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ezekiel 1:4-28

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Ezekiel 1:4-28

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”

— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

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. 5. Also out of the midst thereof [came] the likeness of four living creatures. And this [was] their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. 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 colour of burnished brass. 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. 9. Their wings [were] joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward. 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. 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. 12. And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; [and] they turned not when they went. 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. 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. 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. 17. When they went, they went upon their four sides: [and] they turned not when they went. 18. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings [were] full of eyes round about them four. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

Ezekiel 1:4-28 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on Ezekiel 1:4

Theological / Devotional

I looked. Here begins a description of what passed before the prophet’s astonished gaze. The vision concerning the four living creatures, the four wheels, the firmament, and the throne has been considered the most obscure of all the OT visions. It is true that certain features appear strikingly unusual, but this ought not to deter us from seeking an understanding of that which God has seen fit first to present and further to have recorded and preserved in His Sacred Word. Much can be understood, and perhaps nearly all, of what God intended to teach through this vision.

Out of the north. North was the direction from which the Assyrian and Chaldean conquerors were accustomed to descend upon Jerusalem (see on Jer. 1:14). It has been suggested that this may have been the reason why the whirlwind, which brought with it the cloud concealing the divine presence and the bow of promise, was presented as coming from that direction. Above the cruel monarchs of Assyria and Babylon the God of mercy and truth was enthroned (5T 752). Ezekiel was filled with gloomy forebodings over the desolations of his land, and needed reassurance.

A great cloud. Doubtless a symbol of the divine presence (see Ex. 19:9-16; Ps. 50:3).

Infolding itself. The clause may literally be translated, “and a fire taking hold of itself.” The form of the Hebrew verb here used suggests the fire gathering itself up in fresh outbursts of flame.

Amber. Heb. chashmal, a word occurring only here, in v. 27, and in ch. 8:2. The derivation is uncertain and any translation is merely conjectural. The RSV renders it “gleaming bronze.” The LXX reads, elektron, “electrum,” an alloy of silver and gold.

This polished metal, glowing in the light of the revolving flames, added to the dazzling brightness and splendor of the scene.

By SdaBc

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