1 Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw [a]visions of God. 2 (On the fifth of the month [b]in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, 3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the Lord came upon him.)
4 As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. 5 Within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human form. 6 Each of them had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight and [c]their feet were like a calf’s hoof, and they gleamed like burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. 10 As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man; [d]all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and [e]all four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and two covering their bodies. 12 And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 [f]In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, [g]like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was [h]flashing from the fire. 14 And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning.
A little background as we begin a new book. It is believed that the thirty years reference Ezekiel’s age. He would have thus been twenty-five when taken captive along with King Jehoiachin, and would have been born during the reign of King Josiah (Jehoiachin’s grandfather). Thirty years was also when those of priestly lineage would have begun their service, but since Ezekiel could not do those duties in captivity, God gave him a prophetic gift and visions instead.
At any rate, this vision is pretty incredible to read, and one can only imagine how wild it was to see this great cloud with fire flashing and bright light surrounding it and “something like glowing metal” in the midst of the fire. It is within this great cloud that we find four living being who are likely angels of some sort. Some suppose that the four faces denote a four-in-one state of being similar to the three-in-one nature of God (Father, Son & Spirit).
Verse 13 then brings an interesting note, that each went straight forward. They didn’t turn or go backwards, but went “wherever the spirit was about to go…” And therein lies the lesson for us, one that was so difficult for Israel, and at times doesn’t seem much easier for us. That is, we also should go wherever and do whatever the Spirit leads us.
Backwards is no good, and though it mightn’t be directly scriptural, I’m reminded constantly of a phrase that says “Keep moving forward!” Paul said something similar when writing to the church at Philippi (3:13-14):
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Likewise, we dare not turn to the right or to the left, but follow only Jesus. For that very purpose, God sent us His Spirit, that we might know the way we ought to go. Our pastor’s sermon recently reminded me that is exactly how Jesus was able to do God’s will, but submitting to the Spirit, and that’s why Jesus told His followers (then and now), that they would do greater things than He did.
That’s a stunning thought, and sometimes we look at the obvious miracles, like when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. What could be greater than that? How about rescuing someone from eternal death? Truthfully, we don’t save them, Jesus already provided the way for that, but He gives us the incredible privilege to share His good news and to help rescue people around us. Like Jesus, we are to be about our Father’s business, which is rescuing the lost and perishing. There is no greater calling and no greater gift than to be a part of God’s plan, and that’s both incredible and wild!