Introduction
Just to set the historical context:God calls Abraham to be a people for Him, to carry the written Word, and to be the lineage to Christ. They were also called to evangelize the world, though the Israelites never understood that.
Abraham’s descendants spent time as slaves in Egypt and were led to freedom by Moses, probably about 1500BC.
A time of leadership by judges was followed by the Age of the Kings (Saul, David, Solomon…). The kingdom was split into two at the time of Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. The northern kingdom is called Israel and contains ten tribes. The southern kingdom is called Judah and contains the tribes of Judah and Benjamin.
Though both kingdoms continue to rebel against God, Judah at least occasionally turns to Him.
God has the Assyrians totally destroy Israel and scatter her people in 640BC (Dates have been adjusted to correlate with the dates given in the Bible and accommodate the most recent archeological discoveries. See “The Wonders of Biblical Chronology” by Philip Mauro) This was the Assyrian's normal procedure when conquering a people. Babylon takes over the region, destroying Assyria and taking Judah captive in three different captivities; 526BC, 518BC, and 507BC. Daniel was taken in the first captivity, Ezekiel and Jehoiachin in the second, and the Temple destroyed and the people enslaved in the third.
At the time Ezekiel begins his prophecy, the Temple is still standing and he has been in captivity five years.
Ezekiel 1
Ezekiel means God will strengthen.
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.
There are a variety of opinions about what thirty years Ezekiel is talking about.
Is he thirty years old at this time? Since people don’t usually keep such close track of their age as to be able to say 30 years, 4 months, 5 days old, this isn’t likely.
Could this be the thirtieth year of this new Babylonian Kingdom? Maybe.
It is possible he is referring to the discovery of the Books of the Law in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign, believed to be about twenty-five years before the first wave of the Babylonian captivity.
Or he could be talking about thirty years since Jeremiah began his prophecy.
The River Chebar is believed to be a canal leading away from the Euphrates.
2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,
This would put this vision at 514BC.
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.
Ezekiel was from the priestly line, but would never become a priest. Without the Temple that occupation will cease to exist.
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 color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
In verse one it says Ezekiel saw visions of God. Does this mean visions from God or visions about God? I think this first part, anyway, means about God.
The Whirlwind represents God’s uncontrollable power.
The Cloud is His majesty.
The Fire is God’s anger.
The Color described here is from the word that in Hebrew describes electrum (gold mixed with silver).
5 Also out of the midst [of the cloud] came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.
These creature’s basic body shape was human, so we can begin with a picture of a man.
Four represents the four winds, or God’s omnipresence. He is everywhere, all the time.
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 color of burnished brass.
God always walks straight; is always honest and true.
The calf is a sacrificial animal, killed to pay for sins. God robed Himself in flesh and died to pay the ultimate price for us.
This word translated "burnished brass" may have meant a gold/bronze mix. God’s Glory is magnificent.
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.
All four had four faces and four wings- sixteen faces and wings all together.
Hands under their wings meant hands and arms coming out of the arm pit of the wings, giving each four hands.
9 Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.
Other translations say touched instead of Joined. The tips of the top right wings touched the tips of his neighbor’s left wing
Since each had four faces, when they moved they simply went in the direction they needed to without having to turn. God never turns aside from His purpose.
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.
The face of the man represents God’s wisdom (since man is infinitely smarter than animals.)
The face of the lion represents God’s nobility, courage, and Kingship.
The ox is a sacrificial animal and a diligent, hard worker. God is our sacrifice and is always diligent in accomplishing His purpose.
The eagle’s face represents God’s majesty and imagination. He did, after all, invent the entire universe.
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.
Each used his two lower wings to cover his body (denoting reverence or modesty). The two upper wings touched his neighbors on either side and were used to fly.
12 And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.
Once God decides to do something, it gets done.
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.
Remember, fire was mentioned in verse four as God’s anger. This fire surrounded the Creatures.
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.
Though all the English Bibles translate this wheel as wheel, I understand the Jewish Targum translates it as chariot. In looking at the Strong’s definition of the original Hebrew word, it is possible that wheel is shorthand for chariot, especially since most chariots were little more than wheels with a platform until the time of Rome.
Anyway, this wheel is the Church of God, all true believers (called Israel before The Cross).
16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the color 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.
All four creatures had their own wheel. Each wheel was identical and the color of a valuable, sea-green gem stone. They had a hub surrounded by a rim, the common structure for a chariot wheel.
17 When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.
God, and thus His Church, is straight and true. He never turns aside from His purpose.
18 As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.
The rings are the rims of the wheels. They were extremely big, so big they were scary!
They had eyes all the way around them. Eyes symbolize wisdom and knowledge.
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.
The Church is the vehicle God uses to accomplish His will. Where God goes, the Church goes.
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.
The spirit of God is in His Church.
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.
God’s Spirit is in His Church.
22 And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living creature was as the color of the terrible crystal, stretched forth over their heads above.
There was a dome of crystal or ice over the head of the four creatures. This represents the Universe.
23 And under the firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the other: everyone had two, which covered on this side, and every one had two, which covered on that side, their bodies.
24 And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood, they let down their wings.
Great waters represents many people. When God speaks, we hear it through His people.
25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.
26 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.
Now Ezekiel sees the Throne of God. It is deep blue, like sapphire.
27 And I saw as 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.
The Throne was surrounded by yellow (which brings out and accents blue better than any other color.) The Man sitting on the Throne was also the color and brilliance of fire.
28 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.
A rainbow glows in a florescent kind of way. So does this Man. All of this vision of the first chapter depicts the Glory of God.