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Ezekiel 1
Haystack bible commentary"Stacks and stacks of commentary...."
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==ezekiel 1:1:
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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 Chebar, that the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.
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He professes, in verse 1, to have been gifted ‘visions of God.’ Not visions from God but visions of God. A tiny word with enormous implications. Easy to miss, all the same.
Even if Ezekiel didn’t see God face to face – because no man can see God and live, according to Exodus 33:20 – we can still rejoice that God chose to reveal something of His nature to the prophet. --Matthew Allen |
==ezekiel 1:1-22:
On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity,
==ezekiel 1:4-23:
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4 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.
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. 6 And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings. 7 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. 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. 9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 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. 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. 12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went. 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. 14 And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning. 15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. 16 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. 17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. 18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. 19 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. 20 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. 21 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. 22 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. 23 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. |
In Ezekiel’s vision, the four creatures not only fly but also are each stationed next to “a wheel within a wheel” (v. 16). Above their wings, they carry an “expanse” on which sits a throne. This is a vision of God’s mobile chariot-throne that can go “straight forward” in any direction “without turning,” directed by God’s Spirit (v. 12). Why would an exile in Babylon need to know that God reigns from a mobile throne? How does such knowledge encourage Christians, who are “elect exiles” (1 Pet. 1:1)?
Ezekiel realizes that he has seen a vision of God, and yet he calls it “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” (Ezek. 1:28). In other words, words fail him in his attempt to describe God. What aspects of God’s glory do you see in this passage? Ezekiel lies prostrate on the ground in humility before the awesome holiness and majesty of God. Does your view of God produce the same response? What would need to change about your understanding of God to produce this kind of worship? --Michael Lawrence; Gospel Coalition |
January 24, 2025: Catholic Register posted: Most of us are not artists of professional calibre, but try doing this exercise. Interesting insights come to us when we use our creative energies. Take a pencil or pen and some paper. Then, start sketching as many of the details as you are inspired to draw from the vision described in Ezekiel 1:4 to 1:28. Ask God to help us to enter more deeply into Scripture by using our hearts and minds in ways that are meaningful to us. Is there any particular detail that you most enjoyed drawing? Was there a part of the drawing that disturbed you? Why do you suppose your attention rested on any particular details? |
==ezekiel 1:24:
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the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
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Ezekiel had a wife who died as a sign to Judah when Nebuchadnezzar began his final seige on Jerusalem.
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==ezekiel 1:25:
A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.
==ezekiel 1:26:
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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.
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Light often describes God in Scripture. It portrays “the glory of the Lord” (Isaiah 60:1; Ezekiel 1:26–28), specially seen in God’s face (Numbers 6:25) — the seat of relational knowledge. As the Lord talked with Moses face to face like a friend (Exodus 33:11), even Moses’s face mirrored God’s glory by shining visibly for a time (34:29–35). --Jonathan Worthington
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==ezekiel 1:27:
Also from the appearance of His waist and upward I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around.
==ezekiel 1:28:
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Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
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Throughout Scripture, the rainbow symbolizes God’s glory — the radiance of his beauty, holiness, and perfection.
Like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face. (Ezekiel 1:28) And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. (Revelation 4:3) Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. (Revelation 10:1) None of us have beheld God’s glory with our eyes. The rainbow gives us a picture of the beauty believers will will see when God comes again to live on the earth and to fill it with his glory (Habakkuk 2:14). --Dieudonne Tamfu |