etc. Similarly Ewald. It cannot be objected to this, that here the topic is no longer the faces; even in Eze 1:9 the contrary is the case, but still more so in Eze 1:10.

Eze 1:9. But the wings which come into consideration here (comp. Eze 1:11) reach still higher than the faces; a more exact description, therefore, which (as in Eze 1:6) likewise proceeds from above downwards, will have to begin with these wings. There is a going down (Eze 1:7), and a going up (Eze 1:8), and a going down again (Eze 1:11), just as the eye is accustomed to do in such an act of looking. The joining is (with Kliefoth, Keil) to be conceived of in this way: that the right upper wing of the chajoth was joined to the left upper wing of its neighbour at the tip. Hengstenberg: This pair of wings is stretched upwards, so that the one wing stands over against the other, and is in so far (!) joined to it. One does not see how this can still be called a joining. The connection of the joining of the wings with the going straight forward, which Hitzig holds to be impossible, is pointed out by Ewald in the words: The wings of all so firmly interlaced with one another, that all moved straight forward with wonderful coherence. Comp. for the joining of the wings, Eze 1:11; Eze 1:23, also Exo 25:20, 1Ki 6:27, for the expression , Exo 26:3. (Niph. of ) shows that it is meant to be a joining of all together, not a joining of the wings of each separate chajoth-form just for itself. That they needed not to turn (fem. suff.), when they went (Eze 1:12; Eze 1:17), is of course at once intelligible from the joining of their wings, but is expressed still more strongly (and for this reason the face of each is spoken of) by means of , i.e. in whatever direction they went they always followed their face. Similarly with in Exo 25:37.The change in the gender of the suffixes in this way in one and the same line, makes one almost think that the diversity of the life of creation in this respect is to be characterized in the chajoth.

Eze 1:10. Now comes the detailed description of the four faces. First, the face of a man, which, as being turned toward the prophet, had determined his impression of the vision as a whole (Eze 1:5). Maimonides understood it even of the other three also, and distinguished in these only an expression corresponding to the animals named. Just as the mans face in front is put without this definition, so similarly the eagles face also is not defined more exactly as being the one behind. The definition at the close applies to the mans face also, and besides, this latter is immediately preceded by the general . Hengst. claims for it the east side, as being the principal side, for the lion on the right the south, for the ox on the left the north. The position of the eagle behind shows (as against Hengst.) a background pointing higher up. Comp. the introductory remarks to Eze 1:4-28. The right and left of the description may be fixed either with respect to the mans face, or to the quarter of the heavens (, south side, just as , north), or to the prophet. As to the meaning of the faces,the part of the body which, as may be understood, is capable of expressing more than any other what is characteristic, and that in the way that is most spirited, most in accordance with the idea in view,see the introductory remarks to Eze 1:4-28. Bhr: The ox (bull), the symbol of the generative, creative power of God; the lion, the symbol of the royal majesty of the Sovereign and Judge; the eagle, the symbol of the divine omnipresence and omniscience; man, the symbol of the absolute spirituality of God, of the divine wisdom. Grotius: Man denoting the goodness, the lion the wrath (punitive justice) of God, the eagle His swiftness to do good, the ox His slowness to wrath. Bochart: The ox the emblem of constancy and firmness; man, of humanity, gentleness, and ; the lion, of generosity and strength; the eagle, of vigour, and of the sublimity of a heavenly nature. De Wette: The strength, power, wisdom of God, and His nearness. Umbreit: The reason, sovereignty, creative power, and omnipresence of God. (What becomes of the veto of the second commandment !?)

Eze 1:11. The description, which might now have done with the faces, nevertheless repeats them (remaining, as they certainly do, the principal subject),at Eze 1:8 in moving upwards, now in coming down to the lower partsalong with the wings: , which Hv., Klief., Keil rightly refuse to translate: and (these are) their faces; and their wings were (Hengst.), since the clause belongs rather to what follows, as already Ewald has taken it, inasmuch as the faces also were separated (the root-meaning of ,spread out, because of the reference to the nearer ) from above (, which likewise gives greater prominence to this reference), i.e. were not ( la Janus) on the same head, but on four heads, or rather necks. Ewald: Both faces and wings not hanging down loosely, but stretched upwards. In this way an act of worship is depicted in the heads, just as a soaring is intended to be expressed by means of the wings.With the reference to the wings, by means of which the description goes downwards, there is a return to what has already been said (Eze 1:9), but it is conceived of more definitely, and joined with new matter. Every one (not of the four chajoth, but of what is spoken of in Eze 1:10, viz. the four faces, inasmuch as the description gives what the prophet saw, who, standing before each of the four faces, always beheld two wings, alike on the right and on the left, joined to one another) had two joined, viz. wings: , either belonging to , or as Keil: , an abbreviation for the found in Eze 1:9. The meaning is clear, according to Eze 1:9. Since, then, the joining is expressed only as regards the four pairs of wings (in all) above, which together represent a square, the pairs of wings lower down are to be conceived of without such connection, each with its neighbour, which would also have no object. With these pairs of wings the chajoth covered their bodies. properly belly, denotes the body in this respect. As this is covered, the conjecture readily suggests itself, that it is conceived of neither as feathered nor as covered with hair, hence not like an animal, but likewise after the similitude of a man. Bunsen: which served for covering the body, and are to be conceived of as before and behind. Umbreit: in order to show their holy fear and reverence. Comp. Isa 6:2, where, however, this [ne videant] seems to be expressed by the covering of their faces; while the covering of the feet there, corresponding to the covering of the bodies here [ne videantur], symbolizes the profound distance of the creature.

Eze 1:12. The lower part being now quite reached, taking up what has been said in Eze 1:9, their going, their movement is described, but along with the mention of the moving principle. Eze 1:4 (comp. there) , here , which in any case does not denote the wind. Hitz.: the instinct, which does not suit the human element of the chajoth; but also not: the will or the like (Umbreit: most unrestricted freedom), since it is exactly such a movement that is meant to be set aside throughout the whole context. The spirit is conceived of manifestly according to its divine reference and power of influencing, although not as the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Christ. Comp. Eze 1:20-21. (Hengst.: The life-breath of God, who dwells in the creature, and leads it according to the laws which He prescribes for it, to the ends which He sets for it.Num 16:22.) All quarters of the world are facing them, whether they go backward or forward, to the right or to the left. The facility of movement given in this way isby means of the fastening of the wings outwardly, by means of the spirit (absolutely), i.e. the spirit of the living creature (Eze 1:20-21) inwardlyunited to the whole.

Eze 1:13. The completed description of the chajoth, going back to Eze 1:5, merely adds what corresponds to the of Eze 1:5 : out of the midst of the fire, their appearance was first of all in themselves: like kindled coals (from , to kindle) of fire, burning. Is it primarily as depicting the lightning of the kindled wrath of God (following Psa 18:8)? or is it to be referred specially to the eyes of the chajoth? (Grot.: after Gods long patience, eager for vengeance.) cannot easily be referred with Bunsen to . The accumulation of synonymous expressions is still more unmistakable than the gradation of the same remarked by Hv.; it is rather like a movement from the beginning of the fire to its rising up like flames, and to its breaking forth in lightning (Gen 15:17). (, lampas, lamp) is that which sends up light in motion, that which sends forth flame quickly, flickeringly toward us; hence what already resembles lightning. may, in accordance with the fiery element of all these comparisons, and where the chajoth themselves come forth from the fire, be looked upon as that to which refers. So Keil, Ewald. It can neither refer to , by reason of the meaning, nor to (masc.), for a linguistic reason. Hengst. correctly remarks that the fire appears separated from the living creatures (Eze 1:4). It forms the power that gives the keynote, just as the spirit is the moving principle. And along with this the brightness is emphasized, as in Eze 1:4 also. Comp. there. and confirm the reference of given above. , from to break through, to break forth: lightning, denoting the threatening effect outwards. (Hofm. compares Gen 3:24.)

Eze 1:14. Next we have the appearance of the movement of the chajoth. , infin. absol. for the finite verb, here with the noun-subject (Gesen. Heb. Gram. p. 215, Bagsters edit.). A mere indication of what they did, not a short description as well (Ew.). , from =, according to Hv.: an Aramaistic form. Their , however, was no , their return (i.e. going back) no turning. Comp. on Eze 1:9; Eze 1:12. only here, in sound like in Eze 1:11, akin in meaning also, but not identical with it, Hv., Hengst.: spark-fire; Klief., Keil: denoting the zigzag of lightning. It is perhaps meant to be an individualizing of the lightning.

Eze 1:15-21.The Wonderful Wheels upon the Earth

Eze 1:4-14, which contain the first vision which Ezekiel saw, hang directly suspended between heaven and earth; there is need of connection alike with what is above and with what is below. The fire-cloud, as regards the spirit of the storm which impels it, and out of its midst the fire-picture of the chajoth, as regards the principle which mores them, are certainly governed from a higher region, and are no less certainly destined for the earth. It is, in the first place, this latter destination which is furnished by Eze 1:15-21.

Eze 1:15 introduces the second vision in a way similar to that in which Eze 1:4 introduces the first. But the fact that it is said: and I saw the living creatures, and, behold, a wheel, brings into immediate prominence the connection, which what follows will have to bring out in detail and to give the reason for. The wheel shows itself , which is not to be thought of, with Kliefoth, in the case of the chajoth also, for these, forming as they certainly do the kernel of the cloud, are to be conceived of rather as being above the earth. There is thus for the second vision, in its look towards the earth (and the historical scene of events), a repetition of the idea, which was symbolized at the close by the movement of the chajoth. The simplest, most natural symbolism of this idea, i.e. in reference to earthly affairs, is the wheel, appearing as it does as mere motion, which only waits for the moment (comp. Eze 10:13; Eze 10:2). This is, as regards the idea,7 the connection of the in no wise disturbing with ; and in accordance with this linking together of the second and primarily earthly vision with the first, that connection is also localized by means of , not = neighbourhood (Hitzig), but: beside.As one wheel is spoken of, so also the chajoth in the vision are conceived of together as a unity; hence the singular suffix . So already the Syriac. Nor are sixteen wheels meant to be indicated, with reference to each of the four faces of each of the four chajoth, but four wheels (Eze 1:16, Eze 10:9), corresponding to the four front sides, the human faces of the chajoth. Each being always between two faces of the separate chajoth on the right and on the left, the four wheels formed an outer square round the four chajoth. First of all Ezekiel had to say, although in general merely, where, in what position as regards the chajoth he saw the wheels; the relative position of wheel and chajoth took the precedence, not the nature of an individual wheel,which would be the case, according to Hv., Maurer, Klief., if were to be referred to : according to its fourfold face, equivalent to: with fourfold face,for then we should have here already the wheel within a wheel specially mentioned, which comes after in Eze 1:16. As to the meaning of the wheels, comp. the introductory remarks to Eze 1:4-28. How little in this connection the basin-stands of 1 Kings 7 come into consideration, Klief. on Hv. and Keil has pointed out exhaustively (1. p. 91). To refer to heathen works of art of Babylon, as Hv. does, explains nothing, while the conception of a throne-chariot rolling along over the earth gives a vivid unity to what goes before and what follows. It is to misunderstand the characteristic of these visions, this predominance of the ideas over everything, when one brings as an objection to such a conception partly the of Eze 1:22, partly the chariot not being named. Hengst. indicates very correctly the impression as a whole as being that of a kind of vehicle, in which the Lord took the place of the charioteer, the living creature the place of the chariot, the wheels lowermost, as usual in a chariot. Zllig, in his pamphlet The Cherubim-Chariot (Heidelb. 1832), fears that these wheels, standing there detached, might perhaps also some day roll away by themselves, and leave the throne standing, and therefore adopts the supposition, referring to 1 Kings 7 (like Vitringa before him), of a connection with the wheels, in opposition to which Umbreit: the prophet was in spirit for the spirit, but not for the eye.

Eze 1:16. The general is followed by the special.Make, not: the material of which, but: the way in which they were made, added to the appearance, because we are dealing here not with what is living, comp. on Eze 1:4., the chrysolite, which with the ancients undoubtedly had a yellow colour (Bhr, Eze 10:9). Probably of clear fire (Hitzig). Perhaps from Tartessus, a Phnician possession in Spain (similarly , for gold of Ophir). But whether is it so named because from thence, or on account of its solidity? The probable root, (not ), means, according to the Arabic: to be hard, solid (comp. ); the word formed by doubling the third radical, as so frequently, means a fortified place, fortress. Spain is, however, rich in precious stones. It is said to be the modern topaz (gold-topaz), which commonly has small four-sided columns, whose surfaces are again divided into two, and which also appears bluish and quite white; according to Hengst. the jasper, which, however, has mostly a beautiful red, and also a brown and green colour. The chrysolite is pistachio-green, beautifully transparent and shining. That they four had one likeness, i.e. that the wheel apparently alike was found with all the four chajoth, explains the plural of the wheels as being four, but also how the same could before be conceived of as one, when a general statement was made. may also be referred to ; Keil: All four had one sort of shape. Comp. Eze 1:8. Appearance and make are repeated, as it is the latter especially that now comes to be spoken of: not for the purpose of expressing superfluously a second time the likeness of the wheels, as Ewald (and before him Sanctius): the one and the other of the foresaid four, or as Umbreit: coinciding as well in their relation, but as Bunsen and the most: each one consisted of two wheels, which intersected each other at right angles; double wheels, the one set into the other (Hengst.). Cruciform! Such a construction had the effect

(Eze 1:17) That they could go in all four directions (Grotius: the dispersion of the Jews into all the four quarters of the world, Isa 43:5-6) without turning. Comp. Eze 1:8-9; Eze 1:12. The fem. suff. lets the reference to the chajoth peep through here also, so that the wheels, as already from the commencement in Eze 1:15, are conceived of throughout along with the chajoth, and as determined by them. Hence first , and at the end . It is certainly to be noticed that in the description of the chajoth the masc. gend. has its turn, and with the wheels the fem. gend. As in the former case the human element predominates, so in the latter the connection with the chajoth; and this the more necessarily, as the wheels are here described by themselves.

Eze 1:18 concludes this description in parallel terms with the chajoth of the vision, alliteratively: height, in the sense of sublimity, first of all characterized the rings of the wheels. What the wings were in the chajoth, that the was in the wheels; as in the former fire and the like, so in the latter fearfulness; lastly, to the faces of the chajoth corresponded the eyes round about, where we are to think of the nails glancing like eyes. (Instead of we have now . Ewald for the latter: spokes? 1Ki 7:33. J. D. Mich., according to another punctuation: could see, for the felloes of the four wheels were quite full of eyes.) The face has its life plastically in the eye. Hv.: the most beautiful evidence of the power of life. With the fearfulness (Keil) the being full of eyes has as little to do as it has with intelligence and wisdom (Hv.), or with the circumstance that on the power of nature everywhere the stamp of reason is impressed (Hengst.). But perhaps we have in this way represented to usvisible, of course, it could not be madethe idea of the spirit, how it moved the living creatures; as will also be immediately explained in detail.

Eze 1:19. Mention was already made in Eze 1:17 of the movement of the wheels by themselves, although not without relation to the chajoth, comp. there; now their relation to the chajoth is spoken of in detail. Umbreit: The wheels stand beside the living creatures, but when the latter move, the former must of themselves follow the impulse.

Eze 1:20 : , not weaker, for (Hv.); but the going before has an influence, as being the last mentioned and most significant direction, and it is therefore again adopted. The LXX. have, instead of , read , cloud-darkness! is the spirit of Eze 1:12, as it is also expressly called; but the chajoth are gathered up in the unity of the singular :. Eze 1:21, comp. Eze 1:22, where certainly it cannot be taken otherwise. Hence neither: the living spirit (or wind), nor: breath of life, living soul, nor: spirit of life, principle of life, nor even: the spirit of the living creatures. The repetition of the description not only depicts to us the simultaneous movement, but lays emphasis on this simultaneousness, and quite peculiarly on the circumstance, that the simultaneous movement is based on there being one spirit (): whither the spirit of the chajoth went, just thither went the spirit in the wheels, which was identically the same. Bunsen encloses in brackets as a gloss the words: thither was the spirit to go. Hengst.: if the spirit impelled to go thither, then the wheels were lifted up, etc. Klief.: whither the wind stood to go, thither they went (having the wind for going, i.e.) under the wind, driven by the wind.(!)At Eze 1:21, in connection with the repetition of the simultaneousness of the movement of chajoth and wheels, and as an important preparation for Eze 1:24-25, the new element of rest is added; it was hitherto, of course, only motion.

Eze 1:22-28.The Heavenly Enthroned One

After Eze 1:15-21 have connected the first vision with what is below, with the earth, the whole vision of glory is now (Eze 1:22-28) completed in this second vision by connecting it with what is above, and thus receives a heavenly conclusion. Now comes the culminating point of the theophany (Hv.). Eze 1:22 : It was not heaven, it was only something like it; and this is strongly emphasized; hence (comp. on Eze 1:4) put first. But not as Hengst.: the likeness of a vault, in a genitive relation; the latter is an explanatory apposition (Keil)., an expanse, without the article; J. D. Mich.: a floor! (from , to push, to stamp, to beat flat, to extend, to stretch), from Genesis 1 onwards a technical term for the firmament dividing what is above from what is below, but which, as the atmosphere of the earth, remains in the background. In this way the transition to the heavenly enthroned One is indicated. Comp. Eze 10:1., comp. on Eze 1:15; Eze 1:20. , comp. on Eze 1:4. : the article, because of being universally known (from , to make smooth), from its likeness to ice: the crystal. The pellucid transparency is the point of the comparison (Exo 24:10; Rev 4:6). The dazzling clearness and purity is the occasion of the epithet fearful. (The crystal is designated as fearful, because it excites awe by its splendour, in which that of the Creator is reflected. Fearfulness had also already, Eze 1:18,; been attributed to the wheels. There the comparison is with the chrysolite, here with the crystal. Hengst.) Keil also remarks that it was not the vault of heaven that was over the heads of the chajoth,it neither stretched over them, nor did it even sink down over them, but that it was merely a covering like it, looking fearful as the crystal, that appeared; Ewald: no ordinary chariot-frame (comp. Eze 1:11). (Stretched out, a standing expression for the relation of heaven to earth, Isa 40:22; Isa 42:5; Isa 44:24; Jer 10:12. We have here a mere over, not that the heads supported it; they are not at all immediately under the vault, for the wings project above them [Eze 1:19; Eze 1:23]. Hengst.)

Eze 1:23. Now , viz. the forementioned. Under it were the wings of the chajoth straight (comp. on Eze 1:7), raised aloft, standing erect. The legs down, the wings up, a firm, imposing attitude.Since, according to Eze 1:9; Eze 1:11, one wing was joined to the other wing, the four chajoth may be taken together in pairs for the representation, but not that every two wings downwards (Kliefoth), analogous to the connection above, likewise covered each other as neighbours; but the representation is rather an intentional and impressive repetition, in order, as a preparation for what follows, to portray solemnly the covering of the bodies (comp. on Eze 1:11). According to Hengst. the representation is meant to express merely: every separate cherub, so that without it the sense might be, that only one (one had two which covered him) had two wings covering his body. (?) More correctly Keil: corresponds to , analogously to the of Eze 1:6. Ewald supplies after the first (quoting Isa 6:2), . In opposition to this, Hengst. rightly remarks: The tips of the wings (of the pair of wings serving for flight) reach along to the vault. For support they are not adapted, and particularly for this reason, that the wings (Eze 1:24) make a loud noise, and are therefore in free motion; and further, because upon occasion they are let down. The wheels also do not support the chariot. The local proximity seems only to indicate the connection between the several provinces of creation, is meant to represent the creation as a united whole.

Eze 1:24. Not less vividly than the covering of the under part is the movement in the upper part (hence ) depicted, and that as a loud, powerful one (comp. Eze 1:14). Hitherto the prophet was describing only what he saw, now also what he heard (J. H. Michaelis). The quickening influence of the spirit gets here as its expression the noise (voice), Eze 10:5. Do they show in this way a longing to fulfil their mission, and that consequently the time of this fulfilment draws near (Hengst.)? Calvin makes the command in this voice bring about the movement of the wheels corresponding to the living creatures. The comparison is a threefold one: (1) as the noise (voice) of many waters, Eze 43:2 (Rev 14:2; Rev 19:6); Isa 17:12-13; (2) as the voice of the Almighty, which may mean the thunder, as also every other similar manifestation of God (Rev 14:2; Rev 19:6; Psa 29:3 sqq.); (3) noise (voice) of tumult (, of the sound which is produced with lips brought together and closed, to hum; a dull, confused noise, Jer 11:16), as the noise (voice) of an host. (Arbitrarily and strangely, J. D. Michaelis: as the rushing of a waterfall, as a thunder of the Most High, their words, as the voice of a whole army; and in connection therewith he remarks: just such a representation, as when in Homer Mars cries [only in Hebrew it is no god, but merely a team of the thunder-chariot of God], and so cries as if 10,000 men cried at once. I do not look upon Ezekiel in other respects as a beautiful writer, but every one certainly must find the picture here beautiful, and still more so with the distinction between God, of whom it is somewhat unworthy, and the draught beast before His thunder-chariot.) The voice (the sounding ), however, which Ezekiel hears in this way, accompanied the movement of the chajoth, with which also that joining of the wings in Eze 1:9 took place; for when they rested (Eze 1:21) they let down their wings (Piel).

Eze 1:25. This remark with respect to the resting of the chajoth enables us to form a conjecture as to what determines their resting; for as regards their motion the already repeatedly mentioned spirit might suffice. The noise of their wings also, especially where it was represented as like the voice of the Almighty, admonishes us to listen higher, as indeed the expanse (Eze 1:22-23) even must direct our looks upward. And there came a voice, etc. (J. D. Mich.: Above the floor which was over their heads it thundered.) In this way our conjecture is verified, what we had to expect as following up what goes before is realized. There is no statement here as to the quarter from which the loud sound came which was heard during the motion of the wings, as Keil maintains. It is a voice also which comes, but the circumstance that it came () depicts something making its appearance suddenly, so that, the vision up to the last brings before us an occurrence of an exceedingly stirring character (comp. introd. remarks to Eze 1:4-28).In their standing (now equivalent to: when they stood, when their motion ceased at the voice) they let down their wings (which were of course raised when they walked or rose up from the earth, Eze 1:19 sqq.), which is repeated verbatim from Eze 1:24, not, however, in order to round off this subject (Keil), but in order now at the same time to explain it to us as respects its cause. (A voice issues from above the vault, which yet for a time puts a restraint on the impetuosity of the instruments of the divine wrath. Hengst.) Although in what follows we are to reach a goal hitherto aimed at, mention may well be made here even of grace charging the judgment in general to stand still.The letting down of the upper wings corresponds to their covering themselves with the lower wings. As the latter represents in general reverential distance, and that of the creature when in motion, so the former represents in particular their most submissive silence, their deep reverential rest before the only living God, as soon as His voice is heard, Psa 76:9; Psa 46:7; Psa 46:11. (Umbr.: Is this not, in short, an allusion to the death of the creature? It is the voice of Him who kills and makes alive.)

Eze 1:26. , the strongest expression for: above; the highest Object in the vision (Hengst.) is meant to be expressed., from , to make smooth, shining, that which gives forth light. It cannot be decided whether the ancients gave this name to a sky-blue, or dark blue, or violet stone (Bhr). Hengst.: on account of the heaven-like colour, Exo 24:10, where the whiteness or bright lustre of the sapphire stands in connection with the purity of the heavens, and denotes the infinite eminence of Gods dominion over the earth with its impotence, sin, unrighteousness. Hitzig: The sapphire of the ancients is our lapis lazuli, as in Exo 24:10 an opaque stone, and on account of the light blue colour of the heavens, a blue one. (J. D. Mich.: The throne had thus the colour of the pure heaven which is above the clouds; beneath it all that is gloomy, or fire and lightning, the throne itself bright and pure, heaven-like blue.) The sapphire is perfectly transparent; at all events, it is on account of its bright lustre that it is taken as a comparison. The beautiful blue colour is merely incidental. But it is more worthy of notice how Ezekiel, where the Most High is in question, as already at Eze 1:22; Eze 1:24, so especially here, repeats and emphasizes in the strongest way the merely analogical, purely emblematic character of his representation; , three times, and yet again . As in the case of the chajoth what first made its appearance was the likeness of a man (Eze 1:5), so here it is said, the likeness as the appearance of a man (Dan 7:13). Comp. on Eze 1:5. The human element is thus up to the end, just as on the other hand the fiery element is throughout, characteristic of the vision. (Comp. introd. remarks to Eze 1:4-28.)

Eze 1:27. , as in Eze 1:15 and Eze 1:4; parallel to , Eze 1:24. , comp. on Eze 1:4.There is thus also a retrospective reference to the fire-cloud, viz. by means of what formed the climax of its impression. But farther, the chasmal-look effects the transition from the human element of Him who sits upon the throne to the other side of His appearance, in order, finally, however, in a manner corresponding to the first human impression, to bring, about the conclusion at the culminating point of the whole. The intermediate term betwixt as the appearance of a man and as the appearance of fire, etc., is thus the bright lustre of the chasmal, as was brought out on Eze 1:4; and brightness also will, as we shall see, form the medium of transition at the close. , belonging most naturally to = as the appearance of fire, of a house round about it, i.e. of a fire which takes the shape of a house enclosing round; Hitzig: which has an enclosure round; Hengst.: a house round about it, i.e. which is enclosed round, in order to indicate the extent of its burning. Perhaps also it is meant in this way to depict a fire that is hemmed in. To refer to , in Eze 1:26, lies too far off, and gives no sense; and there is just as little in favour of translating by: within the same, for which certainly the expression is . We have to go back in thought to the fire-cloud in Eze 1:4. (Ewald makes out of something white, clear, [?].) In this way mention is made generally of the brightness of light and the form of fire, i.e. of two different things.There follows the application to Him who sits upon the throne, alike in an upward and in a downward direction. is explicative. The loins come into consideration, because He sits. As, then, from the appearance of these, looking downwards, the prophet says: I saw as the appearance of fire, there must remain self-evidently (and Eze 8:2 puts it beyond doubt) for the upwards the brightness of light, which is not expressly added for this reason, because it is understood of itself after the separation and application of the fire, because, farther, as the look of chasmal had been the first thing which was spoken of before mention of the as the appearance of fire, and because the brightness is mentioned in a way thoroughly sufficient in Eze 1:28. refers, without doubt, expressly to Him who sits upon the throne; comp. on the other hand, on Eze 1:4, from which the words are borrowed. The brightness must accordingly be understood as being above, round the upper part of the body. On the other hand J. D. Mich.: Like glowing metal inwardly, encircled round and round with fire, so the upper part of the body; the lower part of the body like fire, which produced a reflection round itself, and the reflection looked like a rainbow.

Eze 1:28. The bow is that in the cloud, hence, as is also indicated still more definitely, the rainbow, whose meaning is fixed from Gen 9:13 sqq. onwards. We might almost describe the substance of the whole vision physically as a thunderstorm, which melts away in a rainbow, in which case the significance of this latter natural phenomenon in Holy Scripture throughout might be the thought in view. Thus simple, after all, is the tout ensemble, with all its complication in detail. But perhaps the mention of the cloud refers back likewise to Eze 1:4, just as the manifold retrospective references to the commencement of the vision are characteristic of its rounded close. The fire-cloud is changed, by means of the sun-like brightness round about Him who sits upon the throne, into a bearer of the bow of peace and of the covenant, the token of grace after and (springing) out of judgment. In this way the gospel and Christ break through, as in a grammatico-historical way exegesis even may expound the letter (Rev 4:3; Rev 10:1). From the north the vision appears to Ezekiel, but in the rainbow it vanishes from him; for he is to prophesy of judgment and ruin first, but of grace and everlasting salvation afterwards (Kliefoth). This harmony of the vision, as it appears in the tout ensemble, and in the detail, and entirely confirmed as it is by the remainder of the Book of Ezekiel, is obliterated, if the rainbow is to signify nothing but royal dignity, or is to come into consideration as the most beautiful picture, i.e. on account of the beauty of its colours, to which, however, according to Hitzig, there is no second reference. J. D. Mich, asserts that the reflection, like a rainbow, is drawn from the smelting-furnaces of the precious metal, that when silver is smelted, there shows itself, at the moment of the separation of the vitrified dross, lead, or the like, over the pure, glowing metal something resembling a rainbow (the silver-gleam, comp. Umbr. on Eze 1:4). But Hv. also passes by the main thing, when he limits the human form, celebrating as it does its heavenly manifestation in brightness generally, and such a brightness as this, to a divine condescension for the prophet merely.Keil, Klief., Hengst., Hitzig, and others, because of Eze 10:4; Eze 10:19, confine to the appearance of Him who sits upon the throne, including the veil of light, but excluding the throne and cherubim. Comp. introd. remarks to Eze 1:4-28, where already it is brought out, that the application which is made of our vision in Ezekiel 10 must not be permitted to influence the interpretation of the much more general contents of Ezekiel 1. This only may be said: The vision of glory in Eze 1:26 sqq. likewise points to His Deity itself, which still infinitely transcends all His glory in the creature and its impending glorification upon earth (pp. 39, 40). Hence also . Strictly speaking, the prophet conceives of the as in itself so sublime that it cannot be described; it is a reflection, which only suggests the reality (Hv.). (see as to the meaning p. 40), linguistically from (), to be drawing together, drawing down, heavy. This fundamental idea is in itself one derived from the senses, and even where, by transference to human relations, it becomes a metaphysical one, something abstract, like gravis, gravitas, pondus, (comp. 2Co 4:17, ), and means intellectual weight, importance, significance, it rests on real power, as money-power (riches), or high position, etc., without , on this account being=riches or royalty; rather does it continue to be the weight which one is able to put in the scale on the ground of such power.

If in consequence of this a nimbus gathers round the possessor of the power, because power adorns itself as readily as it is wont to be adorned through recognition and service on the part of others, it is natural that, for the purpose of expressing the weight of him who is powerful, and in order to represent, to give visibility to this power, the idea of brightness, splendour, greatness, dignity, respect, renown may enter, without itself having this meaning radically. Thus it is used of Gods showing forth of His power, of His manifestation and presence (the Shechinah, according to Jewish terminology), where the thought of the principal sphere of His manifestation, viz. the bright heavens, also exerts its influence; but the is, according to the fundamental idea of the word: the power of life belonging to God, in light that is invisible for man, except in that reflected splendour which adorns the creatures, man pre-eminently, but also the whole creation of God in genera!: Gods sovereignty in glory, as it belongs to Him alone., comp. on Eze 1:1. The close of the vision. At the same time we have set before us the impression which it produced in the prophets case, its immediate, first result. Hengst.: He falls down before the majesty of God in His wrath. Hv.: Although Jehovah did not suffer to be wanting tokens of His grace and love, yet he could not bear to look upon His glory. Hitzig: He is thrown down in a state of unconsciousness. Keil: Having fallen to the ground before the terrible revelation of the glory of Jehovah under a feeling of his own impotence and sinfulness. (Luk 5:8.) [In the first place: because of the extraordinary vision, and from astonishment thereat. Secondly: from fear and humility; for if the seraphim veil their face before God, how should not mortal man fall to the earth when he sees the glory of God? Thirdly: in adoration of God (a Lapide).] It is an overpowering impression, hence the power of God shown in the (comp. on the other hand Isa 6:5), quite corresponding to the fundamental idea. Eze 3:23; Eze 43:3; Dan 8:17-18; Dan 10:7 sqq.; comp. especially Mat 17:6 (Act 9:7-8); Rev 1:17., now something else than in Eze 1:24; but the voice was that of Eze 1:25. In this way a transition is made to what follows. He says, however: of one that spake, and not of God, because, lying upon his face, he could not see and recognise the speaker. Act 9:4 sqq. (a Lapide). As is clear otherwise from the context, the falling down and hearing, like all that has preceded, are to be conceived of within the sphere of the vision.

Additional Note on Eze 1:4-28

[To gather up now the leading features and symbolic purport of this wonderful vision, we can easily perceive that the groundwork of it was derived from the patterns of divine things in the most holy place in the temple; yet very considerably modified and changed, to adapt it to the present occasion. Here also there is the throne of the divine Majesty, but not wearing the humble and attractive form of the mercy-seat; more like Sinai, with its electric clouds, and pealing sounds, and bursting effusions of living flame. Here, too, are the composite forms about the thronethe cherubim with outstretched wings touching each other; but instead of the two cherubic figures of the temple, four, each with four hands, four wings, four faces, looking in so many directions, doubtless with respect to the four quarters of the earth toward which the divine power and glory was going to manifest itself. These four are here further represented as peculiarly living creatures, full of life and motion, and not only with wings for flight, but wheels also of gigantic size beside them, revolving with lightning speed, and all resplendent with the most intense brightness. The general correspondence between what Ezekiel thus saw in the visions of God and what was to be found in the temple, indicated that it was the same God who dwelt between the cherubim in the temple, and who now appeared to His servant on the banks of the Chebar; while the differences bespoke certain manifestations of the divine character to be now at hand, such as required to be less prominently displayed in His ordinary procedure.

1. That He appeared specially and peculiarly as the God of holiness; this, first of all, was intimated by the presence of the cherubim. For here, as in the temple, the employment of these composite forms pointed back to their original destination in the garden of Eden, to keep the way to the tree of life, from which man had been debarred on account of sin; ideal creatures, as the region of pure and blessed life they occupied, had now become to men an ideal territory. Yet still they were creatures, not of angelic, but of human mould; they bore the predominant likeness of man, with the likenesses superadded of the three highest orders of the inferior creation (the lion, the ox, the eagle). It is an ideal combination; no such composite creature as the cherub exists in the actual world, and we can think of no reason why the singular combination it presents of animal forms should have been set upon that of man as the trunk or centre of the whole, unless it were to exhibit the higher elements of humanity in some kind of organic connection with certain distinctive properties of the inferior creation. The nature of man is immensely the highest upon earth, and towers loftily above all the rest, by powers peculiar to itself. And yet we can easily conceive how this very nature of man might be greatly raised and ennobled, by having superadded to its own inherent qualities, those of which the other animal forms here mentioned stand as the appropriate types.These composite forms are here called , for which the Septuagint, and John in the Apocalypse, use the synonymous term , living ones. The frequency with which this name is used of the cherubim is remarkable. In Ezekiel and the Apocalypse together it occurs nearly thirty times, and may consequently be regarded as peculiarly expressive of the symbolical meaning of the cherubim. It presents them to our view as exhibiting the property of life in its highest state of power and activity; as forms of creaturely existence, altogether instinct with life. And the idea thus conveyed by the name is further substantiated by one or two traits associated with them in Ezekiel and the Apocalypse. Such, especially, is the very singular multiplicity of eyes attached to them, appearing primarily in the mystic wheels that regulated their movements, and at a later stage (Eze 10:12), in the cherubic forms themselves. For the eye is the symbol of intelligent life, the living spirits most peculiar organ and index; and to represent the cherubim as so strangely replenished with eyes, could only be intended to make them known as wholly inspirited. Hence, in Eze 1:20, the spirit of the living creatures is said to have been in the wheels; where the eye was, there also was the intelligent, thinking, directive spirit of life. Another and quite similar trait is the quick and restless activity ascribed to them by Ezekiel, who represents them as running and returning with lightning speed, and then by John, when he describes them as resting not day and night. Incessant motion is one of the most obvious symptoms of a plenitude of life. We instinctively associate the property of life even with the inanimate things that exhibit motionsuch as fountains and running streams, which are called living in contradistinction to stagnant pools, that seem comparatively dead. So that creatures which appeared to be all eyes, all motion, are, in plain terms, those in which the powers and properties of life are quite peculiarly displayed; but life, it must be remembered, most nearly and essentially connected with Godlife as it is or shall be held by those who dwell in His immediate presence, and form, in a manner, the very enclosure and covering of His thronepre-eminently, therefore, holy and spiritual life.8

2. But this idea of holy and spiritual life, as connected with the presence and glory of God, was greatly strengthened in the vision by the fervid appearance, as of metallic brightness and flashes of liquid flame, which shone from and around all the parts and figures of the vision. It denoted the intense and holy severity in Gods working, which was either to accomplish in the objects of it the highest good, or to produce the greatest evil. Precisely similar in meaning, though somewhat differing in form, was the representation in Isaiahs vision (Ezekiel 6), where, instead of the usual name cherubim, that of seraphim is applied to the symbolical attendants of Godthe burning ones, as the word properly signifiesburning forms of holy fire, the emblems of Gods purifying and destroying righteousness. Hence their cry one to another was, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God of hosts. And in token of the twofold working of this holiness, it was by the application of a burning coal to his lips that the prophet, as the representative of the elect portion of the people, was hallowed for Gods service, while in the message that follows, the ungodly mass are declared to be for burning (as the word literally is in Eze 1:13). The same element that refined and purified the one for Gods service, was to manifest itself in the destruction of the other. And it is this also that is symbolically taught here by the dazzling light, the glowing embers, and fiery coruscations, with which all was enveloped and emblazoned. It made known Gods purpose to put forth the severer attributes of His character, and to purify His Church by the spirit of judgment and by the spirit of burning.

3. Even these fiery appearances, however, in the cherubim and the other objects of the vision, did not sufficiently express what was here meant to be conveyed; and, therefore, to make out the idea more completely, wheels of vast proportions were added to the cherubim. The prophet would thus render palpable to our view the gigantic and terrible energy which was going to characterize the manifestations of the God of Israel. A spirit of awful and resistless might was now to appear in His dealings; not proceeding, however, by a blind impulse, but in all its movements guided by a clear-sighted and unerring sagacity. How striking a representation did such a spirit find for itself in the resolute agency and stern utterances of Ezekiel! In this respect he comes nearest of all the later prophets to Elijah.
4. Finally, above the cherubim of glory and their wonderful wheel-work was seen, first, the crystal firmament, and then, above the firmament, the throne of God, on which He Himself sat in human forma form, as here displayed, beaming with the splendour of heavenly fire, but, at the same time, bearing the engaging aspect of a man, and surrounded with the attractive and pleasing halo of the rainbow. In this shone forth the mingled majesty and kindness of Godthe overawing authority on the one hand, and the gracious sympathy and regard on the other, which were to distinguish His agency as now to be put forth for the reproof of sin among the covenant-people, and the establishment of truth and righteousness. The terror which the manifestation was fitted to inspire, was terror only to the guilty, while, for the penitent and believing, there was to be the brightest display of covenant love and faithfulness. Especially was this indicated by the crowning appearance of the rainbow, which, from being the token of Gods covenant with Noah, in respect to the future preservation of the earth, was like the hanging out from the throne of the Eternal of a flag of peace, giving assurance to all, that the purpose of Heaven was to preserve rather than to destroy, and to fulfil that which was promised in the covenant. Even if the divine work now to be carried forward in the spiritual world should require, as in the natural world of old, a deluge of wrath for its successful accomplishment, still the faithfulness and love of God would be sure to the children of promise, and would only shine forth the more brightly at last, in consequence of the tribulations which might be needed to prepare the way for the ultimate good.
Such, then, was the form and import of this remarkable vision. There was nothing about it accidental or capricious; all was wisely adjusted and arranged, so as to convey beforehand suitable impressions of that work of God to which Ezekiel was now called to devote himself. It was substantially an exhibition, by means of emblematical appearances and actions, of the same views of the divine character and government, which were to be unfolded in the successive communications made by Ezekiel to the covenant-people. By a significant representation, the Lord gathered into one magnificent vision the substance of what was to occupy the prophetic agency of His servant, as in later times was done by our Lord to the evangelist John, in the opening vision of the Apocalypse.Fairbairns Ezekiel, pp. 3034.W. F.]

DOCTRINAL

1. Thus God provides a helper for His servant Jeremiah, in a sphere where the latter, for far more than thirty years, has called without ceasing, with small result. But it was no small relief, that Jeremiah at Jerusalem heard the Holy Spirit assenting to and coinciding with him from the exile. Thus the truth was confirmed by the mouth of two witnesses (after Calvin). Let every one, therefore, do what belongs to his office, and God will doubtless raise up others, if it is necessary, to help us. Thus he associated with Joseph, who took Christ from the cross, Nicodemus. (Ludw. Lavater.)

2. As Ezekiel here, at thirty years of age, sees the heavens opened by a river, so Jesus, according to Mat 3:16; comp. with Luk 3:21 (Hengst.). As a type of Christ, who at thirty years of age came for baptism. The priests entered on their office at the same age; John the Baptist began at thirty years of age the preaching of repentance (Jerome). Comp. however, Introd. 3, and the exeg. remarks on Eze 1:1.

3. Herein is shown the inestimable goodness of God, in that He raised up the prophet for Himself as it were out of hell; for Babylon was like the deepest abyss, and from thence must the voice of the retribution, as well as of the grace of God, sound forth. Thus the light breaks forth from the blackest darkness, and, at the same time, to the shame of the Jews, who had despised the voice of so many prophets (after Calvin). God calls the land of Canaan His own land; in that land He had a house and people, to whom He had given it as an inheritance. And now, when He began to lead the people forth from it, He yet did not forsake them, but went as it were with them into the exile, and gave them, even in the midst of the heathen in an unclean land, prophets who, like Daniel and Ezekiel, saw the greatest things,a thing which has no longer happened to the Jews scattered over the earth after the last destruction of the temple; for prophecy departed from them. But Christs disciples preached the gospel: which they, however, despised, and, in this way, turned the Spirit of God out of the synagogue. Where God is, there is vision, i.e. revelation by means of His word: there He dwells, where His word is loved and believed; there is the sanctuary (Eze 11:16), which the time approaching was to show, when He would march along in the wilderness (Psa 68:7), i.e. would have His kingdom among the heathen in the whole world (Cocc.).

4. Although a thousand heavens were to open, what piercing look would reach as far as the glory of God? How small the sun appears, and yet it is so much greater than the earth! And then the rest of the stars! And so, when He opens the heavens, God must, at the same time, give His servants new eyes. The eyes of Stephen, therefore, were doubtless enlightened with unusual power, so that he could penetrate in vision beyond what mere man was able to do; and so also, at the baptism of Christ, John the Baptist was raised above the clouds (Calvin).

5. He says at Eze 1:3 that Gods word came to him; and thus God alone is to be heard, and the prophets for no other reason than this, that they cause us to hear Gods word. Every doctor of the Church must first be a scholar, every teacher first a hearer. God must retain His rights as the only Guide and Teacher. The prophets, where they demand audience of us, demand it only for Gods word (after Calvin). The prophet is to be distinguished essentially from the later scribes and disciples of the Rabbins. In his case it is not said: it stands written, or: such and such a master speaks, but: thus hath Jehovah spoken, or: the word of Jehovah came unto me, and the like. The true prophets are taught not of a human master, but of Jehovah (Isa 50:4) (Oehler).

6. This order: visions of God first (Eze 1:1), and then Jehovahs word, has its significance for biblical prophecy. Comp. Eze 13:2 sqq., where the false prophets prophesy without having seen. The prophet is certainly one who gives expression to something which he has seen, just as Oehler correctly defines internal vision as being the psychical form of prophecy; hence also the designation seer ( poetic, more solemn than the more usual ), and the circumstance that Isaiah (Eze 2:1) sees the word; comp. Amo 1:1; Hab 1:1; Hab 2:1.

7. The section, Eze 1:1-3, is meant to contain an exact description of the state of prophetic inspiration or ecstasy (Hv.) in its threefold operation with a single cause. The four particulars: the heavens were opened, I saw visions of God, the word of Jehovah came unto Ezekiel, the hand of Jehovah came upon him there, may, in the first place, indicate: the two first the plastic part of the vision in Ezekiel 1, the two latter the phonetic part of it, viz. what follows in Ezekiel 2, 3. Then, as regards the state of Ezekiel, we may admit a gradation in them, if we admit that they are successive. The subjectivity of the man is recognized even as regards its locality; how much more as regards its mental, moral, spiritual individuality, and its determination by the history of the time and of the individual. What, however, predominates is the objective, the divine. The ego of the prophet neither throws itself out upon the external world around, nor in upon itself; it is, from its usual activity being at rest, in a certain measure, carried away from itself as well as from the whole world, but by this means collected in an unusually receptive way for a higher order of things, for God and divine influence. This is the essential element of the (Act 10:10; Act 11:5; Act 22:17), a being in the spirit, a being carried away from the earth, and rapt up into heaven. The contrast is the (Act 12:11), the (1Co 14:14); comp. Tholuck, Die Propheten und ihre Weissagungen, p. 53 sqq., Hengst., Christology, 2d edit. iii. [Clarks Trans.], Oehler, Herzogs Encycl. xvii. p. 627 sqq., Lange, Philosop. Dogmatik, p. 447.

8. With a correct feeling,one might say, with Christian intelligence,the section, Ezekiel 1, is the haphtorah of the first Jewish day of Pentecost, on which besides Eze 3:12 is read (comp. J. F. Schrder, Satzungen und Gebruche des talm. rabb. Judenth. pp. 224, 214 sqq.).

9. The fire-cloud was characteristic. At Exo 13:21-22 Jehovah introduces Himself to His people for their entire guidance to Canaan by means of a cloud, in which by night there was fire. This cloud formed, in the Red Sea, the wall of separation between Israel and Egypt, for judgment and ruin to the latter (Exodus 14). Over the tabernacle (Exo 40:34 sqq.) it signified the divine presence (, Num 9:15); in it appears the glory of the Lord, and that in very important, solemn crises of the journey through the wilderness (comp. Exo 16:10; Num 14:10; Num 16:19; Num 17:7, and other passages). The fire of this cloud had already flashed upon Moses out of that thorn bush on occasion of his mission to Israel (Exodus 3); it was thoroughly known to the people from Sinai onwards (Exodus 19). Thus there could scarcely be anything more familiar to the pious consciousness of the people. But it was not the cloud which had again filled the house of the Eternal in the time of Solomon (1 Kings 8), nor was it even the fire (2 Chronicles 7); i.e. it must have had a different meaning, when a fire-cloud came from the north, and when it appeared in the land of Babylon. The fire in it is also quite manifest; that which envelopes it, and at the same time stands over against the scorching heat of the sun in the wilderness, is absent from it. (Comp. on the other hand, Isa 4:5 sqq., Isa 60:1.)

10. Hengst. draws attention to Ezekiels opposition to the vicious realism which will know nothing of the distinction between the thought and its vesture. Appearance, likeness, appearance of the likeness, and the like, are peculiar to Ezekiel, for the purpose of guarding against that vicious realism, which professes, indeed, to represent the interests of the faith against a false spiritualism, but which is, in truth, nothing else but weakness in the exposition of Scripture.
11. Man, in his ideality, the centre of life, which conditions all the other forms. The highest form of animal life: the suffering and bleeding life-form, the sacrificial animal, the bullock; the ruling life-form, exhibiting itself in royal freedom, the lion; the life-form which soars above the earth, free from toil, engaged in vision, the eagle. Above these three culminating points of the animal world, man, the intellectual life-form, which reproduces all those preliminary grades in a higher unity, but is always the one along with the other, when he corresponds with his destination: the tragic sacrificial animal, the fighting, conquering lion, the contemplative eagle, basking in the lightall this is one spirit; and just in this unity he is man. Every animal form with Ezekiel is an ethical symbol. Everything living belongs to the spirit, falls to it, and is offered up to it: this is signified by the bullock. Everything living enjoys, contends, and overcomes, because it represents the spirit: this is expressed by the lion. Everything living lulls itself in a state of dreamy intoxication in the sunlight of the spirit: this is represented by the eagle. But everything living culminates in man: the inspiration of suffering, the inspiration of action, and the inspiration of contemplation; man is the image of God as regards his destiny. But Christ is the perfect, the glorified man, the God-man. Now, as man expands his fulness in the world, so does the God-man in the gospel, the element of the worlds glorification; and as the riches of man branch out in the world so do those of Christ in the Gospels. It was a far-reaching thought, when Irenus referred the peculiarity of the four Gospels to the four animal-forms of Ezekiel (Lange).

12. If, in accordance with the representation given in the introductory remarks to Eze 1:4-28, Ezekiels vision of glory, with its universality preceding the particular historical application in Ezekiel 10, symbolizes the human and earthly life of creation,in its peculiarity as well with respect to its general place in the cosmos,in like fulness of power as of unity and all-sidedness of movement (Eze 1:19 sqq.),as a life not only of heavenly origin, i.e. from the beginning divinely-established (Eze 1:4), but also completely dependent on heaven (Eze 1:22 sqq.), and after the manner of the heavenly spirits, hence angel-like, always ready for service,for purposes of judgment, but also of mercy:then there lies therein every possibility of a passing over from the sphere of the merely natural in creation to what belongs to the history of the world in the preparatory revelation of Gods glory in the midst of Israel, as well as in its fulfilment and completion in Christ among mankind. On the basis of this truth, the various interpretations of the vision in Ezekiel 1 admit of being harmonized.

13. All things were, according to Col 1:16, created by Him and for Him, i.e. Him who is the image (likeness) of the invisible God, the first-born before all creation (Eze 1:15). Now, the vision of Ezekiel culminates in a likeness (image) as the appearance of a man on a throne (Eze 1:26), and this occupant of a throne is none other than Jehovah, and so the likeness as the appearance of a man must be the image of the invisible God, according to Colossians 1. As the life of creation, in accordance with its origin, appears at its highest point in man, whom God has created in His own image, after His own likeness, and therefore there is the likeness of a man in the four living creatures (Eze 1:5): so much more in accordance with its goal, as regards the destiny of its life and the goal of its development, everything which exists in any stage of life up to the highest of the invisible world culminates in the Son of man, who is the essential image of God, so that whoever sees Him sees God; hence the likeness as the appearance of a man upon the throne. The culmination of the vision of Ezekiel is thus the culmination of the whole creation in the Son of man, who is the Son of God; and in this way there lies expressed in the sphere of creation the very same thing which will also come to be expressed for the recovery from the fall and from the misdevelopment in mankind, for the redemption, so that grace already lies before us in nature archetypally. This is the grand all-embracing universalism of Ezekiel 1. The consecration alike of Israel and of mankind to God is the Christian provision, viz. that which is accomplished in Christ; is the glorifying of Christ by the Holy Ghost (Joh 16:14), i.e. the revelation of the power and dignity, the significance (, Eze 1:28) which Christ has as the reflection of the Fathers glory, and at the same time the revelation in power and splendour of His victory over sin and death.

14. The glory of God, as the effulgent almightiness of divine life, must certainty show itself in the warding off and annihilation of death, of transitoriness and of corruption, for which Nitzsch points away to the glorification of Christ and of Christians in the resurrection (Joh 17:22; Rom 6:4; Rom 8:11; Rom 8:30; 1Pe 4:14).

15. According to the interpretation in Joh 12:41 of Isaiah 6, it may be said also in reference to Ezekiel 1, that the name of Jesus is the secret of Jehovahs name become manifest (Delitzsch). The divine glory (1) is symbolized in the Old Covenant, and that partly in outwardly visible phenomena, e.g. the cloud-guide, the signs on Sinai, partly in such ornaments connected with divine worship as the cherubim above the ark of the covenant in the most holy place of the tabernacle and the temple; and (2) it is personified with full powers in the manifold angelophanies, from which the Angel of the Lord, of the Presence, of the Covenant, is separated in important respects; (3) just as in like manner in the Old Testament representation of wisdom there begins, especially in what the prophets see in vision, a hypostatizing of the glory of God, which is already, in a manner full of promise, hinting at the incarnation of the Word (), in whom the abstract principle of wisdom and the spiritually living element in the expression of revelation are combined in one. (Comp. Lange on John 1.) In Christ the Shechinah has appeared in full realization. The Logos, when on the way to become man, is one with the of the Father. This means more exactly, according to Heb 1:3 : He reflects the rays of the divine : He is its refulgence and effulgence, in the same way as the sunlight is related to the sun.

16. We have given prominence at Eze 1:28 to the overpowering element in the effect of the vision upon Ezekiel, and also (7) emphasized the predominance of the divine factor in the state of our prophet. We shall have occasion to complete what has been said in Ezekiel 2. But here even, as Hengst. has brought out fully (Gesch. Bil. p. 141), the distinction between a prophet like Ezekiel and a Balaam, a Saul and the like, is to be maintained. Inspiration assumed a character so violent, casting soul and body to the ground, only where it found beforehand an imperfect state. The more it can be taken for granted that the ordinary consciousness is penetrated by the Spirit, the more does the Spirit in the case of His extraordinary manifestations come into His own. We would otherwise have to expect the falling down of Ezekiel at the beginning of the chapter (comp. Num 24:4). At the close of the vision it is not explained from the divine power of the Spirit qualifying the seer beforehand for seeing, but from what is seen in its own significance, its own importance, especially over against human sinfulness. It is an embodied Kurie eleison.

HOMILETIC HINTS

Eze 1:1. The important and in Holy Scripture: (1) the catena of prophets and men of God; (2) the coincidence of times and occurrences; (3) the nexus of the divine leadings of Israel and of mankind.Pious people do not live thoughtlessly, like the ungodly, but mark closely days, months, and years in which special grace was shown them by God (J. G. Starke).With enemies even the pious find an asylum; Joseph with the Egyptians, David with the Philistines, Ezekiel with the Chaldeans. Whoever has God for his friend, remains alive among the lions, keeps a whole skin in the fiery furnace, and will be quite safe among whatever enemies he may be (J. F. Starcke).As Ezekiel is in the midst of them, one might say that in general judgments the pious also are taken along with others, and have to endure the like sufferings, as if there were no difference between the one and the other (Mal 3:18); but God preserves them in the midst of the flames; where the ungodly perish, the pious are kept safe; where it goes ill with the former, it goes well with the latter; and even if the body should be laid hold of, yet not the soul, which is bound up in the bundle of the living (Stck.).For intercourse with God, lonely retired places are the most suitable; here the river, there the wilderness (Hos 2:14; Hos 2:16), elsewhere the closet, Mat 6:6 (after Stck.).If the heavens are opened to us in baptism, be on thy guard, that they be not shut to thee because of thy sins! The pious man, when he dies, will find the heavens opened; the ungodly will find hell open (Stck.).Visions of God: for Satan also has visions, by means of which he bewitches unbelievers (L. Lavater).We are not, however, on this account to expect and demand from God divine visions, when we have Moses and the prophets (Luke 16). It is certainly not impossible for God to unveil to us the future, and to reveal His will by means of visions; but under the New Covenant He has not promised such things (Stck.).The Lord stooped to him, and his spirit was caught up to see God (Schmieder).Those whom God calls to the office of teaching and preaching, He furnishes also with necessary gifts. Luk 21:15 (O.).

Eze 1:2. The lie has a bad memory; on the other hand, the truth remains true to itself (Stck.).Jehoiachins list of sins stands recorded shortly in 2Ki 24:9. Moreover, he was not so much taken prisoner; it was rather that he gave himself up as a prisoner, Eze 1:12. Eze 1:3 : Ezekiel does not bring forward his dreams or imaginations, but according to 2Pe 1:21, Gods revelation (L. Lav.).To the servants of God the word of God is entrusted for those who are to hear them. How could they otherwise raise such a claim to be heard in all the situations of life!? Woe to the unfaithful stewards! Woe to the disobedient hearers!What a veto against all pride, self-will, and obstinacy, ought the servants of the word to have in that very word, whose servants merely and not masters they are! (Psa 115:1.)The son of Buzi, i.e. contempt, is Ezekiel, i.e. Gods strength; in other words, the man whom the world contemns, that very one God strengthens (a Lapide).Humility adorns every one, but most of all the teacher, Joh 1:27 (St.).The guidance of a servant of God among men consists of two parts: (1) Gods word; (2) Gods hand.The goodness of God shown in the leading of His servants: (1) He compensates them richly for what they were obliged to sacrifice (Ezekiel for his hereditary priesthood, by means of the prophetic office derived from the Spirit); (2) His power is mighty in their misery (Ezekiels home in God while in a state of exile from his native land, his divine freedom while led captive by man); (3) He fills their solitude with the glorious knowledge of Himself; (4) the heavens are opened to them above the earth, so that they see God instead of men.

Eze 1:4 sqq. The glory of the Lord (1) present in nature, (2) proclaimed in the word, (3) experienced in faith.

Eze 1:4 : Nebuchadnezzar and Jehovah do not exclude one another; the former is merely the servant, and the latter the Master. The king of Babylon must perform what he has been sent to by the King of heaven and earth (Deu 32:30).With the one word Storm! the prophet places himself in rugged opposition to the false prophets, who with one mouth proclaimed serene tranquillity (Mat 8:26) (Hengst.).The storm which makes a clearance among the imaginations of the flesh is Gods judgments, alike upon individuals and upon whole nations.The ungodly are like the storm, but Gods storm outstorms them (Stck.).Out of the north, not towards the north. The judgment must begin at the house of God (H.).If they have become like the Egyptians in their practices, they need not wonder if an Egyptian fate also befalls them. They have not, in fact, wished it otherwise (H.).The cloud of sins draws toward it the cloud of punishments (Stck.).Behold, the Judge standeth before the door! Jam 5:9.Fire consumed Sodom; fire consumed the tent with the rebels in Israel; everlasting fire is sure to the ungodly (Stck.).From this flows of itself the exhortation to repentance, in order that the sun may appear after the cloud (H.).The contrast of the false prophets and of the true is not that of salvation and judgment, but that of salvation without punishment and without repentance, and of salvation which after judgment falls to the lot of the penitent people,of mere gospel, crying, Peace, peace, when there is no peace, and of the law and the gospel, each in its own time. A prophet who proclaimed only punishment would be no less a false prophet than one who holds out in prospect nothing but peace. Law and gospel, each in its entire fulness,this is even to the present day the characteristic mark of the true servants of God (H.).Qu putatur pna, medicina est (Jerome).As fiery rays shoot forth from the thick clouds, so in the midst of His judgments God causes a ray of His mercy to be seen (St.).The brightness gleams only out of the far distance. But Exo 34:6 must stand before our eyes, if the suffering called forth by sin is to bring forth the healthful fruit of righteousness (H.).

Eze 1:5 sqq. He who appears for judgment is the Almighty, whom everything living serves (just as everything can also be quickened into life for His purposes, the wheels!); who is there that can pluck out of His hand? (after H.).The four living creatures, four living pictures of suitable instruments for God: (1) from the fire, i.e. zeal for God, all their acting as well as speaking must proceed; (2) they have, a. to confront the whole world; b. nevertheless, they may rise with confidence above the whole world on wings of prayer and meditation; (3) at the same time, a. they stand firm, sure, and stedfast, while everything around them reels to and fro; b. and their walk shines in the darkness of this world in a worthy, pure, divine manner.The number four in Ezekiel in its significance for the mission and the missionary call of the Church of God.

Eze 1:5. Preachers have the likeness of a man, inasmuch as they imitate Christ in work, grace, suffering, and glory. They stamp in this way the Crucified One in the hearts of their hearers, 1Co 1:23; 1Co 2:2 (Gregory).

Eze 1:6 : Similarly a believing soul also wishes for itself wings in His service, and four, yea, a thousand tongues, wherewith to praise Him (Berl. B.).

Eze 1:7 : Like pillars, honest servants of God and true believers ought to stand straight and erect in the house of God, and not suffer themselves to be bent after the will of men, nor to be corrupted through their own lusts, so as to get crooked feet (Berl. B.).The world ought to be permitted to look at our feet also, and to praise our Father in heaven, Mat 5:16.We are in the world, but we ought not to be of the world, Joh 17:16.It is the fire of the divine Spirit that is meant, or love in our conduct, as it shines or becomes manifest to mens consciences (Cocc.).

Eze 1:8. Hands and wings are together, just as we should not fail in carrying out our pious thoughts also (after Scriver).The hands covered with the wings ought to teach thee humility; as Jerome says: Conceal thy hands where God has helped thee, and say, The Lord has done it; His name be praised! but not thy industry, thy wisdom, thy labour, thy care, and the like (Stck.).Wherever and to whatever God calls thee, have not merely thy hands ready, but also thy heart; let that say: Thy will, O God, I gladly do! and thy mouth also for praise, and thy ear also, to hear and to hearken (Stck.).The hand under the wing; see the hidden manner of acting of the Most High (L. Lav.).The power of work under the wing of contemplation, Martha under Mary (Gregory).

Eze 1:9 : United power is stronger. With wings united in prayer, and stretched out for unwearied labour, we may hope for good success in all things (Stck.).Through harmony, even small things grow, while the greatest even fade away through discord. Where there is one heart and one soul, there is God Himself and His blessing, Psalms 133.; Act 4:32 (Stck.).The work is common; let the labour be the same; else the one pulls down what the other builds up.Straight forward, a glorious matter also with servants of God: (1) The man who turns is not fit for the kingdom of God (Luk 9:62), since whatever can stop or unnecessarily hinder, even though it cannot cause us to deviate, is behind; (2) that to which God sends and has called us, lies wholly and always before us, and the way is narrow. Towards this let the eagles wing, the lions courage, the oxs strength, the mans spirit, strive with all their powers! (Php 3:14.)

Eze 1:11 : The wings portray the faith which lifts us up to Christ; and therewith we also cover all our own worthiness, wisdom, strength, righteousness; for he who is righteous by faith is so as being an unrighteous and condemned man (Cocc.).So also the Saviour sent forth the disciples two by two to preach the gospel in concord and humility (B. B.).

Eze 1:12 sqq. The creature in itself cannot and ought not to be the object of love, of trust, and of fear (H.).As the Spirit impels those who serve God, so zeal for the honour of God has the sway over them, and the outcome is pure life and motion.

Eze 1:13 : Of Basil it is said that his speech was thunder, his life lightning.

Eze 1:14 : The pious soul never has rest; it has always something to contend with. Believers strive vehemently after what is heavenly, and return to God, while they ascribe all the honour of their works to Him (Gregory).The Church is continually in motion in the world. She has no fixed place, like Israel in Canaan; and wherever she is, she will move forward. If she is resisted, so much the more powerfully she breaks through the opposition. Wherever she comes, she subdues men to herself; and if she is driven out, she returns with power (Cocc.).

Living creatures and wheels! A glimpse into the divine government upon earth. (1) There all is life,even what is in itself without life becomes life,while in the case of man everything tends to death and becomes death. (2) There we see incessant movement in work, directed towards every quarter of the world, and to Gods goal as its aim, while the world passes away with its lust as well as with its works in judgment.

Eze 1:15 sqq. The word of God may be compared to the wheel (1) because of its circuit through the world; (2) because of its unity in all quarters of the world; (3) because of the Spirit who works along with the word; (4) because of the glorious perfections of the word (Stck.).

Eze 1:16 : In the gospel thou findest the brightness of eternal truth, the light of heavenly doctrines, in manifold play of colours (Stck.).There is, however, but one word, one gospel, alike in the Old and in the New Testament: the same in paradise, the same on Davids harp, the same in the prophets and the apostles, and in the work and word of Christ Himself, Act 15:11 (Stck.).As wheel in wheel, so the New in the Old Testament (Novum in V. latet, Vetus in N. patet. Augustine).

Eze 1:18. Starck compares the height of the word of God (Rom 11:33), and the fearfulness of its earnestness against the ungodly; then, farther, let one perceive therein the eye of divine Providence, the gospel which is all eye and light, etc.These are the eyes which watch over the Church (a Lapide).On the other hand, the world pictures to itself its good fortune as blind, in fact, its love also, and even its righteousness.But look thou what thou doest, thou who wouldst gladly be hidden from God, for He has very many eyes in His invisible instruments, which thou seest not, while they see thee well (B. B.).

Eze 1:19 : This is no chariot which rolls along with its wheels on the earth merely, and these are no animals which crawl along the earth merely; their instinct is upwards, and thither they point our way (B. B.).

Eze 1:20-21. Pious teachers and preachers are governed and impelled by the Spirit of God. O happy Churches, which have such teachers! Act 18:5 (St.).The divine care also accompanies godly men everywhere, and follows them step by step in all their undertakings; it moves and governs them, and does not leave them for an instant. Therefore also they do not move except under the impulse of the Holy Spirit, to which they give heed. They are ordered and regulated in all things according to the will of God (B. B.).

Eze 1:21 : That the course of the gospel is sometimes arrested for a season, arises from the decree of God (O.).

Eze 1:22. The heaven or the heavens, in contrast with the poor earth standing in the singular, in the Old Testament is throughout the most illustrious proof of Gods greatness (Psalms 19); and the God of heaven is frequently called, in order to denote His omnipotence, the God of hosts, of the powers of heaven (H.).The heaven is everywhere above us, in order that we may seek what is above, since as yet we have not full possession (Stck.).The terrible crystal reminds us that nothing unclean enters the new Jerusalem (Stck.).The throne of grace is founded in the righteousness of Christ, Psa 89:14; Psa 97:2, of which this crystal foundation may be an emblem (B. B.).

Eze 1:23 : Faith unites the Church militant to the Church triumphant, and to the throne of God (Cocc.).The natural man, full of self-love and self-complacency, has neither wings for flying nor for covering himself, and is on that very account, with all his imagined riches, miserable and poor, naked and bare (B. B.).

Eze 1:24 : Like the noise of the wings is the uproar which Gods word occasions. So was it in the time of the apostles (Stck.).By which some understand the prayer and the ardour of spirit in the Church militant,movements, however, which in the world also awaken a noise and alarm (B. B.).

Eze 1:25 : The voice in heaven is the voice and authority of the King, of Christ, by which He holds the nations in allegiance, so that they dare not in-opportunely disturb His Church, Son 8:4 (Cocc.).

Eze 1:26 : He sat upon the throne; for the Lord and Judge of all is of tranquil mind,is not, like men, disturbed by passions. Above all, He who moves all, Himself unmoved (B. B.).

Eze 1:27 : As in 2Th 1:8-9, Christ is revealed in fire against the despisers of the gospel, so the fire here is directed against the despisers of the law (H.).

Eze 1:28 : However severe Gods judgments are, yet He does not forget His covenant.After the storm the sun shines, after the rain follows the rainbow, after the cross the rest, after the tears the joy. Such is the vicissitude in this world; constant felicity is reserved for the world to come (Stck.).Without judgment no grace.This was at the same time a foreshadowing of the glorious appearing of Christ in the flesh with His kingdom, 1Ti 3:16 (B. B.).The glorious throne-chariot of Jehovah: (1) its nature: cloud, living creatures, wheels, throne; (2) its meaning: in the kingdom of nature, for the kingdom of grace; (3) its object: judgment and salvation.How glorious is the fatherland of the children of God! Little have the prophets seen of it in vision; but we are to have it all face to face (after Richter).Just when Israels glory was about to disappear under Babylon, then Jehovah reveals His glory in Babylon.Let us learn, if we wish to be apt hearers of the divine word, to put no trust in our own powers, but humbly submitting ourselves to God, to hang on His lips, and to look to Him (L. Lav.).In the sinner there is no ability to stand before God and before His light and glory, unless he is enabled to do so by the Spirit of God (Cocc.).So also the glory of Jesus Christ which appeared to Paul, when in fulness of love the question was put to him: Why persecutest thou me? threw him to the ground. Yes; it is grace that does it most of all.

Footnotes:

[1]The Jews reckon the jubilee year from the fourteenth year after the taking possession of the land of Canaan, and place the destruction of Jerusalem in the thirty-sixth year of the jubilee; so that the fifth year of Jehoiachins captivity = the thirtieth of the jubilee.

[2]Corn. a Lap. ingeniously compares the gentle murmuring of the waters to the effect of music upon Elisha (2Ki 2:15).

[3]Namely, the exile, for which reason he does not reason according to the year of the reign of Zedekiah.

[4]To which Vitringa (Observ. s. Eze 4:1) traces back the vision of Ezekiel.

[5]At the same time, perhaps with the hint of a creation in the future, a creative renewal.

[6]A shifting motion, a glowing life, but not the picture of the co-operating powers of creative life, shining in the gold of the earth, burning in the colours, and boiling in the blood, as Umbreit raves.

[7] Hv.: An intensification of the thought of the power and fulness of life by means of the wheels, where the form must give way entirely to the essence, to the idea.

[8]The Typology of Scripture, 3d edit. vol. 1. pp. 229248, where the whole subject of the cherubim is fully investigated.

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

CONTENTS

The Chapter opens with an account of the time and place of Ezekiel’s prophecy. Some remarkable visions the Prophet describes, with which he was favoured.

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Let the Reader call to mind, through the whole of this prophecy, the state in which the Prophet as well as the Church was, at the time of those visions with which he was favoured. God’s people are peculiarly blessed, when brought into peculiar situations. Jeremiah was in the dungeon, Ezekiel in captivity; and John in exile in the desolate island of Patmos, when the Lord manifested his special tokens of favor. Reader! it is very blessed to be withdrawn wholly from men, in order to enjoy communion with God. It appears by this account, that four whole years had run out, in which we hear of no vision. And it should seem, that all this while the Church lay without ordinances and means of grace, or Sabbaths; as a Wife deserted of her Husband! Reader! think of your privileges, and mark the Lord’s mercy to Israel. Though a wife of whoredoms; and though sent into captivity; yet the Lord hateth putting away. He will not leave himself without witness. Ezekiel shall be commissioned. Reader! look to those scriptures! Isa 42:22-25 ; Jer 31:20 ; Mal 2:16 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Eze 1:1

He was instructed, at the very beginning of his work as a Prophet, that the glory of Him who filled the temple was surrounding him in Mesopotamia as it surrounded him when he went up to present the morning or the evening sacrifice at Jerusalem. Such a vision was given him of that glory as he had never beheld in the holy place. He found that the earth that common, profane, Babylonian earth upon which he dwelt was filled with it.

F. D. Maurice.

One would not object to be an exile among exiles for some years if thereby he could be prepared for such scenes as Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, John, and others saw. In reading the testimony of these men concerning the opening of their spirits to the spirit-world, we wonder almost as much at the nature of man, which can be brought face to face with such scenes, as at the revelations themselves.

Dr. Pulsford in The Supremacy of Man, pp. 69 f.

‘Many times,’ says Carlyle in his essay on Richter, ‘he exhibits an imagination of a singularity, nay on the whole, of a truth and grandeur, unexampled elsewhere. In his Dreams there is a mystic complexity, a gloom, and amid the dim-gigantic half-ghastly shadows, gleamings of a wizard splendour, which almost recall to us the visions of Ezekiel. By readers who have studied the Dream in the New Year’s Eve we shall not be mistaken.’

References. I. 1. J. E. Roberts, Studies in the Lord’s Prayer, p. 47. R. G. Colquhoun, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxx. 1906, p. 292.

Eze 1:4

We often wonder how such a creation as that of which we form a part, with so much in it that is dark, contradictory, perplexing, striving, suffering, etc., etc., should have come from God at all. ‘I looked, and behold a whirlwind, ‘ Ezekiel says.

Dr. Pulsford.

The descent of the yellow, flat-nosed Mongols upon Europe is a historical cyclone which devastated and purified our thirteenth century, and broke, at the two ends of the known world, through two great Chinese walls that which protected the ancient empire of the Centre, and that which made a barrier of ignorance and superstition round the little world of Christendom. Attila, Genghis, Tamerlane, ought to range in the memory of men with Csar, Charlemagne, and Napoleon. They roused whole peoples into action, and stirred the depths of human lift;, they powerfully affected ethnography, they let loose rivers of blood, and renewed the face of things. The Quakers will not see that there is a law of tempests in history as in nature. The revilers of war are like the revilers of thunder, storms, and volcanoes; they know not what they do.

Amiel.

It hath seldome or never been seene that the farre Southern People have invaded the Northern, but contrariwise. Whereby it is manifest that the Northern Tract of the World is in nature the more Martiall Region; Be it, in respect of the Stars of that Hemisphere; or of the great continents that are upon the North, whereas the South Part, for ought that is knowne, is almost all Sea; or (which is most apparent) of the cold of the Northern Parts, which is that which, without aid of Discipline, doth make the Bodies hardest and the Courages warmest.

Bacon, Of the Vicissitude of Things.

Reference. I. 4. J. B. Lightfoot, Outlines of Sermons on the Old Testament, p. 260.

Eze 1:8

‘In such writers,’ says Miss Dora Greenwell, speaking of many devotional authors, ‘we trace but little communion with the joy and sorrow and beauty of this earth “glad, sad, and sweet,” so that we sometimes wonder if they have known any enjoyments, pangs, or conflicts, but such as belong to the life that is in God. To be assured that they had joyed and sorrowed, and loved as men and women, and as such had felt Christ’s unspeakable consolations, would be a touch of nature making them our kin. But it seldom comes. St. Thomas Kempis, for instance, dismisses a whole world of feeling in two lines, “Love no woman in particular, but commend all good women in general to God “. In Madame Guyon and Edwards we long, and long in vain, to see the hand of a man under the wings of the cherubim, and to feel its pressure.’

Eze 1:10

All that most truly lives is here by representation. The ox is the emblem of toil and of sacrifice; of patient, suffering, bleeding life. The lion is strong, royal, victorious. The eagle soars upward in spires, rising and falling with no apparent effort; gliding over the highest mountains and lost in the azure distances, apparently in the heaven itself. And above these three highest specimens of forms of animal life man comes, who blends in one, and carries into a higher sphere all those endowments which they possess in some measure in fact, perfectly in the conception of gifted souls. Man alone is capable of sacrifice in its one true form self-sacrifice; man alone is capable of the only conquests that are noble, of the only ideas which elevate to heaven. The great conceptions of three of the cherubic symbols the ox, the lion, the eagle suffering, action, thought, find their perfection in the truly human life and nature which is symbolized by the Man.

Archbishop Alexander.

Eze 1:14

‘The oracles of God,’ says Miss Greenwell in A Covenant of Life, ‘when they speak to us of our deliverance from the power of darkness and our translation into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, set before us a state of being in which… the human will, like the angelic, attains to such a measure of conformity with the Divine Law, that it follows as the direction of God’s spirit in the unforced obedience which, as the Prophet Ezekiel witnesses, runs and returns as the appearance of a flash of lightning. Whatever God tells us to do, He also helps us to do. Our Saviour, who knows whereof we are made, sends us on no vain errands, sets us on no unprofitable tasks.’

Eze 1:16

The Rev. H. Davidson, in a letter of sympathy to Thomas Boston, writes: ‘Now that His way is in the sea, and His path in the deep waters, and His footsteps are not known, we must believe loving-kindness in all the mysterious passages of Providence; we shall in due time see a wheel in the wheel, and be taught how to decipher the dark characters; we shall, with an agreeable surprise, perceive an all-wise Providence in all its intricate, oblique, and seemingly-contrary motions, to have been a faithful servant to the Divine promise’.

References. I. 16. J. W. Mills, After-Glow, p. 93. I. 18. S. Horton, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxviii. 1905, p. 204.

After describing the unfortunate marriage of Hooker, Walton moralizes: ‘This choice of Mr. Hooker’s if it were his choice may be wondered at; but let us consider that the Prophet Ezekiel says, “There is a wheel within a wheel”; a secret, sacred wheel of Providence most visible in marriages guided by His hand, that allows not the race to the swift, nor the bread to the wise, nor good wives to good men’.

Eze 1:18

How beautiful are beautiful eyes! Not from one aspect only, as a picture is; where the light falls rightly on it the painter’s point of view they vary to every and any aspect The orb rolls to meet the changing circumstance, and is adjusted to all. But a little inquiry into the mechanism of the eyes will indicate how wondrously they are formed. Science has dispelled many illusions, broken many dreams; but here, in the investigation of the eye, it has added to our marvelling interest. The eye is still like the work of a magician: it is physically Divine. Perhaps of all physical things, the eye is most beautiful, most Divine.

Richard Jefferies, The Field Play.

Eze 1:20

Compare, besides Ruskin’s famous use of this verse in Modern Painters (vol. III. chap. viii.), the remark of Coleridge upon words, in the preface to his Aids to Reflection. ‘Wheels of the intellect I admit them to be; but such as Ezekiel beheld in the vision of God, as he sate among the captives by the river of Chebar. Whithersoever the spirit was to go, the wheels went, and thither was their spirit to go; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels also.’

Reference. I. 26. F. D. Maurice, The Prayer Book and the Lord’s Prayer, p. 161.

Eze 1:28

We may gather up the significance of the rainbow for Israel, together with the deepest meaning of all its history, if we remember the striking fact that the only two Prophets who allude to it are the two who were least likely to be familiar with it the two who spent their lives in the sultry plains of Babylonia Ezekiel and his greater brother, the anonymous Prophet whom we have confused with Isaiah. It is a wonderfully instructive thought that it was in the darkest hour of Hebrew history, when the promise of God seemed to have been tried and found wanting, that this bright pledge of His promise was remembered. We cannot imagine anything happening to an Englishman which could have the utterly desolating influence of the deportation to Babylon. If we suppose that England had been conquered by Russia and that Tennyson had written his poems in Siberia, we shall have a very faint picture of what it was to the Prophets of the captivity to look back to their home on the Hill of Zion. The sense of a triumph in a power opposed to what we should call civilization was far greater with them than it would be with the English exile in Siberia; they were tempted to feel that the hope for the world was gone, as much as it was when the waters of the Deluge closed over the inhabitants of all the world. And see how out of that despair the bow in the cloud seems to gleam on the eyes of both; ‘as the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain,’ so was the appearance of the glory that dawned on Ezekiel when he was ‘among the captives by the river Chebar,’ and ‘the heavens were opened and he saw visions of God’. The evanescent gleam symbolized the Divine nearness; what was most transient spoke to him of what was eternal.

Miss Wedgwood, Message of Israel, pp. 275, 276.

Eze 1:28

‘Martineau,’ said Dr. John Duncan once, ‘is a deeply religious man. Once at a meeting of ministers, they were discussing the Ulster Revivals, and the “strik-ings-down,” which most of them derided. Martineau said, “I wonder not, when the reality of Divine things first bursts upon a man, that he should be laid prostrate; the wonder rather is that there should be so little of it”.’

Reference. I. 28. R. G. Colquhoun, Christian World Pulpit, vol. lxx. 1906, p. 292.

Fuente: Expositor’s Dictionary of Text by Robertson

Spiritual Ministries

Eze 1

If a man were to say this today we should regard him as a fool. It is better that we should acknowledge this frankly. We keep our superstition locked up in the Bible; we boast ourselves of our practical common sense. Were any of our friends to say the heavens were opened and he saw visions of God, we should hide our faces behind our morning journals and wonder what he would say next. We have no objection to men who saw visions two thousand years ago; but today we deal in reality. Such is our proud talk, such our philosophical nonsense. What is reality? Which of the two is real the man who saw the vision, or the man who saw nothing, and who sees nothing, and who never can see anything, for he is one of those dogs that nine days cannot open their eyes? What is reality? Which is your real self the self visible, or the self invisible; the self that thinks, or the self that talks? We have in the Church no objection to reality: the only thing we call for and insist upon is proper definition of the term.

Some men never had any religious experience even of the lowest type; some men never prayed: are we to go and ask such men what they think of prophets, inspired souls, minds that burn with enthusiasm? We shall go to them for religious judgment when we go to the blind for an opinion of colour, and to the deaf for an opinion of sound. There are some men whose opinion we do not take upon any subject. The one thing they are never asked for is an opinion. Yet they do not feel the subtle contempt. We talk to them of the weather, the market, the price of cattle; but consult them! never. It would be strange if we went to them for an opinion of religious thinking, religious philosophy, religious hope; we should startle them out of their decorum, for it would be the first time in their lives they had ever been asked to give an opinion upon anything. To challenge them all at once to pronounce upon God and Eternity is too much. Be reasonable: “A righteous man is merciful to his beast.” On the other hand, when a man says he has seen heaven opened, and has seen a divine vision, and has felt in his heart the calm of infinite peace, we are entitled to question him, to study his spirit, to estimate his quality of strength and tenderness, and to subject his testimony to practical trial. If the man himself is true, he will be better than his certificate; and if the man himself is false, no certificate can save him from exposure and destruction.

There is an advantage in not seeing heaven opened. It is the advantage of being let alone, and of being allowed to drop into obscurity and nothingness, and to fill a large space in the land of oblivion. There is torture for any mind that sees visions. That mind never can be understood. The kindest of its friends will always be conscious of a little touch of the spirit of forbearance; signals will be exchanged which masonic observers can understand, the full meaning of which is that in certain astronomical conditions an allowance must be made for certain types of mind.

If we do not get back to visions, peeps into heaven, consciousness of the higher glory and the larger land, we shall lose our religion; our altar will be a bare stone, unblessed by visitant from heaven. Yet we lock up our visions in the Bible; we have no objection to them there. There is an old-time flavour about them, and men love their beauty, mentally and sacrificially, when it is embalmed in antiquity. We want modernness of insight, immediateness of vision, present-day apprehension of larger realities; otherwise we are living upon our capital, and we shall soon be in the workhouse. Many persons are religiously eating up their capital. We do not live upon what the capital produces. If we wrap up our talent, be it one or a thousand in number, we shall find at the end that we have not a friend in the universe. Use what you have; sow your seed, scatter your best thoughts with a prodigal hand wherever a man will listen to you, and you will find that you are not pursuing a process of exhaustion, but a process of reduplication, and that true giving is true getting.

Let us attend to this man awhile. He comes amongst us with unique pretensions. At the very opening of his mouth he is religious. He does not by long preamble or courteous exordium beseech our attention: he claims it. A trumpet cannot utter an apology; it blows a battle-blast. Where was he when he saw the heavens opened and visions of God gleaming upon his eyes? He says he was “among the captives by the river of Chebar.” Then was Ezekiel a captive? The historical answer is, Yes; the religious answer is, No. Can both answers be true? Perfectly. If you have not realised your double self, you have not seen visions of God. Ezekiel was with the captives; he declares himself to have been among them. He does not accept the personal humiliation of being one of them, yet in a sense he was certainly a captive, or he would not have been there. Yet Ezekiel was the freest man in all the multitude, probably, indeed, the only free man. He was a prisoner, and yet he was enjoying the liberty granted to him by enlarging heavens and descending visions. Have we not had experience of this kind? May we not so far claim the companionship of the prophet? You do not live in the prison. Plato said that when Socrates was taken to prison the prison ceased; it was the prison that gave way. A right mind can never be in prison. In a plain and technical sense, the man can be incarcerated and chained, yea, loaded with iron; but his soul is at liberty, his soul is marching on. We need heroic men of this kind to tell us some of the possibilities of life. Ezekiel does not say, I was in prison, and therefore I could take no note of anything that was going on. Bunyan could only have had his dream in gaol. The poor man may have but a small table in every sense, and yet he may be banqueting with royalty. Do not suppose he is dining at the table you see; he is not dining there, he is eating bread with the sons of God. You are not bounded by the four walls of your house; no matter how palatial the habitation may be, you want all heaven to swing in. Why? Because you burn with the eternity of God. The more you want in that sense, the sense of perception, sympathy, appreciation, education, the more you prove yourself to be in the image and likeness of God. They could not take Ezekiel into captivity, except in the poorest sense. Already Ezekiel heard the great Christ’s speech: Fear not them that kill the body, imprison the body, insult the body; after that they have no more that they can do. “Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven,” therefore let them do what they will with the physical man; it is the spiritual man that roams throughout the liberties of heaven. You may mope in your small house if you please, and be discontented and otherwise pettish and foolish; that course is always open to impiety and ignorance: or you can make it a perch on which with temporarily folded wings you can sing psalms of truth, and love, and hope, Your house-making is in your own hands.

What did Ezekiel see? “visions of God.” By this term we are not to understand simply great visions. We have become familiar with the fact that in the Hebrew language there is no superlative degree, and, therefore, the divine name was always used to indicate superlativeness of excellence, as “gardens of God,” “trees of God,” “mountains of God.” These are but grammatical, not religious terms, indicating superlativeness, language becoming religious that it may become expressive. That is not the grammar of this passage. The word “God” is not here used in any grammatical sense to eke out the insufficiency of grammar. Ezekiel saw God, hints of God, gleams of the divine presence, indications and proofs of God’s nearness; verily, they were sights of God. “The word of the Lord,” he continues, “came expressly” unto him. By “expressly” understand directly, certainly, without mistake. There are some voices we cannot confuse with others. The great trouble with most men is that one tune is very much like another. The tune is not altogether so execrable as it might have been, but it is so very much like a thousand other tunes that we lose all interest in it. The voice of God cannot be mistaken: it startles men; then it soothes men; then it creates in them an attentive disposition; then it inspires men; and then it says, Evermore, till the work is done, shall this music resound in your souls. Then there is a “word of the Lord,” actually a “word.” There is some word the Lord has chosen, taken up, selected, held up, stamped with his image? Yes. Where is it? Every man knows where it is. We cannot have any pretence of wanting to know where the Lord is. That is a hypocrisy which even we must not tolerate. There is an inquiry we must look down upon with rebukeful contempt, as who should say: Where is the Lord? where is the word of the Lord? If I could discover him or his word, I should do homage to him. Avaunt! The word of God is nigh thee, in thee, is in a sense thyself. To want God is to have him; to demand the word of the living God is to know it. What may come of expansion, enlargement, higher and higher illumination, only eternity can disclose; but the beginning is in the very cry that expresses necessity or desire.

Then conies the vision itself. Who may enter upon it? Personally, I simply accept it. We are not all poets, prophets. Some of us have but one set of eyes; the best thing for us to do is to listen, and wonder, and believe. “Behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire enfolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a call’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass.” Is that how it is behind the veil? Yes. “Their wings were joined one to another,” literally, their wings kissed one another, “they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.” Is that what they are doing behind the film which hides the glory from me? Yes; why not? Thou fool, why not? This is the larger life, the grander reality, the fuller development. “As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” Tell me, O thou man of God, is it so they live? “I saw it,” is the prophet’s reply; “it occurred; it is the one fact now of my recollection, and the one glory of my hope.” Ezekiel continues: Thou, O man, dost not see anything until thou dost shut thine eyes; thine eyes deceive thee: thou must kill the body to have the soul; thou must get rid of the body to know what manhood is, what life, soul, spirit is. Blessed be God for these revelations from beyond, hints and peeps and gleams of things that are just outside the screen we call life.

We are rebuked by these revelations. We think we see everything when we see nothing. What have we seen? Trees? No: only the wood in which trees grow. Flowers? Not one; but things that want to be flowers, aspirations, struggles towards beauteous expression and fragrance. We have not yet seen one another. We have seen nothing as it really is. When a man, therefore, has seen aught of God or spirituality, we should listen to him with entranced attention. “Now as beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.” We are glad it is so; it makes the universe so much larger. The talk is to us lunacy, the words are madness, until we are touched with a kindred spirit, sublimed by a kindred faith; then all things are known to be possible with God.

The need of every age is a spiritual ministry. Spirituality and superstition are not the same thing. We want men who will give us ideal visions of life, high conceptions of morality, sublime forecasts of destiny, and a deepening sense of the sinfulness of sin. We need men who can create, not moral commandments and stipulations, but a moral atmosphere, which a bad man cannot breathe. We are in danger of falling under the contracting and benumbing influence of men who rigorously bind us down to the study of what is called matter, and what are called phenomena. Such men fail to remember, in fact: if not in words, that any quantity or degree of matter accessible to our inquiry is infinitesimal, and therefore is too small a base on which to found any argument. This they are coming to admit more and more frankly. The earth itself in any mile of it is flat, but as a totality it is round. When will men, therefore, learn that the whole may alter the part? Is there anything more incoherent than an alphabet? There is not an idea in it; it. is dry, unmeaning, pointless, utterly without the power of giving enjoyment. Who can find an organic unity between the letters of the alphabet, as they stand in their separateness and their symbolism? They might all be upside down, and it would make no matter; they might be of different shape, and no appalling consequence would ensue. The letters of any alphabet are incoherent and useless in their separateness. Yet there, in that incoherent alphabet, is the beginning of logic, and music, and eloquence. You do not know what the alphabet is until it has undergone manipulation; after the magician has shapened it you shall see “visions of God.” When will men come to learn that the part may be absolutely altered, changed in every aspect, by the whole? At his birth the infant is but an animal, without discrimination or judgment or moral sense. He does not know one being from another; you cannot appeal to him; you cannot reason with him; you cannot discourse to him about heaven or hell; all your discourse is useless sound: yet in that same infant there may be a judge, a hero, a genius, an Ezekiel. When will men come to learn that the part may be utterly changed and transformed by the whole? St. Paul, who learned everything first, our largest, truest scholar, said: “We know in part, we teach in part; when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.” There are some people who have got further on than Paul; where they have got to I do not know. What do we know about matter? Where is it? and is that all of it? What if a man should bring the letter “X” to me, and say: “It is out of that kind of thing they say poems come.” Who can believe such a ridiculous suggestion? There it is; look at it for yourself; handle it; examine it; hold it up to the light; do what you please with it; and then tell me, as a rational man, that out of that sort of thing can come the infinities of expressed human thought. What do we know about matter? What is the measure of it in feet and inches, in miles? We see but a speck of matter; it is as if we saw but one letter in an alphabet. The solar system itself is but a speck of sand on the shore of infinity. How dangerous it is to build” any theory upon the frail basis of a fraction! We hear but echoes, not voices. Sounds do come to us: what are they? whence come they? These sounds are but the subsidence of thunders that rolled in infinite music through the universe in the faraway eternities. We are proud to know this in astronomy: why not in theology, and morals, and the higher philosophy? We are told that the light which left a certain star thirty thousand years ago has just arrived within human vision. Does that announcement make infidels and sceptics and heterodox persons? Not at all. It is accepted as a sign of the vastness and grandeur of astronomical spaces and figures. But when we are told that what we know of God, man, truth, eternity, has come down to us from infinite reaches of space and time, from incalculable fountains of origin, we become heretics, sceptics, infidels, unbelievers, and doubters, taking to ourselves very critical names to distinguish us from the vile herd of men who will believe anything. It is not for our poor ignorance to dogmatise God out of a creation the very threshold of which we have hardly begun to recognise. Notwithstanding our investigation, there may be some chamber in so vast a universe in which is seated an everlasting Father. It is better to pray than to doubt; it is mentally stronger to believe than to deny. “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God”; the prophet hath said in his faith, “The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.” I would rather listen to the second man than to the first. The probabilities, at least, are on his side. Already there are intimations that the universe is larger than any fool has discovered it to be. Let us hear the prophet.

You cannot object to this claim, for you have prophets of your own. The poet sees what the prosaic mind never apprehends or supposes to exist; the painter sees pictures where the inartistic observer finds nothing; the sculptor looks upon a block of marble and sees in it image, aspect, heroism, grandeur, beauty, and his fingers long to get hold of the tools that he may evolve the marvellous secret. Even a comedian sees things which the man who is humourless never suspects. The comedian will spend a day in the market-place, and come back with a portfolio full of pictures that delight even the man who went with him, and who saw nothing of all the scene. The dramatist gathers up all the elements, lines, colours, suggestions of human action, and makes a picture of them, and men pay to look at it. Why did not they see it and make it? Because they were captives only. They have not lived the spirit’s mighty life; and whilst, therefore, you who are outside, so to say, have your poets, painters, dramatists, comedians, men of the inner visions, do not wonder if the Church of Christ says there is a height beyond this, a glory infinitely transcending all that you have seen of light, and if you would know what God is, hear what his prophets have to say with respect to him. No other man but one who is spiritually qualified is entitled to expound divine mysteries. The scholar cannot expound the Bible. The poorest creature that ever undertakes to deliver a discourse is the grammarian. He is a weary creature from end to end of him. He is so great in parsing, that he never can preach. There is indeed a wonderful difference between reading and parsing. Undertake to parse the opening lines of the “Paradise Lost,” and you may parse every word correctly, and give every rule of syntax without a blunder, and yet you have not begun to read “Paradise Lost.” If you were to parse your little girl’s letter that comes by post tomorrow morning, you would think she was out of her head. You do not parse it, you read it; you devour it; you know the soul that wrote it. Let the grammarian have it, and wear his spectacles out in trying to parse it.

In all ages spiritually minded men are needed. There are men who, in undergoing preparation for the ministry, would undergo destruction. They are not to be touched. Even a grammarian’s well-shapen paw is not to be laid upon them. They know the kingdom, they know the truth, they know the music, they know the Cross, the blood, the priesthood, the atonement; let them declare, each in his own way, and God will see to the result. May the day hasten when much that is called ministerial preparation shall be cast out with disapprobation, perhaps with some degree of disgust. The preparation for this great expositional work is in the sanctuary, in the secret place, in solitude with God. Pray ye the Lord of the harvest that he will send out Ezekiels and Johns and Pauls to this great work. A man thus qualified carries a spiritual and indisputable authority: his authority is not in his papers, it is in himself; we do not ask for his certificates, we say, Stand up and speak. Said a Welsh farmer to some wandering ministerial tourists who besought a night’s accommodation, “If you are ministers you can pray; now kneel down, and let me hear you.” They knelt down, they prayed, and he said, “You are my guests.” He knew the voice of the Spirit, the tone of sincerity. That tone cannot be successfully simulated in the presence of men who are schooled in real spiritual criticism. This is the authority of the ministry, that it can touch human life with a mighty hand, with a tender pity, with a sympathetic helpfulness. Such a ministry will always create its own sphere, and compel its proper degree of attention. Without men thus gifted, society would lose an element essential to completeness and illumination. God forbid that we should be delivered over to materialists, literalists, mere gropers after so-called phenomena. We want men who will uphold the spiritual ministry, defend the spiritual position, welcome the soul into spiritual liberties, and tell men in the market-place and everywhere that they are to do business as if not doing it, to hold the world as it not holding it, to be obedient to a heavenly vision. The Lord will see that such a ministry is never wanting in his Church.

Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker

XIV

THE BOOK OF EZEKIEL INTRODUCTION AND

THE PROPHET’S VISION AND CALL

Ezekiel 1-3

Ezekiel belonged to one of the best and noblest families in Jerusalem, and was apparently a descendant of the family of Zadok, which could trace its descent directly to Aaron. Born in a priestly family he was a priest in his early years. With that privilege, there was familiarity with the law, and with the ritual. He was well educated, a man of the highest culture which Jerusalem afforded at that age.

It was in the year 597 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar came and besieged Jerusalem, and Jehoiachin surrendered the city to him, that 7,000 of the very best people of Jerusalem, including members of the priestly families, the nobility, the artisans, the smiths, and others of the leading citizens of Jerusalem, were taken away captive to Babylon. Ezekiel was taken with them, and during all the period of his prophecy he is among the exiles in that foreign land.

He was evidently a man of some wealth, as well as culture, and doubtless took a considerable portion of his wealth with him. He had a home, a wife, and possibly a family. He lived in comparative ease and comfort on the banks of the river Chebar, near a place called Tel-abib, not many miles from the city of Babylon.

There was a community of Jewish exiles in that place, and they seemed to be let alone, and were allowed to carry on a little government of their own, for we find that repeatedly the elders of this Jewish community came to Ezekiel to consult him regarding the fate of Jerusalem. It is difficult for us to understand their exact condition. They were apparently in comfortable circumstances.

They heard from home frequently no doubt, for there was a great deal of traffic, traveling, and letter writing in those days. They were, doubtless, envious of the people who had been left in Jerusalem, and were exceedingly anxious as to the fate of Jerusalem itself, as their property to a large extent was still there. They naturally supposed that their property would be confiscated by those who remained in Jerusalem and Judah, and it comes out incidentally in the prophecy of Ezekiel that there was a deep and bitter grudge in their minds because the people who remained in Jerusalem had taken over the property of those who had been carried into exile. There was this reason also, as we find in Jer 24 , that the people who remained in Jerusalem considered themselves to be very good; they thought that they were the favorites of Jehovah since they had been left at home. Those that were taken away captive were therefore the greater sinners. Jeremiah tried to meet that in his parable of the two baskets of figs. The basket of good figs were those Jews in Babylon; and the basket of bad figs, those left in Jerusalem.

It has been said that Jeremiah was the spiritual father of Ezekiel. No doubt there is a large element of truth in that statement. A great man like Jeremiah doubtless had sons in the ranks of prophecy, as Paul had sons in the Christian ministry. Jeremiah must have had a vast influence over Ezekiel, for he had been a prophet thirty years in Jerusalem when Ezekiel was carried away into captivity. That thirty years of ministry stamped upon Ezekiel’s mind and heart, his theology, his religious life, and his view of the great religious questions of his age. He had, no doubt, read Jeremiah’s writings, for they were published in 603 B.C., six or seven years before Ezekiel was taken away. He must have been familiar with a great part of the writings of Jeremiah, for his own book gives in many places almost the exact thoughts and words of his great predecessor and contemporary. They were contemporaries for about fifteen years.

There are many similarities between Ezekiel’s writings and those of Jeremiah. Their themes are nearly the same. Their ideas are often identical. Their problems are very similar. The strange thing is that, although they lived as contemporaries for fifteen years, neither one makes the slightest reference to or mention of the other. Jeremiah knows Ezekiel is prophesying in Babylon, yet he sends a letter all the way from Jerusalem to Babylon with admonition to the exiles, and though Ezekiel must be aware of Jeremiah’s prophesying in Jerusalem, he makes no reference whatever to the fact.

In contrast to Jeremiah, Ezekiel presents some striking peculiarities. His private life was very different, for he had his home and his wife, but Jeremiah was forbidden these. Like Jeremiah he absents himself from all the social enjoyments and pleasures of the people among whom he dwells, refraining from entering into their mournings or their feastings. In contrast with Jeremiah he records no inner struggle such as that prophet passed through, no such complaints, no such murmurings, no such agony, no such mournings and tears, no such doubts of God, no such attempts to give up the work of prophesying. Ezekiel gives no hint that he passed through those temptations which tortured the soul of Jeremiah in the early half of the latter’s ministry. Ezekiel is more calm and judicial; he lays emphasis upon the divine sovereignty more than upon human freedom. He emphasizes the necessity and value of the human institutions, such as the Temple, the ceremonial, the ritual, the priesthood, and sacrifices, which Jeremiah does not. Jeremiah was willing to do without all these, if he could only have the heart religion which kept the people in fellowship with God and in obedience to him.

Ezekiel combines both the institutional and the spiritual. He combines the ritual and ceremonial with the new heart, the heart of flesh, the cleansed and pure spirit. He is in substantial agreement with Jeremiah on several points. His conception of the prophetic office is almost identical with that of his spiritual father. He conceives of himself as the one who is to warn, who is to pronounce judgment and threaten doom. His conception of the character of the people is exactly like Jeremiah’s. His pictures are even more lurid and terrible. His conception of the history of Israel is almost the same as Jeremiah’s. Jeremiah pictures her, from the time of her entrance into Canaan, as going astray after false gods, and her history as one long story of defection and idolatry. Ezekiel pictures her, as from the very beginning prone to idolatry and her history, as a long story of spiritual harlotry.

Ezekiel’s conception of the sin of idolatry is exactly the same as that of Jeremiah’s. He characterizes it in scores of passages by that one striking name which stigmatizes all defection from the worship of Jehovah. His picture of society is much the same as that of Jeremiah’s. He pictures it as having gone to the lowest depths, and as we go on in the study of his prophecy, we shall get some glimpses into those awful scenes which Ezekiel portrays. Like Jeremiah he prophesies the downfall of the state, the devastation of the country, the desolation of the city, the destruction of the Temple and the obliteration of the ritual.

Unlike that of Jeremiah, this book doubtless came from Ezekiel’s own hand, written and completed by himself. It is in many respects the most orderly, the most logical, the most chronological, of all the books of the Bible. Almost every distinct prophecy is dated, so that we can give the exact date, the month and the year, in which these prophecies were given to Ezekiel, or were uttered by him.

The following is an analysis of Ezekiel:

I. The vision of the glory of God and the call to the prophetic office (Ezekiel 1-3).

II. Symbolic prophecies of the overthrow of the city and the state (Ezekiel 4-24).

By means of symbols, symbolic actions, allegories, and metaphors, Ezekiel brings before the minds of the exiles the inevitable fate of their beloved city and state in Palestine.

III. Prophecies concerning foreign nations (Ezekiel 25-32).

IV. Prophecies of the restoration of the people of Israel and the reconstruction of God’s people (Ezekiel 33-39), which are in perfect order.

Having done with the prophecies concerning the foreign nations, he calls the attention of the people to their own glorious future.

V. A vision of the restored Temple and theocracy with the final glory and peace of the redeemed people of God (Ezekiel 40-48).

Under this we have three sections:

1. An account of the restored Temple (Ezekiel 40-43).

2. An account of the ordinances of the Temple as restored (Ezekiel 44-48).

3. The boundaries of the Holy Land and the new distribution of the tribes within it (Ezekiel 47-48), closing with the significant statement that in all this land, this territory, this Temple, the one great fact is that Jehovah is there.

The date of the prophet’s vision and call is the year 592 B.C., the fourth month and the fifth day of the month (about August 5). It was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. That captivity occurred in 597 B.C. The place was by the river Chebar. The river Chebar was not a river proper, but one of the large irrigating canals which coursed through the plains of Babylon from the Tigris to the Euphrates, irrigating that rich and fertile country in which, some say, the garden of Eden itself originally was located. The irrigated plain of Babylon was probably the richest portion of land in all the world. It produced from two to three hundredfold.

In verse I, we have the expression, “the thirtieth year.” Thirty years from what? Most probably thirty years of his own life, for he was certainly a mature man at this time. If he means the thirtieth year of his own age, then he is the only prophet that gives us any hint as to how old he was when he began to prophesy. The most plausible explanation is that it is the thirtieth year of his age, but this question has never been settled positively.

In Ezekiel I, we have the vision of the glory of God. He says that as he was by the river Chebar, the heavens were opened and he saw visions of God. Isaiah had his vision in the Temple, Jeremiah had his visions, and Ezekiel has a most wonderful vision. He describes it thus: “I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north.”

Ezekiel saw it as a cloud coming, and he describes it as “a fire infolding itself,” but perhaps a better translation would be “flashing continually,” and as he looked at that great stormcloud moving up before him and the lightning illuminating it, there gradually appeared before him, as it were, the color of amber, a brightness round about it like amber, which was like an amalgam of gold and silver, a very brilliant metal.

He continued to look and he saw emerging from that cloud of flashing fire four living creatures who took on form. These were the four cherubim. Isaiah saw the seraphim, but Ezekiel calls them the cherubim. What are they like? The figure of a man. An angel in the form of a man, with a face fronting east, the face of a man. To the right is another face, the face of a lion; to the left is another face, that of an ox; behind is another face, the face of an eagle. There were four faces to this one figure. A great wing in front, a wing behind, a wing at each side, and a hand in connection with each wing four wings and four hands, straight limbs, the foot round like that of a calk. One of these faces looking east, another facing west, a third one facing south, and a fourth one facing north.

So, looking at it from another direction, we see the face of a man; from another direction, the face of an ox; from another direction the face of an eagle; and another, the face of a lion. The wings in front and behind cover the body excepting the limbs and the feet. The wings at the side were lifted up when they flew and touched one another overhead so that one cherub touched another. When they were still, the wings were lowered to the side.

In the center of this four-square of cherubim was a fire, representing the glory of almighty God, flashing forth. How did they move? They were all one, all made to move by one spirit. When one moved, all moved. They were not independent beings, but had to move together and all actuated and impelled and driven by the Spirit, that one Spirit that was in them.

This represented the four great cherubim which formed the chariot of almighty God, that we find in Revelation 4-5, where John makes use of these four living creatures, but in a little different sense. They are the highest of all the principalities and authorities in the heavenly places. They constitute a chariot upon which almighty God rides forth to do service in the uni-verse. They constitute his executive force. The man represents the highest form of created intelligence. The lion represents the highest form of courage, the ox steadfastness and strength, the eagle the highest form of vision and flight, the most majestic of all birds.

Thus, there are sixteen faces, sixteen wings, sixteen hands, altogether. Their limbs are straight; they are not jointed; they don’t have to bend them when they walk, as they are not subject to the laws of locomotion as we are. How do they move? They have wheels, each one has a wheel, a wheel within a wheel. So that when the cherubim went forward each one was on a wheel. The same wheel which goes forward goes backward. The same wheel which goes to the left, goes to the right. He says these wheels were high and dreadful; that the rims and the felloes of the wheels were full of eyes. Two eyes fixed upon us is enough, but these great wheels full of eyes and all of them apparently looking straight forward form a terrible picture. When the four cherubim go in any direction, they have wheels upon which they glide like lightning; they need not turn, they never go corner-wise. They always go straight.

These cherubim with their great wheels full of eyes flash across the horizon like lightning. What a picture of the movements of almighty God! The eyes in the wheels represent the perfect omniscience of God; the cherubim represent his omnipotence; the wheels, with the lightning like rapidity with which they move, represent his omnipresence. The spirit that animates the four cherubim also animates the wheels, moves all at the same time. As all the cherubim move the wheels move, with one instinct, with one life, with one power, with one motion, in one direction.

Above the chariot of four cherubim was a firmament representing the platform upon which rested the feet of the Almighty himself. When Moses and the elders of Israel saw God they saw him upon a pavement of sapphire; they saw the God of Israel, and did eat and drink. When John saw God it was on a sea of glass. When Ezekiel saw him it was upon a firmament above the cherubim. He says it was crystal, very much the same as John’s vision of the sea of glass. This firmament was supported by these wings stretched out, the four corners joining together.

The noise of the movement of all these wheels (Eze 1:24 ) was the noise of great waters like the noise of the Almighty, the noise of a tumult, like the noise of a host.

Then follows his description of God himself: “A voice above the firmament that was over their heads, was the likeness of a throne as the appearance of sapphire stone, and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness of the appearance of a man.” He was of the color of amber. John said he was like jasper and sardius with a rainbow about his head. Ezekiel says, he is like amber and has a rainbow about his head; the whole appearance from his loins downward was the appearance of fire and there was brightness round about him. Ezekiel said, “It is an appearance of the likeness of the glory of God, and I fell upon my face.” (Eze 1:26 )

The call and commission of the prophet is stated (Eze 2:1-7 ). In verse I Jehovah calls him: “And he said unto me, son of man.” That does not have the messianic meaning which “Son of man” has in the Gospels. It means child of man, mortal man, you mortal being, in contrast with God: “Stand upon thy feet and I will speak with thee.” It is a good thing for a man to know how to stand upon his feet. Sermons have been preached from this text, entitled “Self-respect.” “The Spirit entered into me when he spake with me, and set me upon my feet.” Then he receives his commission. He was to speak to the children of Israel who were rebellious, who had transgressed against him, who were impudent, who were stiffhearted, who were to be unto the prophet like briers and thorns and scorpions. He was to speak to them whether they would hear or whether they would forbear. He had a terrible congregation to preach to: briers, thorns and thistles.

In Eze 2:8-3:3 we have an account of that strange symbolic action, which we find in Rev 10 , where John performs almost the same action. Here is a roll, a scroll, it was written with mourning, lamentation, and woe. It was the message which Ezekiel was to give to those, his fellow kinsmen and exiles. And God says to Ezekiel, You are to eat this roll and go and speak unto the house of Israel. When you have taken it into your soul and are filled with it you can go and speak as a prophet. So he did and he found it very sweet. When John ate the roll he found it sweet in his mouth but exceedingly bitter afterward. Ezekiel found it sweet in his mouth but it did not become bitter afterward. What is the meaning of it? It is this: When God gives us a message, and we take that into our souls, it is one of the sweetest and highest pleasures possible to come to a human soul. Ezekiel found it sweet. It was God’s message, though it was lamentation and woe.

The prophet is sent to Israel, a hardened people (Eze 3:4-11 ): “Thou art not sent to a people of a strange speech and of a hard language, but to the house of Israel.” In Eze 3:9 he says, “As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead.” He needed a hard head to contend with those people.

Then the prophet was ordered to proceed to Tel-abib, not far from the river Chebar, where was a colony of Jews. He says, “The Spirit lifted me up and I heard behind me the voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from this place.” And the Spirit lifted him up and carried him away and he was set down by them of the captivity of Tel-abib that were by the river Chebar, and he sat among them astounded seven days.

The charge to Ezekiel is set forth in Eze 3:16-21 . Ezekiel was a watchman to warn the wicked and the righteous. This paragraph shows the tremendous responsibility of the prophet and minister of God.

In Eze 3:22-27 we have an account of the prophet as he was led away to the plain where he saw another vision and had revealed to him the persecutions that were coming to him. Eze 3:25 says, “They shall lay hands upon thee, and shall bind thee with them, and thou shalt not go out among them; and I will make thy tongue cleave to the roof of thy mouth, that thou shalt be dumb.” The prophet was shut up to his message which he received from Jehovah. He was not allowed to speak except as the Lord spoke to him.

QUESTIONS

1. Who was Ezekiel, what of his family, what advantages did he have, what of the colony of Jews in Babylonia, and what of their feeling toward the Jews left at Jerusalem?

2. What was the relation of Ezekiel to Jeremiah?

3. What are the similarities in the writings of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, what strange thing about their ministries and what the contrasts in their work?

4. What can you say of the order, logic, and chronology of this book?

5. Give an analysis of Ezekiel.

6. What was the date and place of the prophet’s vision and call?

7. Describe the chariot of God as seen by Ezekiel and give the meaning of its several parts (Eze 1:1-28 ).

8. How was God represented in this vision?

9. Describe the call and commission of the prophet as stated in Eze 2:1-7 .

10. Explain the symbolic action: of Eze 2:8-3:3 .

11. What was the condition of the people to whom Ezekiel was sent and what his preparation to meet their condition? (Eze 3:4-11 .)

12. Where did the Spirit lead him and what message did the Spirit bring to him in this connection? (Eze 3:12-15 .)

13. How is the charge to Ezekiel set forth in Eze 3:16-21 and what th& warning here for God’s ministers in all ages?

14. Where did the Lord lead the prophet next and how was his solemn charge impressed upon him there?

Fuente: B.H. Carroll’s An Interpretation of the English Bible

Eze 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I [was] among the captives by the river of Chebar, [that] the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

The Book of the prophet Ezekiel. ] The book of Ezekiel, so the Hebrews call it, and forbid any to read the beginning and ending of it till he be thirty years of age, because it is so abstruse and mysterious. Nazianzen a calleth this prophet, the beholder of great things, and the interpreter of visions and mysteries. Another b calleth him the hieroglyphic prophet. A third, Jeremiah veiled, a band shut up, and you know not what is in it, &c. c Contemporary he was to Jeremiah, though in another country, and a great confirmer of what he had foretold, but could not be credited. To him, therefore, as to many others, Ezekiel became, according to the import of his name, “The strength of God,” who mightily enabled him, as Lavater well notes, with a stout and undaunted spirit, to reprove both people and princes, and to threaten them more terribly and vehemently than Jeremiah had done before him. But, in the substance of their prophecies, there is no small conformity. Ferunt Ezechielem servum Ieremiae prius extitisse, saith Nazianzen. d Some have affirmed that Ezekiel had sometimes been Jeremiah’s servant, as was afterwards Baruch.

Ver. 1. Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, ] scil., Since the book of the law was found, and that famous passover kept in King Josiah’s days, 2Ki 22:1-20 ; 2Ki 23:1-30 since the eighteenth year of his reign. 2Ki 23:23 So elsewhere, they began their account from some memorable mercy or remarkable accident; as from the promise made to Abraham, the birth of Isaac, the departure out of Egypt, the division of the kingdom into that of Israel and the other of Judah, &c.

In the fifth day of the month. ] Which was the Sabbath day say some, Compare Eze 3:16 . Then was this holy prophet in the Spirit, as was afterwards also John the divine upon the Christian Sabbath. Rev 1:10

As I was among the captives. ] In Chaldea. That rule of the Rabbis, therefore, holdeth not – viz., that the Holy Ghost never spake to the prophets but only in the Holy Land.

By the river of the Chebar. ] Which was rivus vel ramentum Euphratis, a part or channel of Euphrates. There sat the poor captives, Psa 137:1 and there this prophet received this vision here, and his vocation in the next chapter. It is observed, that by the sides of rivers various prophets had visions of God; by a river side it was that Paul and his company met to preach and pray. Act 16:13 And of Archbishop Ussher, e that most reverend man of God, it is recorded, that to a certain place by a water side he frequently resorted, when as yet he was but very young, sorrowfully to recount his sins, and with floods of tears to pour them out in confession to God.

That the heavens were opened. ] Not by a division of the firmament, saith Jerome, but by the faith of the believer. The like befell Stephen the proto martyr, when the stones were buzzing about his ears; Act 7:55-60 and, if we may believe the monkish writers, Wulsin, Bishop of Salisbury, when he lay dying. f

And I saw visions of God, ] i.e., Offered by God, or excellent visions. Ut montes Dei, cedri Dei, civitas Dei. Ezekiel was not only a priest and a prophet, but a seer also. Abraham was the like. Joh 8:56 Gen 20:7 This was no small honour.

a In Apolog.

b A Lapide.

c Ezechiel scripturarum et Oceanus, et mysteriorum Dei labyrinthus. – Jerome. Many, both writers and readers, have passed over this prophet as dark, difficult, and less useful. – Greenhill, Praef.

d Orat. 47.

e His life and death by Dr Bernard.

f Speed, 335.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Ezekiel Chapter 1

The circumstances in which Ezekiel was called to prophesy were new and strange. It was not in Judah, nor in Israel, but among the captives by the river Chebar. Hence Jehovah was pleased to accompany His word to him with peculiarly vivid marks. To him only in the Old Testament is it said that the heavens were opened, and he saw visions of God. (Ver. 1) But the opening of the heavens was in judgment of Israel’s iniquity, not yet to express the Father’s delight in the Son of God on earth, still less for the Christian to behold the Son of man in heaven.

Nor is the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity without special reason. There had been ample space for those loft behind in the land to repent of their vain hopes, as well as of their rebelliousness and their idolatry. They had had the warning of their brethren removed from the land: had they laid it to heart? Zedekiah “did that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of Jehovah. And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God; but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the Jehovah God of Israel. Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people, transgressed very much, after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of Jehovah which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. And the Jehovah God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling-place; but they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of Jehovah arose against his people, till there was no remedy.”

It was in view of a final and yet more completely desolating stroke that Ezekiel was raised up to bear testimony. “On the fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him. And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance they had the likeness of a man.” (Vers. 2-5. )

Had this been all, it had been much to rebuke the Jewish pride which counted God so bound to their race and land, that they never weighed His threat of the change in progress for Israel till it came. Alas! they realise it not till this day, but, refusing to hear of His judgment of their sins, they would fain cheat themselves into the delusion that their dispersion is a mission to teach the Gentiles that God is the God of Israel, rather than that He has for thousands of years refused to be called their God because of their idolatry, crowned by the rejection of the Messiah and of the gospel. A fresh storm-cloud of divine indignation was about to burst on Judea out of the north, that is, from Babylon.

But there is much more. “Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.” (Ver. 5) If there could be any doubt left on the mind of him who reads this account, Eze 10 distinctly shows that the living creatures are the cherubim. They are here, not two like the figures made out of the ends of the pure and beaten gold which formed the mercy-seat where God sat as on a throne, but four in relation, I presume, to the creature. The God of Israel, who dwelt between the cherubim on the ark, was in the midst of His people, and approached by blood according to divine righteousness, which was guarded by the witness of His judicial authority. Ezekiel was given to behold His judgments in providence from without. He would judge His guilty people by Babylon as His instrument. Here therefore it is fire (ver. 5) which characterises the display of His destructive judgment as the God of heaven.

It would be almost an endless genealogy, and certainly to little edification, if one set out in detail the strange misconception of these symbols which have prevailed among men, both Jews and Christians. In the former this is not surprising; for the unbelief which wrought the evils which the prophet denounced still works the same stiff-necked opposition to the truth. “This generation” is not passed away, nor will it till all that is predicted be fulfilled. But Christians are far less excusable. Having the true light, they ought to see; but they only see aright, as the eye is single. If Christ’s glory had been before them, not the church’s (that is, their own), they would have made room for His relation to others as well as to themselves. They need not deny the old, because they believe the new. Had the national judgment of Israel been seen at the beginning of the prophecy, and their restoration at the end, the ancient fathers and the modern divines could not have dreamt of interpreting the four cherubim as the evangelists, or as a description of Christ’s redemption work, or of God’s glory in the church, or as the four seasons of the year, or the four quarters of the globe, or the four cardinal virtues, or the four passions of the soul, or the four faculties of the mind, or whatever other conjectures men have indulged in. A more plausible but very imperfect view is that of Calvin, who takes them as angels, and four in relation to the various questions of the world, each with four heads, angelic virtue being thus proved to reside in all, and God shown to work not only in man and other animals, but throughout inanimate things. He takes it therefore as a vision of God’s empire administered by angels everywhere, all creatures being so impelled as if joined with the angels, and as if the angels comprehended within themselves all elements in all parts of the world.

As to the four cherubs, then, they were composite figures. “And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went everyone straightforward.” (Vers. 6-9) The likeness of a man was theirs, though each had four faces and four wings (ver. 6); but the feet were straight, the sole like that of a calf’s foot, and the face of an ox answering to that of a cherub. (Ver. 7; compare also Eze 10:14 ) Activity, or aptness in doing, seems represented by the hands of a man; swiftness of execution from above in the wings, without a moment’s deviation from the object in hand, and with four sides, so as to move in all directions. The intimation of verse 10 I take to be that in front the face of a man was seen, and that of an eagle behind, with a lion’s face to the right and an ox’s or steer’s to the left.* These compose the symbolical supports of the throne, being the heads of the creatures preserved in the ark from the flood; man setting forth intelligence, the lion strength, the ox patience or stability, and the eagle rapidity of execution, the attributes of God or the qualities of His judgments. “As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side; they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went everyone straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.” (Vers. 10-14) They went forward and returned like a flash of lightning.

* Some consider it to mean that the four faces had the same aspect, the man and lion on the right, and the ox and eagle on the left.

Nor do we hear only of wings, but of wheels also. “Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.” (Vers. 15-21) It is the exact reverse of circumstances left to blind chance. Contrariwise, whatever the revolutions or changes among men, all is wittingly guided where it might be least expected. The instruments of the providential government, below the firmament or expanse were completely in accord with what was above, and over this was the likeness of a throne; and above all the likeness of a man exercising executory judgment, though with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.

Thus the throne of God was no longer in Israel, but the God of heaven was pleased and about to use the Gentiles to do His will in punishing guilty Jerusalem. It is His throne from heaven, not yet His throne in heaven, as in Rev 4 , where we have no wheels, but six wings to each. The living creatures there are accordingly not cherubim only, but seraphim, crying, Holy, holy, holy, and the whole creation is taken up under His dispensational titles, save what is distinctively millennial. Hence they are not the mere basis of God’s throne in judging the Jew, providentially through the Gentile, but associated and identified with the throne of Him who judges all according to His nature. The world comes under His dealings, though above all apostate Jews and Gentiles, all “that dwell on the earth.” The living creatures are in the circle of the throne and in its midst, no longer under it as in Ezekiel.

Hence we may easily understand that by the cherubim is set forth God’s judicial executive, to whomsoever entrusted and in whatever circumstances displayed. There is a difference between that which was seen after man’s fall, and when God called for the mercy-seat. So the sight vouchsafed to Ezekiel on earth was not the same as John beheld when in the Spirit he passed through the door opened in heaven. But in all there is the common principle, while each is modified exactly by divine wisdom according to the case and aim before Him, which we can learn only by the Spirit from His word, which has for its object His various glory in Christ.

The Supreme who directed all was revealed in the appearance of a man, and so in relation to men. His attributes here made known are governmental, and applied by instruments on earth according to a providence which overlooks nothing. There is no finer refutation of heathen darkness or of Jewish narrowness than this symbolical representation of the divine ways with Israel as seen in Chaldea. Yet is it all positive truth, with the simple effect of manifesting the glory of God as He was then pleased to deal, and as He will when He undertakes the renewed blessing of repentant Israel to the joy of all the earth. How vain in that day will Israel feel to have been their unbelief throughout the day of grace when they rejected Jehovah-Messiah because He became man in accomplishment of Isa 7 , and in accordance with His appearance here, who, unseen of the world, but announced to deaf and blind Israel, lets the believer know that He guided the springs of every movement here below to His glory, at the time when He ceased to own what He once designated “the throne of Jehovah” in Zion. Far from governing in and by Israel, His judgment is seen to be directed against them by the Gentile as His servant, however unconsciously.

Fuente: William Kelly Major Works (New Testament)

NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Eze 1:1-3

1Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 2(On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, 3the word of the LORD came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the LORD came upon him.)

Eze 1:1 in the thirtieth year This seems to relate to the age of the prophet (because Eze 1:2-3 are a parenthesis, possibly by an editor, to clear up any misunderstanding of Eze 1:1. The two dates [i.e., Eze 1:1 and Eze 1:2-3] refer to the same time). This theory goes back to Origen. Thirty years of age was the time that priests began their ministry in the Temple (cf. Num 4:3; Num 4:23; Num 4:30; Num 4:39; Num 4:43; Num 4:47). However, they began their training five years earlier (cf. Num 8:23-25). Their length of service was to age fifty. This fits the length of Ezekiel’s prophetic ministry (cf. Eze 40:1). Ezekiel understood this vision as his call to the prophetic ministry.

on the fifth day of the fourth month See Introduction, Date, D.

SPECIAL TOPIC: Ancient near Eastern Calendars

by the river Chebar We know from archeological discoveries that this was a man-made irrigation canal from the Euphrates River, making a loop from near the city of Babylon, through the city of Nippur (cf. Psa 137:1) and on to Erech (in all, about 60 miles).

among the exiles Ezekiel’s’ specific ministry was to the Jews who were in exile, primarily those of Judea, but also the Northern Ten Tribes. Jeremiah’s ministry was to those Jews left in Palestine, while Daniel’s ministry was to the royal court of Nebuchadnezzar in the capital of Babylon. See Introduction, Date, C.

the heavens were opened The VERB (BDB 834, KB 986, Niphal PERFECT) denotes YHWH revealing Himself to Ezekiel. This phrase is parallel to the windows of heaven were opened.

1. for judgment, Gen 7:11; Gen 8:2; Isa 24:18

a. flood of water

b. no water

2. for agricultural blessings, 2Ki 7:2; 2Ki 7:19; Mal 3:10

3. here, for revelatory vision

In ancient cosmology reality is described as

1. heaven above (sun and moon, stars, God’s throne, i.e., the three heavens)

2. heaven above the earth (as a dome with windows)

3. the earth (dwelling place of physical life)

4. Sheol (the place of the dead, see Special Topic: The Dead, Where Are They? [Sheol/Hades, Gehenna, Tartarus] ) below

I saw visions of God There is a paradox in the Bible between those who claim to have seen God and the specific statements that no one can see God and live. Apparently it is possible to see visions of deity, but not to gaze intently on His form and especially His face (compare Exo 24:11-12; Num 12:8; Isaiah 6; Revelation 4 with Exo 33:20-23; Joh 1:18; Joh 6:46; 1Ti 6:16; 1Jn 4:12).

The word vision (BDB 909 I) is first used in Gen 46:2, where it is parallel with in visions of the night, which may imply

1. a dream (cf. Gen 20:3; Gen 20:6; Gen 31:10-11; Gen 31:24; Gen 37:6; Gen 37:8-9; Gen 10:20)

2. a special trance

In Num 12:6 it relates to God’s call to prophets (cf. 1Sa 3:15; Dan 10:16; Eze 1:1; Eze 8:3; Eze 40:2). It is inferior to His face-to-face revelations to Moses (cf. Num 12:8; Deu 34:10). Still, it was divine revelation. These words are not Ezekiel’s words, nor or the visions his imagination. YHWH is revealing His personal presence with the exiles!

It is also interesting that the very same Hebrew letters also mean sight or appearance. This meaning is far more common than vision. A few times the two meanings, vision and appearance, overlap (i.e., Eze 8:4; Eze 11:24; Eze 43:3[thrice]; Dan 8:16; Dan 8:27; Dan 9:23; Dan 10:1).

Eze 1:2 All of the book of Ezekiel is in the FIRST PERSON except Eze 1:2-3, which seem to be a later scribal or editorial addition to explain the date of Eze 1:1. Note the parenthesis in NASB.

It must be admitted that moderns do not know when, who, or how the OT books were produced. It is a faith assumption and biblical claim that they are uniquely from God (inspiration) through selected human instruments (authors, editors, and scribes).

Eze 1:2 reflects 2Ki 24:14, which makes the date either 592 or 593 B.C. Ezekiel was exiled when he was 25 years old, but did not begin his ministry until five years later.

King Jehoiachin See Appendix: Kings of the Divided Kingdom.

Eze 1:3 the word of the LORD came This is the repeated formula (cf. Eze 1:3; Eze 3:16; Eze 6:1; Eze 7:1) denoting divine revelation. It remains uncertain how the revelation came.

1. verbal

2. imagery

3. main truths and Ezekiel chooses the genre

But what is sure, it was YHWH’s revelation, not Ezekiel’s.

to Ezekiel the priest Ezekiel was from the priestly line of Zadok (cf. 2Sa 8:17; 2Sa 15:24-36), while Jeremiah was from the priestly line of Abiathar (cf. 1Sa 22:20-23; 2Sa 8:17; 2Sa 15:24-36), who was exiled to Anathoth by Solomon (cf. 1Ki 2:26-27; 1Ki 2:35).

son of Buzi This person (BDB 100) is mentioned only here in the OT. It seems to be related to the Hebrew root meaning

1. despise (BDB 100 I)

2. contempt (BDB 100 II)

3. a proper name (uncertain meaning)

a. second son of Nahor, Abrahams’ brother, Gen 22:21, possibly related to a tribe of Arabia mentioned in Jer 25:23

b. a person of the tribe of Gad, 1Ch 5:14

The very fact that nothing else is known about Buzi implies that he was well known to the original recipients.

the Chaldeans Herodotus (450 B.C.), Hist. I, uses this term to refer to an ethnic group (cf. 2Ki 24:1-4; Dan 5:30), as well as a priestly class (cf. Dan 2:2; Dan 3:8; Dan 4:7; Dan 5:7; Dan 5:11), whose usage goes back to Cyrus II. Even before this, Assyrian records used the term (BDB 505) in an ethnic sense (cf. R. K. Harrison, Introduction to the Old Testament, p. 1113). Also read the good discussion of the possibility of a confusion of two similar terms (i.e., Kal-du vs. Kasdu) in The Expositors Bible Commentary, vol. 7, pp. 14-15 or Robert Dick Wilson, Studies in the Book of Daniel, series 1.

Because Gen 11:28 states that Ur of the Chaldeans was the home of Terah and his family, Chaldeans may have been ethnically Semitic (i.e., same racial group as the Hebrews). See Special Topic: Chaldeans .

the hand of the LORD came upon him This is an anthropomorphic phrase used often for God’s presence, power, and inspiration (cf. Eze 1:3; Eze 3:14; Eze 3:22; Eze 8:1; Eze 33:22; Eze 37:1; Eze 40:1; 1Ki 18:46; 2Ki 3:15; Isa 8:11; Jer 15:17). See Special Topic: Hand .

SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD DESCRIBED AS A HUMAN (ANTHROPOMORPHIC LANGUAGE)

Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley

Ezekiel. In Hebrew. Y heze el yehazzek- el = El is strong, or El strengthens (compare Israel, Gen 32:28).

Of the four greater prophets, Ezekiel and Daniel (who prophesied in Babylonia) are compounded with “El” (App-4. IV); while Isaiah and Jeremiah (who prophesied in the land) are compounded with “Jah”.

Ezekiel was a priest (Eze 1:3), carried away eleven years before the destruction of the city and temple (Eze 1:2; Eze 33:21. 2Ki 24:14). He dwelt in his own house (8. I. Compare Jer 29:5). He was married; and his wife died in the year when the siege of Jerusalem began.

Now = And. This is a link in the prophetic chain. Compare 1Pe 1:10-12. 2Pe 1:21. Ezekiel had doubtless received and seen the letter sent by Jeremiah (Jer 29:1-32).

thirtieth . . . fourth, See notes on p. 1105.

fifth day. Dates in Ezekiel are always of the month, not of the week (Eze 1:1; Eze 8:1; Eze 20:1; Eze 24:1; Eze 26:1; Eze 29:1; Eze 30:20; Eze 31:1; Eze 32:1; Eze 40:1).

captives. Hebrew captivity. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), App-6, forcaptives”, as translated. Compare Eze 3:15,

Chebar. Now Khabour, Probably the same as Chebor or Habor (2Ki 17:6; 2Ki 18:11. 1Ch 5:26), falling into the Euphrates about forty-five miles north of Babylon. On the Inscription it is called nar Kabari = great river, or “Grand Canal”, cut between the Tigris and the Euphrates. In Ch. Eze 3:15, it is not the same “Chebar” as in Eze 1:1, but the Chebar to which Ezekiel was sent (“go, get thee”, Eze 3:4). The “Chebar” of Eze 1:1 was where he dwelt; that of Eze 3:15 is where he was sent,

of = from. Genitive of Origin or Efficient Cause. App-17.

God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

Shall we turn at this time to the prophecy of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel said,

It came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month ( Eze 1:1 ),

So that would be July the fifth. It would be probably the thirtieth year of Ezekiel’s life, when he was thirty years old.

as he was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God ( Eze 1:1 ).

Ezekiel was taken to Babylon in the second captivity at the time when Jehoiachin was also taken captive. There were three times that Nebuchadnezzar’s armies came against Jerusalem, taking captives back to Babylon. Daniel went back in the first captivity. Ezekiel went in the second captivity.

Now, basically Ezekiel was prophesying to the captives, and when he began his prophecy Jerusalem was still standing. Now, there were false prophets in Babylon that were telling the people, “Look, don’t settle down. Don’t get a house. God is going to soon defeat Babylon, and we’re going to go back right away. So, hang loose, because we’re only going to be a little while. The Lord is going to deliver His people, and we’re going to return from Babylon very shortly. So just don’t settle down.”

Now, Jeremiah had been writing to them saying, “Don’t listen to the prophets or so-called prophets who are telling you not to settle down. But instead, settle down, get adjusted, because you’re going to be there for seventy years. Most of you are going to die in Babylon. So you might as well get used to that fact and just settle down, make the best of the situation.”

And so, there were two schools of prophets: the true prophets, the false prophets. But Ezekiel, the true prophet of God, was declaring to them the same thing that Jeremiah was saying–that Jerusalem is not going to be restored immediately, but that Jerusalem is going to be completely destroyed by Babylon. The people are going to be destroyed and scattered, and he is telling the people in Babylon. Now, Jeremiah is writing from Jerusalem, but Ezekiel is there among them, saying, “Now, look, listen to the word of the Lord. Just go ahead and settle down here and settle in, because it’s going to be a long time that you’ll be in captivity.”

So, at the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophecies, he began his prophecy before Jerusalem was destroyed in 596. So, in the beginning of his prophecies, he is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem. As he moves further into his prophecy, as time goes on and the prophecy is fulfilled and Jerusalem is destroyed, then there is a change, and now he is encouraging the people that God, in His time, is going to restore again the glory to Israel. Now, he saw the glory of God depart from Jerusalem through the east gate. But as the prophecies continue and as the people are discouraged, when they hear the news that Jerusalem has been devastated, destroyed, he then begins to encourage them, “God is going to work yet again among His people. The glory of God shall return. The glory of God is going to fill the house and the latter glory is going to be greater than the former glory.” Israel has not yet seen its heyday, in a sense. It’s not yet seen the peak. God is going to yet restore His glory and all, upon Jerusalem and upon Israel. Hard times will intervene or be in the intermittent periods, yet God’s work will yet be accomplished among His people.

So, Ezekiel’s prophecies actually then go out beyond even our present day. Now Ezekiel saw the restoration of the land. He saw the nation being reborn. He predicted the modern Zionist movement, and the rebirth of the nation Israel. And he predicted that when Israel was born again as a nation, that Russia would come and invade Israel. And as we move on into the prophecy of Ezekiel, we get into all of these interesting, marvelous things, because we move actually from the present on into the future. And we see not only what is happening now, but Ezekiel continues to move on and we see things that will be happening within a year or so, or five, ten years at the most. And then he moves on even beyond that. And we see things that will be happening in Israel during the Kingdom Age and the glorious reign of Jesus Christ, as He comes again and enters in through the east gate of the city and establishes His kingdom here upon the earth.

And so, the prophecy of Ezekiel really begins from this point, when he was about thirty years old, when the word of the Lord first came to him, when he saw these visions of God. This is before the fall of Jerusalem, the complete destruction, and he describes here his vision of God.

Now, Isaiah had a vision of God. Ezekiel had a vision of the throne of God, and John in the New Testament had a vision of the throne of God. And so from these insights of these three men, we gather our information, concerning the throne of God, concerning the heavenly scene. Now, immediately there arises a difficulty because we are talking now of heavenly things. But we are seeking to describe them in earthly language. Now, there is, no doubt, words we do not yet know that aptly describe the things in heaven. But at the present time they have to remain to us only as word pictures.

So, you take the language that is common to man, words that are common to man, and you use them to the best of your ability to express things that you’ve never seen before. Weird-looking creatures like you’ve never dreamed of, intelligent beings, and you try to describe with human language what you’re seeing. And immediately you’re limited by language, even as if we tried to describe, if we should suddenly have an insight to, say, the year 2000 and we could see all the technical advances and all that man will have achieved by the year 2000. And we try to describe now with our present language, the modes of transportation and all that man will have developed by that time. As we’re looking at weird gadgets that we have no concept what they are all about, and yet we see them operating and moving and all, and we say, “You know, the thing just has these stacks or whatever, and the smoke comes out. And people, you know… ” and you try to describe the things, but you’re limited because of language.

So, it makes the defining of them or the relating of them difficult because of limitation of language. So, we’ll have to sort of try to envision those things which Ezekiel is talking about.

You remember when Jesus was talking with Nicodemus, and talking about the fact that a man has to be born again. And he was trying to explain to Nicodemus these concepts that were unfamiliar to Nicodemus. And Nicodemus was asking these questions, “Well how can a man be born again when he’s old? You know, you can’t return again to your mother’s womb to be born. How can you do it?”

And Jesus said, “Look, if I have talked to you about earthly things and you can’t understand them, how would you understand if I tried to talk to you about heavenly things? Now the Bible says, “No man understands the things of God, save the Spirit reveal them unto him.” So, in getting into these areas, we’re talking about things of God. We definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit in our understanding and comprehension of these things. That we might get somewhat of a glimpse or a grasp of them.

Now, I am convinced that what they saw we will be seeing when we enter into the heavenly scene. So it is well for you to acquaint yourself as best as possible with these things, though for right now they may seem to be difficult to really comprehend in your mind, yet one day when we actually see them, and we put, you know, this side by side, we’ll say, “Well, he didn’t do too bad a job. Yeah, it looks pretty much like that, you know.”

So, this was the fifth year in which Jehoiachin had been brought as a captive unto Babylon. Zedekiah was presently the king in Judah, in Jerusalem. Jehoiachin had reigned only three months when Nebuchadnezzar came and took him captive along with his mother and his family, and others of Judah.

And the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river of Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him ( Eze 1:3 ).

Ezekiel uses this expression seven times, “the hand of the Lord was upon me.” And this is the first of the seven times that he uses it. We’ll find it again in our study tonight in chapter 3, verses Eze 1:14 , and Eze 1:22 , and then we won’t find it again until chapter 8.

And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the noRuth ( Eze 1:4 ),

Now the north here would be actually the dwelling place of God. In Isaiah in speaking of Satan’s exalting of himself, he said, “I will ascend into the sides of the north.” It is thought that in relationship, of course, to the earth that that heavenly kingdom of God dwells somewhere in the area of the north.

Recently this past week, in fact, there was an interesting article in the paper of a vast empty space that has been found in the universe that is baffling to the scientists. And it is sort of upsetting certain theories that they have had in the past. It could really be very disturbing to the big bang theory, because supposedly the debris of the big bang was sort of distributed equally throughout the entire universe and doesn’t really give place for vast areas of empty space. But yet, there has been discovered recently this extremely vast area of empty space. And the area happens to be actually towards the North Star. And there is this vast area of emptiness in space, which at the present time is a real enigma to the astronomers that are studying it, as they try to align this discovery with the current theories that exist of the origin of the universe.

This whirlwind came out of the north. This would not be out of Babylon. He was in Babylon when he saw it.

a great cloud, and a fire that is infolding itself ( Eze 1:4 ),

Now, have you ever seen fire that enfolds itself? It sort of rolls when there is an explosion of highly volitable materials. And as the fireball goes up, it enfolds itself. It rolls around and catches into itself as it goes up. It’s quite a phenomena to observe.

I was coming home from Los Angeles years ago, when I was going to school up there and living in Santa Ana. And there was this… there used to be a lot of olive orchards over here in the area of La Mirada. And there was an olive oil factory there and the thing had caught fire. As we were coming home, we came by and of course, you know, you’re always fascinated by fire. We got out to watch the fire. We were getting up sort of close, and suddenly the thing exploded. And we watched this ball of fire going up, and the fire enfolding itself as it went up. This ball of fire is going up, but it keeps coming around and enfolding itself on into this ball. And it’s a fascinating phenomena to behold.

And as Ezekiel is seeing now, coming out of this area of the north, this great cloud, and it is interesting that the Bible speaks so often of God being covered with a cloud. The clouds of glory that surround God. There on the mount when God came down and spoke with Moses, there was the cloud of God’s glory that covered Mount Sinai and the fire, again, the fireballs that were emitting forth from it.

the brightness was about it [there was a brightness about it], and out of the midst [or the middle] thereof was the color of amber, that was coming out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the middle thereof there came the likeness of four living creatures ( Eze 1:4 ).

So here in the middle of this glorious brightness that’s sort of a ball of fire enfolding itself in the cloud, there in the midst of it was this beautiful amber color and also these four leaving creatures.

And this was their appearance; they looked somewhat like a man. But every one of them had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass ( Eze 1:5-6 ).

So, again, he’s using human language to describe creatures like he had never seen before. And so we have to use our imaginations in trying to, in our minds, picture or visualize these four living creatures, looking somewhat like a man, each one having four faces, each of them having four wings. Their feet are sort of like a calf’s, sort of cloven like a calf’s foot, but they look like bright burnished brass.

And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. And their wings were joined one to another, and they turned not when they went; but they went every one straight forward ( Eze 1:8-9 ).

So, their movement was in a straight-line type of movement, rather than rounding, sort of straight type of movement of these creatures.

Now as we go on with the description of these four living creatures, we realize that these are paralleled to the four living creatures that John saw, when in the book of Revelation, chapter 4, he also had a vision of the throne of God. And he saw these four living creatures with their four faces, and John also describes them in the book of Revelation. Ezekiel describes them again in chapter 10, when he sees them in chapter 10. And there he identifies to us what these living creatures are, and there we discover that these are cherubim–a created being of God, intelligent beings of God, beings that surround God. In Revelation we are told that they cease not day or night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is, which was, and which is to come.”

Now this ties in then with God’s directions to Moses in the building of the tabernacle, which the book of Hebrews tells us is a model of heaven. Now most of you fellows have built at some time or other in your life a model of either a car or a plane. And you’re not building a P-51, but you’re building a model of the P-51. You can’t get in and fly it, but when you build the model, it looks like, it resembles the real thing. A model is just a resemblance of the real thing. So, the tabernacle was just a model of the real thing. The real thing is in heaven. The tabernacle was a model of heaven. And in the tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, which is a model of the throne of God in heaven, Moses was told to have these cherubim made out of gold above the mercy seat. Their wings touching each other, and the edges of their wings touching the edge of this little cubical, which was fifteen feet cubical, golden room, and this is again the model of the heavenly things.

So, there are these cherubim, these living creatures, no doubt highly intelligent creatures, though they look like they are, perhaps, some kind of a genetic freak, as far as combining with four faces and feet like a calf and all, but yet they are these creatures that are there about the throne of God.

He goes on to describe them.

As for the likeness of their faces, the four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they had the face of an ox on the left side; and they also had the face of an eagle ( Eze 1:10 ).

So, there were four faces on each of them. The front face was like a man. The right side of it was like a lion. The left side like an ox, and behind like an eagle. Now, as I say, they looked like some kind of genetic monstrosity as you look at them. There are some who see in these four faces the four gospels as they describe Jesus Christ. For in the gospels, Christ is described as the Son of man in Luke’s gospel. In Matthew’s gospel He is described as the Lion of the tribe of Judah–or rather, Mark’s gospel. Matthew’s gospel, He is the servant, the ox, the beast of service. And in John’s gospel, the deity, the eagle.

But thus were their faces: their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went everywhere straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went ( Eze 1:11-12 ).

Now because they had faces going in every direction, you just, you know, move you straight. You don’t have to turn your head to go, you just move in straight movements.

And as for the likeness of these living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire ( Eze 1:13 ),

Now picture your barbecue and the burning coals of fire on it.

and like the appearance of lamps: and it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire there came forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning ( Eze 1:13-14 ).

So they could move with the speed of light almost. Their movement was extremely fast and like a lightning bolt, just, you know. The appearance of a flash of lightning.

Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. And the appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the color of a beryl: and they four ( Eze 1:15-16 )

Which would be green.

they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel ( Eze 1:16 ).

So, again, he’s using human language trying to describe their appearance and so forth, and these wheels. And it was like a wheel within a middle of the wheel and these flashes of light and so forth as they move in this green glow, like a beryl in color.

And when they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went ( Eze 1:17 ).

This is the third time he mentions this, so it’s probably quite remarkable to him. He hasn’t seen anything like this, as far as, you know, the earth and on the earth.

As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful [awesome]; their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. And whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, and thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. Now when those went, these went; when those stood still, these stood still; and when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature ( Eze 1:18-21 )

Again he repeats,

was in the wheels. And the likeness of the firmament [above their heads] upon the heads of the living creatures was the color of an awesome crystal, stretched forth over their heads above ( Eze 1:21-22 ).

In other words, now he’s describing the area around the throne of God. These creatures were under the throne of God. And this was like an awesome crystal.

John saw this sea of glass likened to crystal that was there before the throne of God. And as you read, Rev 4:1-11 , you’ll find that it parallels very much this vision of Ezekiel as both of these men, bound by human limitations, tried to describe the heavenly scene, the throne of God and the glory of God that they behold in these visions.

And under the firmament were their wings straight, and one toward the other: every one had two, which they covered their side, every one had two, which covered the sides of their bodies ( Eze 1:23 ).

With two they touched each other, with two they covered the sides of their bodies.

And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters ( Eze 1:24 ),

Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? Ever been up in Yosemite to Vernal Falls or Nevada Falls and you hear this noise of great waters, sort of a roar. And so, as they moved there was this roar. The flash is like lightning and the straight direction type movements.

as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings ( Eze 1:24 ).

So, when they were standing, their wings would come down to their side.

And there was a voice from [this heaven] this firmament [this expanse above them] that was over their heads, when they stood, and they had let down their wings. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone [which is blue]: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake ( Eze 1:25-28 ).

So, you might find it interesting when you have your own study to read Dan 7:1-28; Dan 9:1-27; Dan 10:1-21, as Daniel describes his vision of God. Isaiah chapter 6, as he describes his vision of the throne of God, and then Revelation chapter 4, as John describes his, and you put them all together and you get a pretty good composite of what the heavenly scene must look like.

This bow, John describes it in Revelation chapter 4, a bow like emerald, sort of a greenish in color that is around about the throne of God. Ezekiel describes it here. John had much the same reaction of just falling on his face. Daniel was weak as a result of his vision. He just was totally weakened by it. Ezekiel fell on his face and he heard the voice of one that spake.

Now, flying saucer buffs declare that Ezekiel actually sighted a flying saucer. That there are extraterrestrial beings that have visited the earth and have been visiting the earth during the historic period of man. And that they actually account for many of the otherwise unaccountable phenomena of history, some of the mammoth building projects of ancient man, which still baffle us today. And they, of course, go out to the desert or to various areas, and they have these sightings of these flying saucers, and there is just an awful lot that has been written, has been discussed, has been talked about flying saucers, and there have been many reports and much interesting phenomena surrounding these flying saucers.

Many of them can be accounted for as, perhaps, swamp gases and other things, but yet there are others that reasonably intelligent men have expressed and described and it’s hard to discount them all.

Lambert Dolphin who is a scientist up at the University of Stanford, one of the scientists, I believe his area is that of astrophysics, quite outstanding, very intelligent man, was asked to speak at one of these flying saucer conventions. And so he prepared a paper on flying saucers in which he thought that he would, before the convention, thoroughly debunk this whole flying saucer kind of a… what he thought mythology. And he was approaching it from just a purely scientific standpoint, and was going to take so many of the concepts that they had about moving on the magnetic forces and all of this, and seek to thoroughly, from a scientific standpoint, debunk the thing.

As he was sitting there on the platform, and there were about three thousand people at this convention, the speaker, and of course he was interested that these weren’t freaky people. You know, you think that people who see flying saucers and all are sort of fringe, freaky kind of people. But he realized that among them there were professors, other scientists, peace officers, a wide cross-section of our society.

The leader of the convention asked the people, “How many of you have ever seen a flying saucer?” And he was shocked that about two-thirds of the hands in the auditorium went up. People had said they had sighted flying saucers. He then asked, “How many of you have been taken aboard a flying saucer?” And a third of the people raised their hands. And he began to get a little concerned. When he stood up to speak, he heard this screaming noise that was extremely distracting to him. And he wondered, “Where is that coming from?” And he looked around the audience to see what direction the people might be looking, because he figured that those that were closest to the screaming noise would be looking at it and he could localize where it was and then ask the ushers or someone to take care of that and get rid of it. But he said, suddenly he realized that nobody was looking around anywhere and that he was the only one that was hearing this screaming noise. And to this man of science there came suddenly the awareness, “Hey, this whole thing is demonic.” And he got so shook that he was unable to deliver his paper in which he was going to debunk the whole flying saucer theory or ideas, concepts. He was just totally shaken.

Now, the interesting thing to me is that these people do try to bring Ezekiel into their fold, into their number. “Look, he describes it. He perfectly describes it in his book.” Wait a minute, what does Ezekiel describe? As I said, in chapter 10 Ezekiel again describes it, but he tells us what it is, “These are the cherubim that are there before the throne of God.” These wheels within the wheels, with the flashes of lightning and the movements and so forth. And if you heard them describe how the flying saucers move in the straight type of lines, they don’t make a wide arc when they turn. They just… straight line type of movement, being able to change directions and so forth with tremendous speed. Able to hover and then suddenly move off with tremendous speeds.

Is it possible that these people who are sighting these UFO’s are also dabbling into the occult and are seeing fallen cherubim? We know that when Satan fell that one-third of the angelic host went with him. It is interesting that the Bible says that Satan was indeed a cherubim. He was the anointed–not a cherubim, because cherubim is plural. Cherub is the singular. He was an anointed cherub that covered. But there are cherubim, plural. It is very possible that we are dealing in an interesting area of the occult and that there are these cherubim that are making themselves visible to those who are dabbling into that realm of occultism.

Now what Ezekiel saw were the cherubim there at the throne of God, but it would also stand that the cherubim who fell would have a similar likeness or appearance and movements. So, it is possible that we cannot thoroughly discount this whole flying saucer phenomena as a bunch of junk, but it could indeed be that in these last days, as satanic forces are growing, as far as the demonstrations of their power. That as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man. And there was strong demonic activity in the days of Noah, and we’re coming into the area again of strong demonic activity.

Now I offer that as only a suggestion. I’m not declaring to you, “Oh, I’ve got some great mysterious truth I’m revealing now, you know. This is the way it happened or this is the way.” This is just a suggestion. Something to think about. And I’ll let it go at that.

Shall we turn at this time to the prophecy of Ezekiel.

Ezekiel said,

It came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month ( Eze 1:1 ),

So that would be July the fifth. It would be probably the thirtieth year of Ezekiel’s life, when he was thirty years old.

as he was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God ( Eze 1:1 ).

Ezekiel was taken to Babylon in the second captivity at the time when Jehoiachin was also taken captive. There were three times that Nebuchadnezzar’s armies came against Jerusalem, taking captives back to Babylon. Daniel went back in the first captivity. Ezekiel went in the second captivity.

Now, basically Ezekiel was prophesying to the captives, and when he began his prophecy Jerusalem was still standing. Now, there were false prophets in Babylon that were telling the people, “Look, don’t settle down. Don’t get a house. God is going to soon defeat Babylon, and we’re going to go back right away. So, hang loose, because we’re only going to be a little while. The Lord is going to deliver His people, and we’re going to return from Babylon very shortly. So just don’t settle down.”

Now, Jeremiah had been writing to them saying, “Don’t listen to the prophets or so-called prophets who are telling you not to settle down. But instead, settle down, get adjusted, because you’re going to be there for seventy years. Most of you are going to die in Babylon. So you might as well get used to that fact and just settle down, make the best of the situation.”

And so, there were two schools of prophets: the true prophets, the false prophets. But Ezekiel, the true prophet of God, was declaring to them the same thing that Jeremiah was saying–that Jerusalem is not going to be restored immediately, but that Jerusalem is going to be completely destroyed by Babylon. The people are going to be destroyed and scattered, and he is telling the people in Babylon. Now, Jeremiah is writing from Jerusalem, but Ezekiel is there among them, saying, “Now, look, listen to the word of the Lord. Just go ahead and settle down here and settle in, because it’s going to be a long time that you’ll be in captivity.”

So, at the beginning of Ezekiel’s prophecies, he began his prophecy before Jerusalem was destroyed in 596. So, in the beginning of his prophecies, he is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem. As he moves further into his prophecy, as time goes on and the prophecy is fulfilled and Jerusalem is destroyed, then there is a change, and now he is encouraging the people that God, in His time, is going to restore again the glory to Israel. Now, he saw the glory of God depart from Jerusalem through the east gate. But as the prophecies continue and as the people are discouraged, when they hear the news that Jerusalem has been devastated, destroyed, he then begins to encourage them, “God is going to work yet again among His people. The glory of God shall return. The glory of God is going to fill the house and the latter glory is going to be greater than the former glory.” Israel has not yet seen its heyday, in a sense. It’s not yet seen the peak. God is going to yet restore His glory and all, upon Jerusalem and upon Israel. Hard times will intervene or be in the intermittent periods, yet God’s work will yet be accomplished among His people.

So, Ezekiel’s prophecies actually then go out beyond even our present day. Now Ezekiel saw the restoration of the land. He saw the nation being reborn. He predicted the modern Zionist movement, and the rebirth of the nation Israel. And he predicted that when Israel was born again as a nation, that Russia would come and invade Israel. And as we move on into the prophecy of Ezekiel, we get into all of these interesting, marvelous things, because we move actually from the present on into the future. And we see not only what is happening now, but Ezekiel continues to move on and we see things that will be happening within a year or so, or five, ten years at the most. And then he moves on even beyond that. And we see things that will be happening in Israel during the Kingdom Age and the glorious reign of Jesus Christ, as He comes again and enters in through the east gate of the city and establishes His kingdom here upon the earth.

And so, the prophecy of Ezekiel really begins from this point, when he was about thirty years old, when the word of the Lord first came to him, when he saw these visions of God. This is before the fall of Jerusalem, the complete destruction, and he describes here his vision of God.

Now, Isaiah had a vision of God. Ezekiel had a vision of the throne of God, and John in the New Testament had a vision of the throne of God. And so from these insights of these three men, we gather our information, concerning the throne of God, concerning the heavenly scene. Now, immediately there arises a difficulty because we are talking now of heavenly things. But we are seeking to describe them in earthly language. Now, there is, no doubt, words we do not yet know that aptly describe the things in heaven. But at the present time they have to remain to us only as word pictures.

So, you take the language that is common to man, words that are common to man, and you use them to the best of your ability to express things that you’ve never seen before. Weird-looking creatures like you’ve never dreamed of, intelligent beings, and you try to describe with human language what you’re seeing. And immediately you’re limited by language, even as if we tried to describe, if we should suddenly have an insight to, say, the year 2000 and we could see all the technical advances and all that man will have achieved by the year 2000. And we try to describe now with our present language, the modes of transportation and all that man will have developed by that time. As we’re looking at weird gadgets that we have no concept what they are all about, and yet we see them operating and moving and all, and we say, “You know, the thing just has these stacks or whatever, and the smoke comes out. And people, you know… ” and you try to describe the things, but you’re limited because of language.

So, it makes the defining of them or the relating of them difficult because of limitation of language. So, we’ll have to sort of try to envision those things which Ezekiel is talking about.

You remember when Jesus was talking with Nicodemus, and talking about the fact that a man has to be born again. And he was trying to explain to Nicodemus these concepts that were unfamiliar to Nicodemus. And Nicodemus was asking these questions, “Well how can a man be born again when he’s old? You know, you can’t return again to your mother’s womb to be born. How can you do it?”

And Jesus said, “Look, if I have talked to you about earthly things and you can’t understand them, how would you understand if I tried to talk to you about heavenly things? Now the Bible says, “No man understands the things of God, save the Spirit reveal them unto him.” So, in getting into these areas, we’re talking about things of God. We definitely need the help of the Holy Spirit in our understanding and comprehension of these things. That we might get somewhat of a glimpse or a grasp of them.

Now, I am convinced that what they saw we will be seeing when we enter into the heavenly scene. So it is well for you to acquaint yourself as best as possible with these things, though for right now they may seem to be difficult to really comprehend in your mind, yet one day when we actually see them, and we put, you know, this side by side, we’ll say, “Well, he didn’t do too bad a job. Yeah, it looks pretty much like that, you know.”

So, this was the fifth year in which Jehoiachin had been brought as a captive unto Babylon. Zedekiah was presently the king in Judah, in Jerusalem. Jehoiachin had reigned only three months when Nebuchadnezzar came and took him captive along with his mother and his family, and others of Judah.

And the word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river of Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him ( Eze 1:3 ).

Ezekiel uses this expression seven times, “the hand of the Lord was upon me.” And this is the first of the seven times that he uses it. We’ll find it again in our study tonight in chapter 3, verses Eze 1:14 , and Eze 1:22 , and then we won’t find it again until chapter 8.

And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the noRuth ( Eze 1:4 ),

Now the north here would be actually the dwelling place of God. In Isaiah in speaking of Satan’s exalting of himself, he said, “I will ascend into the sides of the north.” It is thought that in relationship, of course, to the earth that that heavenly kingdom of God dwells somewhere in the area of the north.

Recently this past week, in fact, there was an interesting article in the paper of a vast empty space that has been found in the universe that is baffling to the scientists. And it is sort of upsetting certain theories that they have had in the past. It could really be very disturbing to the big bang theory, because supposedly the debris of the big bang was sort of distributed equally throughout the entire universe and doesn’t really give place for vast areas of empty space. But yet, there has been discovered recently this extremely vast area of empty space. And the area happens to be actually towards the North Star. And there is this vast area of emptiness in space, which at the present time is a real enigma to the astronomers that are studying it, as they try to align this discovery with the current theories that exist of the origin of the universe.

This whirlwind came out of the north. This would not be out of Babylon. He was in Babylon when he saw it.

a great cloud, and a fire that is infolding itself ( Eze 1:4 ),

Now, have you ever seen fire that enfolds itself? It sort of rolls when there is an explosion of highly volitable materials. And as the fireball goes up, it enfolds itself. It rolls around and catches into itself as it goes up. It’s quite a phenomena to observe.

I was coming home from Los Angeles years ago, when I was going to school up there and living in Santa Ana. And there was this… there used to be a lot of olive orchards over here in the area of La Mirada. And there was an olive oil factory there and the thing had caught fire. As we were coming home, we came by and of course, you know, you’re always fascinated by fire. We got out to watch the fire. We were getting up sort of close, and suddenly the thing exploded. And we watched this ball of fire going up, and the fire enfolding itself as it went up. This ball of fire is going up, but it keeps coming around and enfolding itself on into this ball. And it’s a fascinating phenomena to behold.

And as Ezekiel is seeing now, coming out of this area of the north, this great cloud, and it is interesting that the Bible speaks so often of God being covered with a cloud. The clouds of glory that surround God. There on the mount when God came down and spoke with Moses, there was the cloud of God’s glory that covered Mount Sinai and the fire, again, the fireballs that were emitting forth from it.

the brightness was about it [there was a brightness about it], and out of the midst [or the middle] thereof was the color of amber, that was coming out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the middle thereof there came the likeness of four living creatures ( Eze 1:4 ).

So here in the middle of this glorious brightness that’s sort of a ball of fire enfolding itself in the cloud, there in the midst of it was this beautiful amber color and also these four leaving creatures.

And this was their appearance; they looked somewhat like a man. But every one of them had four faces, and every one had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the color of burnished brass ( Eze 1:5-6 ).

So, again, he’s using human language to describe creatures like he had never seen before. And so we have to use our imaginations in trying to, in our minds, picture or visualize these four living creatures, looking somewhat like a man, each one having four faces, each of them having four wings. Their feet are sort of like a calf’s, sort of cloven like a calf’s foot, but they look like bright burnished brass.

And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings. And their wings were joined one to another, and they turned not when they went; but they went every one straight forward ( Eze 1:8-9 ).

So, their movement was in a straight-line type of movement, rather than rounding, sort of straight type of movement of these creatures.

Now as we go on with the description of these four living creatures, we realize that these are paralleled to the four living creatures that John saw, when in the book of Revelation, chapter 4, he also had a vision of the throne of God. And he saw these four living creatures with their four faces, and John also describes them in the book of Revelation. Ezekiel describes them again in chapter 10, when he sees them in chapter 10. And there he identifies to us what these living creatures are, and there we discover that these are cherubim–a created being of God, intelligent beings of God, beings that surround God. In Revelation we are told that they cease not day or night saying, “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is, which was, and which is to come.”

Now this ties in then with God’s directions to Moses in the building of the tabernacle, which the book of Hebrews tells us is a model of heaven. Now most of you fellows have built at some time or other in your life a model of either a car or a plane. And you’re not building a P-51, but you’re building a model of the P-51. You can’t get in and fly it, but when you build the model, it looks like, it resembles the real thing. A model is just a resemblance of the real thing. So, the tabernacle was just a model of the real thing. The real thing is in heaven. The tabernacle was a model of heaven. And in the tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies, which is a model of the throne of God in heaven, Moses was told to have these cherubim made out of gold above the mercy seat. Their wings touching each other, and the edges of their wings touching the edge of this little cubical, which was fifteen feet cubical, golden room, and this is again the model of the heavenly things.

So, there are these cherubim, these living creatures, no doubt highly intelligent creatures, though they look like they are, perhaps, some kind of a genetic freak, as far as combining with four faces and feet like a calf and all, but yet they are these creatures that are there about the throne of God.

He goes on to describe them.

As for the likeness of their faces, the four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they had the face of an ox on the left side; and they also had the face of an eagle ( Eze 1:10 ).

So, there were four faces on each of them. The front face was like a man. The right side of it was like a lion. The left side like an ox, and behind like an eagle. Now, as I say, they looked like some kind of genetic monstrosity as you look at them. There are some who see in these four faces the four gospels as they describe Jesus Christ. For in the gospels, Christ is described as the Son of man in Luke’s gospel. In Matthew’s gospel He is described as the Lion of the tribe of Judah–or rather, Mark’s gospel. Matthew’s gospel, He is the servant, the ox, the beast of service. And in John’s gospel, the deity, the eagle.

But thus were their faces: their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went everywhere straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went ( Eze 1:11-12 ).

Now because they had faces going in every direction, you just, you know, move you straight. You don’t have to turn your head to go, you just move in straight movements.

And as for the likeness of these living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire ( Eze 1:13 ),

Now picture your barbecue and the burning coals of fire on it.

and like the appearance of lamps: and it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire there came forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning ( Eze 1:13-14 ).

So they could move with the speed of light almost. Their movement was extremely fast and like a lightning bolt, just, you know. The appearance of a flash of lightning.

Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. And the appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the color of a beryl: and they four ( Eze 1:15-16 )

Which would be green.

they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel ( Eze 1:16 ).

So, again, he’s using human language trying to describe their appearance and so forth, and these wheels. And it was like a wheel within a middle of the wheel and these flashes of light and so forth as they move in this green glow, like a beryl in color.

And when they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went ( Eze 1:17 ).

This is the third time he mentions this, so it’s probably quite remarkable to him. He hasn’t seen anything like this, as far as, you know, the earth and on the earth.

As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful [awesome]; their rings were full of eyes round about them four. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. And whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went, and thither was their spirit to go; and the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. Now when those went, these went; when those stood still, these stood still; and when they were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them: for the spirit of the living creature ( Eze 1:18-21 )

Again he repeats,

was in the wheels. And the likeness of the firmament [above their heads] upon the heads of the living creatures was the color of an awesome crystal, stretched forth over their heads above ( Eze 1:21-22 ).

In other words, now he’s describing the area around the throne of God. These creatures were under the throne of God. And this was like an awesome crystal.

John saw this sea of glass likened to crystal that was there before the throne of God. And as you read, Rev 4:1-11 , you’ll find that it parallels very much this vision of Ezekiel as both of these men, bound by human limitations, tried to describe the heavenly scene, the throne of God and the glory of God that they behold in these visions.

And under the firmament were their wings straight, and one toward the other: every one had two, which they covered their side, every one had two, which covered the sides of their bodies ( Eze 1:23 ).

With two they touched each other, with two they covered the sides of their bodies.

And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters ( Eze 1:24 ),

Have you ever been to Niagara Falls? Ever been up in Yosemite to Vernal Falls or Nevada Falls and you hear this noise of great waters, sort of a roar. And so, as they moved there was this roar. The flash is like lightning and the straight direction type movements.

as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings ( Eze 1:24 ).

So, when they were standing, their wings would come down to their side.

And there was a voice from [this heaven] this firmament [this expanse above them] that was over their heads, when they stood, and they had let down their wings. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone [which is blue]: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw the color of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake ( Eze 1:25-28 ).

So, you might find it interesting when you have your own study to read Dan 7:1-28; Dan 9:1-27; Dan 10:1-21, as Daniel describes his vision of God. Isaiah chapter 6, as he describes his vision of the throne of God, and then Revelation chapter 4, as John describes his, and you put them all together and you get a pretty good composite of what the heavenly scene must look like.

This bow, John describes it in Revelation chapter 4, a bow like emerald, sort of a greenish in color that is around about the throne of God. Ezekiel describes it here. John had much the same reaction of just falling on his face. Daniel was weak as a result of his vision. He just was totally weakened by it. Ezekiel fell on his face and he heard the voice of one that spake.

Now, flying saucer buffs declare that Ezekiel actually sighted a flying saucer. That there are extraterrestrial beings that have visited the earth and have been visiting the earth during the historic period of man. And that they actually account for many of the otherwise unaccountable phenomena of history, some of the mammoth building projects of ancient man, which still baffle us today. And they, of course, go out to the desert or to various areas, and they have these sightings of these flying saucers, and there is just an awful lot that has been written, has been discussed, has been talked about flying saucers, and there have been many reports and much interesting phenomena surrounding these flying saucers.

Many of them can be accounted for as, perhaps, swamp gases and other things, but yet there are others that reasonably intelligent men have expressed and described and it’s hard to discount them all.

Lambert Dolphin who is a scientist up at the University of Stanford, one of the scientists, I believe his area is that of astrophysics, quite outstanding, very intelligent man, was asked to speak at one of these flying saucer conventions. And so he prepared a paper on flying saucers in which he thought that he would, before the convention, thoroughly debunk this whole flying saucer kind of a… what he thought mythology. And he was approaching it from just a purely scientific standpoint, and was going to take so many of the concepts that they had about moving on the magnetic forces and all of this, and seek to thoroughly, from a scientific standpoint, debunk the thing.

As he was sitting there on the platform, and there were about three thousand people at this convention, the speaker, and of course he was interested that these weren’t freaky people. You know, you think that people who see flying saucers and all are sort of fringe, freaky kind of people. But he realized that among them there were professors, other scientists, peace officers, a wide cross-section of our society.

The leader of the convention asked the people, “How many of you have ever seen a flying saucer?” And he was shocked that about two-thirds of the hands in the auditorium went up. People had said they had sighted flying saucers. He then asked, “How many of you have been taken aboard a flying saucer?” And a third of the people raised their hands. And he began to get a little concerned. When he stood up to speak, he heard this screaming noise that was extremely distracting to him. And he wondered, “Where is that coming from?” And he looked around the audience to see what direction the people might be looking, because he figured that those that were closest to the screaming noise would be looking at it and he could localize where it was and then ask the ushers or someone to take care of that and get rid of it. But he said, suddenly he realized that nobody was looking around anywhere and that he was the only one that was hearing this screaming noise. And to this man of science there came suddenly the awareness, “Hey, this whole thing is demonic.” And he got so shook that he was unable to deliver his paper in which he was going to debunk the whole flying saucer theory or ideas, concepts. He was just totally shaken.

Now, the interesting thing to me is that these people do try to bring Ezekiel into their fold, into their number. “Look, he describes it. He perfectly describes it in his book.” Wait a minute, what does Ezekiel describe? As I said, in chapter 10 Ezekiel again describes it, but he tells us what it is, “These are the cherubim that are there before the throne of God.” These wheels within the wheels, with the flashes of lightning and the movements and so forth. And if you heard them describe how the flying saucers move in the straight type of lines, they don’t make a wide arc when they turn. They just… straight line type of movement, being able to change directions and so forth with tremendous speed. Able to hover and then suddenly move off with tremendous speeds.

Is it possible that these people who are sighting these UFO’s are also dabbling into the occult and are seeing fallen cherubim? We know that when Satan fell that one-third of the angelic host went with him. It is interesting that the Bible says that Satan was indeed a cherubim. He was the anointed–not a cherubim, because cherubim is plural. Cherub is the singular. He was an anointed cherub that covered. But there are cherubim, plural. It is very possible that we are dealing in an interesting area of the occult and that there are these cherubim that are making themselves visible to those who are dabbling into that realm of occultism.

Now what Ezekiel saw were the cherubim there at the throne of God, but it would also stand that the cherubim who fell would have a similar likeness or appearance and movements. So, it is possible that we cannot thoroughly discount this whole flying saucer phenomena as a bunch of junk, but it could indeed be that in these last days, as satanic forces are growing, as far as the demonstrations of their power. That as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of man. And there was strong demonic activity in the days of Noah, and we’re coming into the area again of strong demonic activity.

Now I offer that as only a suggestion. I’m not declaring to you, “Oh, I’ve got some great mysterious truth I’m revealing now, you know. This is the way it happened or this is the way.” This is just a suggestion. Something to think about. And I’ll let it go at that. “

Fuente: Through the Bible Commentary

Eze 1:1-3

EZEKIEL’S VISION OF THE GLORY OF GOD

The great significance of this call of Ezekiel and its remarkable vision of God’s glory lies in the fact that it came in Babylon, the land of Israel’s captivity, far from the honored precincts of the Holy Land, and at a time when the fortunes of the Chosen People were at a low ebb indeed.

Ezekiel himself was a captive, having been removed to Babylon in the second wave of captives about eight years following the group of captives that included Daniel and his companions. Daniel’s captivity had begun about 606 B.C., and Ezekiel’s began in 597 B.C.

The final destruction of Jerusalem was destined to occur soon, as Jeremiah had foretold; and even the holy temple would be destroyed. In the eventuality of such events, it must have appeared to the great mass of the Babylonian captives that Israel was indeed finished and forever terminated. This wonderful prophet brought hope to the fallen people, convincing them that God was indeed not through with them, and that wonderful things were yet planned for Israel, even their restoration to Palestine!

This great vision of God’s glory dramatically demonstrated that God was in no manner whatever limited to Palestine, that he was the God, not merely of the so-called “Holy Land,” but of all the world; and that his presence was just as real in Babylon as it had ever been, even in the Holy Temple itself. The great meaning of the marvelous vision was that God was just as much the God of the captives as he had been in the days of their glory, and that God was just as able to bless or punish Israel in Babylon, as he was in Judea.

Eze 1:1-3

“Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar, and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him.”

“In the thirtieth year …” (Eze 1:1). It is not known what this means. We agree with McFadyen that it is the same as the fifth year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. The sacred writers often gave several points of reference for the dates cited. For example, the evangelist Luke dated the emergence of John the Baptist as occurring in the “fifteenth year of Tiberius,” at the time when Pontius Pilate was Procurator of Judea, and when Herod was the tetrarch of Galilee, etc. (Luk 3:1).

The obscurity of what is meant by this “thirtieth year” poses exactly the kind of problem that many commentators love to”solve” with all kinds of speculations, none of the “solutions” having any merit at all! Pearson has provided a list of alleged “meanings.” “It applies to the thirtieth year following the reforms of Josiah; it is a reference to the thirtieth year of the current jubilee period; it points to the thirtieth year of the neo-Babylonian empire; it was the thirtieth year of Manasseh’s evil reign; it is the thirtieth year of Artaxerxes III.”

By far the most acceptable understanding of what is meant by this “thirtieth year” goes back to the times of Origen (185-254 A.D.) who considered it a reference to the thirtieth year of Ezekiel’s life, that being the age when Jewish priests began their ministry (Num 4:3-4).

“I was among the captives by the river Chebar …” (Eze 1:1). The Chebar was the name given to the great irrigation canal which formed a loop southeast along the Euphrates river, making a loop around Babylon via Nippur and back into the main river near Uruk. Tel Abib was on this canal and is thought to be the place where the vision came to Ezekiel.

“The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God …” (Eze 1:1). Of all the Old Testament prophets, only to Ezekiel were the heavens said to have opened. The heavens were opened unto Jesus (Mat 3:16), to Stephen (Act 7:56), and to John the Apostle (Rev 4:1).

“The fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity …” (Eze 1:2) This is without doubt the same as the “thirtieth year” already mentioned; and this one is easily identified as July, 592 B.C. or 593 B.C., or 594 B.C. The student should be aware that a great deal of uncertainty exists regarding the exactness of any assigned dates during this entire period of ancient history. Able scholars may be cited as receiving any of the three dates given above.

“The word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest …” (Eze 1:3). Note the change of persons from the first to the third. We believe that Eichrodt was wrong in finding in this change evidence of a change of writers. Throughout all of the Biblical books which we have studied, a change of persons usually means nothing at all. Jonah used both the first and third persons in two lines of his prayer from the fish’s belly; and the use of the third person is so frequent as to arouse suspicion when it is not used. The same goes for the frequent changes from feminine to masculine suffixes (as in Eze 1:10).

As noted in the Introduction, above, “We may approach Ezekiel in the confidence that it is what it purports to be: the record of Ezekiel’s 27-year ministry in Babylon to his fellow exiles.”

“And the hand of Jehovah was upon him …” (Eze 1:3) Note how many expressions there are in this passage stressing the fact of God’s speaking through Ezekiel: (1) the heavens were opened unto him; (2) the hand of God was upon him; (3) he saw visions of God; and (4) the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel. The meaning of these expressions is that the words of Ezekiel are expressly the words of God Himself. They are not the hallucinations of Ezekiel, the subjective feelings or impressions of the prophet, nor the projections of his subconscious mind, nor any kind of deductions that the prophet might have himself derived from his own information or observations. They are the words of God.

Time and Place of Writing (Eze 1:1-3)

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, (Eze 1:1-2).

The year was ~ 592 BC. Zedekiah was the current king of Judah as it was the fifth year of Jehoiachins captivity. Ezekiel was likely 30 years old and thus the statement, in the thirtieth year.

Location: Ezekiel was by the river Chebar. Later we learn that the city Ezekiel lived in was Telabib (cf. introduction). The Chebar River was a canal that flows South East from above Babylon to East of Nippur, rejoining the Euphrates near Erech.

At this time, the heavens were opened and Ezekiel peered in and saw visions of God. The objects Ezekiel saw when the heavens were opened are discussed in detail in this chapter.

the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him (Eze 1:3).

The Word of God states that as Ezekiel peered into heaven that the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel. Here is evidence of divine inspiration. Ezekiel received divine revelation directly from God (cf. 2Pe 1:20-21). The idea of Ezekiel miraculously receiving the word of Jehovah is equated to the hand of Jehovah resting upon him (cf. 1Ki 18:46).

Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary

The Book opens with the account of the prophet’s preparation, and falls into two sections, the first describing the visions he saw, and the second the voice he heard.

Verses Eze 1:2-3 in this chapter, which are really parenthetical, may be treated as a title page. This gives the date, states that the word came expressly to him, and indicates the place in which he saw the visions and heard the voice.

The visions were inclusively visions of God. They proceeded in four manifestations. The first was of a cloud swept into sight by a stormy wind, surrounded by brightness, and continually flashing forth in glory. The second was of four living ones out of the midst of this fire, who moved in rhythmic unity. The third was of wheels rotating in harmony with each other, and in co-operation with the movements of the living ones. The fourth was, first, of a firmament, overarching the ceaseless activity of the living ones. Above the firmament a voice was heard, and then the likeness of a throne was seen, and, finally, a Person was manifested of the nature of fire, surrounded by a glory like that of the rainbow, In the presence of the manifested glory Ezekiel fell on his face. The very mystery of the visions spoke of the awfulness of the God with whom he had to deal, and their forms suggested majesty, order, activity, and personality.

Fuente: An Exposition on the Whole Bible

a Vision of Gods Majesty

Eze 1:1-21

A dark storm-cloud approaches the prophet, from which an incessant blaze of lightning scintillated. As it drew near, the forms of four living creatures became visible, combining, under various figures, intelligence, strength, patience, and soaring aspiration. The wheels were evidently symbolical of the cycles of divine providence, which cooperate with the ministers of the divine will. The slab of blue expanse supported a human semblance, suggestive of that great after-event-God manifest in the flesh. The whole conception impresses us with the reality, order, majesty, and humanness, of the Eternal God. Those holy beings surely represent the intelligent company of innumerable angels and servants, while the wheels represent the material creation. All these are sent forth to minister to the heirs of salvation. Angels and nature minister to us, if we are in union with God. All things serve the servants of the Most High.

Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary

Chapter One

The Vision Of The Chariot Of God

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachins captivity, the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him-vers. 1-3.

The book opens very abruptly by the declaration that in the thirtieth year the prophet saw visions of God. Scholars are not united as to what thirtieth year is referred to. Some consider it the thirtieth year of the dynasty of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, who founded the Babylonian empire. Others take it as the thirtieth year of Ezekiels life, the year when, had things been in order and he in the land of Israel, he would have entered upon his responsibilities as priest. In either case, the fact of his call to the prophetic office is not invalidated. He was divinely appointed to be a witness to Israel and Judah after the first victories of Nebuchadnezzar and the second deportation of captives to Chaldea. He dwelt among these by the River Chebar. To him the heavens were opened and visions of God were vouchsafed. While there is a very close link between the prophecy of Daniel, who wrote of the times of the Gentiles, and Ezekiel who dwelt on the government of God among or over the nations, it was to him, particularly, that the heavens were opened. He was enabled to look into the throne room, as it were, of the Almighty and to understand how the affairs of men and of nations were overruled by Him who sat upon that throne in awful and sublime majesty.

It was five years after the carrying away of the ungodly king Jehoiachin, and in the fifth month of that year, that Ezekiel was called to his high office as a prophet of the Lord to the people of the captivity. He was the son of Buzi, a priest, but of which course we are not told. His ordination is expressed in the words, The hand of the Lord was upon me. How blessed when His hands are laid on any man, and thus one is divinely called to represent God in a world that has turned away from Him. Happy is he who today can say in truth,

Christ, the Son of God, hath sent me

Through the midnight lands;

Mine the mighty ordination

Of the pierced hands.

Whether or not one is officially commended of his brethren or of some authoritative body in the professing church, the great thing is to be ordained of God to minister in holy things.

And I looked, and, behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with a fire infolding itself, and a brightness round about it, and out of the midst thereof as it were glowing metal, out of the midst of the fire. And out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had the likeness of a man; and every one had four faces, and every one of them had four wings. And their feet were straight feet; and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calfs foot; and they sparkled like burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings thus: their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they had the face of a man; and they four had the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four had also the face of an eagle. And their faces and their wings were separate above; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies. And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; they turned not when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches: the fire went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning-vers. 4-14.

Artists have attempted to picture this majestic vision of the Eternal One riding through the universe on His chariot of glory, but no human mind can visualize the description in its intricate details. As we read the words of the prophet we are reminded anew that as the heavens are high above the earth, so are Gods thoughts beyond our thoughts and His ways above our ways. But even though the vision may be, as a whole, beyond our comprehension, there is much in it that becomes clear as we study it attentively.

As Ezekiel looked heavenward he beheld a stormy wind, evidently a whirlwind, coming from the north, which to an Israelite was the place of mystery, of darkness and of distress. The biting north wind brought with it blight and desolation. Babylons legions entered the land from the north, spreading desolation wherever they went. Though false prophets cried, Peace, peace, endeavoring to quiet the fears of the people, there would be no peace but rather destruction, because of the waywardness and disobedi- ence of the leaders and people alike. A storm was coming. It was God Himself who had decreed it in His righteous government.

As the prophet gazed upon the enfolding cloud, he discerned the form of a great chariot with wheels of enormous height, the attendants of the divine majesty surrounding it, and one in the form of a man riding in triumph through the heavens.

The living creatures are identical with those of The Revelation, and yet the description is somewhat different. There each individual cherub has but one face, though there are four, as here; and they bear respectively the faces of a man, signifying intelligence; a lion, speaking of majesty and power; an ox, telling of patient service; and an eagle, the symbol of swiftness in execution of judgment and acute discernment from afar. Here each cherub has the four faces. These are the heads of the four orders of creation, the human, the wild beasts, the cattle of the farm, and the bird kingdom. There were two cherubim over the ark, attached to the mercy-seat, speaking of judgment (discernment), and justice (righteousness), the habitation of Gods throne. The four here in Ezekiel and in The Revelation tell of these powers in connection with the government of the world. Four is the number of the world powers, as in Daniel 2 and 7 and elsewhere.

The cherubim here are seen in connection with divine activity in the affairs of the nations. They are the expression of the divine attributes. Whether they are actually created beings, like or akin to angels, or whether they are symbolic representations of these attributes, is a moot question. At any rate, we see in them the manifestation of the divine nature acting in righteous government over the nations. From the days of the Early Church fathers these cherubim have been linked with the manner in which Christ is presented in the four Gospels, and sometimes very fancifully, and apparently with no real grasp of their significance. For instance, the lion of St. Mark is well known and implies that Mark presents Jesus as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. But this is surely incorrect. It was Matthew to whom it was given so to portray Him; whereas Marks record is symbolized better by the patient ox, the servant of God and man. Luke gives us pre-eminently the face of a Man-the Humanity of our Lord in all its perfection. John completes the story by setting Him forth as the heavenly One-the Eternal Son become flesh, aptly pictured by the eagle. In Christ all fulness dwells. He is the complete manifestation of all the divine attributes.

There are details that one who is more spiritually-minded might understand better, but which forbid more careful attempt at exposition as far as the present writer is concerned. The wings connect the cherubim with the heavens, and by these they are covered in the presence of the Throne Occupant. Under their wings are hands as of a man-hands ready to succor and help when needed, or to strike in judgment, if necessary. Nothing here is arbitrary; all is under the control of Him whose heart is concerned about all His creatures.

They went every one straight forward. Nothing can turn aside the undeviating principles of the divine government. No schemes of men, no flaunting of Gods Word, no studied attempts to thwart His righteous rule, can avail. Steadily the chariot of the Lord rolls on, accomplishing the ends He has in view.

Every one of the cherubs had the face of a man. This seems to be the predominant face. The others, archetypal heads of creation, occupy a secondary place. The face of a man tells us that heaven truly understands and enters into our problems. The Lord is mindful of His own, and His heart goes out to every creature He has made. These cherubim are the executors of His judgments as the seraphim are the agents of His grace (Isa. 6). But judgment is His strange work and is executed only when grace has been ignored or rejected.

The wings of the living creatures are used for worship and for service. Like the seraphim, with twain they cover their faces as they bow in adoration before the Majesty of the heavens. The other two are used to speed them on His errands. We may learn a lesson from this for ourselves: worship comes first, then service.

They went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went. There is no vain repetition in Gods Word. The fact that this statement is repeated only helps to impress upon us the immutability of Gods counsels. No power, either human or diabolic, can turn them aside. All are directed by the Spirit who is the expression of the divine activity and is ever working throughout the universe.

The appearance of the living creatures was ethereal, like flaming torches, even as we read, He maketh His angels spirits; His ministers a flaming fire (Psa 104:4; Heb 1:7). The angels are the ministers of Gods providence through whom He rules the present creation. But unto the angels hath He not put into subjection the age to come (Heb 2:5). That age will be ruled through His redeemed ones, associated with Christ on His throne, according as it is written, The time came that the saints possessed the kingdom (Dan 7:22). The fire that went up and down among the living creatures is the Shekinah glory, the manifest presence of the God of Israel, the uncreated light that once abode over the mercy-seat and between the cherubim, in the Holiest of all, of the tabernacle in the wilderness and the temple built by Solomon. This glory Ezekiel saw leaving the temple and returning to heaven. Some day it will come back to earth again and hover above the holy city, and the glory shall be a defence over all (Isa 4:5). During all the long period of the times of the nations, while the Jews are scattered and the temple-site is occupied by a mosque of the false prophet of Islam, the glory is departed from the earth. Ichabod is written over all this scene. So one has to look up to see it by faith in that place where Christ sits exalted at Gods right hand.

The living creatures come and go-swift messengers bent on the Kings business-as the appearance of lightning. Limitations of time are not theirs. Instantly they dart from one end of the universe to another as they carry out the bidding of their Imperial Lord. Even so shall His coming be when He returns to earth the second time, for as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of Man be in His day (Luk 17:24).

We turn to consider next the wheels with their terrible rotations as the chariot of the Almighty moves on in majesty.

Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces thereof. The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto a beryl: and they four had one likeness; and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel. When they went, they went in their four directions: they turned not when they went. As for their rims, they were high and dreadful; and they four had their rims full of eyes round about. And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went; thither was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels-vers. 15-21.

These wheels connect the chariot with the earth. There are wings above and wheels below, and both are in perfect harmony, for the Lord hath His way in the sanctuary and in the sea (Psa 77:13; Psa 77:19). He is both the God of heaven and the Lord of the whole earth. All things serve His might. There is no one who can say unto Him, What doest Thou? or hope to resist His power. He makes the very wrath of man to praise Him, and that which would not contribute to His glory He restrains (Psa 76:10).

Wheels, with their ever-recurring revolutions as they move on through the ages, suggest the great changes to which men and nations are subject. Nothing is at a standstill; everything is in constant motion. This is as true in nature, the material universe, as in the moral and spiritual realms. Solomon marvelled as he watched the great wheel of the world go round. He exclaimed, One generation goeth, and another generation cometh; but the earth abideth forever. The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to the place where he ariseth. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it turneth about continually in its course, and the wind returneth again to its circuits. All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place whither the rivers go, thither they go again (Ecc 1:4-7). We say that history repeats itself. This is but another way of saying that the wheels are continually revolving.

And there are wheels within wheels, so arranged that we cannot follow their intricacies. But we see them everywhere, different principles working at one and the same time, in the world, in politics, in the church, in all phases of human society. So true is this that the mind becomes bewildered trying to keep all the different movements in mind, until we are tempted to think that all is utter confusion, and there is neither order nor sanity in the universe. But the spirit of the living creature is in the wheels and all are controlled by a higher power than the merely human, or blind chance, or what men call fate. Moreover, there are eyes in the wheels, and these speak of intelligence and careful discernment and discrimination. The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good (Pro 15:3) ; and, The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him (2Ch 16:9). Those eyes are ever over the righteous, and His ear is open to their cry (Psa 34:15). And so as the wheels move on, though so high that we are unable to comprehend fully what God is doing, we may rest in this precious truth, that nothing moves but at His command or by His permission. In the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of Gods long toleration of evils-His apparent indifference to the cruelties practised against His people and the wicked behavior of those who seemed to triumph for a time while the righteous suffered in silence- frill all be made clear, and we shall see that though the wheels were high and the mysteries of the divine government beyond our present ability to comprehend, yet all were under His control who was working according to plan in a way that puny man little realized. The wheels have never been separated from the living creatures. Nothing is left to chance. All movements among men are under divine control, and even Satan can act only as God gives permission, as we see in the account of His dealings with the patriarch Job.

And over the head of the living creature there was the likeness of a firmament, like the terrible crystal to look upon, stretched forth over their heads above. And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: every one had two which covered on this side, and every one had two which covered on that side, their bodies. And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a noise of tumult like the noise of a host: when they stood, they let down their wings. And there was a voice above the firmament that was over their heads: when they stood, they let down their wings. And above the firmament that was over their heads was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and upon the likeness of the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man upon it above. And I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire within it round about, from the appearance of his loins and upward; and from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and there was brightness round about him. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake-vers. 22-28.

The firmament, the heavenly dome, is over the living creatures, for it is under the heavens that the divine government is exercised. Nor is there ever any conflict between the various divine agencies or the divine counsels. What seems to mans finite mind to be in- tricate and confused is clear to the spiritual one, who sees God behind all His works and ways. So the cherubim act in perfect harmony and are thus joined to one another. All act in obedience to the voice above their heads, the voice of Him who sits unmoved upon His throne, undisturbed by all the storms of earth that rage below.

As Ezekiel looked up he saw the likeness of a Man upon that throne. This is a clear intimation that the Man of Gods counsels, the Lord Jesus Christ, is ever to occupy that place of power and majesty. It was the preincarnate Christ that the prophet beheld, the likeness of a Man. Now, since redemption is accomplished, the Man Christ Jesus sits in His glorified human body on that throne of the Eternal. Consider the description of the Son of Man walking amid the lampstands in The Revelation, and note how intimately that links with this.

The rainbow about the throne, also seen again in the Apocalypse, speaks of the unchanging covenant God made with Noah, and gives assurance that no matter what catastrophes prevail for the moment, Gods watchful eye is ever upon this earth, and while it remains, summer and winter, seedtime and harvest shall not cease. The storm may rage and the very sun may seem to be blotted out of the heavens, but the Word of our God shall stand forever. His covenant He will not break, nor alter the thing that has gone out of His lips. Faith can rest on this and so be quiet and peaceful in the day of trouble.

Fuente: Commentaries on the New Testament and Prophets

Eze 1:24

I. Consider the subject of Christian experience. Can the soul when lifted stay above in that serene element into which it is ascended? Plainly enough, it is possible only as we keep good the faith, or when it ebbs, renew it. And precisely here is the difficulty: that the disciple has gravitations in him still, that pull him all the while downwards, and settle him on his feet before he knows it. And then, as soon as he begins to stand, his wings are folded, even as the flying creatures fold their wings instinctively when they settle on their feet, having for the time no use for them. The moment he begins to rest on mortal supports, and find his hope in mortal good, he ceases in the same degree to live by faith. All unsteadiness, wavering, collapse in Christian living, is caused somehow, in one way or another-for the ways are numberless-by dropping out of the simple first faith, and beginning to rest on supports from below.

II. A great many persons who mean to be, and think they really are, disciples, miss ever going above a service on foot, by not conceiving at all the more ethereal range of experience, into which true faith would lift them. (1) They undertake, for example, to become reformers and philanthropists, and really believe that they are more superlatively, genuinely Christian in it than others who have more to say of experiences. Their element is agitation, seldom any way of appeal that bears a look of Christian peace or repose. (2) Ritualism is another foot-passenger that, having no sufficient conception of faith, has, of course, no better conception of the higher ranges of life prospected by it. (3) There is a class of men outside of the Church, or sometimes in it, who undertake to be religious or Christian, and really suppose they are, because of a certain patronage they give to the Church and the Word.

III. True religion, according to the Christian idea, makes an immensely wide chasm by the faith at which it begins, or in which it is born. It is not any mere playing out of nature on its own level, but it is the lifting up of the man above himself in a transformation that makes him new to himself.

H. Bushnell, Sermons on Living Subjects, p. 55.

References: Eze 1:4.-Bishop Lightfoot, Old Testament Outlines, p. 250. Eze 1:28.-W. M. Statham, Christian World Pulpit, vol. viii., p. 152; J. P. Gledstone, Ibid., vol. xvii., p. 403.

Fuente: The Sermon Bible

Analysis and Annotations

I. PREDICTIONS BEFORE THE FALL OF JERUSALEM

A. judgment Predictions Concerning Jerusalem (1-24)

CHAPTERS 1:1-3:14 The Vision of Glory and the Call of the Prophet

1. The introduction (Eze 1:1-3)

2. The vision of glory (Eze 1:4-28)

3. Ezekiels call and commission (Eze 2:1-8)

4. The roll eaten and the repeated commission (Eze 2:9-10; Eze 3:1-14)

Eze 1:1-3. The introductory words give us the time when Ezekiel was among the captives by the river Chebar. Four things are mentioned by Ezekiel, who is evidently the author of this book, for he uses the personal pronoun–the heavens were opened–he saw visions of God–the word of the Lord came unto him–the hand of the Lord was upon him. Ezekiel is the only prophet in the Old Testament of whom it is said that he saw the heavens opened. Four times the New Testament mentions opened heavens Mat 3:16; Joh 1:51; Rev 4:1; Rev 19:11. He then saw the visions of God concerning His governmental dealings with His people Israel. Then the hand of the Lord was also upon him when the word of the Lord had come unto him. Notice the order: An opened heaven, a vision, the call, and enablement by the power of God. Such is still the order for the servants of the Lord. The phrase, The hand of the LORD was upon him, or came upon me, is found seven times in Ezekiel, in Eze 1:3; Eze 3:14 and Eze 3:22; Eze 8:1; Eze 23:22; Eze 37:1; Eze 40:1.

Eze 1:4-28. Then he had his great and wonderful vision, which is repeatedly mentioned in his book. We find it mentioned again in chapters 10 and 11, where it is seen departing from Jerusalem. Its return is promised in connection with the great millennial temple after the Lords return (chapter 43). The vision is the vision of the glory of the Lord (Eze 1:28), The vision comes from the north, for a storm cloud of divine indignation from the north (Babylon) was to burst over the house of Judah. The whirlwind, the cloud, and the fire Ezekiel beheld are symbols of glory, the divine presence and judgment. (See Psa 18:8-13; Hab 3:1-19; Jer 4:12-31). The vision then indicated the presence of the God of Israel and His glory, ready to deal in judgment with His apostate people. The living creatures are the same as mentioned and seen in Rev 4:6-9. They are the cherubim, not fictitious creatures or symbols, but real beings. Their position is in connection with the throne. But upon the throne there was one who had the likeness as the appearance of a man. And this man was enshrouded in glory, with the rainbow about him. All this shows forth the glory of Him who is God vision, glory and presence, the Son of God. It anticipates the Lord Jesus Christ, His exaltation upon the throne, government and judgment resting in His hands, who is now the Man in the glory. While the cherubim with their fourfold faces also symbolize the Lord Jesus, here in this vision they are seen in connection with judgment. It is the same in Revelation Rev 6:1-17; Rev 15:7. And then the wheels and their work. In them was the spirit of these great creatures; the rims of the wheels (not rings) were full of eyes. There was an orderly movement of these wheels. The wheels are on the chariot upon which rested the throne of God. They show forth and symbolize the purposes of God in the execution of His inerrant governmental dealings on earth. God controls it all, and His Spirit directs every movement. Much that is ridiculous has been written on this, and some would-be expositors claim that Ezekiel beheld an acroplane.

Intelligence, strength, stability and swiftness in judgment, and, withal, the movement of the whole course of earthly events, depended on the throne. This living energy animated the whole. The cherubic supporters of the throne, full of eyes themselves, moved by it; the wheels of Gods government moved by the same spirit, and went straight forward. All was subservient to the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne judging right. Majesty, government and providence united to form the throne of His glory. But all the instruments of His glory were below the firmament; He whom they glorified was above (Synopsis of the Bible).

Fuente: Gaebelein’s Annotated Bible (Commentary)

in the thirtieth: Num 4:3, Luk 3:23

as I: Ecc 9:1, Ecc 9:2, Jer 24:5-7

captives: Heb. captivity

by the river: Eze 1:3, Eze 3:15, Eze 3:23, Eze 10:15, Eze 10:20, Eze 10:22, Eze 43:3

Chebar: Chebar, called now Khabour, is a river of Mesopotamia, which taking its rise in the Mysian mountains, falls into the Euphrates near Carchemish, or Circesioum, now Karkisia, about 35 degrees 20 minutes n lat. and 40 degrees 25 minutes e long.

the heavens: Mat 3:16, Luk 3:21, Joh 1:51, Act 7:56, Act 10:11, Rev 4:1, Rev 19:11

I saw: Eze 8:3, Eze 11:24, Gen 15:1, Gen 46:2, Num 12:6, Isa 1:1, Dan 8:1, Dan 8:2, Hos 12:10, Joe 2:28, Mat 17:9, Act 9:10-12, Act 10:3, 2Co 12:1

Reciprocal: 2Ki 24:14 – Jerusalem Ezr 8:15 – the river that runneth Psa 137:1 – the rivers Isa 6:1 – I saw also Jer 29:15 – General Eze 40:2 – the visions Dan 7:1 – visions

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

General remarks. Before beginning my manuscript on this book, and especially the first chapter, 1 spent a considerable amount of time in study. 1 have consulted various commentaries and other works of reference such as histories and dictionaries. 1 was aware that most of the explanations that are offered as to the four creatures and their significance, insisted on recognizing the characteristics of the God of all creation, and this in opposition to the idea that they could signify any governments among men. However, there need be no difficulty on this point, for all of the glory and other greatness attributed to these powers of the world must be acknowledged as coming from God because He was concerned with the progress of them in view of the relations they had with His people. (See Dan 2:37; i: 17, 32; 5; 18.)

Here is another thought that should be given consideration. Any explanation that is offered on a passage of the Bible should agree with the historical facts that may be learned from authentic sources. The interpretation that will be given on the meaning of the symbols shown in this chapter should be virtually true historically of the institutions that will be referred to. If this is true (and it is assured that it will be) then no violence can possibly be done the great subject at hand.

Eze 1:1. Thirtieth year refers to the age of Ezekiel when he began to write. Verse 3 says he was a priest and Num 4:3 requires the priest to be at that age when he starts his term; not that he was acting as priest, for lie was in Babylon at the time. The captives were scattered over different places in the land of the Chaldeans and Ezekiel was with the group that was by the river Chebar. This was a stream that flowed into the Euphrates some 200 miles north of Babylon. At this time and place the Lord began his communication with Ezekiel for the purpose of prophecy.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Section 1 (Eze 1:1-28).

Jehovah the Almighty whom all creation, all events, harmoniously obey.

1. The opening verses, as an introduction to the whole book, should be of the deepest significance. As we look at them, at first they may seem but a mere record of dates and places; but we may be sure that underneath we shall find a true introduction, every word of which bears upon that which is to follow. It is thus only that we can read these scriptures aright when we willingly pass over nothing, assured that everywhere the word of God will vindicate itself as that, and that to make one word from the divine mouth idle, is the insult of unbelief to Him who speaks in it. There is a studied emphasis here, manifestly put upon that which we might overlook. This 30th year, this 4th month, this 5th day of the month, are manifestly specifications full of purpose. The 30th year is, no doubt, as it is generally considered, the year of the prophet. It was the period at which the priest entered upon his office; it was the year in which it pleased Christ, Himself the true Priest, to begin His public ministry. This 30th year has in it as one of its factors that number 5 which we shall find accompanying us remarkably through the book: We have thus the 5th day, the 5th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity. Five is the number of man in relation to God. It is the number, therefore, which speaks of responsibility under His government, and that is most suited in the book of Ezekiel. Yet we must not forget that there is another side to it, and that the weak with the strong, the 411, we have found many times to speak of Immanuel. The New Testament is thus a 5th Pentateuch, and of what does it speak? Certainly the burden of its message is not responsibility, but the blessed way in which the weakness of humanity and the strength of Deity have come together in the Person revealed.

Then let us notice that 10 is but a twice 5, and that this number 2, which is the additional factor, is the number which speaks directly of, and therefore emphasizes, relationship. Here is a 3X10, the number of manifestation and of the Spirit alike, and in connection with man, thus in company with God. And when the Lord came up from Jordan, in His 30th year, from His pledge to that ministry in which the river of death was indeed the point to which it guided, and the end for which it marked Him out, it was to be manifested and approved of God as the perfect Mediator, His beloved Son, upon whom then the Dove from heaven descends. Thus He becomes in full reality the Christ, anointed for His work of bringing God and man together. And here also, in what is now before us (though we must modify a good deal the proper force of the words), we may say that the prophet is anointed for the work upon which he enters, where man’s relationship to God is that which is in question, which he is to realize in his soul in its tremendous consequences, yet where in the end God will indeed be seen to unite Himself to man in His own manner, and according to what has been ever in His heart.

This 30th year is now in its 4th month, speaking manifestly of that season of trial to which everything under God must come, which for mere fallen man proves necessarily disastrous, but which for those who accept the searching out is but “for a season, if need be,” and the end, blessing. Meanwhile the prophet is one among a band of captives by the river Chebar -the “great” or “abundant” river -evidently reminding us of Isaiah’s language when God declared by him that He would bring upon Israel “the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria and all his glory” (Isa 8:7). Here it is indeed another spoiler, for the land of Israel is already a land that the rivers have spoiled (Isa 18:2). Babylon has succeeded Assyria, but with no relief in the oppressing hand; yet, though the judgment be not removed, here it is, that over the head of one who, bowed under it, accepts the divine judgment, the heavens are opened and there are “visions of God.” How blessed to know, by the voice of nature itself, that it is night and not day that opens the heavens; and here, whatever the message that may be given, the first thing for the prophet’s soul is that there are “visions of God”

With God coming in, how everything changes, even though nothing may be changed! For there is no desolation like the absence of God; and there is nothing to lack with His presence realized. Thus the end is, as it were, seen from the beginning. These visions of God will be, at the end, visions of exceeding comfort The word that is to come is yet unspoken. First of all God is seen, and by and by there will be His word. But the sentence closes for a moment here, that the sweetness of the vision may be taken in without distraction, for here we have something that had never before occurred. Never before could it be said that the heavens were opened. Over this poor, lone man they opened, into whose soul the pang of the captivity of the people of God had entered in a way unrealized by his fellows around him. Isaiah had seen the glory of the Lord in the temple, and everywhere of course it is the same glory. That vision had closed, and the sanctuary on earth was desolate; but God remained and is seen in the higher sphere where His throne abides untouched by all the sin and sorrow of earth It is the preparation for that which we find in Daniel, where in contrast with that which was said when the ark, the throne of “the God of all the earth,” passed through the dry bed of Jordan to its place in the land, it is now “the God of heaven” who is constantly before us. A higher point of view, and therefore a wider view also, is reached; and these opened heavens have now disclosed for us things that were in the time of the prophet a secret in the heart of God. Yet he who has reached the vision of God Himself has reached that beyond which there can be no height higher. He Himself is the realized pledge of all blessedness to come, and there can be nothing else but this. Thus Ezekiel may well be strengthened for all further disclosures. They can only disclose Him more whom the soul knows and recognizes as its security and rest.

And now we are carried on to look at another side of things; for on this “5th day of the month, which was in the 5th year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of Jehovah came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans, by the river Chebar; and the hand of Jehovah was there upon him.” Notice the change of person. We have here, so to speak, the official account, as before we had the personal; and the message is necessarily one of sorrow and judgment. This 5th year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity shows us how Israel’s present relationship to God ha. been marked by the taking away of him whose name falsely prophesied of “establishment by Jehovah.” “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with Thee, which frameth mischief by a law?” (Psa 94:20). The false confidence must be taken away before God can come in for blessing, and when His “judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa 26:9). These are principles of God’s very nature which no grace that He shows can ever alter. Grace itself can only reign through righteousness, and the word that now comes is the word of Jehovah, this unchangeable God, to Ezekiel the priest, whom “the Mighty One makes strong” to proclaim it. The son of Buzi, “my contempt,” marks the fruit of that contempt of God which all that had passed and was passing now in Israel, so completely manifested on the part of the people. Thus he was in the ]and of the Chaldeans (perhaps “the robber-like” or “the encroachers”), by the river Chebar; and now, molding him to His will, while sustaining him for all that that will may involve, the hand of Jehovah is there upon him.

2. He looks, and now, out of the north, there comes “a stormy wind,” “a great cloud and a fire infolding itself” with a brightness round about it, “and out of the midst, as the look of brass and gold. out of the midst of the fire.” The north is not simply the quarter f, om which the invaders come -though the judgment of God it truly is which is executed by them -but it is rather, as always in its deeper meaning, the place of darkness, of mystery therefore, but a mystery which the coming in of God must needs dispel. The judgment itself declares Him -vindicates His nature, answers the questioning suspense of the righteous perplexed by His long patience in the presence of evil. Thus it is a storm-wind, a whirlwind, in fact, as we see by the fire infolding itself, “taking hold of itself,” as it is literally, something which answers to what we shall see in the whirling wheels afterwards; and, as fire is ever sustained by that on which it takes hold, here it takes hold upon itself -it is sustained by its own nature. This fire is not pure wrath; it is rather, as a symbol, the holiness of God of which it speaks, a consuming fire indeed, therefore, to iniquity, but judgment is not its essence, not what it seeks or delights in, but what is necessitated by the perfection of God Himself. Judgment is rather seen in the whirl of the wind, such a whirl as the preacher saw in nature (Ecc 1:6), and it is but part of the ordained circuit of events as seen in those succeeding generations in which each repeats what has been before it, and yet does not repeat it wholly: for there is progress, a purpose working through it which is but the purpose of God; though in strange forms to which the sin of man has compelled it. But if there be a great cloud, there is yet a brightness round about, a brightness which necessarily must be when we know Him whose that purpose is; and lo, “out of the midst of it as the look of brass and gold, out of the midst of the fire.” Thus the nature of God Himself is seen, what is at the heart of the judgment, and which, therefore, while it has in it the fixedness which is always symbolized by the brass, is the display of the glory of God, such as the gold ever signifies.* All this is but a first and distant view of that which is seen approaching, but there are already in it the elements of that which presently is seen in detail. The first thing indeed is that in the form of judgment, God it is who is enwrapping Himself; but in such a way that He Himself can be discerned -nay, is made known and glorified. With Him, that which makes Him known is necessarily that which glorifies Him.

{*The word hashmal in the original is translated electron in the Septuagint, or amber, as in the Authorized Version. It is, according to Wilson, a compound word, formed apparently of the Hebrew word nahash, brass, and another root meaning “to be smooth.” In this way it suggests the similar word chalkolibanon of Rev 1:15. These are the two characteristics of judgment, as seen in the brass, and of glory, as seen in the other smooth bright metal, probably gold. Thus it is glory in judgment that is displayed. -S. Ridout.}

The first and distant view already gives the character of that which is approaching. It is storm -the divine wrath -but God revealed in it, and therefore, brightness round about, which presently we shall find, moreover, putting on the iris-hues in which the light breaks out into a band of various glory which once more reveals Him in the storm when it is passed, and now in covenant with the earth, enfranchised and renewed. It is the anticipation of what we find in Revelation, the rainbow round the throne. As now it rapidly draws near, and the details develop, this agreement with Revelation is marked in such a manner as to be recognized at once; for out of the fire there comes the likeness of four living creatures.

They are, strictly, “living ones,” creatures not being expressed, though surely implied in the four forms of man, lion, ox, and eagle, in which they appear. The human form however predominates and gives character to them; while yet each one has four faces and four wings corresponding to these. Thus it is not a likeness of God that they present; and all likeness of Him is expressly forbidden. They are creatures of His -no more; in His hand, obedient to His will, and used for His purposes; in fact, as we shall see, instruments of His government; in Revelation seen in the midst of and around the Throne here underneath, it for here the view is from earth, and there in heaven. They have in general the likeness of a man, but their feet are like the feet of an ox, “upright,” and not extended, as is man’s foot. They sparkle, giving the look of glowing brass, reminding us once more of Revelation, but there of Him who appears to John, and who is the Lord Himself, “His feet like unto fine (or glowing) brass, as if they burned in a furnace.” The treading down in wrath is clearly indicated. The sole of the foot is like that of a young bullock, for patient labor is manifest in the exercise of righteous judgment.

They had human hands under their wings: implying doubtless their possession of that delicacy of touch and power of manipulation which the lower extremities lacked; thus they were not quadrupedal, but human; their hands being moreover under those wings which showed them to be fitted for a higher sphere than that of earth.

Their wings joined together, so that there was perfect unity of action among the whole four living ones, the face guiding in a straightforward course in which was no deviation; a higher Spirit than that of the living creature itself in fact guided and governed all.

In the vision of Revelation the four forms are separate, which here we find united in each living creature They are given also in another order from that given here, and plainly suited to what is contemplated in the second part of Revelation where the Lion of Judah takes the seven-sealed book. There, the lion comes first therefore; the emblem of the resistless power which is fundamental to perfect government. A government without power to execute its will is plainly none. We might expect from this that swift decisiveness of action which we so naturally look for in view of the almightiness of God and His holiness as against evil; and indeed such action is drawing near at that time of the end which John is looking on to. Yet the cry of the martyred saints, when the fifth seal is opened, tells how long has been the delay of judgment for which they wait, and for which they are still told to wait. But there is a patience which results from the very consciousness of strength; and with everything completely under His control, there is no haste in the execution of the divine purposes of God. Thus the patient-working ox follows the lion, to supply what is needed to the first thought; the ox too being the worker for coming harvest, as this patience of God is to have fruit in blessing to His creatures. The long-suffering of the Lord is for salvation. Then, the human-faced cherub at once reminds us of how He has come in to manifest Himself in manhood for the accomplishment of this, and how He is seeking to be known, intimately, to lead us into fellowship with Himself. And with this there will be necessarily exercise of heart and conscience, as the man’s face still reminds us: for of these different forms the man alone speaks of a moral agent. And this exercise under divine government is none the less, but the more thorough and solemn, because His ways in this, as the final figure of the eagle comes to assure us, are ways that often soar beyond our knowledge: God were no God if there were not depths in His nature and a wisdom in His ways inaccessible to man. He dwelleth in the light unapproachable One whom no man hath seen, nor can see though, blessed be His name, in what we know of Him, better known after all than we are to ourselves.

Thus these four forms, while certainly not meant to attract engagingly the eye, still less in their fourfold complexity as represented in Ezekiel, nor to convey to us the idea of any actually existing spiritual beings, are manifestly suited to intimate to us the characters of a government which God exercises continually, with a plenitude of power in subjection to which all creation works. Thus in the apocalyptic vision the living creatures are seen from a heavenly standpoint, “in the midst of the throne and round about the throne.” Here they are under it for we are looking at them from the world-side, whence they naturally appear more complex in their forms, and with the world-number, four, emphasized in the four faces and four wings of each. The faces are in a different order also from that in which the forms are represented in Revelation.

But here, in Ezekiel, the human form in general is dwelt upon it is the human face that comes to the front and this suits well the tenderness of God’s approach to His people when in trial, which Scripture everywhere exhibits. How good to see that, just here, when judgment is impending, yet to the prophet’s view, the lion is not first, but the man first. The human form invites, as by and by we see even upon the throne itself. The lion is seen next, upon the right hand (yamin), which is the Hebrew also for the south: opposed thus to all the soft, relaxing influences which are naturally implied under this, for the judgment of God must no more be treated easily and with indifference, as hitherto. The ox is on the left, or as it might otherwise be rendered, the north, to meet with patient resistance the dark and evil forces proceeding from the kingdom of darkness, which must not be allowed to oppose or ally themselves with the holy judgment of God. While finally, behind all is the eagle, to remove from the earth the corruption which defiles it (Luk 17:37), that as of old He may bear His people upon eagles, wings, and bring them to Himself (Exo 19:4).

The creature-forms are not separate from one another here, as seen in the heavenly vision of Revelation, but each living being unites in itself these diverse characters, as on earth we see the acts of divine government displaying, though not in equal prominence, the whole.

As to the wings of the living creatures, they are four, not six as in Revelation. With only two of these they fly and these are joined one to another in perfect unity of action while two cover their bodies, as in a higher Presence. In the seraphim of Isaiah’s vision, who have six wings like those of Revelation, two cover the face and two the feet, while with two alone they fly. Can there be any true work for God, or wisdom for it, where in the presence of His glory the creature takes not its place of nothingness before Him? Thus there was no unsteadiness or fickleness in their movement, they went each one in the direction of its face: and, obedient to the spirit that dwelt in them, they lacked no ability for the attainment of their end, whither the spirit was to go they went with simple directness of purpose -they turned not when they went.

The likeness of the living creatures as a whole bears witness of the coming of unwilling judgment which the people have provoked, but which still is not of the essence of what is here. Their appearance is indeed like burning coals of fire, which nevertheless is not identified with the living creatures, but as the appearance of torches (not simply destroying, but enlightening also) goes up and down among them. But the judgment is manifest: the fire is bright, and out of the fire goes forth lightning; and to this the motions of the living creatures agree: they go and return as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

Now we have another thing, which is altogether outside the vision of Revelation. For there, as already said, it is as seen by one in heaven. Here the prophet is on earth, and the wheels are seen upon earth also, and have a more intimate connection with it than the living creatures themselves. Yet they move in unison with these, nay, are moved by them, for the spirit of the living creatures is in the wheels, and their character is thus reflected in them. But the wheels are moreover gem-like. their appearance and their work is as the look of a topaz; for there is in them the display of the attributes of God, as in the jewels of the high priest’s breastplate, which are the Prim and Thummim, the divine “lights and perfections,” the glory of the refracted light, which God is.

The four wheels are alike, and have one fundamental meaning; their appearance and their structure is as it were a wheel in the midst of a wheel; so that they go upon four sides, the one wheel being set into the other, which it crosses at right angles; thus, like the living creatures, having no need to turn, to whatever quarter they may go.

The wheel speaks naturally, primarily, of the revolution of time, marked as it is for us by those luminaries which God appointed for “signs” as well as “seasons;” and most significant signs they are: heaven putting thus the stamp of vanity upon the fallen creature, whose dependence upon God it reveals for that renewal of life ever needed by it. “To everything there is a season,” and no more; nothing continues at one stay: the day comes out of the womb of night, only to go back into it again. The winter swallows up the autumn fruits. So the generations of men follow one another; and even “history,” as is often said, “repeats itself.” “The thing that has been is that which shall be, and there is nothing new under the sun.” Yet with all this repetition there is a certain progress also: the wheel is moving; not only so, but it is moving on. Whither? There is often a certain betterment as it moves, which is apt to fill us with only too exuberant a hope. The wheel has eyes, in which there seems the light of purpose. And indeed, purpose of a sort is easily seen: the spirit of the living creature at least is in the wheels; the living creature taking on also, as Ezekiel sees, the human form preeminently, as the course of events plainly shows, the large control of things man has, though not alone: for with him, constantly carrying, often controlling, often thwarting him, there works a force, itself under the constraint of law, without which he can do nothing.

And here the wheel rises so high that it is dreadful: he can see but a brief portion -follow but a short way; and if he sees no more, the light dies out again; for what of this spirit of man which counts for so much, and is yet so little? which passes so readily as a breath that cometh not again? Whither does it pass? as the preacher asks: “Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth?” Even the spirit of the living creature seems thus but part of the machinery itself. The wheel it is that controls, and the spirit of man is under this law which so utterly abases him, and carries him down at last into a darkness out of which no one sees him emerge. He then is no master of the wheel, but the wheel is master: he dies as the beast dies; and how is he then greater than the beast? Thus death baffles him. The earth abides, and things that seem passed away return again; but the generations do not return. Progress there may be, and fruitful thoughts take root and spring up, but it is upon the graves of those who have wrought to produce the harvest. Yet here is precisely that which has in it purpose of its own, and the highest, that is moral, purpose. In the mystery of this sentence, as it surely seems, upon him -which the voice within him interprets so persistently and bodingly as sentence -the wheel begins to put on the topaz look, and the “lights and perfections” of God reveal themselves in it. The supreme control which is not in man’s hands can still less be in the wheel itself. The eyes in it after all speak of a wisdom which is alien to mere mechanism; and if the wheel be but the ordinance of God, we may learn hope of Him whose heavens proclaim to us their control over the earth, and how He can bring light out of darkness, summer out of winter, life out of death.

Resurrection is indeed the full display of God’s thought. Without it there is no proper revolution of the wheel; and God Himself is not seen, who cannot be seen in judgment merely. That is His “strange work,” and His heart cannot be seen in it. But this “sore travail which God has given to the sons of men to be exercised with it,” is but God’s travail with man so exercised for a new birth, which is to make him, beyond all that the first creation made him, a child of God, the heir of a glorious purpose, of which revelation has been preaching to him from the beginning, even in the story of those primal days to which the Scripture record carries us back. For these, even then, were in a manner new-creative days -days of resurrection for that earth not created in that state of desolation into which it had now lapsed under those whelming waters, the records of whose work the earth has been little by little disclosing to us. The “days” of Gen 1:1-31, with deeper lessons than ever geology could in the nature of things give us, reveal indeed the work of Him who has alone the power, not only to “renew the face of the earth,” but to renew also man’s moral nature. Spite of all resistance, He carries on step by step to their complete development those purposes of His grace which the dispensations are disclosing, which are all here wrapped up, in a way which went far beyond the knowledge of him who wrote, not by traditional inspiration, but by the teaching of the Spirit of God.

Thus, in the record of the first day, if God calls the darkness which He is displacing “night,” yet “the evening and the morning” are the day, as He would interpret to us; a day which does not therefore begin with the night and end with the night, as we have sadly chosen, if for our common purposes conveniently, to reckon it. Nor does it begin with the day and end with the night either. No; the evening begins, and the morning follows. The light which a the call of God has just appeared, thus seems at once to be disappearing again, and the darkness to triumph over it. But it has not really done so. The day is only being conformed to the type of resurrection which will be recognized by faith on the part of His people in coming generations as the inimitable, unmistakable pattern of His workmanship. In the victory over sin and evil which are coming in, God is to be known as the God of resurrection. Death is the brand of vanity upon the evil, the leveling of the pride which is the rebellion of the creature against the Hand that formed it. But it is in that Hand also the weapon by which the arch-enemy is defeated and spoiled; and through death, for those who accept the humiliation of it, there is found the way of life. The revolution of the wheel, though it be high and outside the ken of sense merely, is that in which it puts on its topaz look and reveals its mystery.

3. Thus Ezekiel does not see merely the wheels, or the living creatures; he sees over their heads the likeness of an expanse as the look of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above. And again, above the likeness of the expanse itself there is the likeness of a throne; and upon the likeness of the throne there is, what indeed is strange and wonderful to see, the appearance of a Man above upon it. As soon as we look up thither we become conscious, in the attitude of the living creatures, that they are themselves in profound subjection to the higher power that is there. The harmony in which they act with one another is manifested as only the result of a common subjection to One who controls all. Their wings are spread out in full activity, their bodies remaining however always covered by their wings, as we have already seen them, and as is emphasized here by the repetition. And now the sound of their wings is heard as the sound of many waters -a cataract of sound, which presently is realized as the voice of the Almighty -the noise indeed as of a multitude, but not tumultuous -the sound of a marshalled host. This is the plain interpretation of the living creatures themselves; which the heathen, as the monuments of Babylon have shown us, worshiped in such forms (there indeed grotesque), seeing what was under the firmament only, and not able to pierce to the Throne that was above it, and turning thus “the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like unto corruptible man, and to birds and four-footed beasts, and creeping things” (Rom 1:23). Here they are in their place, and serving; at His voice moving, wing-enwrapped, before Him; at His voice stilled to absolute rest, with their wings let down.

But we are permitted not alone to behold the throne, and hear the voice of the Eternal, but to see Him who sits upon it. First, however, as to the throne: it is as the appearance of a sapphire stone. This does not seem to be what we now call the sapphire. That of the ancients was, as Pliny testifies, “refulgent with spots of gold -azure, never transparent:” that is, the lapis lazuli. And when we hear God’s own voice claiming the heavens as His throne, how suited is the likeness of a sapphire stone! The word is derived from one (saphar) which means “to number,” and hence “to tell, declare,” and this is the word used when it is said that “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psa 19:1) . This sapphire throne, then, is symbolically just the starry vault, which is seen similarly in the vision of God upon Mount Sinai (Exo 24:10) when “they saw the God of Israel; and there was beneath His feet as transparent sapphire-work, even as the heavens themselves for clearness” This seems to have been taken by some to prove that the ancient sapphire was itself transparent; but in fact there is no occasion from this to suppose so. There is, in what is seen, the general appearance of a sapphire stone, but with this the added character of a transparency such as there is in the heavens themselves: words which show plainly that it is the starry heavens that are here symbolized.

Upon this throne then, there is “the likeness as the appearance of a Man above upon it.” We are warned by the language here to be careful how far we go in the way of exact application. There can be no doubt indeed for the Christian that Christ exactly fills the picture; even as Daniel (Ezekiel’s contemporary) sees in his vision “One like unto a Son of Man come in the clouds of heaven,” and dominion given to Him (Dan 7:13). Yet, no doubt, the time is not come even yet in which this will be fulfilled. This does not however prevent the ultimate reference to Christ which is such an imperative necessity. Christ on the throne is God’s ideal of government for a world departed from Him, and He it is who is thus to subdue all things to God. Thus it is not strange if the divine throne ever puts on the human character. And it surely does so. Is God a man that He should repent? It is human essentially to do so; yet governmentally God “repenteth Him of the evil;” nay, announces this as a principle in His dealings with men (Joe 2:13; Jer 18:8). His threatenings, therefore, no less than the blessings He holds out to them, are for the proving of what is in their hearts, as again He declares (Deu 8:2; Deu 13:3; Psa 7:9; Jer 17:10). But why should He thus try the creatures He has made, who knows them perfectly, and the whole issue of every trial? Ah, it is the need of man himself and not of God, and a need on the part of all His creatures, who throughout the universe are spectators of His dealings with men, and who are learning in the Church His manifold wisdom; and to learn “in the ages to come, the exceeding riches of His grace, in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:7; Eph 3:10).

In connection with this, the dispensational changes show us the “likeness of the appearance of a Man upon the throne.” Not only has the trial of man been constantly going on, but new methods of trial have been instituted as the old ones seemed to show themselves inefficacious. Thus after the fall, there was at first the appeal to conscience, and men were suffered to do what was right in their own eyes. What men now desire, as anarchy, has had its full trial at the very beginning of things. Even Cain, the first murderer, was not to be slain; and there were no kings or potentates of any kind; but the result was the deluge; the earth had to be washed thoroughly clean, and everything to start afresh. Then human government was ordained; and that was a step in advance from which there has been on God’s part no return; nor has there been since such utter disaster as with those early generations. Yet human government soon manifested its incapacity to meet the deeper need of those whose hearts were departing from the living God. Men manufactured gods to suit themselves; and thus, out of a world given over to idolatry, God had to call a people among whom the truth could be maintained -the written Word taking the place of traditions which human imaginations darkened and perverted, and fresh revelations by the mouths of prophets whom He raised up giving constantly increasing light as the world’s darkness deepened. We need not enter into more detail of those interventions which culminated in the rising of that Light of the world, whose beams today illumine all who have eyes to see. But this succession of various appeals to man, how human, if indeed much more than human, they are in that appeal! How plainly is to be seen in them the “appearance of the likeness of a Man” upon a throne which is in the heavens!

But here it is we find what had been seen by the prophet at the outset, giving character to the whole, “the look of brass and gold,” the manifestation of unchangeable holiness in that which comes as judgment, but with the display in it of the glory of God. From the loins upward this appears in the fire -the glory of the Person who is thus revealed; while from the loins downward it is more His acts that are in view; where it is more the pure fire, but with a brightness round about, in which are seen the hues of the bow of promise, the work of righteousness executed being peace, “and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance for ever” (Isa 32:17).

“This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah.”

The prophet falls prostrate before his God, and then there comes to him a voice which raises and energizes him, and sends him forth Jehovah’s messenger to a rebellious people.

Fuente: Grant’s Numerical Bible Notes and Commentary

Eze 1:1. Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year It is very uncertain from whence this computation of time commences. But the most probable opinion seems to be that which the Chaldee paraphrast, Archbishop Usher, Dr. Prideaux, and other learned men adopt: namely, that these thirty years are to be reckoned from the time when Josiah and all the people of Judah entered into that solemn covenant mentioned 2Ki 22:3; and when the book of the law was found by Hilkiah the priest, which was in the eighteenth year of Josiah, from which date, it appears, to the fifth year of the captivity, were thirty years. This being an event which put the Jewish state upon a new trial, was certainly sufficiently remarkable to render the time when it took place an era proper to be dated from. Accordingly, from the same period learned men compute the forty years of Judahs transgression, mentioned Eze 4:6. In the fourth month Thammuz, which nearly corresponds to our July; as I was among the captives Carried away by Nebuchadnezzar, with King Jehoiachin, 2Ki 24:14. Thus the godly are sometimes involved in the same outward calamities which befall the wicked. By the river Chebar Which river Ammianus calls Aboras, and Ptolemy, Chaboras. It flows into the east side of the Euphrates at Circesium, or Carchemish, nearly two hundred miles northward of Babylon. On this river, at Tel-abib and other places, Nebuchadnezzar planted his Jewish captives, probably to cultivate waste lands, or to carry on some manufacture for the benefit of their victors. This was the scene of Ezekiels prophecies, which were continued through the course of twenty-two years. Here he was present in body, though in visionary representation he was sometimes taken to Jerusalem: see Bishop Newcome.

The heavens were opened As a prelude to a heavenly vision. The appearance of the heavens, as it were, opening, seems, in this and such like cases, to have been represented first to excite attention to the vision that was to follow: see Mat 3:16. And I saw visions of God It is probable that the captive Jews had been left some time without prophets or visions from God, which might supply the want of the more ordinary means of instruction; at length, however, God raised them up a prophet in their captivity, to whom he first revealed himself by an extraordinary vision, as he had done to Isaiah, chap. 6., to Jeremiah, chap. 1., to Abraham, Act 7:2, and to many others of his servants, in order, as it were, to open and settle a correspondence, and a satisfactory way of intercourse, so that there needed not afterward a vision upon every fresh revelation made to them.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Eze 1:1. In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, and fifth day of the month. The Jews were accustomed to reckon time from great and auspicious events, as the call of Abraham, the exodus from Egypt, and the building of the temple. Now, the finding of the long-lost copy of the law of Moses, 2Ki 22:8, filled the land with joy, and called a great multitude to Jerusalem to celebrate anew the Lords passover. This was in the eighteenth year of Josiah, from which only those thirty years can with certainty be collected.

By the river Chebar, which rises in the mountains of Mesopotamia; and running through the middle of that country, disembogues into the Euphrates at the city of Cobar, not far below Carchemesh. Ptolem calls it , intersecting Mesopotamia.

I saw the visions of God; or as in Eze 1:3, the Word of the Lord came to Ezekiel. The prophet speaks here in the third person. The condescension was great. Messiah in person came to a worm! Similar illustrations appear in Jer 47:1. In like manner, St. Paul also, speaking of his vision, says, I knew a man in Christ Jesus, caught up to the third heaven. 2Co 12:2. Ezekiel records in all seventeen distinct visions, of which Messiahs chariot is the first, which formed the grand seal of his call to the prophetic office. The other sixteen are as follow.

2. Commences with chap. 3., to the end of chap. 7., in various visions. 3. Ezekiel 8, 9. 10, 11. comprise visions seen in the sixth year. 4. Ezekiel 12. to the succeeding chapter. 5. Ezekiel 13. seen in the seventh year. 6. Ezekiel 21, 22. 23, 7. Ezekiel 24. seen in the ninth year. 8. Ezekiel 25. concerning other nations. 9. Ezekiel 26. against Tyre. 10. Same subject continued to chap. 28, 11. Ezekiel 29. against Pharaoh and Egypt. 12. Ezekiel 31. the subject continued. 13. Ezekiel 32. the subject continued. 14. Ezekiel 33. the duties of a watchman. 15. Ezekiel 35, 36. against Moab, with comfort to Israel. 16. Ezekiel 37, 38. 39. Israel restored, and Gog destroyed. 17. Ezekiel 40. the new temple seen in the twenty fifth year.

Of Ezekiels visions, archbishop Newcome says, and his words are cited by a recent critic with marks of strong approbation, However numerous the fictions of Ezekiel are, they all appear in magnificent dress, and each in its peculiar splendid one. Lustre shines in him on every side; and if the poet has here and there overloaded his subject with ornaments, we shall be unable to refuse our admiration to his genius, notwithstanding these defects.From the words fictions and defects, we may gather, that the primate believed in Ezekiels inspiration the same as we believe in the inspiration of Milton, Pope, or Racine the younger, whose beautiful poem sur la religion has been eulogized by Rousseau.

Milton far surpasses the primate in the excellence of his remarks concerning this most glorious discovery of God to the prophet. He regards this vision as the chariot of Messiah, the Son of God, and the Redeemer of Israel, who hurled apostate angels to the dire abyss.

Nor less on either side tempestuous fell His arrows, from the fourfold-visaged Four Distinct with eyes, and from the living wheels Distinct alike with multitude of eyes; One spirit in them ruled, and every eye Glared lightning, and shot forth pernicious fire Among th accursed, that withered all their strength, And of their wonted vigour left them drained, Exhausted, spiritless, afflicted, fallen. Yet half his strength he put not forth, but checked His thunder in mid volley: for he meant Not to destroy, but root them out of heaven. Paradise Lost, book 6:814.

Eze 1:4. A whirlwind came out of the north. The rabbins have so great a reverence for this vision, that they are afraid to explain it. It is in substance the same as Moses saw. Exo 25:18. The same as Isaiah saw, chap. 6.; and as St. John saw. Rev 4:5. The whirlwind out of the north may import the Babylonian army in its approach to Judea, for they made a circuitous route along the Euphrates to avoid the deserts, fit only to be traversed by the Arabs. The cloud and the fire mark the vehicles which God employs, when he is pleased to converse with man. The colour of amber. The Hebrew word chasmal may be understood of a vivid colour, as the centre of the fire. But as amber retains its colour, and is more fragrant in a state of friction, it may denote the divine excellence which subsisted in many of the captive Jews.The living creatures, literally animal creatures, import the ministry of holy angels, who continually surround the throne of God. In Eze 10:15-20, the animals are called cherubim; and it is plain that their bodies resembled those of men, and were erect. The man may denote their wisdom and purity, the eagle their piercing sight, the ox their strength, and the lion unconquerable courage.

Eze 1:5. Out of the midst of the cloud of Messiahs chariot, when he rode on the wings of the wind; notes of which will be found on Deu 33:26.Four living creatures, designating the cherubim seen by Isaiah, chap. 6.; and more fully illustrated by St. John. Revelation 4. The whole vision therefore exhibits Christ reigning over angels and saints in his kingdom, and glorious in the midst of his church. Such likewise are the visions in Revelation 5, 8, 9.

Eze 1:7. Their feet were straight feet. The feet of a bull, seen in the vision, are firm and strong, and may therefore denote the stability of the love, the covenant, and righteousness of Him who is the rock and strength of our salvation. Their feet sparkled with corruscations, like pots of brass when by an intense heat they boil in the furnace. Metals in a state of fusion, as in the blast furnaces of iron, are too vivid for the eye to contemplate without injury to the sight, as when we look intensely at the sun. This fire designates the presence of the seraphim, a name equivalent to burning ones.

Eze 1:8. They had the hands of a man under their wings. Likewise, as in Eze 1:26, the figure of a man was above the chariot of glory. This is the continuous designation of the incarnate glory of Christ, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. He rides above the chariot, which moves at his command; he extends his arm of power under every wing, for Christ is all and in all, everliving and glorious in his sanctuary. In him the church rides triumphantly over all her foes; she mounts up with wings as eagles, and leaves the world and sin behind.

Eze 1:10. They four had the face of a man; for man, in regard of his spirit, is allied to angels. Poole, in a table on this verse, places the man to the south, the ox to the east, the eagle to the north, and the lion to the west. Then transposing their position, he places the lion to the south, &c.

Eze 1:13. Their appearance was like burning coals of fire. The Deity veiled himself in a sheet of devouring fire on Sinai. Elisha saw the mountains of Samaria full of horses of fire, and chariots of fire. In a similar manner were the heads of the holy apostles crowned with the spires of a celestial flame. Act 2:3-4. What then has the church to fear? The God of our salvation is a consuming fire.

Eze 1:14. The living creatures ran and returned, with a velocity like the electric fluid: ever living, ever active, ever watchful, ever devout. They sit not as statues, like the wooden protectors of cities and temples. They have no fixed abode, but where their aid is most wanted, thither they fly; and while the church dwells in tents, the seraphim surround the camp. Psa 34:7.

Eze 1:15. One wheel upon the earth. There were four wheels, yet only one touched the earth. Hence, we may gather, that angels are concerned in the humblest affairs of human life, where all things revolve in changes from adversity to prosperity, and from prosperity to adversity.

Eze 1:18. Their ringswere dreadful. The Hebrew, the Chaldaic, and the LXX read backs for rings, which best agrees with Eze 10:12, and with Rev 4:6, where it is said that the four beasts were full of eyes before and behind. A body so full of eyes, says Dr. Wall, seems to denote the society of angels and men. Lapide thinks that the beauty of those eyes might be represented by the peacocks tail; but he spins out figures much too far. The eyes denote, no doubt, the divine omniscience.

Eze 1:22. The likeness of the firmament upon the headswas as the colour of the terrible crystal. Jerome reads, crystalli horribilis; natural enough for a man of Milan, who had seen the glaciers of mount Blanc, and the constant rainbows which appear on the sunny side in the droppings of the melted ice; a sublime sight to the traveller. The Chaldaic reads, the strong or the very luminous crystal. The glory is like that which Moses saw. Exo 24:10.

Eze 1:24. The noise of their wings, as they went or flew, for both these motions are ascribed to them, was like the noise of great waters. The strake of their wings was so dreadful that it shook the heavens, and made the earth tremble. The great voice also which Israel heard at the giving of the law, appalled their hearts with fear; and the voice of the Son of man which John heard in Patmos, was like the sound of many waters. Rev 1:13; Rev 1:15.

Eze 1:26. Above the firmamentwas the likeness of a throne. In like manner Moses beheld the divine glory on the mount, and Isaiah saw the Messiah sitting on his throne. This was a prelude or intimation of our Saviours incarnation, for the divine nature cannot be conceived to sit upon a throne; and it marks farther, that he is a God of justice presiding over the nations of the earth.

Eze 1:27. I saw as the colour of amber. See Eze 1:4. This amber was the colour assumed by the Word of the Lord, when he appeared to the prophet at the time the elders of Judah sat before him: Eze 8:2. Jerome leaves the Hebrew chasmal untranslated. It is both here and in Eze 8:2, associated with fire, and might designate the peculiar appearance of burning coals.

Eze 1:28. The appearance of the bowin the day of rain. This emblem of the divine presence, often mentioned in scripture, is to man a happy token that God is mindful of his covenant. See on Gen 9:13. It was to Ezekiel a sure pledge that Israel should once more receive the former and the latter rain.

REFLECTIONS.

In this most consoling but sanctifying vision, we see that the holy prophets were purely passive in the call to their high mission. The character of a prophet was high, his work arduous and difficult, requiring an extraordinary degree of grace to bear the honours and sustain the persecutions attached to the office. Hence God exercised his sovereignty in the selection of his servants.

The care of providence over the church is unceasing. When the Lords people go into captivity or affliction, he will be with them there for their support and high defence. No man shall afflict them without permission, and then only by weight and measure.

This cloud of glory, the vehicle of the supreme Being when conversing with men, marks farther by its moving position that the true church sojourns on earth, and has no permanent habitation here. It is not in Jerusalem, nor in Samaria, nor in any particular place that men shall worship the Father. He is a Spirit, and they that worship him must do it in spirit and in truth. The peculiar sanctity of tombs and temples is a human error. God prefers the heart of the contrite to any house that man can build.

The cloud moving in a right line from north to south, and the way the human face looked, shows that how crooked soever the ways of man may be, the Lords way is perfect. He proceeds with his administration, and turns not aside for the winding of vallies or the elevation of hills. The saints have only to follow in a pious and teachable temper, and the Lord will surely turn their captivity and lead them as his Israel to his holy hill.

The movements of providence are complicated. As in a watch, so in the chariot of the Lord, there was a wheel within a wheel. The great builder of heaven and earth has his plan before him; but he conceals it from angels and men till the proper time. In his work he employs all in heaven and all on earth, the multitude of the wicked and the righteous few. The Assyrian wheel rolled in the bloody career of conquest; but the Lord holding the reins of his chariot, suffered him only to crush Samaria, and took off his wheels before Jerusalem. In like manner the wheel of Babylon rolled Judah into captivity, but the wheel of Persia set them free. Thus in ten thousand cases, God, taking the wicked by their passions, one while permits them to chastise, and another while to defend his people, while all the time they are solely seeking to gratify the pride, avarice and ambition of their own hearts. Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God.

Fuente: Sutcliffe’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Ezekiel 1-3. Ezekiel Enters upon his Ministry.

Eze 1:1-28. Ezekiels Vision.

Eze 1:1-3. Like the prophets generally, Ezekiel enters upon his ministry only after he has had a vision of God and a call from Him. The book, therefore, appropriately opens with a description of these experiences. They took place in the thirtieth yeara difficult phrase: perhaps the thirtieth year of the prophets lifein any case in 592 B.C., the fifth year after Jehoiachin and the leading citizens of Judah had been carried captive into Babylon (2Ki 24:10

Eze 1:16). Among them was Ezekiel, who whether or not a priest himself, came of a priestly familya fact which explains certain elements in the vision about to be described, and which accounts for the form into which he casts his ideals (Ezekiel 40-48) and in general for the temper of his mind. The Jewish colony of which he was a member was settled in the neighbourhood of a large navigable canal called the Chebar, S.E. of Babylon. It was there that he had the vision of God which sent him forth upon his ministry. It came upon him apparently when he was in a state of trance or ecstasyfor that is the implication of the frequently recurring phrase the hand of Yahweh was upon him; and the full bearing of the vision is not appreciated till we remember that the God who there came into his experience with such illumining and quickening power was popularly supposed to be confined to Canaan, the home of His people, or more particularly to the Temple; but, as certain symbolical details of the vision will soon make clear, this great God is not thus confined, but even in distant Babylon He can make Himself felt and known.

Eze 1:4-21. The vision, which is unusually complicated and elaborate, would be very difficult to render pictorially; but the ultimate elements can still be recognised which were fused together in the sublime experience of ecstasy. It was suggested in part by the prophets knowledge of Isaiahs vision (Isaiah 6), of Solomons Temple, and the mongrel figures of Babylonian art. But it is not till towards the end of the description that we hear anything of the Divine Being Himself (Eze 1:26); attention is first concentrated on the wonderful chariot upon which He is borne, and the details of it are all symbolic of aspects of the Divine nature. First the prophet sees a fiery cloud approachingflashing like amber, or rather electrum (a mixture of silver and gold). From out the glow four living creatures, suggested by the cherubim of the Temple (1Ki 6:23-28, Gen 3:24*, Psa 18:10*, Isa 6:2*), begin to articulate themselves; each of these creatures had four wings and four faces, that of a man, lion, ox, eagle, symbolising respectively intelligence, dignity, strength, and speed. The four creatures face east, west, north, and south, suggesting that all parts of the universe alike are open to the gaze of Godan idea further enhanced by the presence of wings attached to the creatures, and of wheels beneath and beside them, so that there is no spot inaccessible to the Divine energy: for everywhere this mysterious chariot can go. The wonder and weirdness of it all is heightened by the presence of eyes in the wheels. Wheels so equipped cannot miss their way, and to those mysterious eyes every part of the universe is open. The creatures and the wheels alike were animated by the Divine life: and in the midst of the creatures was a perpetual flash of lightning, and the glow of firesuggested, no doubt, by the altar fire of Isaiahs visionso that the whole phenomenon constituted an awe-inspiring symbol of the omnipotence, the omnipresence, and the omniscience of God.

If it be said that much in this vision is obscure and some of it grotesquethe combination, e.g. of wings and wheels as means of locomotionit may be urged in reply that the prophet is quite conscious that he is attempting to describe the indescribable. Instead of boldly describing the things themselves, he usually only hints at their appearance: it was the likeness of living creatures, faces, etc., that he sawsomething like them, but in the last analysis something unutterable. The vision is a mystery, as every vision of God must be, and this feature persists throughout the description to the end. Indeed this sense of mystery, with its accompanying reverence and reticence, is most prominent when Ezekiel comes to tell of the figure throned upon the chariot which he has just described.

Eze 1:22-28. Though the whole is a vision of God, it is worth noting that Ezekiel does not name or describe Him till towards the end. This has the literary effect of heightening the readers suspense, though the impression of the Divine presence is far less immediate than that produced by the story of the vision and call experienced by Isaiah or Jeremiah. God is more remote to the later prophet.

The mysterious reverberating whirr of the mighty wings is followed by an equally mysterious silence. The wings droop, the chariot stops. Above the heads of the creatures is seen a crystal floor or platform (here called firmament) on which rested a sapphire thronethe imagery here suggests the deep blue of heavenand on the throne is Almighty God Himself, something like a radiant human figure of supernatural brilliance and glory. And all this terror of the Divine majesty is softened by the sight of a lovely rainbow round the throne. But little wonder that, when the prophet saw the awful vision, he fell prostrate upon his face.

Notice the incessant repetition, in the last few verses, of the words appearance and likeness. At this point more than ever, Ezekiel knows himself to be describing things which it is not possible for a man to utter.

Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible

1:1 Now it came to pass in the {a} thirtieth year, in the fourth [month], in the fifth [day] of the month, as I [was] among the captives by the river of {b} Chebar, [that] the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of {c} God.

(a) After that the book of the Law as found, which was the eighteenth year of the reign of Josiah, so that twenty-five years after this book was found, Jeconiah was led away captive with Ezekiel and many of the people, who the first year later saw these visions.

(b) Which was a part of Euphrates so called.

(c) That is, notable and excellent visions, so that it might be known, it was no natural dream but came from God.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

1. The setting of the vision 1:1-3

"The setting of the Mesopotamian dream-visions-which occurred in both the Assyrian period and the Babylonian period . . . -consisted of four elements: (1) the date, (2) the place of reception, (3) the recipient, and (4) the circumstances. Ezekiel included all four aspects in his vision." [Note: Ibid., p. 754. See Oppenheim, pp. 186-87.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

The book begins with an introductory formula that is typical of narrative literature: "Now it came about" (Heb. wayhi; cf. Jos 1:1; Jdg 1:1; Rth 1:1; 1Sa 1:1; Est 1:1; Jon 1:1). Ezekiel is essentially a narrative that contains other types of literature.

Ezekiel dated his vision of God that follows as coming to him on the fifth day of the fourth month (the equivalent of July 31) and in the thirtieth year. The thirtieth year evidently refers to the prophet’s thirtieth year, when he was 30 years old. [Note: Allen, pp. 20-21.] Other views are that this was the thirtieth year following the discovery of the Law and Josiah’s reforms, the thirtieth year since the Exile began in 605 B.C., the thirtieth year of Nabopolassar’s reign, the thirtieth year of Jehoiachin (the date of compilation of the book), or the thirtieth year after the last observed year of jubilee. [Note: See Anthony D. York, "Ezekiel I: Inaugural and Restoration Visions?" Vetus Testamentum 27 (1977):82-98.] Frequently when someone recorded personal reminiscences he gave the person’s age (cf. Gen 8:13). Thirty was the age at which priests entered into their ministry in Israel (Num 4:3; Num 4:23; Num 4:30; Num 4:39; Num 4:43; 1Ch 23:3), and Ezekiel was a priest (Eze 1:3).

These visions came to Ezekiel while he was among the Jewish exiles who settled by the Chebar River in Babylonia. The Chebar River was a large, navigable canal that tied into the Euphrates River north and south of Babylon. It made a semicircular loop around the city.

"It was part of a complex network of canals that came into being in the Mesopotamian heartland to provide artificial irrigation from the Euphrates and, to a lesser extent, the Tigris for the grain crops and date orchards, and also, in the case of larger watercourses, transportation of these and other goods." [Note: Allen, p. 22.]

Ezekiel saw the heavens opened, and he beheld the heavenly throne room of God (cf. Mat 3:16; Mar 1:10; Luk 3:21; Joh 1:32; Joh 1:51; Act 7:56; Act 10:11; Rev 4:1; Rev 19:11). [Note: See Allan J. McNicol, "The Heavenly Sanctuary in Judaism: A Model for Tracing the Origin of an Apocalypse," Journal of Religious Studies 13:2 (1987):66-94.]

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)

THE VISION OF THE GLORY OF GOD

Eze 1:1-28

IT might be hazardous to attempt, from the general considerations advanced in the last two chapters, to form a conception of Ezekiels state of mind during the first few years of his captivity. If, as we have found reason to believe, he had already come under the influence of Jeremiah, he must have been in some measure prepared for the blow which had descended on him. Torn from the duties of the office which he loved, and driven in upon himself, Ezekiel must no doubt have meditated deeply on the sin and the prospects of his people. From the first he must have stood aloof from his fellow exiles, who, led by their false prophets, began to dream of the fall of Babylon and a speedy return to their own land. He knew that the calamity which had befallen them was but the first installment of a sweeping judgment before which the old Israel must utterly perish. Those who remained in Jerusalem were reserved for a worse fate than those who had been carried away; but so long as the latter remained impenitent there was no hope even for them of an alleviation of the bitterness of their lot. Such thoughts, working in a mind naturally severe in its judgments, may have already produced that attitude of alienation from the whole life of his companions in misfortune which dominates the first period of his prophetic career. But these convictions did not make Ezekiel a prophet. He had as yet no independent message from God, no sure perception of the issue of events, or the path which Israel must follow in order to reach the blessedness of the future. It was not till the fifth year of his captivity that the inward change took place which brought him into Jehovahs counsel, and disclosed to him the outlines of all his future work, and endowed him with the courage to stand forth amongst his people as the spokesman of Jehovah.

Like other great prophets whose personal experience is recorded, Ezekiel became conscious of his prophetic vocation through a vision of God. The form in which Jehovah first appeared to him is described with great minuteness of detail in the first chapter of his book. It would seem that in some hour of solitary meditation by the river Kebar his attention was attracted to a storm-cloud forming in the north and advancing toward him across the plain. The cloud may have been an actual phenomenon, the natural basis of the theophany which follows. Falling into a state of ecstasy, the prophet sees the cloud grow luminous with an unearthly splendour. From the midst of it there shines a brightness which he compares to the lustre of electron. Looking more closely, he discerns four living creatures, of strange composite form, -human in general appearance, but winged; and each having four heads combining the highest types of animal life-man, lion, ox, and eagle. These are afterwards identified with the cherubim of the Temple symbolism: {Eze 10:20} but some features of the conception may have been suggested by the composite animal figures of Babylonian art, with which the prophet must have been already familiar. The interior space is occupied by a hearth of glowing coals, from which lightning-flashes constantly dart to and fro between the cherubim. Beside each cherub is a wheel, formed apparently of two wheels intersecting each other at right angles. The appearance of the wheels is like “chrysolite,” and their rims are filled with eyes, denoting the intelligence by which their motions are directed. The wheels and the cherubim together embody the spontaneous energy by which the throne of God is transported whither He wills; although there is no mechanical connection between them, they are represented as animated by a common spirit, directing all their motions in perfect harmony. Over the heads and outstretched wings of the cherubim is a rigid pavement or “firmament” like crystal; and above this a sapphire stone supporting the throne of Jehovah. The divine Being is seen in the likeness of a man; and around Him, as if to temper the fierceness of the light in which He dwells, is a radiance like that of the rainbow. It will be noticed that while Ezekiels imagination dwells on what we must consider the accessories of the vision-the fire, the cherubim, the wheels-he hardly dares to lift his eyes to the person of Jehovah Himself. The full meaning of what he is passing through only dawns on him when he realises that he is in the presence of the Almighty. Then he falls on his face, overpowered by the sense of his own insignificance.

There is no reason to doubt that what is thus described represents an actual experience on the part of the prophet. It is not to be regarded merely as a conscious clothing of spiritual truths in symbolic imagery. The description of a vision is of course a conscious exercise of literary faculty; and in all such cases it must be difficult to distinguish what a prophet actually saw and heard in the moment of inspiration from the details which he was compelled to add in order to convey an intelligible picture to the minds of his readers. It is probable that in the case of Ezekiel the element of free invention has a larger range than in the less elaborate descriptions which other prophets give in their visions. But this does not detract from the force of the prophets own assertion that what be relates was based on a real and definite experience when in a state of prophetic ecstasy. This is expressed by the words “the hand of Jehovah was upon him” (Eze 1:3)-a phrase which is invariably used throughout the book to denote the prophets peculiar mental condition when the communication of divine truth was accompanied by experiences of a visionary order. Moreover, the account given of the state in which this vision left him shows that his natural consciousness had been overpowered by the pressure of supersensible realities on his spirit. He tells us that he went “in bitterness, in the heat of his spirit, the hand of the Lord being heavy upon him; and came to the exiles at Tel-abib, and sat there seven days stupefied in their midst”. {Eze 3:14-15}

Now whatever be the ultimate nature of the prophetic vision, its significance for us would appear to lie in the untrammelled working of the prophets imagination under the influence of spiritual perceptions which are too profound to be expressed as abstract ideas. The prophets consciousness is not suspended, for he remembers his vision and reflects on its meaning afterwards; but his intercourse with the outer world through the senses is interrupted, so that his mind moves freely amongst images stored in his memory, and new combinations are formed which embody a truth not previously apprehended. The tableau of the vision is therefore always capable to some extent of a psychological explanation. The elements of which it is composed must have been already present in the mind of the prophet, and in so far as these can be traced to their sources we are enabled to understand their symbolic import in the novel combination in which they appear. But the real significance of the vision lies in the immediate impression left on the mind of the prophet by the divine realities which govern his life, and this is especially true of the vision of God Himself which accompanies the call to the prophetic office. Although no vision can express the whole of a prophets conception of God, yet it represents to the imagination certain fundamental aspects of the divine nature and of Gods relation to the world and to men; and through all his subsequent career the prophet will be influenced by the form in which he once beheld the great Being whose words come to him from time to time. To his later reflection the vision becomes a symbol of certain truths about God, although in the first instance the symbol was created for him by a mysterious operation of the divine Spirit in a process over which he had no control. In one respect Ezekiels inaugural vision seems to possess a greater importance for his theology than is the case with any other prophet. With the other prophets the vision is a momentary experience, of which the spiritual meaning passes into the thinking of the prophet, but which does not recur again in the visionary form. With Ezekiel, on the other hand, the vision becomes a fixed and permanent symbol of Jehovah, appearing again and again in precisely the same form as often as the reality of Gods presence is impressed on his mind.

The essential question, then, with regard to Ezekiels vision is, What revelation of God or what ideas respecting God did it serve to impress on the mind of the prophet? It may help us to answer that question if we begin by considering certain affinities which it presents to the great vision which opened the ministry of Isaiah. It must be admitted that Ezekiels experience is much less intelligible as well as less impressive than Isaiahs. In Isaiahs delineation we recognise the presence of qualities which belong to genius of the highest order. The perfect balance of form and idea, the reticence which suggests without exhausting the significance of what is seen, the fine artistic sense which makes every touch in the picture contribute to the rendering of the emotion which fills the prophets soul, combine to make the sixth chapter of Isaiah one of the most sublime passages in literature. No sympathetic reader can fail to catch the impression which the passage is intended to convey of the awful majesty of the God of Israel, and the effect produced on a frail and sinful mortal ushered into that holy Presence. We are made to feel how inevitably such a vision gives birth to the prophetic impulse, and how both vision and impulse inform the mind of the seer with the clear and definite purpose which rules all his subsequent work.

The point in which Ezekiels vision differs most strikingly from Isaiahs is the almost entire suppression of his subjectivity. This is so complete that it becomes difficult to apprehend the meaning of the vision in relation to his thought and activity. Spiritual realities are so overlaid with symbolism that the narrative almost fails to reflect the mental state in which he was consecrated for the work of his life. Isaiahs vision is a drama, Ezekiels is a spectacle; in the one religious truth is expressed in a series of significant actions and words, in the other it is embodied in forms and splendours that appeal only to the eye. One fact may be noted in illustration of the diversity between the two representations. The scenery of Isaiahs vision is interpreted and spiritualised by the medium of language. The seraphs hymn of adoration strikes the note which is the central thought of the vision, and the exclamation which breaks from the prophets lips reveals the impact of that great truth on a human spirit. The whole scene is thus lifted out of the region of mere symbolism into that of pure religious ideas. Ezekiels, on the other hand, is like a song without words. His cherubim are speechless. While the rustling of their wings and the thunder of the revolving wheels break on his ear like the sound of mighty waters, no articulate voice bears home to the mind the inner meaning of what he beholds. Probably he himself felt no need of it. The pictorial character of his thinking appears in many features of his work: and it is not surprising to find that the import of the revelation is expressed mainly in visual images.

Now these differences are in their own place very instructive, because they show how intimately the vision is related to the individuality of him who receives it, and how even in the most exalted moments of inspiration the mind displays the same tendencies which characterise its ordinary operations. Yet Ezekiels vision represents a spiritual experience not less real than Isaiahs. His mental endowments are of a different order, of a lower order if you will, than those of Isaiah; but the essential fact that he too saw the glory of God and in that vision obtained the insight of the true prophet is not to be explained away by analysis of his literary talent or of the sources from which his images are derived. It is allowable to write worse Greek than Plato; and it is no disqualification for a Hebrew prophet to lack the grandeur of imagination and the mastery of style which are the notes of Isaiahs genius.

In spite of their obvious dissimilarities the two visions have enough in common to show that Ezekiels thoughts concerning God had been largely influenced by the study of Isaiah. Truths that had perhaps long been latent in his mind now emerge into clear consciousness, clothed in forms which bear the impress of the mind in which they were first conceived. The fundamental idea is the same in each vision: the absolute and universal sovereignty of God. “Mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.” Jehovah appears in human form, seated on a throne and attended by ministering creatures which serve to show forth some part of His glory. In the one case they are seraphim, in the other cherubim: and the functions imposed on them by the structure of the vision are very diverse in the two cases. But the points in which they agree are more significant than those in which they differ. They are the agents through whom Jehovah exercises His sovereign authority, beings full of life and intelligence and moving in swift response to His will. Although free from earthly imperfection they cover themselves with their wings before His majesty, in token of the reverence which is due from the creature in presence of the Creator. For the rest they are symbolic figures embodying in themselves certain attributes of the Deity, or certain aspects of His kingship. Nor can Ezekiel any more than Isaiah think of Jehovah as the King apart from the emblems associated with the worship of His earthly sanctuary. The cherubim themselves are borrowed from the imagery of the Temple, although their forms are different from those which stood in the Holy of Holies. So again the altar, which was naturally suggested to Isaiah by the scene of his vision being laid in the Temple, appears in Ezekiels vision in the form of the hearth of glowing coals which is under the divine throne. It is true that the fire symbolises destructive might rather than purifying energy, {see Eze 10:2} but it can hardly be doubted that the origin of the symbol is the altar-hearth of the sanctuary and of Isaiahs vision. It is as if the essence of the Temple and its worship were transferred to the sphere of heavenly realities where Jehovahs glory is fully manifested. All this, therefore, is nothing more than the embodiment of the fundamental truth of the Old Testament religion-that Jehovah is the almighty King of heaven and earth, that He executes His sovereign purposes with irresistible power, and that it is the highest privilege of men on earth to render to Him the homage and adoration which the sight of His glory draws forth from heavenly beings.

The idea of Jehovahs kingship, however, is presented in the Old Testament under two aspects. On the one hand, it denotes the moral sovereignty of God over the people whom He had chosen as His own and to whom His will was continuously revealed as the guide of their national and social life. On the other hand, it denotes Gods absolute dominion over the forces of nature and the events of history, in virtue of which all things are the unconscious instruments of His purposes. These two truths can never be separated, although the emphasis is laid sometimes on the one and sometimes on the other. Thus in Isaiahs vision the emphasis lies perhaps more on the doctrine of Jehovahs kingship over Israel. It is true that He is at the same time represented as One whose glory is the “fulness of the whole earth,” and who therefore manifests His power and presence in every part of His world-wide dominions. But the fact that Jehovahs palace is the idealised Temple of Jerusalem suggests at once, what all the teaching of the prophet confirms, that the nation of Israel is the special sphere within which His kingly authority is to obtain practical recognition. While no man had a firmer grasp of the truth that God wields all natural forces and overrules the actions of men in carrying out His providential designs, yet the leading ideas of His ministry are those which spring from the thought of Jehovahs presence in the midst of His people and the obligation that lies on Israel to recognise His sovereignty. He is, to use Isaiahs own expression, the “Holy One of Israel.”

This aspect of the divine kingship is undoubtedly represented in the vision of Ezekiel. We have remarked that the imagery of the vision is to some extent moulded on the idea of the sanctuary as the seat of Jehovahs government, and we shall find later on that the final resting-place of this emblem of His presence is a restored sanctuary in the land of Canaan. But the circumstances under which Ezekiel was called to be a prophet required that prominence should be given to the complementary truth that the kingship of Jehovah was independent of His special relation to Israel. For the present the tie between Jehovah and His land was dissolved. Israel had disowned her divine King, and was left to suffer the consequences of her disloyalty. Hence it is that the vision appears, not from the direction of Jerusalem, but “out of the north,” in token that God has departed from His Temple and abandoned it to its enemies. In this way the vision granted to the exiled prophet on the plain of Babylonia embodied a truth opposed to the religious prejudices of his time, but reassuring to himself that the fall of Israel leaves the essential sovereignty of Jehovah untouched; that He still-lives and reigns, although His people are trodden underfoot by worshippers of other gods. But more than this, we can see that on the whole the tendency of Ezekiels vision, as distinguished from that of Isaiah, is to emphasise the universality of Jehovahs relations to the world of nature and of mankind. His throne rests here on a sapphire stone, the symbol of heavenly purity, to signify that His true dwelling-place is above the firmament, in the heavens, which are equally near to every region of the earth. Moreover, it is mounted on a chariot, by which it is moved from place to place with a velocity which suggests ubiquity, and the chariot is borne by “living creatures” whose forms unite all that is symbolical of power and dignity in the living world. Further, the shape of the chariot, which is foursquare, and the disposition of the wheels and cherubim. which is such that there is no before or behind, but the same front presented to each of the four quarters of the globe, indicate that all parts of the universe are alike accessible to the presence of God. Finally, the wheels and the cherubim are covered with eyes, to denote that all things are open to the view of Him who sits on the throne. The attributes of God here symbolised are those which express His relations to created existence as a whole-omnipresence, omnipotence, omniscience. These ideas are obviously incapable of adequate representation by any sensuous image-they can only be suggested to the mind: and it is just the effort to suggest such transcendental attributes that imparts to the vision the character of obscurity which attaches to so many of its details.

Another point of comparison between Isaiah and Ezekiel is suggested by the name which the latter constantly uses for the appearance which he sees, or rather perhaps for that part of it which represents the personal appearance of God. He calls it the “glory of Jehovah,” or “glory of the God of Israel.” The word for glory (kabod) is used in a variety of senses in the Old Testament. Etymologically it comes from a root expressing the idea of heaviness. When used, as here, concretely, it signifies that which is the outward manifestation of power or worth or dignity. In human affairs it may be used of a mans wealth, or the pomp and circumstance of military array, or the splendour and pageantry of a royal court-those things which oppress the minds of common men with a sense of magnificence. In like manner, when applied to God, it denotes some reflection in the outer world of His majesty, something that at once reveals and conceals His essential Godhead. Now we remember that the second line of the seraphs hymn conveyed to Isaiahs mind this thought, that “that which fills the whole earth is His glory.” What is this “filling of the whole earth” in which the prophet sees the effulgence of the divine glory? Is his feeling akin to Wordsworths

“sense sublime

Of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns,

And the round ocean, and the living air,

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man”?

At least the words must surely mean that all through nature Isaiah recognised that which declares the glory of God, and therefore in some sense reveals Him. Although they do not teach a doctrine of the divine immanence, they contain all that is religiously valuable in that doctrine. In Ezekiel, however, we find nothing that looks in this direction. It is characteristic of his thoughts about God that the very word “glory” which Isaiah uses of something diffused through the earth is here employed to express the concentration of all divine qualities in a single image of dazzling splendour, but belonging to heaven rather than to earth. Glory is here equivalent to brightness, as in the ancient conception of the bright cloud which led the people through the desert and that which filled the Temple with overpowering light when Jehovah took possession of it. {2Ch 7:1-3} In a striking passage of his last vision Ezekiel describes how this scene will be repeated when Jehovah returns to take up His abode amongst His people and the earth will be lighted up with His glory. {Eze 43:2} But meanwhile it may seem to us that earth is left poorer by the loss of that aspect of nature in which Isaiah discovered a revelation of the divine.

Ezekiel is conscious that what he has seen is after all but an imperfect semblance of the essential glory of God on which no mortal eye can gaze. All that he describes is expressly said to be an “appearance” and a “likeness.” When he comes to speak of the divine form in which the whole revelation culminates he can say no more than that it is the “appearance of the likeness of the glory of Jehovah.” The prophet appears to realise his inability to penetrate behind the appearance to the reality which it shadows forth. The clearest vision of God which the mind of man can receive is an after-look like that which was vouchsafed to Moses when the divine presence had passed by. {Exo 33:23} So it was with Ezekiel. The true revelation that came to him was not in what he saw with his eyes in the moment of his initiation, but in the intuitive knowledge of God which from that hour he possessed, and which enabled him to interpret more fully than he could have done at the time the significance of his first memorable meeting with the God of Israel. What he retained in his waking hours was first of all a vivid sense of the reality of Gods being, and then a mental picture suggesting those attributes which lay at the foundation of his prophetic ministry.

It is easy to see how this vision dominates all Ezekiels thinking about the divine nature. The God whom he saw was in the form of a man, and so the God of his conscience is a moral person to whom he fearlessly ascribes the parts and even the passions of humanity. He speaks through the prophet in the language of royal authority, as a king who will brook no rival in the affections of his people. As King of Israel He asserts His determination to reign over them with a mighty hand, and by mingled goodness and severity to break their stubborn heart and bend them to His purpose. There are perhaps other and more subtle affinities between the symbol of the vision and the prophets inner consciousness of God. Just as the vision gathers up all in nature that suggests divinity into one resplendent image, so it is also with the moral action of God as conceived by Ezekiel. His government of the world is self-centred; all the ends which He pursues in His providence lie within Himself. His dealings with the nations, and with Israel in particular, are dictated by regard for His own glory, or, as Ezekiel expresses it, by pity for His great name. “Not for your sake do I act, O house of Israel, but for My holy name, which ye have profaned among the heathen whither ye went”. {Eze 36:22} The relations into which He enters with men are all subordinate to the supreme purpose of “sanctifying” Himself in the eyes of the world or manifesting Himself as He truly is. It is no doubt possible to exaggerate this feature of Ezekiels theology in a way that would be unjust to the prophet. After all, Jehovahs desire to be known as He is implies a regard for His creatures which includes the ultimate intention to bless them. It is but an extreme expression in the form necessary for that time of the truth to which all the prophets bear witness, that the knowledge of God is the indispensable condition of true blessedness to men. Still, the difference is marked between the “not for your sake” of Ezekiel and the “human bands, the cords of love” of which Hosea speaks, the yearning and compassionate affection that binds Jehovah to His erring people.

In another respect the symbolism of the vision may be taken as an emblem of the Hebrew conception of the universe. The Bible has no scientific theory of Gods relation to the world; but it is full of the practical conviction that all nature responds to His behests, that all occurrences are indications of His mind, the whole realm of nature and history being governed by one Will which works for moral ends. That conviction is as deeply rooted in the thinking of Ezekiel as in that of any other prophet, and, consciously or unconsciously, it is reflected in the structure of the merkaba, or heavenly chariot, which has no mechanical connection between its different parts, and yet is animated by one spirit and moves altogether at the impulse of Jehovahs will.

It will be seen that the general tendency of Ezekiels conception of God is what might be described in modern language as “transcendental.” In this, however, the prophet does not stand alone, and the difference between him and earlier prophets is not so great as is sometimes represented. Indeed, the contrast between transcendent and immanent is hardly applicable in the Old Testament religion. If by transcendence it is meant that God is a being distinct from the world, not losing Himself in the life of nature, but ruling over it and controlling it as His instrument, then all the inspired writers of the Old Testament are transcendentalists. But this does not mean that God is separated from the human spirit by a dead, mechanical universe which owes nothing to its Creator but its initial impulse and its governing laws. The idea that a world could come between man and God is one that would never have occurred to a prophet. Just because God is above the world He can reveal Himself directly to the spirit of man, speaking to His servants face to face as a man speaketh to his friend.

But frequently in the prophets the thought is expressed that Jehovah is “far off” or “comes from far” in the crises of His peoples history. “Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, and not a God afar off?” is Jeremiahs question to the false prophets of his day; and the answer is, “Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith Jehovah.” On this subject we may quote the suggestive remarks of a recent commentator on Isaiah: “The local deities, the gods of the tribal religions, are near; Jehovah is far, but at the same time everywhere present. The remoteness of Jehovah in space represented to the prophets better than our transcendental abstractions Jehovahs absolute ascendency. This far off is spoken with enthusiasm. Everywhere and nowhere, Jehovah comes when His hour is come.” That is the idea of Ezekiels vision. God comes to him “from far,” but He comes very near. Our difficulty may be to realise the nearness of God. Scientific discovery has so enlarged our view of the material universe that we feel the need of every consideration that can bring home to us a sense of the divine condescension and interest in mans earthly history and his spiritual welfare. But the difficulty which beset the ordinary Israelite even so late as the Exile was as nearly as possible the opposite of ours. His temptation was to think of God as only a God “at hand,” a local deity, whose range of influence was limited to a particular spot, and whose power was measured by the fortunes of His own people. Above all things he needed to learn that God was “afar off,” filling heaven and earth, that His power was exerted everywhere, and that there was no place where either a man could hide himself from God or God was hidden from man. When we bear in mind these circumstances we can see how needful was the revelation of the divine omnipresence as a step towards the perfect knowledge of God which comes to us through Jesus Christ.

Fuente: Expositors Bible Commentary