Ezekiel 1
OUTLINE:
I. \\#Eze 1:1-23:49\\ Before the Siege (c.593-587)
A. \\#Eze 1:1-3:15\\ The First Message
1. \\#1:1-28\\ God
a. \\#1-3\\ The Setting
b. \\#4-28\\ The Glory of the Lord
c. \\#4\\ The Cloud
d. \\#5-14\\ The Four Living Creatures
e. \\#15-21\\ The Four Wheels
f. \\#22-25\\ The Firmament
g. \\#26-28\\ The One Above
h. \\#28\\ Ezekiel’s Reaction
2. \\#2:1-3:15\\ The Commission of Ezekiel
B. \\#Eze 3:16-7:27\\ The Second Message
\\#Eze 1:1-3:15\\ The First Message, God
I. \\#1-3\\ The Setting
A. \\#1\\ Time:
Eze 1:1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth
year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of
the month…
1. Ezekiel starts by giving us two dates.
2. This is the first date, but he does not tell us what he is
dating.
3. There are many speculations but with no way of knowing for
certain.
4. I picked it to be his age. 30 was the year a priest could
begin his duties serving in the temple
\\#Num 4:3, 23, 30, 35\\.
a. The Levites, the tribe from which the priests came,
could begin their service at 25.
Numbers 8:23 And the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying,
24 This is it that belongeth unto the Levites:
from twenty and five years old and upward they
shall go in to wait upon the service of the
tabernacle of the congregation:
25 And from the age of fifty years they shall
cease waiting upon the service thereof, and shall
serve no more:
b. Perhaps the priests also did some service within the
temple at that age, but their priestly duties did not
begin until age 30.
B. Situation:
Eze 1:1 …as I was among the captives…
C. Location:
Eze 1:1 …by the river of Chebar…
1. No specific location along the river is given although
others were placed in specific areas.
Eze 3:15 Then I came to them of the captivity
at Telabib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar….
2. There is debate about which river Chebar was. The most
popular theory is that it was either the River Euphrates
or a smaller river running off of it.
D. The Beginning - Ezekiel, perhaps more than any other prophet,
saw visions from heaven and "of God."
Eze 1:1 …that the heavens were opened, and I
saw visions of God.
E. \\#2\\ A Second Date:
Eze 1:2 In the fifth day of the month, which was
the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity,
1. This date is from the time that King Jehoiachin was taken
captive. This seems to be Ezekiel’s primary and unique
way of keeping dates.
2. After Jehoiachin, his brother Zedekiah reigned for nine
years, but Ezekiel never mentioned Zedekiah. Perhaps
that was God’s way of saying that HE never recognized
Zedekiah as king.
3. Notice that no month is associated with this second date.
That leaves the month open to speculation. Some suppose
since it is not mentioned, it is the first month of the
year. Others suppose it was the same month as was
mentioned in verse 1, making it the fourth month.
F. \\#3\\ The Event
1. "the word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel"
2. God spoke to Ezekiel in a direct and certain way.
II. \\#4-28\\ The Glory of the Lord
Eze 1:28 …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. Introduction
1. Ezekiel referred to the image he saw in the vision by two
names, "the Glory of the Lord (Jehovah)" 9x and "the
Glory of the God (Elohim)" 5x.
a. Ezekiel will describe in more detail the various
aspects of what he saw, i.e. the surrounding cloud,
the living creatures, the wheels, the firmament, and
the One who sat above the firmament.
b. It will become evident by \\#Eze 8:4, 9:3\\ that
"the glory of the God" does not refer to the whole
image Ezekiel was seeing but to the aura of glory
that emanated from the image.
2. Ezekiel will see this divine image—or at least the glory
of Him—several times throughout his ministry.
\\#Eze 3:12, 8:4, 9:3, 10:4, 18, 19, 11:22-23, 43:2, 4, 5, 44:4\\
B. \\#4\\ The Cloud
Eze 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.
1. God used the whirlwind as a cloak to cover Himself.
a. When God appeared to Job and his friends, He appeared
in the form of a whirlwind \\#Job 38:1\\
b. Elijah was taken up into heaven by a whirlwind
\\#2Kings 2:11\\.
c. Isaiah \\#Is 41:16\\ and Jeremiah \\#Jer 23:19\\ and
others associated God with the whirlwind.
d. The whirlwind symbolizes power and fury in that it is
able to destroy completely; but it is also
demonstrates restraint and control in that it’s
power is only unleashed in one specific area.
2. "out of the north"
a. The north is an interesting direction both
scientifically and Scripturally.
b. Scientifically…
(1) North and south are the two directions that never
change. Of course, on earth neither do east and
west but because our planet rotates on its axis,
once we leave the confines of our planet, east and
west rotate in a 360 degree circle with our
planet. For this reason, the North Star is the
only star that is always reliable for finding
our direction.
(2) There is a great void in the solar system north
of the earth. It is called the Eridanus
(Air-a-dean-us) Void. It was discovered in 2007
and is one billion light years across. As far
as we know, there is nothing in that space at
all!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eridanus_%28constellation%29
(3) While our science has only recently discovered
the Eridanus Void, Job told us about it and
another scientific fact millenniums ago.
Job 26:7 He stretcheth out the north over the
empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.
(a) The first fact, that the earth hung upon
nothing, was scientifically proposed by
Isaac Newton on July 5, 1687, when he
speculated that a force which we call
gravity exits. That was almost 3,000 years
after Job penned God’s revelation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newton%27s_law_of_universal_gravitation
(b) The second fact, that the north was filled
with an empty space, was just discovered
in 2007.
c. Scripturally…
(1) When Lucifer wanted to take God’s place, he spoke
of sitting on the north side of the mount of the
congregation.
Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I
will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne
above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north:
(2) When God spoke of promotion (a gift which He
gives to this world) He left north as the only
direction from which it came.
Psalm 75:6 For promotion cometh neither from the
east, nor from the west, nor from the south.
(3) Sacrifices were to be slain on the north side of
the altar, "before the Lord."
Lev 1:11 And he shall kill it on the side of the
altar northward before the LORD: and the priests,
Aaron’s sons, shall sprinkle his blood round
about upon the altar.
http://www.biblestudymanuals.net/heaven_in_the_north.htm
(4) Judgment is often pictured as coming from the
north. While that is the direction from which
God often brought enemies to punish Israel, it
is possible that there was a dual inference to
those prophecies.
Isa 14:31 Howl, O gate; cry, O city; thou, whole
Palestina, art dissolved: for there shall come
from the north a smoke, and none shall be alone
in his appointed times.
3. "a great cloud, and a fire"
a. This was no normal whirlwind as it had at least two
features that were distinct, a cloud and fire.
(1) This made the whirlwind impossible to see
through. Whatever was inside of it, would have
to come out to reveal itself to human eyes.
(2) So God only reveals Himself to those with faith
and spiritual eyes to see Him.
b. "a fire infolding itself"
(1) The fire did not spread outward or upward but
circled back onto and into itself.
(2) This may represent God’s self-sustaining nature.
(3) God does not need anything other than Himself to
be sustained. He is both sustained and content
with Himself.
c. "a brightness was about it" - It is not clear whether
the brightness came from the fire or from the glory
of the One inside the cloud.
d. "out of the midst of the fire" came "as the colour of
amber" - Amber is the color of fire: orange, red, and
yellow.
C. \\#5-14\\ The Four Living Creatures
1. The Identity of the Living Creatures
a. "living creatures" - Ezekiel had no earthly being to
which he could compare these beings.
(1) He does note that they are living beings and not
merely an object like the wheels.
(2) In chapter 10, Ezekiel will understand that these
beings are cherubims.
Eze 10:20 This is the living creature that I saw
under the God of Israel by the river of Chebar;
and I knew that they were the cherubims.
(3) Beginning at Ezekiel 9, Ezekiel will use the term
"cherub" or "cherubims" 22 times, 15 of them in
Ezekiel 10.
(4) The Hebrew word for Cherubims is used 66 times
in the Old Testament but most references are to
man-made images of Cherubims.
(a) These beings seem to be the most powerful of
all of God’s created beings.
(b) \\#Ge 3:24\\ God placed cherubims "at the
east of the garden of Eden… to keep the
way of life."
(c) \\#Eze 28:4-14\\ seems to refer to Satan as
being a created cherub.
b. It is likely that these are the same or similar
creatures that John called "beasts" in the book of
Revelation.
Rev 4:6 And before the throne there was a sea of
glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the
throne, and round about the throne, were four
beasts full of eyes before and behind.
7 And the first beast was like a lion, and the
second beast like a calf, and the third beast had
a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a
flying eagle.
8 And the four beasts had each of them six wings
about him; and they were full of eyes within: and
they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy,
holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and
is to come.
9 And when those beasts give glory and honour
and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who
liveth for ever and ever,
(1) They have the same kinds of heads:
(a) \\#Rev 4:7\\ - lion, calf, man, eagle
(b) \\#10\\ Ezekiel - man, lion, ox, eagle
(2) These mostly stand in the presence of God
to do His bidding.
c. Although there are some obvious differences.
(1) Number of wings
(a) \\#Rev 4:8\\ six wings
(b) \\#6\\ four wings
(2) Eyes
(a) \\#Rev 4:6\\ "four beasts full of eyes"
(b) \\#18\\ The eyes were on the wheels.
(3) And of course Revelation does not mention the
wheels or the firmament platform at all.
d. If the living creatures are cherubims, then it would
appear that God created at least three unique
heavenly beings:
(1) Angels - Who in some part minister to humans.
(2) Cherubims - Who wait on God and worship Him.
(3) Seraphims - Which is translated "serpents" five
times in the Old Testament, usually called fiery
serpents \\#Num 21:6,8, Deut 8:15\\
\\#Is 14:29, 30:6\\ and seraphims twice
\\#Is 6:2,6\\.
2. \\#5\\ "out of the midst" - The creatures came out of the
middle of the cloud giving Ezekiel the opportunity to see
them.
a. \\#6,10\\ Their Faces
Eze 1:10 As for the form of their faces, each
had the face of a man, all four had the face of
a lion on the right and the face of a bull on
the left, and all four had the face of an eagle.
(1) Each face was different.
(2) Each face pointed in a different direction.
(a) This pointing in different directions seems
to be so that the creatures would never
have to turn.
(b) That will be emphasized several times in
this vision.
(c) To turn indicates a change.
(d) God never changes and everything in this
vision demonstrates that.
b. \\#6,8-9, 11\\ Their Wings
Eze 1:6 And every one had four faces, and
every one had four wings.
(1) Each of the living creatures had four wings each.
Eze 1:8 And they had the hands of a man under
their wings on their four sides….
(2) They had a wing on each of their four sides,
perhaps to balance them in flight although the
text does not mention their ability to fly just
to be "lifted up" \\#Eze 1:21\\.
Eze 1:11 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.
(3) Two covered the creatures’ bodies, I suppose for
modesty’s sake.
(4) \\#11\\ The natural state of the other two wings
was stretched outward \\#9\\ and upward. I
suppose to be always ready.
(5) \\#11\\ Two of the wings of each creature were
joined to two of the other living creatures
although it is difficult to understand how they
were connected.
(a) The word used for "joined" gives the
impression of a permanent connection
between the living creatures, probably to
illustrate the unity of the creatures.
(b) But it is not likely that the wings were
permanently joined at the far end for
these seem to be the same wings mentioned
in \\#Eze 1:23-24\\ which carry (?) the
firmament and thus move and point "one
toward the other."
(c) While God could easily make a wing joined on
both ends work, it would require a change
in our laws of physics and it is doubtful
that John would have referred to them as
wings.
c. \\#7\\ Their Feet - Their feet were like calves’
hooves only they glistened like a polished brash.
Eze 1:7 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 colour
of burnished brass.
d. \\#8\\ Their Hands
Eze 1:8 And they had the hands of a man under
their wings on their four sides….
(1) They had the hands of a human but with
exceptions.
(2) They had four hands, one on each of their four
sides.
e. \\#13\\ Their Illumination
Eze 1:13 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.
(1) They are described as coals of fire and lamps
that had a brightness to it, giving the
impression that they had a steady glow of light
burning from within them.
(2) But the light moved up and down perhaps getting
brighter as it moved and then dimming again
giving a pulsating effect.
(3) Yet at its dimmest, the light was bright,
shooting thin beams like lightning from the
moving pulse, but leaving a glowing light after
it had passed.
f. \\#14\\ Their Speed - These creatures were fast,
moving as fast a lightning itself.
Eze 1:14 And the living creatures ran and
returned as the appearance of a flash of
lightning.
(1) How Ezekiel knew of their speed is not stated.
(a) Did they leave and return?
(b) Did he judge this from the movement of their
wings?
(c) Did he sense their ability?
(2) Although the living creatures have wings and
Ezekiel speaks of them and the wheels being
"lifted up," here he compared their speed to
running not flying.
D. \\#15-21\\ The Four Wheels
Eze 1:15 Now as I beheld the living creatures,
behold one wheel upon the earth by the living
creatures, with his four faces.
1. \\#15\\ A Wheel Was There
a. Ezekiel did not say the wheel came down but rather,
“Look, one wheel!”
b. It was as if the wheel suddenly appeared although it
is possible that Ezekiel had just not noticed it.
c. Notice that Ezekiel said “one” wheel although he will
immediately start using the plural, “wheels.”
(1) In the next verse, he gave the count as “four”
wheels.
(2) Most likely, at the first, he only saw one of the
four wheels.
d. The “wheel” is “by the living creatures” so that
although there are four creatures and four wheels,
they do not seem to be paired each creature beside
each wheel.
(1) Instead, the wheel is by all of the creatures.
(2) This may indicate that the wheel was in the
middle of all the creatures.
(3) Since we will see in a moment that the wheels are
interconnected, it is likely that the entire
wheel assembly is in the middle of the four
living creatures.
2. \\#16\\ The Wheels Appearance
Eze 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their
work was like unto the colour 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.
a. “the colour of beryl” - One source said pure beryl is
colorless (clear) but it is frequently tinted by
impurities making it green, blue, yellow, red (the
rarest), or white.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryl
b. “they four had one likeness” - All the wheels looked
alike.
c. “a wheel in the middle of a wheel” - It seems that
each wheel was inside another, forming a four-
wheeled gyroscope.
3. \\#17\\ The Wheels Motion - The gyroscope design would
give the wheel the ability to move in any direction
without having to turn, thus demonstrating the
unchangeableness of God.
Eze 1:17 When they went, they went upon their
four sides: and they turned not when they went.
4. \\#18\\ The Wheels Details
Eze 1:18 As for their rings, they were so high
that they were dreadful; and their rings were
full of eyes round about them four.
a. “their rings” - Hebrew for the arch or rim. This is a
reference to the body of the wheel.
b. “so high that they were dreadful” - The wheels rose so
high upward that the height was fearsome.
c. “full of eyes about them four” - All four of the
wheels had eyes all about them.
(1) The word for “eyes” can be literal or figurative,
but since there are no words to indicate that
Ezekiel was comparing what he saw to an eye
(the words "like" or "as), these are probably
literal eyes.
(2) These eyes might represent the all-seeing and
all-knowing nature of God.
5. \\#19-21\\ The Wheels Motion
Eze 1:19 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.
a. \\#19\\ “And when the living creatures went, the
wheels went….”
(1) Although the wheels had eyes which would make us
think they might be alive, the wheels were
directed by the living creatures. As the
creatures moved, the wheels moved.
(2) As we shall see, the wheels seem to be part of a
platform to carry the One who sat upon it.
b. “went… were lifted up” - The wheels could go anywhere
the living creatures went, whether laterally or
vertically.
Eze 1:20 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.
c. \\#Eze 1:20\\ “Whithersoever the spirit was to go… for
the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.”
(1) Ezekiel made clear that the wheels were being
guided by the living creatures, not physically
but the spirit of the living creatures was upon
the wheels.
(2) In \\#Eze 1:28\\, Ezekiel will call this entire
sight “the glory of the Lord.” That in itself
indicates that the “spirit” being referred to
may be the Spirit of the Lord.
(3) The "spirit" is again mentioned in \\#Eze 2:2\\.
(a) There the "spirit" enters and lifts Ezekiel
to his feet after he felt the impact of
seeing God’s glory.
(b) This I think also indicates that the
"spirit" is the Holy Spirit.
d. \\#Eze 1:21\\ The unity between the living creature
and the wheels is emphasized more.
Eze 1:21 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.
E. \\#22-25\\ The Firmament
Eze 1:22 And the likeness of the firmament upon
the heads of the living creature was as the
colour of the terrible crystal, stretched forth
over their heads above.
1. "firmament" means an expanse or a space. There was a
space over the wheels and the creatures but it was not
an empty space.
2. \\#22\\ "as the colour of the terrible crystal"
a. Crystal is clear but not like glass. It is frosted.
It was opaque not transparent.
b. One could see through it but only in the vaguest of
terms.
c. The word "terrible" is used to describe the crystal.
(1) The word is most often translated afraid or
fearful.
(2) Perhaps this is not to describe the color as much
as the entire firmament. While it is not known
whether Ezekiel knew Who was in the firmament
yet or not, perhaps His presence alone produced
an uneasy feeling.
3. \\#23\\ "under the firmament… THEIR wings straight"
Eze 1:23 And under the firmament were their
wings straight, the one toward the other: every
one had two, which covered on this side, and
every one had two, which covered on that side,
their bodies.
a. It would seem that more detail is given to the wings
of the living creatures.
(1) The wheels are not mentioned as having wings.
(2) \\#Eze 1:6\\ The total number of wings mentioned
for each living creature was four, two somehow
joined with wings of another living creature and
two which covered their bodies \\#Eze 1:9\\.
(3) The two that were joined together came outward
from the creatures (\\#Eze 1:9\\ "straight
forward") and pointed upward (\\#Eze 1:11\\
"stretched upward").
b. "under the firmament" - The two wings that stretched
outward and upward must have reached to the
firmament.
c. There would be a total of eight wings used to lift the
firmament (two on each of the four living creatures).
a. "one toward the other" - Each of these two wings
pointed to another of the living creature’s
wings.
b. "which covered on this side… which covered on
that side" - Ezekiel reminded us that each wing
was on a different side of the living creature.
\\#Eze 1:8\\ told us that each of four wings
of the living creatures were on each of his four
sides.
Conclusion - For two wings on each creature to remain straight
(unbent) and to point to the wings of two other living creatures, the
pointing wings had to be at 90 degree angles forming a square, with
the gyroscope of wheels (called collectively "one wheel"
\\#Eze 1:15\\) being in the middle of the creatures.
d. \\#24\\ "the noise of the wings"
Eze 1:24 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.
a. The noise was loud and thundered.
b. "when they stood" - When the living creatures
wanted to descend and stand on the earth, they
let their wings down.
F. \\#26-28\\ The One Above
Eze 1:26 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.
1. \\#26\\ "above the firmament" - Although much detail had
been given to them, the emphasis was not on the living
creatures, the wheels, or the firmament; but on the One
above them. The firmament served as His wheeled
carriage.
2. "likeness of a throne" - The One above had a throne.
3. "as a sapphire stone" - Sapphire can be several different
colors but the most common seems to be blue, the color of
royalty.
4. "as the appearance of a man" - Ezekiel did not see a man
but one with the general appearance of a man, probably
with arms, legs, and a head.
a. As Ezekiel continued the description, he described all he
saw as "the glory of the Lord" \\#Eze 1:28\\.
b. It does not seem to be much of a stretch to deduce that
the One Ezekiel saw was the Lord God of Israel.
(1) Yet, it is the Lord God of Israel in the general
form of a human and upon the earth.
(2) I believe this to be a pre-incarnate appearance of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eze 1:27 And I saw as the colour 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.
5. \\#27\\ "the appearance of fire round about within it" -
The One was more than illuminated. It was like He was
burning with flames of fire both within His human-like
silhouette and without.
a. "colour of amber" - Ezekiel named the color amber,
which can be the various colors of fire: red, orange,
and yellow. Fire and its colors speak of God’s
purifying sin through judgment.
b. "it had brightness round about" - The light given off
was bright.
6. "loins… upward… downward" - The fact that Ezekiel
mentioned the throne and points to the Figure’s waist
upward and downward, indicate He was sitting upon His
throne.
7. \\#28\\ There was what looked like a bright rainbow
round about Him.
Eze 1:28 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….
a. The rainbow is a symbol of God’s promise of mercy.
b. John also saw the rainbow around the throne of God.
Re 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a
jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a
rainbow round about the throne, in sight like
unto an emerald.
MAJOR CONCLUSION - Ezekiel was seeing that God had indeed come to
judge Israel with Babylon, but still the rainbow spoke of God’s
offer of mercy and forgiveness. While nothing could stop the
judgment, God would give the last chapters of Ezekiel’s book to a
future salvation and restoration of Israel.
8. The One’s Identity
Eze 1:28 …This was the appearance of the
likeness of the glory of the LORD…
a. Ezekiel did not call the One on the throne "the Lord"
because the Person too veiled (first by the cloud
and then by the frosted firmament) for him to see
clearly.
b. But Ezekiel knew he had seen the clouded image of
the bright and pure God of heaven!
III. \\#28\\ The Reaction of Ezekiel
Eze 1:28 …And when I saw it, I fell upon my
face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.
A. "fell" - Ezekiel did not bow but fell to his face in awe and
wonder of God.
B. "I heard a voice of one that spake" - God had appeared to
Ezekiel for at least two purposes:
1. To give to Ezekiel in an unequivocal manner the words that
he was to rely to Israel and to the nations of the world.
2. To strengthen and assure Ezekiel to deliver the messages
given.
a. The messages were for those present and for those to
come, to Israel as well as to the nations aboard.
b. The message were difficult both to hear and to preach.
c. Repeatedly seeing the glory of the God would comfort,
assure, and strengthen Ezekiel for the task that lay
ahead.
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