Background (BKC) The record of God’s commissioning of Ezekiel is the longest such prophetic call in the Bible (cf. Isa. 6; Jer. 1). Ezekiel, like Isaiah and Jeremiah, was prepared for his ministry by receiving a vision of the glory and majesty of God before he was called to serve the Lord.
v.1-14
Ob & In:
1. Repeated words: A divine vision v.1, the LORD's message came to the priest Ezekiel v.3, the hand of the LORD came on him there v.3.
(BKC) The hand of the LORD described Ezekiel’s mandate for his ministry. He was not acting on his own initiative but was constrained by God to minister
These 3 phrases give the importance of Ezekiel even though he was a captive deported to Babylonian. His king was also in exile, but that did not ruin the authority of his God.
Reflection: Do we give up hope on God just because we are under His discipline? Not in the case of Ezekiel. God is not done with His people. Although we may not see the salvation of the whole country of Israel now. It does not mean God is done with the nation.
2. What he saw:
a. The first group: a windstorm v.4,
Include: Cloud, lightning flashing, fire
b. The second group: 4 living beings v.5-11
Their appearance: 4 faces, and 4 wings (soles, hands)
v.5b In their appearance they had human form,"(NET) mean they stood erect.
(BKC)... it seems better to see the faces as representing the highest forms of life in God’s created realm. Man was mentioned first because he was the acme of God’s creative work. He was followed by the lion, “king” among wild beasts; the ox, one of the strongest of domestic animals; and the eagle, the “lord” of the birds.
Their movement: did not turn
c. The relationship between the 1st and 2nd group v.12-14
The movement of the 4 beings followed the wind v.12, the fire is in the middle of the 4, they went as quickly as the lightning.
13 In the middle of the living beings was something like burning coals of fire or like torches (NET) The LXX reads “and in the midst of the creatures,” suggesting an underlying Hebrew text of וּמִתּוֹךְ הַחַיּוֹת (umittokh hakhayyot). The subsequent description of something moving among the creatures supports the LXX.
Summary and reflection: The servants or angels of God are powerful, majestic, but more importantly God is among them. They did not move on their own. Do I follow the guidance of the HS? Or do I make my own move? The fire is in their midst. Can God be seen in my life? In our family? In our church? Their movement have the the appearance of lightning? Do I have the move or behavior like God?
v.15-28
Overview: Before Ezekiel told us what God had told him 2:1, he spent the whole chapter to describe the 4 living beings stands below God, the wheels besides them v.15-18, the movement of the wheels v.19-21. At the end of chapter 1, he heard the voice of God v.25, he saw God's throne v.26, and God's glory v.27-28. Little is said about the appearance of God.
(BKC) Though Ezekiel could describe the cherubim in detail, all he could say of God was that He looked like glowing metal and fire. The splendor of His glory was so bright that Ezekiel could see only His form before he was forced to look down.
Ob and In:
1. The similarity of what he saw and what Apostle John
(BKC) Interestingly the Apostle John said the expanse around God’s throne is “clear as crystal” (Rev. 4:6)...The multi-splendored colors of the rainbow were refracted from the blazing light of God’s glory. The Apostle John described the same beauty in his vision of God’s throne in heaven (Rev. 4:3).
22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a platform, glittering awesomely like ice, stretched out over their heads.
v.27b From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain.
2. From the description of 4 wheels, and the platform above the head of the 4 living being v.22, BKC said together they formed the chariot of God.
Platform=(BKC) This same word was used to describe the expanse created by God on the second day of Creation (Gen. 1:6–7). That “expanse” was pictured there as something solid (rāqîa‘ is from rāqa‘, “to beat, stamp, beat out, spread out”), which supported the waters above it.
Rims full of eyes all around=(BKC) Their great awesome (cf. v. 22) height added to their fearful design. This awesomeness was enhanced by the rims of the wheels being full of eyes all around. This unusual feature probably pictures divine omniscience (cf. 2 Chron. 16:9; Prov. 15:3), the eyes representing the all-seeing nature of the One who rides on this throne-chariot.
The movement of the wheels followed the 4 living beings=(BKC) the wheels were like an extension of the cherubim on God’s throne-chariot. Ezekiel envisioned the God of the universe on a mobile platform. As He directed the cherubim, the wheels responded and the chariot was propelled on its way.
3. The wheel follow the living being because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel. In other words, the spirit is the tool that the will of the being controls the wheel. v.19
v.20 Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel.
v.21b When they rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up from the ground; the wheels rose up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel.
4. The movement of the wheels are 3 dimensional:
21 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved, and when they stopped moving, the wheels stopped. When they rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up from the ground;
Summary and reflection: Not only God is majestic, but His servants, His chariot, and how His servants control His chariot is also streamline. Nothing is chaotic, but glorious. The height and the fact that they were full of eyes all around made them fearful. The double wheels design made it moving in all directions. That adds the mobility of His chariot. Lastly, the wheels moved at 3 dimensional. They could rise up from the ground. How can we not fear this omniscience, omnipresence (and omnipotent) God? How can we not hear what He said?
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