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COLLECTIONS
Commentaries, Word
Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
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Ezekiel 1:15 The
appearance of the
wheels and their
workmanship was like
sparkling
beryl, and all
four of them had the
same
form, their
appearance and
workmanship being as
if one
wheel were
within
another.
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NIV:
CLICK to listen to a dramatic
reading of Ezekiel 1 by Max Maclean |
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The wheels have an
appearance somewhat reminiscent of gyroscopes – moving back and forth yet
without turning and all at tremendous velocity.
The interpretation by some
that Ezekiel's vision was a UFO is absurd for at the end of the vision he
identifies "the unidentified flying object" as having the likeness of the
"glory of the LORD"
and he "heard a voice
speaking". Nevertheless, you should be aware that in the end times
in which we live, many individuals interpret this first chapter as a clear
manifestation of an ancient UFO sighting. And so if you search the Internet
you will find statements like the following: The
"Old Testament
Prophet Ezekial (misspelled in the quote) watched a "wheel" descend
from the sky. The craft landed on the banks of the Chebar River where
Ezekial was taken aboard and flown to the Tel Aviv Mountains. The
full description of the object is found in Ezekial Chapter 1."
Let us
pray that the Spirit reveals the truth about the "glory of the LORD"
to all who are so tragically deluded and that the eyes of their heart might
be opened to "know that I am Jehovah"
so that they may turn from
darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they
may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been
sanctified by faith in" Christ Jesus. (Acts
26:18) |
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Ezekiel 1:17
Whenever they
moved, they
moved in
any of their
four
directions
without
turning as they
moved.
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WITHOUT TURNING AS THEY MOVED:
(9,12;
10:1-11;
Isa 55:11)
Craigie writes that
"the beings
bearing the divine chariot are inevitably reminiscent of the cherubic
figures that supported the ark of the covenant (1Sam 4:4) which was
kept in the temple in Jerusalem. And the chariot-like vehicle of the vision
recalls that the ark itself was called a chariot (1 Chr 28:18). And
suddenly, a part of the impact of the vision on Ezekiel becomes clear. He
was an exile, cut off not only from his homeland, but also from the temple,
the place in which the presence of God was believed to be present in a
particular way. Where the temple was, there the ark was, and there the
divine presence could be known. But Ezekiel was in the Babylonian wasteland,
far from the focus of the divine presence. Yet here, in his vision, the
symbols of God’s presence appear. And so it became clear to Ezekiel that to
be cut off from Jerusalem was not the same as being cut off from God. He
perceived that the Lord could not be confined to a particular place; here,
too, by the Chebar Canal, the Lord of heaven and earth could be experienced
as a living being...J. B. Phillips entitled one of his books Your God is
too Small —the title encapsulates the danger of a ...view of God that is
totally comprehensible, but much too small. If we fail to understand some of
Ezekiel’s vision, then paradoxically we have understood it in part! For its
essence is that God is ultimately beyond our comprehension.
(Ezekiel.
The Daily study Bible series Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press) |
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Ezekiel 1:18
As for their
rims they were
lofty and
awesome, and the
rims of all
four of them were
full of
eyes
round
about.
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AS FOR THEIR RIMS THEY WERE LOFTY
AND AWESOME: (Job
37:22-24;
Ps 77:16-19;
97:2-5;
Isa 55:9)
AND THE RIMS OF ALL FOUR WERE FULL
OF EYES ROUND ABOUT:
(10:12;
Pr 15:3;
Zech 4:10;
Rev 4:6
4:8)
Full
of eyes round about undoubtedly
symbolize an all-seeing God (Click
here for God's attribute of
omniscience),
reminding us that nothing is hidden from His sight or transpires without His
knowledge. This truth comforts the afflicted, obedient saint but afflicts
the comfortable, rebellious person be they saved sinner (saint) or lost
sinner.
2Chr 16:9
records that
the eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth
that He may strongly support (Hebrew chazaq = be strong = the root word
in Ezekiel's name!) those whose heart is completely His.
This
prophetic warning concerning the "eyes of the LORD" was given
to good King Asa. Read the verse in context (2Chr16) to see if this knowledge of
God's ever presence gaze impacted King Asa and remember there's a bit of
King Asa in all of us, who in contrast to King Asa have not just a partial
but a full revelation of God. To those who is given much, much is expected.
The
eyes of the
LORD are
in
every
place,
watching the
evil & the
good."
(Pr
15:3)
(Click
here for every use of the phrase "eyes of the LORD")
"Can a
man
hide himself in
hiding
places so I do not
see him?"
declares
Jehovah. "Do I not
fill the
heavens and the
earth?"
declares
Jehovah" (Jer 23:23-24)
(Click
here for God's attribute
omnipresence)
Do the "rims...full of eyes"
make you snicker or do they make you tremble that you might impugn the Name
of the LORD Who is there?
Spurgeon
adds that
the Puritans believed in an ever-present God. Oh to be
able to feel God everywhere, in the little as well as the great, in our
rising up and our si tting down, in our going out and our coming in. I
cannot imagine a life more blessed or a spirit more related to the spirit of
the glorified than the mind and heart of the person who lives in God, who
knows and feels that God
is ever-present. If you
are in personal danger, or in the midst of a storm,
or facing illness, and
if you hear a voice saying, “Surely the Lord is in this place” (Ge 28:16)
you will be perfectly at rest." (See
Note) |
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Ezekiel 1:20
Wherever
*
* the
spirit was about to
go, they would
go in that
direction. And the
wheels
rose
close
beside them; for the
spirit of the
living
beings was in the
wheels.
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WHEREVER THE SPIRIT WAS ABOUT TO GO: (12;
1 Co 14:32)
The
spirit - Although I
cannot find any major translation that capitalizes "spirit" (Hebrew =
ruach),
it is not unreasonable to interpret this as an allusion to the Holy Spirit
of God, especially this initial occurrence. In either event it is clear that
God is in control and the "throne chariot" goes where He directs.
FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING BEINGS
WAS IN THE WHEELS: (10:17;
Zec 6:1-8)
Even though the
supernatural workings of these wheels are beyond our ability to understand,
their responsiveness to the spirit of the cherubim is clear. God's chariot
has supernatural angelic power, not "horse" power like earthly
vehicles. At the will of God ("wherever
the spirit was about to go")
the cherubim moved the chariot-throne swiftly.
The New American Commentary (volume 17
Ezekiel) adds that the living creatures
followed the “spirit” in their
movement (v12, 20). This refers to the divine Spirit of the One who
sat on the throne above them, Who was directing and enabling their
movements. The Old Testament taught that the beings who surrounded Yahweh
were there to perform his will, and in the New Testament the Spirit is the
One Who enables all created beings to perform the will of God (Jn
14:5–31;
16:1–15;
Ro8:1–8;
Acts 2:1–38;
Eph 1:13–14). Block has argued
that the frequent use of
rűach (“spirit/wind/breath”) in Ezekiel warrants
calling him “the prophet of the spirit.” (It is found 52 times
Click here for verses, more
than in any other prophet. The longer Book of Isaiah uses it 46 times
Click here;
Jeremiah, only 18
Click here.) Although the term can have many senses (wind,
direction, side, agency of conveyance, agency of animation, agency of
inspiration, mind, sign of divine ownership) the use here as an
agency of animation is the most frequent in Ezekiel ... So the
cherubim were divinely appointed and empowered to do the will and work of
God. " |
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Ezekiel 1:21
Whenever those
went, these
went; and whenever
those
stood
still, these
stood
still. And whenever
those
rose from the
earth, the
wheels
rose
close
beside them; for the
spirit of the
living
beings was in the
wheels. |
NLT: When the living beings moved, the wheels moved. When the living beings
stopped, the wheels stopped. When the living beings flew into the air, the
wheels rose up. For the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
NIV:
When the creatures moved, they also moved; when the creatures stood still,
they also stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the
wheels rose along with them, because the spirit of the living creatures was
in the wheels.
Young's
Literal: In their
going, they go; and in their standing, they stand; and in their being lifted
up from off the earth, lifted up are the wheels over-against them; for a
living spirit is in the wheels. |
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WHENEVER THOSE WENT THESE WENT:
(19,20;
10:17)
FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE LIVING BEINGS
WAS IN THE WHEELS: (Ro 8:2) |
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Ezekiel
1:22
Now
over the
heads of the
living
beings there was
something
like an
expanse, like the
awesome
gleam of
crystal,
spread out
over
* their
heads.
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ASV: 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.
BBE: And over the heads of
the living beings there was the form of an arch, looking like ice, stretched
out over their heads on high.
CEV: Above the
living creatures, I saw something that was sparkling like ice, and it
reminded me of a dome. Each creature had two of its wings stretched out
toward the creatures on either side, with the other two wings folded against
its body.
ICB: Now there was something like a dome over the heads of the living
creatures. It sparkled like ice and was frightening.
NJB:
Over the heads of the living creatures was what looked like a solid surface
glittering like crystal, spread out over their heads, above them,
Septuagint: And the
likeness over the heads of the living creatures was as a firmament, as the
appearance of crystal spread out over their wings above.
Young's
Literal: And a likeness is over
the heads of the living creatures of an expanse, as the colour of the
fearful ice, stretched out over their heads from above. |
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NOW
OVER THE HEADS OF THE LIVING BEINGS WAS SOMETHING LIKE AN EXPANSE:
(26;
10:1;
Ex 24:10;
Job 37:22;
Rev 21:11)
Expanse
is the Hebrew word raqia also translated firmament and
in the Septuagint is translated with the Greek word "stereoma" which
refers to anything firm or solid, thus conveying the picture of stability,
firmness or steadfastness. Ezekiel saw in essence a "platform" over the
heads of the living creatures that was dazzling like crystal or ice.
This "something
like an expanse"
however was not an empty space. “Expanse” is the same word used
in Genesis when
God said, "Let there be an expanse
in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters."
(Ge
1:6)
That ”expanse“
was pictured as something solid whose function was to separate the waters above from the waters below. Here in
Ezekiel the expanse separates the creatures from the glory of the Lord.
David uses
raqia in the opening of the Psalm 19 writing
The heavens are
telling of the glory of God; and their
expanse
is declaring the work of His hands."
(Ps
19:1)
John gave a similar
description writing that
He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a
sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne,
like an emerald in appearance....and before the throne there was,
as it were, a sea of glass like crystal; and in the center and around
the throne, four living creatures full of eyes in front
and behind." (see notes
Revelation 4:3...Revelation
4:6)
LIKE THE AWESOME GLEAM OF CRYSTAL
SPREAD OUT OVER THEIR HEADS:
Awesome
(or "terrible" in KJV, ASV)
Gill says refers to
the the appearance as
exceeding clear and bright, so that there was no
looking upon it, without the eyes being dazzled with the glory of it.
Henry writes that this picture was
truly glorious, but terribly so; the vastness and brightness of it put the
prophet into an amazement and struck him with an awful reverence. The
terrible ice, or frost (so it may be read), the colour of snow congealed, or
as mountains of ice in the northern seas, which are very frightful.
Crystal
is translated by the Septuagint with the Greek word "krystallos"
which is a clear rock.
The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge adds that
crystal
is a very large class of silicious minerals, hard, pellucid, naturally
colourless, of regularly angular figures, and of simple plates; not
flexible, nor elastic, but giving fire with steel; not fermenting by acid
menstrua, but calcinable in a strong fire. There are three orders of pure
crystal. The first is perfect columnar crystals, with double pyramids, of
eighteen planes, in an hexangular pyramid at each end; the second is that of
perfect crystals, without a column, of twelve or sixteen planes, in two
hexangular pyramids; and the third is that of imperfect crystals, with
single pyramids, of ten or twelve planes, in an hexangular or pentangular
column. Terrible crystal seems to denote that which was well cut and
polished, vividly refracting the rays of light.
Clarke adds that the
appearance was
Like a crystal, well cut and well polished, with various faces, by which
rays of light were refracted, assuming either a variety of prismatic colors,
or an insufferably brilliant splendor." |
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Ezekiel 1:24
I also
heard the
sound of their
wings like the
sound of
abundant
waters as they
went, like the
voice of the
Almighty, a
sound of
tumult like the
sound of an
army
camp; whenever they
stood
still, they
dropped their
wings.
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I ALSO HEARD THE SOUND OF THEIR
WINGS LIKE THE SOUND OF ABUNDANT WATERS AS THEY WENT LIKE THE VOICE OF THE
ALMIGHTY: (10:5;
Job 37:2,4,5;
Ps18:13;
29:3-9;
68:33)
Like
the sound of abundant waters...like the voice of the Almighty
describes the sound of cherubim wings and bring to mind a thunderous rush of
heavy rain or the washing of surf on rocks (cf. (Ezekiel
43:2;
see notes
Revelation 1:15;
Revelation 19:6). In Revelation 1 a
similar phrase describes the sound of the voice of the glorified Lord Jesus
Christ, John writing that He was
like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and
girded across His breast with a golden girdle. And His head and His hair
were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of
fire and His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to
glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters."
(see notes
Revelation 1:13;
1:14;
1:15)
A SOUND OF TUMULT LIKE THE SOUND OF AN
ARMY CAMP: (Da 10:6;
2Ki 7:6)
The wings of the creatures made an
awesome sound.
Observe how many ways Ezekiel describes
the sound of their wings
and don't do so without using your imagination. Ezekiel's senses of sight
and sound are being barraged with incredible sights and sounds. Can you
imagine what it will be like to see and hear this in glory! |
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Ezekiel
1:25
And there
came a
voice from
above the
expanse that was
over their
heads; whenever they
stood
still, they
dropped their
wings. |
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AND THERE CAME A VOICE FROM ABOVE
THE EXPANSE THAT WAS ABOVE THEIR HEADS:
In context this is the voice of God.
The striking elements of this vision communicate that Jehovah is a God of
splendor and great power, a truth that had been neglected in the days of
spiritual decline prior in Israel. |
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Ezekiel 1:26
Now
above
* the
expanse that was
over their
heads there was
something
resembling a
throne, like
lapis
*
lazuli
* in
appearance; and on
that
which
resembled a
throne,
high
* up, was a
figure with the
appearance of a
man.
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NOW ABOVE THE EXPANSE THAT WAS OVER
THEIR HEADS: (Mt 28:18;
Eph 1:21
22;
Php 2:9
2:10;
1Pe 3:22)
The divine throne was
above the expanse
over the cherubim, and there God--Who cannot be seen in His fulness by
mortal man--allowed Himself to be seen, not as a man but in "the likeness
as the appearance of a man," in order to to strengthen the resolve of
his young prophet and to as discussed in the next 2 chapters to give him a
clear message to proclaim.
The Treasury of
Scripture Knowledge has an excellent note recording that Newcome judiciously
observes
We need not allegorize the circumstances of this august vision too minutely.
Many of them augment the splendour of the scene, while others, no doubt,
have much significance; which should be pointed out rather by a correct
judgment, than a luxuriant imagination.
THERE
WAS SOMETHING RESEMBLING A THRONE: (Ps 45:6;
Isa 6:1;
Da 7:9
7:10
7:14;
Zech 6:13;
Mt 25:13;
Heb 1:8;
8:1;
Heb 12:2;
Rev 4:2
4:3;
5:13;
20:11)
Resembling
a throne indicates Ezekiel's difficulty in describing it's majesty and
grandeur.
The prophet Isaiah had a
similar "throne
encounter" prior to his call
to prophesy recording that
In the year of King Uzziah's death, I
saw the Lord sitting on a
throne, lofty and exalted,
with the train of His robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him,
each having six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered
his feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said,
"Holy, Holy, Holy, is the LORD of hosts, The whole earth is full of His
glory. And the foundations of the thresholds trembled at the voice of him
who called out, while the temple was filling with smoke."
(Isaiah 6:1,
6:2,
6:3,
6:4)
The prophet Daniel
described his "throne
encounter" writing
I
kept looking until
thrones were set up,
and the Ancient of Days
(God the Father) took His
seat. His
vesture was like white snow, and the hair of
His
head like pure wool. His
throne
was ablaze with flames. Its wheels were a burning fire. A river of
fire was flowing and coming out from before
Him.
Thousands upon thousands were attending
Him
and myriads upon myriads were standing before
Him.
The court sat, and the books were opened....I
kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One
like a Son of Man
(Messiah) was coming, and He
came up to the Ancient of Days
(God the Father) and was presented before
Him.
And to Him
(Messiah) was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and
men of every language might serve
Him.
His
dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and
His
kingdom is one which will not be destroyed."
(Dan
7:9-10, 13-14)
This description is good to keep in
mind so that when we are in the midst of the storms of life, we will be able
to recall the truth that God is still on His throne and just as He was not
oblivious to the circumstances of Ezekiel or the Jews in exile, so too, He
is not oblivious to your circumstances, no matter what you may be
experiencing. Look up above the storms, where He sits enthroned. The
psalmist records that
The Lord has
established His throne in the heavens and His sovereignty rules over
all. (Ps
103:19)
Do you really believe
this is true? Remember all through this book, Ezekiel has encounters with
the living God and ends with the prophetic declaration that the "LORD is
there." Based on Ezekiel's experience, you should be
"convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor
any other created thing, shall be able to separate (you) from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (see
notes
Romans
8:38;
8:39),
and that you have "a friend who sticks closer than a brother" (Pr
18:24), Who "Himself
has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU," so that (you may) confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE
AFRAID. WHAT SHALL MAN DO TO ME?" (see notes
Hebrews 13:5;
13:6)
Do you
believe this?
Ezekiel sees the throne
of God but it’s more than a chair. It’s a chariot or a throne on wheels –
powered by supernatural cherubim propulsion. Scripture tells us that the Ark of the Covenant
was a small scale replica of God’s throne in heaven and so it is interesting
that
1Chronicles 28:18
David specifies that in the building of the Temple of the LORD they were to
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