Ezekiel 1

Ezekiel, a priest living among the Judeans exiled in Babylon, sees heaven opened and a stormy vision of God’s glory. Four living creatures, wheels full of eyes, and a throne above them show that God rules everywhere and is not confined to the temple in Jerusalem. Ezekiel falls facedown and waits for God to speak.

Ezekiel 1:1

Ezekiel is a captive far from home, yet heaven opens to him. The ’thirtieth year’ is not explained here; it is often taken to be his age, when a priest would have begun his service. God meets His people even in exile.

BSA: exiles (“captives, those taken away”): Ezekiel shares the lot of people forcibly removed from their homeland, and God comes to them there.

Hebrew: מַרְאוֹת (mar’ot, H4759) — “sights, visions.” The word comes from the verb ’to see’. What Ezekiel receives is something actually seen, not just an idea.

See also: Psalm 137:1.

Ezekiel 1:2-3

Ezekiel’s date is the fifth year after King Jehoiachin was carried off to Babylon, about 593 BC. He is both priest and prophet. ‘The LORD’s hand’ means God’s strong, gripping power resting on him and preparing him to see and to speak.

BSA: hand (“power, authority”): God’s hand is His power taking hold of the prophet, not a mere figure of speech.

Hebrew: הָיֹה הָיָה (hayo hayah, H1961) — “came, indeed came.” Hebrew doubles the verb for emphasis. The word of the LORD truly and certainly came.

See also: Jeremiah 1:1-2.

Ezekiel 1:4

A great storm sweeps in from the north, the direction from which Babylon’s armies had come. It is full of fire and light, and at its center something glows like burnished metal. God’s presence arrives with power and splendor, and it is both fearful and beautiful.

BSA: whirlwind (“tempest, stormy wind”): The vision opens like a violent storm, which fits the power of the One who is coming. amber (“polished metal, electrum”): The glowing center looks like heated, shining metal, which suggests a purity that burns.

Hebrew: חַשְׁמַל (chashmal, H2830) — “gleaming metal, amber.” This rare word describes a glowing, metal-like brightness. Ezekiel is reaching for words to describe something beyond ordinary things.

See also: Psalm 18:10-12.

Ezekiel 1:5-6

Inside the fire are four living creatures with a human shape, yet each has four faces and four wings. They are not men, though they resemble them. Ezekiel is trying to describe heavenly beings that serve God at His throne.

BSA: living creatures (“beings, alive with God’s life”): These beings are called living because they exist in the presence of the living God.

Hebrew: דְּמוּת (demut, H1823) — “likeness.” Ezekiel keeps saying ’likeness’ or ‘something like’. He admits that his words only come near to what he saw.

See also: Ezekiel 10:20.

Ezekiel 1:7-8

Their legs are straight and firm, and their feet shine like polished bronze. Under their wings are human hands. They have strength, steadiness and skill, ready to do God’s work without wavering.

BSA: polished (“burnished, refined”): The feet gleam like metal rubbed bright, which shows a heavenly brilliance and purity.

Ezekiel 1:9-11

The creatures move straight ahead without turning. Each has the faces of a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. These suggest the noblest of humans and of wild beasts, cattle and birds. Two wings join each creature to its neighbor, and two cover its body in reverence.

BSA: face (“presence, countenance”): A face is how a being presents itself, so each creature shows God’s creation bowing before Him.

See also: Revelation 4:6-8.

Ezekiel 1:12

The creatures go wherever ’the spirit’ directs, and they do so straight ahead and without hesitation. They are completely obedient to God’s leading. The word for spirit can also mean wind or breath, so it points to God’s own will and power.

BSA: spirit (“the breath of life”): The same word means wind, breath and spirit, so the creatures move by a life-giving power that is not their own.

Hebrew: רוּחַ (ruach, H7307) — “spirit, wind, breath.” One Hebrew word covers all three meanings. The creatures move as if carried by God’s own breath.

Ezekiel 1:13-14

Between the creatures moves what looks like burning coals and torches, with lightning flashing out. The creatures dart about as fast as lightning. God’s holy presence is bright, searching and full of energy. It is never still or dull.

BSA: lightning (“a flashing, powerful force”): Lightning shows the sudden, overwhelming power that goes out from God’s presence.

Ezekiel 1:15-16

Beside each creature stands a wheel touching the earth. The wheels gleam like a precious stone and seem to have one wheel set inside another. Heaven’s throne-chariot touches the earth, so God is not far from the world He rules.

BSA: beryl (“a precious gem, possibly topaz”): The wheels shine like a jewel, which adds beauty to their power.

Hebrew: אוֹפַן (ofan, H212) — “wheel.” The wheels belong to a great moving throne. They suggest that God’s rule goes with His people, even into Babylon.

Ezekiel 1:17-18

The wheels can go in any of four directions without turning, so they are never held back. Their rims are tall and awesome, and are covered with eyes. Nothing escapes God’s notice as He moves.

BSA: eyes (“sources of sight”): The many eyes picture complete awareness, since nothing is hidden from God’s watching.

See also: Proverbs 15:3.

Ezekiel 1:19-21

The wheels and the creatures move as one. They rise, stop and go together, because the same spirit animates both. Everything in this vision acts in perfect unity under one divine will. God directs every part of His work.

BSA: wheels (“chariot wheels, circular and turning”): The wheels belong to a heavenly chariot, a picture of God’s throne as mobile.

Ezekiel 1:22-23

Over the creatures’ heads stretches a shining expanse like crystal. The creatures’ wings stretch toward each other beneath it, and they cover their bodies in humility. The expanse forms a floor between them and the throne above it. It separates their service from the One they serve.

BSA: expanse (“firmament, solid sky”): It is a vast, sparkling dome like the sky, set between the creatures and God’s throne.

Hebrew: רָקִיעַ (raqia, H7549) — “expanse, something stretched out.” This is the same word used for the ’expanse’ of sky in Genesis 1. It shows God’s throne is above all creation.

See also: Genesis 1:6-8; Exodus 24:10.

Ezekiel 1:24-25

The wings make a sound like rushing waters, a mighty army, and the voice of the Almighty. When the creatures stop, they lower their wings, and a voice speaks from above. Even great heavenly beings fall quiet when God is about to speak.

BSA: Almighty (“Shadday, the all-powerful”): The name Shaddai stresses a God whose power is complete and who is enough for His people.

See also: Revelation 1:15.

Ezekiel 1:26

Above the expanse is a throne the color of sapphire, and on it sits a figure like a man. God rules from heaven, even when His people’s land lies in ruins. The vision is only a ’likeness’, since God cannot be fully pictured.

BSA: throne (“seat of power”): A throne is where a king rules, so Ezekiel sees that God is still reigning.

Hebrew: כִּסֵּא (kisse, H3678) — “throne.” This is the royal seat of a king. The exiles needed to know God still sat as King.

See also: Isaiah 6:1; Revelation 4:2-3.

Ezekiel 1:27

The figure shines like glowing metal above the waist and looks like fire below it, with brilliant light all around. Fire often pictures God’s purity and holiness. It shows a God who is dazzling, who cannot be approached carelessly, and who surrounds Himself with light.

BSA: fire (“a divine, refining presence”): Fire here shows God’s holiness, which purifies and burns away what is false.

See also: Hebrews 12:29.

Ezekiel 1:28

The light around Him looks like a rainbow in a storm cloud. It was the glory of the LORD, and Ezekiel falls facedown. Mercy mingles with majesty here, as a rainbow recalls God’s promise after the flood. Then Ezekiel hears a voice speaking.

BSA: glory (“magnificence, splendor”): God’s glory is His visible greatness and weight, the radiance of who He is. facedown (“on my face, in reverence”): Ezekiel’s posture shows reverence, since he cannot stand before such majesty.

Hebrew: כָּבוֹד (kavod, H3519) — “glory, weight.” The word carries the sense of weight or heaviness. God’s glory is the visible weight of who He truly is.

See also: Genesis 9:13; Revelation 4:3.