Ezekiel · chapter 1 of 48
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Ezekiel 1 tells how the priest Ezekiel, an exile in Babylon by the Chebar canal, sees a fiery storm, four living creatures with four faces, wheels full of eyes and, above all, a throne with a figure like a man surrounded by a rainbow. It is a vision of the glory of the Lord reaching exiles in a foreign land, and Ezekiel falls on his face.
The book of Ezekiel opens with a date and a place: the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile (c. 593 BC), in Babylon. Jerusalem and the temple are still standing, but a first deportation has already carried Judah's leaders into exile. Before he hears any message, Ezekiel receives a vision that answers the exiles' question: is God still with us so far from the temple?
In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day, Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, is among the exiles by the Chebar canal when the heavens open. The text also dates the moment to the fifth year of King Jehoiachin's exile. The word of the Lord comes to Ezekiel and the hand of the Lord is on him.
He sees a stormy wind from the north, a great cloud with flashing fire and, in the middle, a gleam like glowing metal. Four living creatures with a human form come out of it, each with four faces (a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle), four wings and feet like a calf's. They move without turning, wherever the spirit directs them, among torch-like flames and lightning.
Beside them are wheels, one within another, gleaming like topaz, with high rims full of eyes; they move with the creatures because the spirit of the creatures is in them. Above the creatures' heads stretches an expanse like awe-inspiring crystal, and the sound of their wings is like many waters.
Higher still, above the expanse, is a throne that looks like sapphire and, on it, a figure like a man, with fire and brightness, surrounded by a glow like a rainbow. Ezekiel recognizes it as the appearance of the glory of the Lord and falls on his face; then he hears a voice speaking.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The heavens open and Ezekiel sees visions of God while he is among the exiles by the Chebar. The key message is in the place: God reveals himself in Babylon, far from the temple, to a people who thought they had been abandoned.
Four living creatures of human form come out of the middle of the storm. They are beings that serve God's throne and will reappear under another name in chapter 10; the description calls for awe more than for explanation.
Above the expanse is a throne like sapphire, and on the throne a figure like a man. God lets himself be seen, though only through images and likenesses, as a king who reigns even in exile.
The brightness is like a rainbow in the clouds, and Ezekiel recognizes it as the appearance of the glory of the Lord. His reaction is to fall down, and at once he hears a voice: the glory of God is already preparing a word for him.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: Among the exiles by the Chebar canal in Babylon. — Ezekiel 1:1
Answer: A priest, the son of Buzi, on whom the hand of the Lord rested. — Ezekiel 1:3
Answer: Four: a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. — Ezekiel 1:10
Answer: They were high and awesome, and full of eyes all around. — Ezekiel 1:18
Answer: A throne that looked like sapphire, with a figure like a man on it. — Ezekiel 1:26
Answer: He fell on his face, and then he heard a voice speaking. — Ezekiel 1:28
The exiles believed God had stayed behind in the temple at Jerusalem. Ezekiel 1 teaches the opposite: God's throne is not tied to one place, and his glory comes to where his people are weeping. If you feel far from church, family or the place where you felt secure, this vision reminds you that the Lord reigns there too.
Ezekiel's response is to fall down in worship. In a small group or a Sunday school class, it can help to spend a few minutes in quiet adoration before looking for answers. Sometimes the first thing God gives us is not an explanation but the certainty of his presence and his reign.
Ezekiel 1 leaves the prophet on the ground before the throne of God's glory, with an exiled people who have not been forgotten. In chapter 2 the voice that spoke from the throne raises Ezekiel to his feet and sends him to a rebellious people.
The text does not interpret them. Many scholars see the man, lion, ox and eagle as the noblest creatures of their kind and so the whole creation in the service of God. Some Christian readers have linked the four faces to the four Gospels, but that is a later reading, not an explanation given by the chapter itself.
Ezekiel only describes what he sees: wheels that move in any direction without turning, full of eyes and driven by the spirit of the creatures. The image conveys that God's throne is mobile and that he sees everything; there is nowhere his glory cannot go.
The text does not explain it. It has been understood as Ezekiel's age (the age at which a priest began service), as a year in some other calendar, or as a reference to another event. What is clear is that verse 2 dates the vision to the fifth year of Jehoiachin's exile.