1. Visions - They reveal God's glory in relation to His people (the 4 living creatures, the Temple). They usually answer the question, "What is the truth of God?"
2. Symbols - Ezekiel is to signify certain happenings through his very life (e.g. the mimic siege, the razor, the death of his wife). They usually answer the question, "How is it going to happen?"
3. Parables and Allegories - They illustrate the story of God's relation with His people and demonstrate the reason why He chastises them (the boiling pot, the vine). They usually answer the question, "Why is it going to happen?"
4. Plain speech - They are explanations, commands, and promises that God gives to Ezekiel and to His people.
Promises - Ezekiel contains a number of divine promises including the promise of a new covenant and the future regathering of Israel.
Chapter 1 demonstrates how God's servants, the cherubim, are connected to God's will in perfect unison that they only go where the Spirit wants to go. The wheels demonstrate God's sovereign ruling over creation and the winged cherubim symbolize the perfection of His executed will.
Ezekiel is accosted by God by the river Chebar in Babylon by direct visions of God. He sees the heavens open and sees the Might of God's Glory amidst the holy cherubim in chapter 1. The scene displays the fact that God's glory is not limited to the Temple. The Tabernacle of old and the Temple of Jerusalem were only shadows of the real, which is Christ. The faces of the cherubim, viz. man, lion, ox, and eagle were on the standards of each of the four companies of Israel that encamped around the Tabernacle in the wilderness (Num. 2:2). Each face prophetically symbolized the 4-fold nature of Christ and the living creatures or cherubim as well as those ensigns, thus carried the mark of God's glory as revealed in Jesus Christ:
- Man (north) - Humanity of Jesus Christ
- Lion (right, east of Tabernacle) - Royalty of Jesus Christ
- Ox (left, west of Tabernacle) - Servanthood of Jesus Christ
- Eagle (south) - Divinity of Jesus Christ
The revelation of God in Ezekiel 1 is, therefore, the revelation of Christ (Eze.1:26).
Key: The history of Israel and the history of the world consummates in Jesus Christ (Rom.10:4; Eph.1:10;2:16; Col.2:10).
"The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy" (Rev.19:10).
Important notes about chapter 1:
"out of the north" (v 4) - The north symbolically designates the dwelling place of God (Job 37:22; Ps. 48:2; Isa.14:13; 41:25).
"a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself" (v 4) - This is how the Lord appeared in His glory to the Israelites in the wilderness. It demonstrates His presence, purity, and power (Exo. 24:16,17).
"they went wherever the Spirit wanted to go" (v 12) - This reflects the experience of the Israelites in the wilderness. Whenever the Shekinah glory of God (Pillar of cloud or Pillar of fire) lifted up from the Tabernacle and moved the priests had to dismantle the Tabernacle, according to the guidelines, and follow the Lord (Exo. 40:36-38). As the cherubim were bound to the ark of the covenant in the Temple, so are they bound to God's will and action in reality.
"a wheel in the middle of a wheel" (v 16) - The contrast between the ark of the covenant and this vision is clear. The ark had to be born on the shoulders of the priests, but the heavenly reality of which the earthly is only a copy moved on intersecting wheels according to the direction of the Spirit of God. There was no need of dismantling the Tabernacle when the cloud lifted. This is the divine chariot of God that surpasses the glory and might of all the kings of the earth. God's movement on the earth are marked by omnipresence (He fills the earth, "so high"), omniscience (He sees all things "full of eyes"), and omnipotence (v 18).
Mark this: God's call to His servants comes only after a self-revelation of Himself (Exo.3; Isa.6; Lk.5:1-11). Have you known God yet?
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