1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God.

2In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity,

3The word of the LORD came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the LORD was there upon him.

4And 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.

5Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man.

6And every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.

7And 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.

8And they had the hands of a man under their wings on their four sides; and they four had their faces and their wings.

9Their wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they went; they went every one straight forward.

10As 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.

11Thus were their faces: and their wings were stretched upward; two wings of every one were joined one to another, and two covered their bodies.

12And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.

13As 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.

14And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

15Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.

16The 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.

17When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went.

18As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.

19And 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.

20Whithersoever 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.

21When 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.

22And 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.

23And 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.

24And 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.

25And there was a voice from the firmament that was over their heads, when they stood, and had let down their wings.

26And 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.

27And 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.

28As 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.

COMMENTARY by Dr. Dave Burnette

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Ezekiel

Date Penned: (571 BC)

Overview: To Announce God's Judgement and Salvation (c 1-5)

Theme: Messages of Doom (c 1-24)

Message: Ezekiel's Call and Commission (v 1-28)

Ezekiel 1 Commentary

(1:1) Ezekiel - Ezekiel, born and raised in the land of Judah, was preparing to become a priest in God's temple when the Babylonians attacked in 597 BC and carried him away, along with 10,000 other captives (2 Kings 24:10-14). His nation was on the brink of complete destruction. Four or five years later, when Ezekiel was 30 (the normal age for becoming a priest), God called him to be a prophet. During the first six years of Ezekiel's prophetic ministry in Babylonia, also known as the "land of the Chaldeans" (Ezekiel 1:3), Jeremiah was preaching to the Jews who were still in Judah prior to Jerusalem's destruction, and Daniel was serving as an official in Nebuchadnezzar's court. The Chebar River flowed into the Euphrates River in Babylonia, and along its banks there was a large settlement of Jewish exiles.

(1:1) A Needed Prophet - Why did the Jewish exiles in Babylonia need a prophet? God wanted Ezekiel to (1) help the exiles understand why they had been taken captive, (2) dispel the false hope that the captivity was going to be short, (3) bring a new message of hope, (4) call the people to a new awareness of their dependence upon God, and (5) prophesy a new day of redemption with a new covenant. oy halbe lake a five, 3) disal the file hope thathe

(1:1) Visions - God communicated to Ezekiel in visions. A vision is a miraculous revelation of a message God gives to a person to pass on to others. Unlike a dream, a person doesn't have to be sleeping to receive a vision from God. The visions Ezekiel received seem strange to us because they are apocalyptic, meaning that they contain symbolic pictures that vividly convey ideas. Daniel and John were other Bible writers who used apocalyptic imagery based on their visions from God. The people in exile had lost their perspective of God's purpose and presence, and Ezekiel came to them with a fresh vision from God to show God's awesome glory and holiness and to warn the exiles of sin's consequences before it was too late.

(1:1) Timeline - Ezekiel's latest dated message from God (29:17) was given in 571 BC. He had been taken captive during the second Babylonian invasion of Judah in 597. The Babylonians invaded Judah a third and final time in 586, completely destroying Jerusalem, burning the temple, and deporting the rest of the people (see 2 Kings 25). Ezekiel dates all his messages from the year he was taken captive (597). His first prophecy to the exiles occurred four or five years after he arrived in Babylonia (593).

(1:3) God is Strong - Ezekiel's name means "God is strong" or "God strengthens." In a very real sense, this sums up the basic message of Ezekiel's book--that in spite of the Captivity, God's sovereign strength always prevails, and he will judge his enemies and restore his true people.

(1:4-28) The First Vision - In this first vision, God called Ezekiel to be a prophet (see 2:5). Nothing in Ezekiel's previous experience had prepared him for such a display of God's glorious presence and power. The great whirlwind from the north was a symbol of the great armies of Babylon approaching Jerusalem as God's instrument of judgment upon the nation of Judah. The immense cloud flashed with lightning (a raging "fire") and was surrounded by a brilliant light. From within the fire in the cloud came four living creatures. They showed Ezekiel that Jerusalem's coming destruction was God's punishment of Judah for its sins. (These living creatures are also pictured in Revelation 4:6-7.) When Ezekiel received this vision in Babylon, he was far away from the temple in Jerusalem, the physical symbol of God's presence and covenant relationship with his people. At this time, God's presence dwelled among his people in the temple in a special way. Through this vision, however, Ezekiel learned that God is present everywhere--he was even with the exiles in Babylon--and that God's activities in heaven are shaping the events on earth.

(1:5-12) Four Faces - Each of the four living creatures had four faces, symbolizing God's completeness. Some believe that the lion represented strength; the ox, diligent service; the man, intelligence; and the eagle, divinity. Others see these as the most majestic of God's creatures and say that they therefore represented God's whole creation. The early church fathers saw a connection between these beings and the four Gospels: the lion with Matthew, representing Christ as the Lion of Judah; the ox with Mark, portraying Christ as the servant; the man with Luke, portraying Christ as the perfect human; and the eagle with John, portraying Christ as the Son of God, exalted and divine. John's vision recorded in Revelation 4 parallels Ezekiel's vision.

(1:16-18) The Wheel - The "wheel in the middle of a wheel" is probably a description of two wheels at right angles to each other, one on a north-south axis and the other on an east-west axis. Able to move in any direction, these wheels show that God is present everywhere and can see all things (1:18). God rules not only Jerusalem but all of life and history. The exiles had experienced great disruption, but God still controlled their future no matter what they faced.

(1:22-25) The Firmament - The firmament showed the separation of God from the creatures (see Revelation 4:6). God's holiness sets him completely apart, so anyone who is not holy must remain a distance away from him. No one can see God and live (Exodus 33:20). Ezekiel could not see God directly, only his glory. One day, those who follow Jesus will see him face-to-face (1 John 3:2; 4:17).

(1:26) The Likeness - This "likeness as the appearance of a man" revealed God's presence and prepared Ezekiel for what God was about to tell him. The figure represented God himself on the throne in all his holiness and glory. In a similar way, Jesus revealed God in human form and prepared us for his message of salvation. Jesus came into history in a real, human body. When Jesus returns in shining glory, he will comfort all who have trusted in him but terrify those who have rejected him. Sapphire (more likely lapis lazuli) is a semiprecious gemstone that has a rich azure-blue color. (For more on sapphire, see 10:1 and Exodus 24:10.)

(1:27-28) The Glory of the Lord - To Ezekiel the glory of the Lord appeared like fire and a glowing rainbow or halo of brilliant light. God's glory is his all-surpassing power and brilliance. He shimmers with life, beauty, power, energy, and creativity. Ezekiel fell face down, overwhelmed by the contrast between God's holiness and his own sinfulness and insignificance. Eventually every person will fall before God, either out of reverence and awe for his mercy or out of fear of his judgment. Based on the way you are living today, how will you respond to God's holiness? (See Isaiah 45:23; Romans 14:11; and Philippians 2:10 for more on bowing before God.)

(1:27-28) Judgement - The four living creatures and the four wheels are powerful pictures of judgment, yet the rainbow over the throne symbolizes God's never-ending faithfulness to his people. Just as God sent a rainbow to Noah to symbolize his promise never again to destroy the earth with a flood (Genesis 9:8-17), this rainbow symbolizes his promise to preserve those who remain faithful to him. If God did not save us, we would be lost forever. The purpose of God's judgment is to correct us and, ultimately, to allow perfect peace and righteousness to reign on the earth forever.

LIFE APPLICATION by Dr. Dave Burnette

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we start the Book of Ezekiel Chapter 1. In our text today we see Ezekiel's call and commission as the Lord gives him visions to help the displaced understand, define false beliefs, give a message of hope, and a call to obey God. In making application we see that we have the complete vision of our Lord in the Pages of the Bible. Some will say they have new revelations from God and attempt to lead others astray but the truth is we have the Word of God in the Pages of the Bible. How about you? Do you read your Bible? Let us learn from our text today and the example of Ezekiel's vision to see that the Lord has given us His Word and His Direction for our lives and it can be found in the Pages of the Bible.