Ezekiel 1:4

And I looked,.... Being under the influence of the Spirit and power of God: and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north; which some understand of Nebuchadnezzar and his army coming from Babylon,

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.

I looked; I did very diligently survey the things that were represented to me in the vision. Behold: this calls us to consider what he had seen and represented to us. A whirlwind; a mighty, stormy, and turbulent wind, a wind that bears away or bears down all before it; this denotes the indignation and judgments of God, a quick, impetuous, and irresistible vengeance. Most grievous judgments, represented as here, so . Came; came as if it knew its way, and, notwithstanding its impetuousness and irregularities, yet held its direct course. Out of the north; from Babylon, which in Scripture geography is laid northward from Judea, and the prophet, though now in Babylon, does speak of the Jews as if they were in Jerusalem; against which this cloud, on which an angry God did ride, hastening vengeance on them, which they should be as little able to divert or withstand as to stop the course of the clouds, or their breaking upon us: it was the army of the Chaldeans, made up of multitudes of people, (as the cloud is made by the concourse of multitudes of exhalations and vapours,) . A fire infolding itself; burning in a dreadful manner, very fierce, fed by fuel within itself, breaking out and flashing with terror, though it had seemed to rebate, and encircling all things near it, and threatening to devour all. Such was the anger of God against this sinful nation. And a brightness was about it; though thus terrible, yet round about it was not smoke and darkness, but a clear light or splendour. The majesty, holiness, justice of God appeared to the prophet, and might be seen by the suffering Jews, to humble them, that they might seek him. Out of the midst thereof; either of the whirlwind or cloud, or the fire rather, as in the end of the verse. As the colour; Heb. as the eye, the aspect, or appearance. Amber; the Hebrew word is variously interpreted, and it is lost labour to search the rabbins here. Amber is either natural, which if in the fire loseth its brightness; or artificial, made of fine gold and fine brass mixed, which will brighten in the fire, and of equal value with gold, (as the DD. Bothart observes,) of which Josephus saith Solomon did make the sea of brass, and the sacred vessels; somewhat like the Corinthian brass, known now only by its name, exceeding splendid, and very hard, the one speaking the glorious majesty to be reverenced, the other speaking the invincible power of God to be feared; both advising this people and us to repent and amend, and return and meet him. Out of the midst of the fire; which the prophet saw, and in which the Jews were to be melted or consumed.

Ezekiel 1:4 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.Ver. 4. And I looked, and, behold.] In this ensuing mysterious vision of a whirlwind, four cherubims, four wheels, a throne upon the firmament, formidabilis Dei forma proponitur, is set forth "the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord," as it is expounded, Ezekiel 1:28, that hereby the people’ s arrogance might be the better subdued, the prophet’ s doctrine more reverently received, and the prophet confirmed in his calling. The sum of this celestial vision is, that the divine providence doth rule in the world, and is exercised in all parts thereof, and not only in heaven, or in the temple, or in Jewry, as the Jews then thought. As for the changes in the world, which are here compared to wheels, they befall not at all adventures, or by haphazard, but are effected by God, though all things may seem to run upon wheels, and to happen as it fortuneth. At the day of judgment, at utmost, men shall see a harmony in this discord of things, and providence shall then be unriddled. Meanwhile, God often wrappeth himself in a cloud, and will not be seen till afterwards. All God’ s dealings be sure will appear beautiful in their season, though for the present we see not the contiguity and linking together of one thing with another. A whirlwind came out of the north,] i.e., Nebuchadnezzar with his forces. See Jeremiah 1:13-15, Fitly compared to a whirlwind for suddenness, swiftness, irresistibleness. A Lapide telleth of whirlwinds in Italy which have taken away stabula cum equis, stables with horses; carried them up into the air, and dashed them against the mountains, and consider that those Chaldeans were of God’ s sending. A great cloud.] Nebuchadnezzar’ s army, that peditum equitumque nubes that stormed Jerusalem. And a fire infolding itself.] Heb., That receiveth itself within itself, as in a house on fire. Understand it of Nebuchadnezzar’ s wrath against Jerusalem, much hotter than that furnace of his seven times more than ordinarily heated, or rather of God’ s wrath in using Nebuchadnezzar to set all on a light fire. And a brightness was about it.] The glory of divine presence, shining in the punishment of evildoers. Out of the midst thereof as of the colonr of amber.] Not of an angel called Hasmal, as Lyra, after some Rabbis, will have it. Jarchi confesseth he knoweth not what the word Hasmal meaneth. This prophet only hath it here, and Ezekiel 1:27; Ezekiel 8:2, as Daniel also hath some words proper to himself. Liv.

(4) A whirlwind came out of the north.—The north is seen as the quarter from which the vision proceeded, not because the Babylonians conceived that there was the seat of Divine power (Isaiah 14:13-14), but because it was common with the prophets to represent the Divine judgments upon Judæa as coming from the north (see Jeremiah 1:14-15; Jeremiah 4:6; Jeremiah 6:1), and it was from that direction that the Assyrian and the Chaldæan conquerors were accustomed to descend upon the Holy Land. The vision is actually seen in Chaldæa, but it has reference to Jerusalem, and is described as if viewed from that standpoint. A great cloud.—As in the Divine manifestation on Sinai (Exodus 19:9-16). The cloud serves at once as the groundwork for all the other details of the manifestation—a place in, and by means of which, all are located, and also as a hiding-place of the Divine majesty, so that all may be seen which human eye can bear, and that which it cannot bear may yet be known to be there, shrouded in the cloud. The transposition of a single letter from the end of one word in the Hebrew to the beginning of the next will change the reading to “a whirlwind out of the north brought on a great cloud.” A fire infolding itself.—More literally translated in the margin, catching itself. The idea intended to be conveyed is that of flames round and round the cloud, the flashes succeeding one another so rapidly that each seemed to lay hold on the one that had gone before; there were tongues of flame, where each one reached to another. The same word occurs in Exodus 9:24, in connection with “fire,” and is there translated mingled. The vision thus far seems moulded on the natural appearance of a terrific thunderstorm seen at a distance, in which the great black cloud appears illuminated by the unceasing and coalescing flashes of lightning. So, with all its impressive darkness, “there was a brightness about it.” As the colour of amber.—Colour is, literally, eye. The word rendered “amber” (chasmal) occurs only in this book (here, and Ezekiel 1:27 and Ezekiel 8:2), and is now generally recognised as meaning some form of bright metal, either glowing in its molten state, or as the “fine brass” of Ezekiel 1:7 and Revelation 1:15, burnished and glowing in the light of the “infolding flame.” There is therefore now superadded to the first appearance of the natural phenomenon, a glowing eye or centre to the cloud, shining out even from the midst of the fire.

Verse 4. A whirlwind came out of the north] Nebuchadnezzar, whose land, Babylonia, lay north of Judea. Chaldea is thus frequently denominated by Jeremiah. A great cloud, and a fire infolding itself] A mass of fire concentrated in a vast cloud, that the flames might be more distinctly observable, the fire never escaping from the cloud, but issuing, and then returning in upon itself. It was in a state of powerful agitation; but always involving itself, or returning back to the centre whence it appeared to issue. A brightness was about it] A fine tinge of light surrounded the cloud, in order to make its limits the more discernible; beyond which verge the turmoiling fire did not proceed. The colour of amber] This was in the centre of the cloud; and this amber-coloured substance was the centre of the labouring flame. The word ηλεκτρον, which we translate amber, was used to signify a compound metal, very bright, made of gold and brass.

4–28. The theophany, or, vision of God This is described first generally, as a whirlwind and great cloud coming from the North, with a luminous splendour around it, due to a fire sending out continuous flashes within it (Ezekiel 1:4). Secondly, more particularly that is described which appeared within the storm-cloud (Ezekiel 1:5-28). This was the chariot of God, in which he rode, descending to the earth and moving from one place to another (cf. ch. 10). This chariot is represented as foursided. On each of the four sides was a living creature of human shape, with outstretched wings. Also on each of the four sides, beside each of the living creatures there was a wheel. The living creatures are not represented as having any platform or basement under them on which they stand; the wheels are usually said to be “beside” them, in ch. Ezekiel 10:2 “under” them. The wheels are to be conceived as at right angles to each of the four sides of the chariot, presenting their rims to the four points of the compass. Above the heads of the four living creatures, or over their wings when horizontally expanded, was a firmament of crystal. Above the firmament was the appearance of a throne. And upon the throne the appearance of one like fire, encircled with a glory which was like the rainbow in the day of rain.

Out of the north - From this quarter the Assyrian conquerors came upon the holy land. The vision, though seen in Chaldaea, had reference to Jerusalem, and the seer is to contemplate judgment as it is coming upon the holy land.

VISION OF GOD’S CHARIOT.4. Out of the north — The region of storm, and also of divine mystery. The Hebrews looked to the north as the sacred quarter (Psalms 48:2; Jeremiah 1:13), as did also all other ancient peoples.