Ezekiel 1
The captivity and exile of
chastisement inflicted by God on account of their
apostasy! Although much
obscurity gathers around the earlier history of the “chosen people,” one fact
stands out in undisputed clearness — they were a people prone to idolatry and
rebellion against Jehovah. Their own historians, men proud of their descent
from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, men themselves profoundly
attached to
the one true God, record with unsparing fidelity the
defections of their
countrymen from the service and worship to which they were bound by
every tie of gratitude and loyalty. Apostasy was not confined to any class;
kings and subjects alike did wickedly in departing from
God. As a nation
they sinned, and as a nation they suffered. Surrounded by
people more
powerful than themselves — by
strength lay in their pure faith and their spiritual
worship. But again and
again they yielded to temptation, and fell into the
idolatries practiced by
surrounding peoples. The punishment was foretold, the
warning was
repeated; but all was in vain. And it was in fulfillment of
prophetic threats
that the inhabitants, first of Northern and then of
transported to the East, and condemned to the existence
which awakened
their pathetic lamentations, when, strangers in a strange
land, they wept
when they remembered
of his prophetic mission, found himself amongst
those who were bearing
the penalty due to their follies and sins.
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.”
Now; literally, and. The use of the conjunction
indicates here, as
in Jonah 1:1, that the narrative that follows links itself
on to something
that has gone before. In Exodus 1:1 and I Samuel 1:1 it may
point
to a connection with the book that precedes it. Here the
sequence is
subjective. We may think of Ezekiel as retracing the years
of his life till he
comes to the thirtieth. Then, as it were, he pulls himself
up. That must be
the starting point of what he has to say. Our English use
of “now” is nearly
equivalent to this. In
the thirtieth year. I incline, following Origen,
Hengstenberg, Smend, and others, to refer the
date to the prophet’s own
life. That year in Jewish reckoning was the age of full
maturity. At that age
the earlier Levites (Numbers 4:23, 30, 39, 43, 47) had
entered on their
duties. It is probable, though no written rule is found,
that it was the
normal age for the functions of the priesthood. In the case
of our Lord
(Luke 3:23) and of the Baptist it appears to have been
recognized as
the starting point of a prophet’s work. Jeremiah’s call as
a “child”
(Jeremiah 1:6; the word may, however, include adult
manhood, as in
I Samuel 30:17; I Kings 3:7) was obviously exceptional. In the fourth month.
Both here and in v. 2 the months are probably reckoned from
Abib, or Nisan,
the month of the Passover, with which the Jewish year began
(Exodus 12:2;
Nehemiah 2:1; Esther 3:7), so that the fourth month, known
by later Jews as
Tammuz, would bring us to June or July. Among the captives (literally, the
captivity) by the
has been identified with the Chaboras
of the Greeks (now the Khabour), which
rises in Upper Mesopotamia, at Ras-el-Ain,
and falls into the
Carcesium, a city which modern
geographers distinguish from the
of the Old Testament. Recent critics, however (Rawlinson, Smend, and others),
have urged that this was too far north to be in the “land of the Chaldeans”
(v. 3),
or Babylonn (II Kings 24:16), and have suggested that the Chebar
of Ezekiel is the
Nahr-Malcha, or Royal Canal of
Nebuchadnezzar, the greatest of that
king’s irrigation works, to which, therefore, the name Chebar (i.e. uniting)
would be appropriate. The identification of Chebar with the labor of
II Kings 17:6, to which the ten tribes had been deported
(whether, with
Rawlinson, we think of that river as identical with the Chaboras, or still
further north, near an affluent of the
like reasons, be rejected. The two names are, indeed,
spelled differently, with
initial letters that do not interchange. The heavens were opened. The
phrase, not found elsewhere in the Old Testament, appears
in Matthew 3:16;
John 1:51; Acts 7:56; 10:11; Revelation 4:1. Visions of God. The words admit
of three interpretations:
the “cedars of God” (Ibid. ch. 80:10), the “
Of these the last is most in harmony with what follows, here and elsewhere,
on the
phrase (compare ch. 8:3; 40:2;
43:3). Such a theophany constituted in his
case, as in that of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1), Jeremiah (Jeremiah
1:9),
Zechariah (Zechariah 1:8-14), his call to the office of a
prophet. The
visions may be thought of as manifested to his waking
consciousness in an
ecstatic state, and are thus distinguished from the dreams
of sleep (compare
Joel 2:28 for the distinction between the two — “visions” belonging to
the young, and “dreams”
to the old). The visions of Balaam, seen in a
“trance,” but with his “eyes
open” (Numbers 24:3-4), and of Paul,
“whether in the body or out of the body” he could not tell (II Corinthians
12:2-3), present suggestive parallels.
Whether
we call the faculty the higher reason, or spiritual faith, there
is a faculty
by which we gain knowledge of the Author of our being. The greatest men have
been those who have enjoyed the clearest vision of God. Such vision is possible
only to natures endowed with intelligence, with moral capacity, with a free and
spiritual faculty. Such natures “look unto Him, and are lightened” (Psalm 34:5).
In His light they see light (Ibid. ch.
36:9). It is
the especial privilege of the pure
in heart that they “see God” (Matthew 5:8). Only the superstitious and ignorant
can suppose that He who is the Eternal, Immortal, and Invisible is apprehended
by sense. He is seen by the cleansed, illumined vision of the soul.
Visions of God (v. 1)
The Book of Ezekiel opens with a glorious apocalypse. No
doubt the
primary object of this revelation was the spiritual
education of the prophet.
But all the deeper spiritual experiences of individual
souls afford living
lessons for their brethren. Therefore the visions are
recorded and the
private privileges published abroad, inviting our study at
least, perhaps also
our emulation.
Ø
A priest. (See v. 3) Of all men they who minister to others in
spiritual
things need first to have their
own visions of God. A spiritually blind
priest can only give dead,
formal, perfunctory service. Yet it is only
too possible to handle religious
business officially without any true
insight, without any experience
of the Divine. The wry familiarity
with the routine of religious
services may tend to harden a soul
against the inner truth and
reality of religion. The priest may see
the temple, but never behold the
glory of God. It is a great
moment when he rises from formal
service to spiritual experience.
Ø
A prophet. Ezekiel is now called to the high mission of prophecy.
But he must first behold
his own visions of God. The prophet
must be a seer. No one can speak for God who has not first
heard the voice of God or
seen the glory of His truth. The true
preparation for public
preaching is private communion with God.
thirtieth year. This was the
time for entering on the priestly office. It was
the same age as that of Jesus
when He commenced His public life. Our
subject has a very special
bearing on all persons who are about thirty years
old. Samuel was called in
childhood, Moses when eighty years of age,
Ezekiel at an intermediate
period. Different souls take varying times for
their development. Some are like
the slow oak, others like the rapidly
growing sycamore. There is a
special fitness in the time of Ezekiel’s vision.
Ø
It was after years of preparation. All secular training
and earthly
experience may be enlisted in
the service of God, and consecrated
to His use.
Ø
It was before a life of work. The visions are seen
on the very threshold
of the prophet’s public career. It is well indeed to meet God early in life.
Then the soul is most
susceptible. Joel says that young men shall see
visions, while old men only
dream dreams. Such visions consecrating
early manhood give promise of a
full day of work. It is possible to be
called to the vineyard at the
eleventh hour. But it is sad to
have
lingered in the
marketplace so long. and it is far
better to begin in
the fresh, fair morning of life.
Ø Ezekiel was among the captives.
o
He was an exile from
his native land. God is not confined
to holy sites. Enemies may banish from home; they cannot
banish from God.
o
He was surrounded by
sorrowful men — “among the captives.”
The atmosphere was
depressing. Yet the light of heaven broke
through it. God is not the
less good and great because men are
fallen and human life is
too often a sad wreck.
o
He was himself a
captive. Those very waters of
which others hung their
harps in despair heard the first notes
of the lyre of a braver
soul. Trouble revealed the need of God,
and invited His gracious
help. If Ezekiel had not been a
captive he might never have
beheld his glorious visions. The
visions were worth the
captivity. If poets learn in sorrow what
they teach in song, may not
the glory of the song justify the
experience of the sorrow,
and so explain some of the mystery
of it?
Ø
Ezekiel was by the
river Chebar. He was in no city confines, but out
in
the open, in a quiet scene of
nature. Isaiah saw his vision in the temple of
Solomon (Isaiah 6.). Ezekiel saw
his in the more glorious temple of
nature. God is on the broad earth as surely as He is
in any sacred place.
Ø
It was from
heaven. Then the prophet must look up
to see it. The
heavens declare the glory of God
(Psalm 19:1), and yet many men
never heed the message because
earth enchains their attention.
We need to know that there are
transactions in heaven which
deserve our notice. The
physicist holds astronomy to be as true
a science as geology. There is a
spiritual astronomy which claims
our study as much as the facts
of man and earth.
Ø
It was through the opening of heaven. To many heaven is
sealed.
The firmament is like
brass. No glory of God breaks through its
awful expanse. God has to reveal
Himself before any man can
see His glory. But revelation is not the creation of new truth. It is
only rolling back the
curtain, opening the gates of the unseen.
The heavenly world is
present, but too often it is veiled from sight,
or perhaps our
“eyes are holden.”
is to see some rays of the
Divine glory, some fringe of the robe of the
Almighty. This is the highest of
all visions. It is much more important that
the prophet should behold the
eternal glory of God than that he should
foresee future earthly events.
No doubt the secondary vision — the
prevision of what is to happen
on earth — is got through the higher vision;
it is seen in the mirror of Divine truth. For us this vision of God comes in a
new form. Heaven was open when
Christ was manifested. In the human
countenance of Jesus we may see
that once rare sight of the glory of God,
which is as a very vision of
angels of God ascending and descending upon
the Son of man (John 1:51).
2 “In the
fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king
Jehoiachin’s captivity,” The date of this deportation stands as B.C. 599
(II Kings 24:8-16; II Chronicles 36:9-10), and thus brings us to B.C. 595
as the time of Ezekiel’s first vision. It was for him and for his
fellow exiles a
natural starting point to reckon from. It would have been, in one
sense, as natural
to reckon from
the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign, as Jeremiah
does (Jeremiah 39:1-2),
but Ezekiel does not recognize that prince — who was, as it
were, a mere
satrap under Nebuchadnezzar — as a true king, and
throughout his book
systematically adheres to this era (ch.
8:1; 20:1; 24:1, et al.).
About this time, but a year before, the false prophets of
prophesying the overthrow of
two years (Jeremiah 28:3), and the expectations thus raised
were
probably shared by many of Ezekiel’s companions in exile,
while he himself
adhered to the counsels of the letter which Jeremiah had
sent (Jeremiah
29:1-23) to the Jews of the Captivity. To one who felt
himself thus apart
from his brethren, musing over many things, and perhaps
perplexed with
the conflict of prophetic voices, there was given, in the “visions of God”
which he relates, the guidance that he needed. They did not break in, we
may well believe, suddenly and without preparation on the
normal order of
his life. Like other prophets, he
felt, even before his call, the
burdens of his
time and (like
deeds of these among whom he lived.
3 “The 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.” The word of the Lord came
expressly,
etc.; literally, coming, there
come the word of the Lord; the iteration
having (as commonly in this combination in Hebrew) the force of
emphasis.
The phrase stands, as elsewhere, for the conscious inspiration which made
men feel that Jehovah had indeed spoken unto them, and
that they had a
message from Him to deliver. (While not in the same league with Ezekiel,
I too serve the same Master and received a call when I was 12 years old
“to prepare.” Because of this call I studied the word of God seriously
and
while at
The Pulpit Commentary the which I have studied extensively and now
am trying to relate it on this web site since it is public domain material!
My parents got me a 23 volume set at Christmas 1963. For the last 43
years [now 50], through God’s mercy and the help of the Holy Spirit, I have tried
to relate God’s word to the public over WHOP radio and for the last
20 or so years, on local television. I commit this work unto God – CY –
2014 [as of 2019 we are no longer on local television as Spectrum
unilaterally stopped carrying the church services as well as the Adult
Bible Class. We still are on WHOP but no longer live. I tape it
during the week and WHOP picks it up off of the website at
https://www.adultbibleclass.com as we now are also on You Tube -
CY - 2021) To give parallel passages would be to copy several pages from a
concordance, but it may not be without interest to note its
first
(Genesis 15:1) and last (Malachi 1:1) occurrences in the
Old
Testament, and its reappearance in the New Testament (Luke
3:2).
Unto Ezekiel. We note the
transition from the first person to the third; but
it does not give sufficient ground for rejecting either v.
1 or vs. 2-3 as
an interpolation. (For the prophet’s name, which appears
only here and in
ch.24:24. The hand of the Lord. Here again we
have a phrase of frequent
occurrence, used of Elijah (I Kings 18:46), of Elisha (II Kings 3:15), of Daniel
(Daniel 8:18; 10:10), of Isaiah (Isaiah 8:11), of John
(Revelation 1:17). The
“hand” of the Lord is
the natural symbol of His power, and the phrase seems
to be used to add to the consciousness of inspiration, that of A CONSTRAINING
IRRESISTIBLE POWER!
Ezekiel continually uses it
(Ch.3:14, 22; 8:1; 33:22;
37:1; 40:1).
Introduction Respecting the Person
and
(vs.
1-3)
·
HIS PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS. A real, though sometimes
undiscoverable, fitness between
the instrument and the task, is an invariable
law in the procedure of God.
Ø
Mark the significance
of his name, “God becomes strength.” Most
probably the name had originated
with God, who had, either secretly or
openly, influenced his father Buzi in selecting it. A name, when God-
given, is a revelation of what
is unique and special in the man’s nature.
Thus
Ø
He was designated from
his birth, and by his birth, to special service for
God. Every
man’s entrance into life is designed to be an entrance upon
Divine service. The world a capacious temple, and God its central Object.
In Ezekiel’s case there was no
diversion of purpose; no casting about for
a definite vocation in life. His
education, all through the stages of youth,
was concentrated on this single
object — to be Jehovah’s priest. The
noblest types of the Levitical priesthood would be set before him as
his model.
Ø
He had reached the
maturity of his powers. By a merciful ordinance of
God, in accommodation to human
weakness, God had prohibited the
priests from entering upon full
service until they had attained the ripe age
of thirty. Then strength would
be developed; practical wisdom and
knowledge of human affairs would
be acquired; self-mastery might be
attained. Acting on this
declaration of the Divine will, John the Baptist
(like Ezekiel, priest and
prophet in one), and our Lord Himself, began
not their public ministry until
they had reached their thirtieth year. There
are nowhere signs of haste or
impatience in the development of
Jehovah’s plans. Premature
action is a concomitant of weakness — an
omen of failure.
Ø
His moral fitness.
Many of the priests in the temple were mere
functionaries — professional automatens (robots). The
performance
of the most sacred duties
degenerated into mere mechanism. Men saw
not the spiritual import of
sacrifice, nor the awful significance of the
temple ritual, and priests too often became “blind leaders of the blind.”
But Ezekiel was alive to the moral greatness of
his office. To him
had
been revealed the
nearness and the holiness of God; the spirituality
of the Law, which carried its
sanctions into man’s interior nature;
the dark facts of human sin;
the need of atonement and of cleansing.
Hence, as the ordained servant of a holy God, Ezekiel had cultivated
humility, habits of devotion,
a principle of childlike faith, candid
truthfulness, conscientious
fidelity, and unflinching courage. For
such sublime service, the
highest qualities of soul were demanded.
Ø
His fertile
imagination. Many of the visions described in his prophetic
book are based upon objects and
scenes in the temple at
Commencing here (prior to
the Captivity) to exercise his faith in the
unseen; commencing here the
practice of looking beneath the surface of
material things, and acquiring a
habit of spiritual penetration, he
gradually learned to discover in
nature symbols of celestial truths, and
to see God everywhere. Thus he
trained his imagination for useful and
distinguished service.
·
HIS FIELD OF SERVICE.
Ø The vicissitudes of earthly affairs. While
Ezekiel looked forward to the
fulfillment of
his peaceful vocation in
in exile and bondage. With the dust of humiliation upon their
heads, the
them on the
banks of the Chebar. Nothing is more fluctuating than
earthly
fortune.
Ø No outward circumstance is fatal to our
real welfare nor a barrier to
benevolent
activity. Now it was to be seen that piety can flourish amid a
dearth of
external privileges. The seeds of religious truth shall be carried
into new
fields. The special capacity of Ezekiel shall find more fitting,
scope for its
exercise than amid the quiet grandeur of Solomon’s temple.
He
is a priest in an ampler temple — a priest for the world. The soul is
superior to all
imprisonment.
Ø The permanency of spiritual work. The kingcraft of Nebuchadnezzar,
the overthrow
of Zedekiah, the honors and decorations of Chaldean
captains, — these
things have long since ceased to exert any influence
upon
the life of the human race; but Ezekiel is still (and has been for twenty-
six centuries) a teacher of men: his work still
proceeds; his name is encircled
with honor. Already king and captive have exchanged
places. The first is
last; the last,
first.
·
HIS INVESTITURE WITH THE PROPHET’S OFFICE. Jeremiah
during Ezekiel’s time, and John
afterwards, were, like him, priests and
prophets too. In the case of
other prophets, some special visit from God —
some suitable display of his
glory — attended their special designation to
office. We have parallel
instances in Moses, Samuel, and Isaiah. The vision
was supersensuous,
and must be accounted for, partly by external, and
partly by internal, causes.
Ø External. “The heavens were opened.” The veil of material limitation
was, for the time, withdrawn. The celestial realm was disclosed. A similar
privilege was accorded to Elisha’s servant, in answer to his master’s
prayer: “And the Lord opened the eyes of the young
man; and he saw:
and, behold, the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of fire round
about Elisha” (II Kings 6:17). To open the heavens
to human view is
to unveil, in part, the spiritual universe. So, to our Lord on the banks of
Holy Ghost was
imparted. Ezekiel, like Moses and Isaiah,
“saw visions
of God.” The heavens were opened for the very purpose that the central
Object might be seen. To see God; to have undoubted assurance of His
presence, purity,
and aid — this, every true prophet requires. “The
word
of God came expressly,” or rather verily, to him. The ear confirmed the
vision of
the eye. Not only a spectacle, but an articulate voice. So Hamlet
sought to assure himself of the reality of the spectre, when he demanded
that it should speak. The ear is a more trustworthy witness than the eye.
“Faith comes by hearing.” (Romans 10:17)
Ø
There was, on the part of Ezekiel, internal aptitude. Our organs of sense
have become dull,
gross, earthly, by reason of the decline and decay of
THE SOUL’S TRUE
LIFE! As vehicles by
which the soul holds
commerce with the spiritual realm, they
are insufficient. Hence the spirit
of a man HAS TO BE QUICKENED BY A SPECIAL ACTIVITY OF
GOD, so that it may, for the time being, transcend its native capabilities,
its native sphere, in order to see God’s administration of the universe,
and in order to receive new communications of His will. This is what
is usually termed a state of ecstasy. In the creation of the material universe,
a word was sufficient; but so indocile, intractable, are
the elements of
human
disposition and will, that the hand of Jehovah MUST BE
EXERTED! “The hand of the
Lord was upon him.”
The “word” and the “hand” here spoken of are metaphorical,
but they are strictly true; i.e. the just idea is, as far as may be by language
and emblem, thus conveyed to our mind. If God reveal Himself to man, it
must be by means of the characteristics of man’s spiritual nature; and such
characteristics are pictured in the expressions here employed by Ezekiel.
The “word” of the Lord means one thing, the “hand” another; yet the
employment of both expressions is necessary in order to convey, with
anything like completeness, the penetration of the prophet’s nature by
Divine truth, the commission of the prophet to undertake Divine service.
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
color of amber, out of the
midst of the fire.” A whirlwind came out of the north. What, we ask, was the
meaning of this symbolism? In Jeremiah 1:13-14 a like
symbol is
explained as meaning that the judgments which
come from the north, that is, from
countrymen. Here the prophet is himself in
the symbol, not or calamities, but of the Divine glory, and
that explanation
is, accordingly, inapplicable. Probably the leading thought here is that the
Divine presence is no longer in the temple at
time to execute judgment (ch. 8:4; 10:1, 19-20), and may
again
depart (ch.11:23), but the abiding glory is elsewhere, and
the
temple is as Shitoh had been of
old (Psalm 78:60). Ezekiel was looking
on the visible symbol of what had been declared in unfigurative language
by Jeremiah (Jeremiah 7:12, 14; 26:6, 9). That the north
should have
been chosen rather than any other quarter of the heavens is
perhaps connected:
unclouded brightness of the “terrible majesty” of God;
the dwelling place of God.
For the Jews this was probably associated with the thought
of the mountain heights
of
(Psalm 48:2), as the site of the temple, was the “dwelling place of the great King.”
Parallels present themselves in the Assyrian hymns that
speak of the “feasts of the
silver mountains, the heavenly courts” (as the Greeks spoke
of
the gods dwell eternally” (‘Records of the Past,’ 3:133),
and this ideal mountain
was for them, like the Meru of
Indian legend, in the farthest north. So, in the
legendary geography of
north,” were a holy and blessed race, the chosen servants
of Apollo
(Herod., 4:32-36: Pindar, ‘Pyth.,’ 10:4; AEsch., ‘Choeph.,’ 373). Possibly
the brilliant coruscations of an Aurora Borealis may have
led men to think
of it as they thought of the glory of the dawn or the
brightness of the
lightning, as a momentary revelation of the higher glory of
the throne of
God. (For the “whirlwind”
as the accompaniment of a Divine revelation,
See I Kings 19:11; Job 38:1; Acts 2:2.) A great cloud, etc. So
far the signs of the approaching theophany
were like those on Sinai
(Exodus 19:16, 18) and Horeb (I
Kings 19:11). With a fire
infolding itself; the Revised Version margin gives flashing continually.
The Authorized Version suggests the thought of a globe of
fire darting its
rays through the surrounding darkness. The color of amber; literally, the
eye. The Hebrew word
for “amber” (chashmal)
occurs only here and in
v. 27 and ch. 8:2. It is almost
absolutely certain that it does not mean what
we know as “amber.” The Septuagint and Vulgate give electrum,
and this, in
later Greek and Latin authors, has “amber” for one of its
meanings.
Primarily, however, it was used for a metallic substance of
some kind,
specifically for a compound four parts of gold and one of
silver (Pithy,
‘Hist. Nat.,’ 23:4, s. 23). Some
such compound is probably what we have
to think of here, and so the description finds a parallel in
Daniel 10:6;
Revelation 1:15. This, in its ineffable brightness, is seen
in the center of
the globe of fire. One may compare Dante’s vision of the
Divine glory
(‘
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.” The likeness of four living
creatures. The Authorized Version
is happier here in its rendering than in Revelation 4:6,
where we find
“beasts” applied
to the analogues of the forms of Ezekiel’s vision. There
the Greek gives ζῶα – zoa – beasts; animals; living ones - as the Septuagint
does here, while in Daniel 7:3-7 we have θήρια – thaeria – animals.
In ch. 10:15
they are identified with the “cherubim” of the mercy seat; but the fact that they
are not so named here is presumptive evidence that Ezekiel
did not at first
recognize them as identical with what he had heard of those
cherubim, or with
the other like forms that were seen, as they were not seen,
in the temple (I Kings
6:29; 7:29), on its walls (II Chronicles 3:7), and on its
veil or curtain (Exodus 36:35).
What he sees is, in fact, a highly complicated development
of the cherubic
symbols, which might well appear strange to him. It is
possible that the Assyrian
and Babylonian sculptures, the winged bulls and lions with
human heads, which
Ezekiel may have seen in his exile, were elements in that
development. The
likeness of a man. This apparently was
the first impression. The “living
creatures” were
not, like the Assyrian forms just referred to, quadrupeds.
They stood erect, and had feet and hands as men have.
The “living creatures” of John’s grander “revelations,” are linked to human
experience by a common likeness. Whether we take them as symbolical of Divine
attributes, or as descriptive of heavenly beings, the human features are
equally
significant – “the likeness of a man.”
The Likeness of Man (v. 5)
There is very much in the visions of Ezekiel that strikes
us as strange, and
even monstrous. With the sweep of his mighty eagle wing he
soars far
above commonplace experience to awful regions of unearthly
sublimity.
But ever and anon in his highest flights he seems to find
relief by laying
hold of some trait of human nature. The Son of man appears
repeatedly in
Ezekiel’s celestial panorama. The prophet seems to delight
in hearing the
still, sad music of humanity among the dread sounds of the
larger universe.
Those living creatures which may have been suggested to his
eye of
prophetic imagination by the cherubs at the
winged bulls on Assyrian monuments which we now see on the
great
tablets in the
strangeness and greatness. They were linked to human
experience by a
common likeness. Whether we take them as symbolical of
Divine
attributes, or as descriptive of heavenly beings, the human
features are
equally significant.
·
THERE ARE HUMAN FEATURES IN HEAVEN. We think of heaven
by its contrast with earth. But
it also has points of resemblance. All will not
be strange there. The same God who made earth, made
heaven; and he
who rules the one sphere also reigns in the other. In passing from earth to
heaven we do but cross from one
district to another district in the same
Divine dominion.
Ø There is a resemblance between spirits in heavenly regions
and men.
Angels may be without physical
bodies, sinless, and gifted perhaps with
higher faculties than any
possessed by a Plato or a Milton on earth. Yet
they are spirits, and we are spirits. There is a natural
kinship in all
spiritual life.
Ø
There is a human likeness in God. Man was made in the
image of God.
Then, conversely, we may say
that in some degree God is like man. The
child may give us some idea of
the parent. The positive side of
anthropomorphism is reasonable
and helpful to our understanding. We
cannot limit God to the human. But we may recognize human
characteristics as part of the
infinite nature of God. Christ is the
manifestation of
these characteristics.
Ø
The human Christ is in heaven. Christ ascended to
heaven in His human
nature, and He is there now as a
brother man. Therefore it is more fully
true in Christian days than
before the incarnation of our Lord, that there
are human elements in
heaven. (But
they are redeemed! CY -
2021)
Ø
There are men in heaven. Many have gone there
before our time, and
are in the celestial sphere. May
not the spirits of the blessed dead have
some influence on the very
atmosphere of heaven, spreading through
it a certain human tone?
·
THERE ARE HUMAN FEATURES IN REVELATION. Ezekiel’s
vision was a revelation to him.
In this revelation he saw traits of humanity.
Ø
Revelation comes to us through human channels. God speaks to us
through prophets, and teaches us
by means of the lives of His saints.
This is not merely a limitation.
It helps us the better to understand
Divine truth. It is a translation of the thought of heaven into
the
language of earth. Only let us
beware of the literalism which
forgets that any such translation has taken place.
Ø
Revelation makes known to us the true glory of humanity. We do not
know what man may become till we
see the Divine idea of man in the
heavenly revelation. Ezekiel’s
vision of the human in heaven, like Plato’s
doctrine of the Divine ideas,
suggests to us that there is something far
above normal humanity for man to
aim at. The
earthly man is far below
the heavenly. Let him strive after that lofty ideal. Especially is this
possible now that the heavenly man
has descended to earth in the
Person of Christ. To
follow Christ is to copy the celestial type of
humanity.
Ø
In all religion it is important not to lose sight of human
nature. The
prophet in his vision of God is
careful to observe anything that links the
Divine to the human, the
heavenly to the earthly; a purely celestial religion
could have little influence on
poor, toiling, struggling man. We have to
see:
o
God’s sympathy with man;
o
man’s living,
earthly experience of God;
o
man’s duty to his
fellow men.
6 “And
every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.”
We note the points of contrast with other like visions.
has in Revelation 4:8.
“living creatures,”
while here each has four faces, and forms, as it were, a
Janus quadrifrons. The wings are described more minutely in v. 11.
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 color of burnished brass.”
Their feet were
straight feet, etc. The noun is
probably used as including the
lower part of the leg, and what is meant is that the legs were not
bent, or kneeling.
What we may call the bovine symbolism appears at
the extremity, and the actual
foot is round like a calf’s. The Septuagint curiously enough gives “their feet were
winged (πτερωτοὶ - pterotoi ).”
Burnished brass. Probably a shade less brilliant,
or more ruddy, than the electrum of v. 4 (see
note there).
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.”
They had the hands
of a man, etc. The prophet seems to
describe each detail in the order in which it presented
itself to him. What he
next sees is that each of the four forms has two hands on
each of its four
sides. Nothing could supersede that symbol of activity and
strength.
9 “Their
wings were joined one to another; they turned not when they
went; they went every one straight
forward.” Their wings were joined, etc.
As interpreted by vs. 11 and 24, two of the wings were always down,
and
when the living creatures moved, two were extended upwards, so
that their
tips touched, and were in this sense “joined.” When at rest, these were let
down again (v. 24). They turned not, etc. We
note the emphasis of the
threefold iteration of the fact (vs. 12, 17). None of the four
forms revolved
on its axis. The
motion of what we may call the composite
quadrilateral was
simply rectilinear. Did the
symbolism represent the directness, the
straightforwardness, of the Divine energy manifested in
the universe?
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.”
As for the
likeness, etc. The Revised
Version rightly strikes
out the comma after “lion.”
The human face meets the prophet’s gaze. On
the right he sees the lion, on the left the ox, while the
face of the eagle is
behind. What did the symbols mean?
image of God” (Genesis 1:27), is the highest symbol of the Eternal. So
long as we remember that it is
but a symbol, anthropomorphism is
legitimate in thought, and
appropriate in visions; though, like
theriomorphism, it becomes perilous, and is therefore forbidden
(Exodus 20:4; Deuteronomy 4:17)
when it takes concrete form in
metal or in stone. So Daniel
(Daniel 7:9, 13) sees the “Ancient of
Days” and “one like unto a
son of man;” and John’s vision
(Revelation 1:13) represents the
same symbolism.
II Chronicles 9:18-19). So, in
Genesis 49:9, it is the symbol of the
kingly power of
Revelation 5:5; while, on the
other hand, it represents one of the great
monarchies of the world in
Daniel 7:4. Its modern heraldic use in the
arms of
company with the lion, notably
in the twelve oxen that supported the “sea”
or “laver” in the temple. Here also we have a kind of sovereignty —
the
natural symbol of a strength
made subservient to human uses. Both the lion
and the ox, as we have seen, may
have become familiar to Ezekiel as a
priest ministering in the temple
or as an exile.
symbolism of the temple, the
emblem of kingly power, and is so employed
by Ezekiel himself in ch.17:3,
7; while in Daniel 7:4 the lion has eagle’s
wings (compare Hosea 8:1; Isaiah
46:11;Obadiah 1:4; Habakkuk 1:8).
In Assyrian sculpture Nisroch (the name is cognate with the Hebrew for
“eagle,” nesher)
appears as an eagle-headed human figure, and is always
represented as contending with
or conquering the lion and the bull
(Layard,
‘
Ø
that Ezekiel may have
seen this symbol;
Ø
that over and above
the general thought that all the powers of nature
are subject to the government of
God, there was also the more specific
thought that the great kingdoms
of the earth were but servants of His, to do
His pleasure? The reproduction
of the fourfold form, with the variation
already noticed, in Revelation
4:7, is every way suggestive, and it is, at
least, a natural inference that
the symbols had acquired a new significance
through the new truths that had
been revealed to the seer of Patrons; that
the human face may have
connected itself with the thought of the Son of
man who shared in the glory of
the Father; the ox with that of his sacrifice;
the lion with that of his
sovereignty over
Judah (Revelation 5:5); the
eagle with that of His bearing His people as
on eagles’ wings, into the
highest heavens (Exodus 19:4; Deuteronomy 32:11)
The patristic interpretation,
which finds in the four living creatures the symbols
of the four evangelists (an
interpretation by no means constant or unvarying —
the lion being sometimes
identified with Matthew, and the man with Mark,
and conversely, while the ox and
the eagle are uniformly assigned to Luke
and John respectively), must be
considered as the play of a devout imagination,
but not as unfolding the meaning
of either Ezekiel or John. In the later Jewish
tradition the four forms are
assigned, taking Ezekiel’s order, to the tribes
of
which they generally bore when
encamped in the wilderness; but this is
obviously outside the range of
the prophet’s thoughts.
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.” Thus were their faces: and, etc.; better, with Revised
Version, and their faces and their wings were separate
above; i.e. were
stretched upward, touching the neighboring wings at the
tip, and so
“joined,” while the other two covered the bodies and were never
stretched
(compare Isaiah 6:2).
12 “And
they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to
go, they went; and they turned not when
they went.” Whither the spirit was to go, etc.
The description passes on to the originating force of the movement
of the mysterious
forms. The Hebrew noun may mean “breath,” “wind,” or “spirit,” the
meanings often
overlapping one another. Here the higher meaning is
probably the true one.
The “Spirit” (as in Genesis 1:1; 6:3; Psalm 104:30; 139:7; Isaiah 40:7,
13; and in
Ezekiel himself, passim) is the
Divine Source of life in all its forms, especially in
its highest form, moral, intellectual, spiritual. It is this which gave unity and harmony
to the movements of the “living
creatures,” as it gives a life, harmony, and unity to
all the manifold manifestations of the might of God of
which they were the symbols.
(On “they turned
not,” see note on v. 9.)
Straightforwardness (v. 12)
Ezekiel seems to have been particularly struck with the
direct movement of
the four living creatures which he beheld in his vision,
for he refers to this
several times. “Their feet were straight” (v. 7).
Twice the prophet tells us
that “they went every one straight forward”
(vs. 9, 12), and on the
second occasion he emphasizes his assertion by adding that
“they turned
not when they went” —
a remark which he subsequently repeated in
describing the motion of the wheels (v. 17).
contrast between the heavenly,
the ideal, the perfect, and the too common
course of human conduct on
earth. The lanes and alleys of earth are
crooked; the golden streets of
the new Jerusalem are all straight. Our
conduct is commonly marked by
uncertainty, indecision, and variability,
and sometimes by duplicity and
shameful inconsistency. We walk with
halting gait. We put our hand to
the plough, and then look back. Like
Christian on the Hill
Difficulty, we turn aside from the steep path of duty to
some bower of ease; or, like the
same pilgrim in later life, we forsake the
narrow way for Bye-path Meadow —
the road to Giant Despair’s castle.
In order to realize the ideal of
heavenly conduct certain characteristics
must be formed.
Ø
Truth. We must really go the way we profess to be in. If we walk
only to be seen of men, we
shall take different paths according as
their eyes are upon us, or
as we are left to ourselves. Eve-service
is always variable service.
The path of the hypocrite is crooked.
Ø
Singleness of aim. Many men turn first to
the right and then to the
left, while they are drawn
hither and thither by counter attractions.
Their thoughts are like the
compasses of ships that are sailing between
Magnetic rocks. Let them
beware of the danger of making shipwreck.
“Ye cannot serve
God and mammon” (Luke 16:13).
The divided
life is a broken life. The
single eye is the only safe vision.
Ø
Perseverance.
It is easier to start straight than to
keep straight. Yet it is
vain to begin well and turn
aside later to paths of error. Bad men
sometimes do good deeds. It is
the good man who lives a good life
throughout, or at least in the
main.
·
STRAIGHTFORWARD CONDUCT DEPENDS ON HEAVENLY
CHARACTERISTICS. It is
never easily attained, and it is quite
unattainable without the
conditions on which it depends. These must be
considered.
Ø A right aim. Each of the
living creatures is said to go, as the words may
be rendered
literally, “in the direction of his face.” If he faced an
impassable
barrier, a huge cliff, or a yawning chasm, straightforward
progress would
be impossible. If he laced a wrong way it would be
undesirable.
Don Quixote rides straightforward in tilting at a windmill, and
only gets an
ignominious fall. The youth in ‘Excelsior ‘ goes
straightforward
in his alpine climbing, and is rewarded in the useless death
of a fanatic.
Heavenly conduct can be continuously direct, because in
heaven there is
no need of repentance. The first step for us on earth is to
face about to
the right. Conversion must precede consistency.
Ø A fixed gaze. This is
implied in the reference to the direction of the face.
The look ahead
precedes the movement forward. The blind man falls into
the ditch. If
any one walks blindfolded he is sure to move circuitously. The
ploughman who would
cut a straight furrow must not notice the daisies by
his side or the
lark overhead; he must fix his eyes on the end of his course.
The Christian must run straight, by “looking unto Jesus, the Author and
Finisher
of the faith.”
Ø Harmony of powers and energies. The living creatures of Ezekiel’s
vision are
strangely composite — various faces, calves’ feet, birds’ wings.
Yet faces,
feet, and wings all turn in one direction. There is no “schism in
the
body.” The schism in our nature between flesh and
spirit, and the
consequent
contradiction of our aims, accounts for the crooked paths we
take. The internal harmony of a
life at peace is necessary for a
straightforward course.
Ø Spiritual direction. The
movement is “whither the spirit was to go.” The
higher
nature must conquer, command, and direct the lower. Conscience
must be
supreme. Spiritual thought and feeling must be paramount. The
Spirit of God
must be sought and yielded to as the guide and impulse of all
the life’s
course.
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.” Like burning coals of fire, etc.
It may not be amiss to note the fact that the phrase throughout the
Bible
denotes incandescent wood. The nearest approach to its use by
Ezekiel is in
II Samuel 22:9,13. For “lamps,” read, with the Revised Version, “torches.”
Here the vision of Ezekiel, in which the living creatures
were thus incandescent,
bathed, as it
were, in the fire that played around them, yet
not consumed,
followed in the path of previous symbols — of the burning bush (Exodus
3:2),
of the pillar of fire by night (Ibid. ch.13:22), of the fire
on Sinai (Ibid. ch.19:18),
of the “fire of the Lord” (Numbers 11:1-3),
and the
“fire
of God” (II Kings 1:12).
Speaking generally, “fire,”
as distinct from “light,”
seems to be the symbol of the
power of God as manifested against evil. “Our God is a consuming Fire”
(Deuteronomy 4:24; Hebrews 12:29). The red light of fire
has in it an element
of terror which is absent from the stainless white of the eternal
glory, or from the
sapphire of the visible firmament. Lightning (compare Exodus 19:16;
20:18; Daniel 10:6; Revelation 4:5; 8:5; 11:19; 16:18).
There are men in whose breasts the fire of God burns dimly. The embers
smolder in a dull mass, threatening speedy extinction. Love is chilling,
faith is fainting; as for the flame of hope, that is long since dead. On the
other hand, the bright fire may stand for fresh warmth of soul, a burning
zeal,
a passion of devotion, a glow of heavenly love.
14 “And
the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a
flash of lightning.” Ran and returned. Compare the “to and
fro” of
Zechariah 4:10. The comparison implies at once suddenness (as in
Matthew
24:27) and overwhelming brightness.
Unseen Forms of Intelligent Ministry (vs.
5-14)
Man is only a part, though an integral part, of the active
universe of God.
Even inert matter is pervaded by dynamic forces, such as
attraction, heat,
and electricity; and every
part of God’s creation is executing, either
intelligently or ignorantly, His supreme will. To a heathen monarch he made
a startling revelation, “I
girded thee, though thou hast not known me”
(Isaiah 45:5). These
cherubic forms (seen first at the gate of
in symbol over the mercy seat) are representatives of all
creature life, both
terrestrial and super terrestrial. Human science is not the measure of God’s
kingdom.
cubical, having length, breadth,
and thickness, so the number four is the
prophetic sign for our terrestrial
globe. Hence we have in the vision a four-
faced form of life, with one
aspect towards each quarter of the globe.
There is
completeness and sufficiency in all God’s arrangements. The
manifold varieties of creature
life are ordained to do their Master’s will, in
whatever quarter of the world
exigency may arise. This is an intimation:
Ø
of help to the
righteous, but
Ø
of vengeance to
the wicked.
·
NOTE THEIR INTELLIGENT QUALITIES. The human form is
prominent in the prophetic picture,
indicative of the fact that intelligence
and reason are the ruling
attributes. The universe is not a promiscuous
assemblage of dead atoms, nor is
the life of men the march of inexorable
fate. Combined with the
intelligence of man, is the courage of the lion, the
patient endurance of the ox, and
the swift speed of the eagle. The noblest
service which God’s creatures
can render, falls immeasurably short of the
requirements of God. Yet are our powers never so ennobled or enlarged as
when engaged in
His work. To Him
must our very best be
consecrated. Far
from exhausting our strength,
God’s service renews and refreshes the
spirit. There is always a latent
reserve of power. The more we do, the
more
we can do. Two wings are at rest,
while two are in motion.
burning coals of
fire, and like the appearance of lamps… the fire was
bright.” The nature of true servants was given to these
living creatures.
They glowed with sympathetic
ardor to fulfill their Monarch’s will. The
flame within was kindled and
kept alive by an invisible hand, so that by
virtue of its intense energy, it
touched and beautified every part of their
nature. As the ministers of Jehovah, they shared in His resplendent purity.
every one
straight forward… whither the spirit was to go, they went.”
Service was a delight. It would
have been a restraint upon the impulses and
energies of their nature — a
very pain — if no service had been allotted
them.
Hastening to execute the high behests of God, they go and return
like a lightning
flash. Personality was retained in its
full integrity, but self
was repressed; they moved
spontaneously under the Divine impetus.
Self-will sweetly coalesced and
identified itself with the will of God. The
perfection of a child spirit is
reached when we can say as Jesus said,
“I do always the
things that please Him” (John
8:29). No by-ends,
nor sinister advantages, are
sought by these
dutiful servants. Each one
moves in a straightforward line.
The shortest course is pursued to reach
the Divine end.
DIVERSITY. Each form
of creature life had its special mission to fulfill; yet
each worked in harmony with the
other for a common end. In appearance
they were conjoined, and yet
were separate. The particular service to be
performed by the eagle’s wing
could not be executed by the foot of the ox,
nor by the hand of the man. There is scope in God’s service for every
quality and attribute
of soul.
creature life were
commissioned to chastise the rebellious nations. They
appear on this occasion as the
executors of Divine vengeance. “Fire went
up and down
among the living creatures, and the fire was bright, and out of
the fire went
forth lightning.” When God comes forth
to judge the earth, He
is accustomed to employ a variety
of agents. Sometimes He employs the
material elements, as at
— even “men of the world, which are his
hand” (Psalm 17:14). Sometimes
He employs the principalities
and powers of heaven. “The angels are the
reapers;” “They shall bind
the tares in bundles to burn them.” (Matthew
13:37-42). John
heard a voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels,
“Go your ways, and
pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth”
(Revelation 16:1). The Jews in their exile, when Ezekiel appeared
upon the
scene, were flattering
themselves with the prospect of a speedy restoration
to liberty and to home; but the mission of Ezekiel was designed to dissipate
this false hope. A long night of chastisement
was to precede the dawn of
mercy. The glowing fire and the lightning
flame were impressive portents
of impending judgment. “Our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:29)
15 “Now as
I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the
earth by the living creatures, with his
four faces.” Behold one wheel, etc.
As the prophet gazed, yet another marvel
presented itself — a “wheel” was
seen.
It is “by” or “beside” (Revised Version) the living creatures,
and “for each of
the four faces thereof” (Revised Version); i.e. as the next verse states
definitely,
there were four
wheels. We may compare the analogues of the “wheels”
of fire in
the theophany of Daniel 7:9, and
the chariot of the cherubim in I Chronicles 28:18.
16 “The
appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the
color 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.”
Like unto the color of a beryl. The Hebrew for “beryl”
(tarshish) suggests that
the stone was called, like the turquoise, from the
region which produced it. Here and in Daniel 10:6 the Septuagint
leaves it
untranslated. In Exodus 28:20 we find χρυσόλιθος – chrusalithos –
chrysolite; in
ch.10:9 and 28:13 ἄνθραξ - anthrax, i.e. carbuncle. It is
obvious,
from this variety of renderings,
that the stone was not easily identified. Probably
it was of a red or golden color,
suggesting the thought of fire rather than the
pale green of the aquamarine or
beryl (see especially Daniel 10:6). They
four had
one likeness, etc. A closer gaze led the prophet to see that there was a
plurality in the unity. For the one “wheel” we have four; perhaps, as some
have thought, two wheels intersecting at right angles,
perhaps, one,
probably seen behind, perhaps also below, each of the
living creatures.
They are not said actually to rest upon it, and the word “chariot” is not
used as it is in I Chronicles 28:18. They would seem rather
to have
hovered over the wheels, moving simultaneously and in full
accord with
them. The “wheels”
obviously represent the forces and laws that sustain
the manifold forms of life represented by the “living creatures” and the
“Spirit.” In each case the number four is, as elsewhere, the symbol
of
completeness. A
wheel in the midst of (within, Revised Version) a wheel;
i.e. with an inner and
outer circumference, the space between the two
forming the “ring” or felloe of v. 18.
17 “When
they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned
not when they went.” When they went, etc. The meaning seems to be that the
relative position of the wheels and the living creatures
was not altered by
motion. On “they
turned not,” see note on v. 9. All suggests the idea of
orderly and harmonious working.
18 “As for
their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and
their rings were full of eyes round about
them four.” As for their rings, etc.
The “rings” or “felloes” of the wheels impressed
the prophet’s mind with a
sense of awe, partly from their size, partly from
their being “full of eyes.”
These were obviously, as again in ch.
10:12, and in the analogues of the
“stone with seven eyes” in Zechariah 3:9; 4:10, and the “four beasts
[i.e. ‘living creatures’] full of eyes,” in Revelation
4:6, symbols of the
omniscience of God working through the forces of nature and of
history.
These were not, as men have sometimes thought, blind forces, but
were
guided as by a supreme insight (compare II Chronicles 16:9).
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.” The wheels went by them; better, with Revised Version,
beside them; i.e. moving
in parallel lines with them. And when
the living
creatures went, etc. The truth embodied in the coincident movements of
the “living
creatures” and the “wheels,” is
the harmony of the forces and
laws of nature with its outward manifestations of might. In
the two
directions of the movement, onward and upward — when the living
creatures were
lifted up — we may see:
knowledge, and, as it were, on
the same plane with it; and
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.” Whithersoever the
spirit was to go, etc. The secret of the coincidence of the movements of the
“living creatures” and of the “wheels” was found in
the fact, which the
prophet’s intuition grasped, that the phenomena of life and law HAD
ONE AND THE SAME ORIGINATING SOURCE! For “the spirit
of the living creature” (singular, because the four are regarded as one
complex whole), the Septuagint, Vulgate, and Revised
Version margin, give
“the spirit of life,” a rendering tenable in itself, but the contextual meaning
of the word is in favor of the Authorized Version and the
Revised Version text.
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.” When those went, these went. The words, strictly speaking,
add nothing to the previous description; but the prophet
appears to have
wished to combine what he had before said separately, so as
to make the
picture complete, before passing on to the yet more
glorious vision that
next met his gaze.
Nature’s Material Forces are the Active
Servants of the Church (vs. 15-21)
New phenomena now appear to the prophet’s ecstatic vision.
Wheels of
vast and appalling magnitude are seen, and seen in
combination with the
cherubim. Now, wheels are essential parts of man’s
mechanical
contrivances; therefore we are compelled to regard the
material earth and
the encircling atmosphere as the scene of this activity. In
a striking and
instructive manner we
perceive God working in and through material
nature. We learn
in this passage:
GOD IS WORKING OUT HIS REDEMPTIVE
ends, which are plainly sought
in nature, are evidently not final; they are
steps to a loftier end. It is
possible that, in other planets, other aspects of
God’s glorious nature are in
course of being unveiled; other purposes are
unfolding; other principles
(perhaps not comprehensible by men) are being
developed. Our earth is
consecrated and set apart for this high end, viz.
that it may be the theater for the display of moral redemption.
EXECUTION OF THIS PLAN.
By the wheels of nature are symbolized all
mechanical and chemical forces.
These are ever moving in their appropriate
activities; are, in their
sphere, resistless. For the most part these activities
are a blessing to men; but if
withstood, they injure and destroy. These great
dynamic forces do not act in a
capricious and haphazard manner. They
follow implicitly the mandates
of law; they are represented as “full of eyes;”
they are the docile, ready
servants of the cherubim: “the spirit of the living
creatures is in
the wheels also.” The same Divine
Spirit which dwells in
angels and in men, possesses and
potentiates (though in inferior measure)
the forces of nature. Mechanical
forces yield to chemical; chemical forces
yield to vital; vital forces
yield to intelligent; intelligent forces yield to
spiritual. A graduated scale of
subordination appears, and in all there is
the
manifestation of
ONE CONTROLLING SPIRIT! This complete
subordination of nature to the
central purpose of redemption, is seen in the
miracles wrought by Jesus
Christ. The intervening agents are not within the
range of human vision; yet, to a
spiritual eye, they might have been (in part
at least) discerned. For to Nathanael
Jesus Christ affirmed, with special
emphasis, “Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Hereafter ye shall see heaven
open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon
the Son
of man.” (John
1:51)
WILL IS SWIFTLY AND NOISELESSLY DONE. The idea conveyed to
the mind by the vision of these
mysterious wheels is easy and rapid
motion. Celerity is made prominent by the fact that they went
straight to
their destination: “They
turned not when they went.” It was enough that
the volition of the Divine mind
was expressed. “He spake: and lo! it was
done” (Psalm 33:9); “Whither
the spirit was to go, they went;”
“The spirit
of the living
creature was in the wheels.” If the
cherubim were lifted up
from the earth, these
wheels were lifted up; or when the cherubim stood,
the wheels stood. Service in any direction — rest or
motion — the wheels
instantly and spontaneously
followed the Divine behest. Here saints may
find strong consolation: “God’s will is our
sanctification.” His will shall
be done. For who can finally resist
it?
APPALLS OUR FINITE MINDS. “The felloes of these wheels were so
high,” says the prophet, “that they were dreadful.” It is the
ambition of the
human mind to measure and grasp
the universe; and when, at length, we
begin to discover the magnitude
and the minuteness of God’s works, we
fall prostrate under a sense of
our impotence. (I recommend Fantastic Trip
on You Tube – CY – 2014). “It is
higher than heaven; what can we know?
It is deeper than Hades; what can” our feeble intellect
do? It should temper
our self-confidence, and induce
in us profound modesty, to remember
that
we do not, while in the flesh, see objects as they
absolutely exist; we see
only the likeness and appearance
of realities. A subjective element mingles
with the objective, in our
consciousness. “Now
we know in part”
(I Corinthians 13:12). We anticipate the
time when imperfect
knowledge shall
give place to perfect certainty.
surely something to be gathered
from the fact that the prophet makes
mention of these several colors.
The fire which enfolded upon itself was
of the color of amber. The
throne on which the Eternal sat was in
appearance like a sapphire
stone. The living creatures were like burning
coals of fire. The wheels were
like the color of the beryl — i.e. a bluish
green. These colors are
constituent elements of the perfect white, and
imply that God’s
righteousness (as well as His wisdom and goodness) is
manifest in all
His works. The universe is imbued with
a moral purpose.
“Truth shall
spring out of the earth, and righteousness shall look down
from
heaven” (Psalm
85:11); “The
mountains shall bring peace to the
people, and the little hills by righteousness.” (Ibid. 72:3)
22 “And
the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of the living
creature was as the color of the terrible
crystal, stretched forth over
their heads above.” And the likeness of
the firmament, etc. The word is the
same as that in Genesis 1, passim; Psalm 19:1;
150:1; Daniel 12:3. It
meets us again in vs. 23, 25-26, and in 10:1, but does not
occur
elsewhere in the Old Testament. What met the prophet’s eye was
the
expanse, the “body of heaven
in its clearness” (Exodus 24:10), the deep
intense blue of an Eastern sky. Like the color of the terrible crystal, etc.
The Hebrew noun is not found elsewhere. Its primary
meaning, like that of
the Greek κρύσταλλος - krustallos – crystal - is
that of “cold,” and I incline
therefore to the margin of the Revised Version, “ice.” Rock crystal, seen,
as it is, in small masses,
and in its pure colorless transparency, hardly suggests
the idea of terror; but the
intense brightness of masses of ice, as shining in the
morning sun, might well make
that impression. Had Ezekiel seen the glories of
a mountain throne of
ice as he looked up, on his way from
Chaldea, at the heights of
fitting symbol of the throne of God? We note, in this
connection, the use of
“terrible” in Job 37:22 (see note on ver.
4).
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.” Under the firmament, etc.
The description must be read as completing that of v. 11. The two upper
wings
of the “living
creatures” were not
only stretched out, but they pointed to the
azure canopy above them, not as sustaining it, but in
the attitude of adoration.
Nature, in all her life phenomena, ADORES THE MAJESTY OF THE
ETERNAL! (Think of the great dishonor done to God by giving honor due
to Him to Mother Nature! This is widespread in the 21st Century. Psalm 29:2
counsels us to “Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name.” - CY – 2014)
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.” The noise of their
wings, etc. The wings
representing the
soaring, ascending elements in nature, their motion answers
to its
aspirations, their sounds to its inarticulate groanings (Romans 8:26) or
its chorus of praise. The noise of great waters may be that of the sea, or
river, or torrents. Ezekiel’s use of the term in ch. 31:7, in connection with the
cedars of
Psalm 29:3; 107:23, the term is manifestly used for the
seas. The thought appears
again in Revelation
1:15; 19:6. In Psalm 29:3, et al., the “voice
of the Lord” is
identified with thunder. For the voice of speech, which wrongly suggests articulate
utterance, read, with the Revised Version, a noise of
tumult.
25 “And
there was a voice from the firmament that was over their
heads, when they stood, and had let down
their wings.”
And there was a
voice from the firmament. Revised Version
gives above. The prophet’s silence suggests that
what he heard was at first
ineffable (compare II Corinthians 12:4), perhaps
unintelligible. All that he
knew was that an awful voice, like thunder (compare John
12:29), came
from above the expanse of azure, and that it stilled the
motion of the
wings, working peace, as in the midst of the endless
agitations of the
universe. The wings that had been stretched upward are now
folded, like
the others.
The Glory of the Eternal (vs. 4-25)
It is plain that Ezekiel was possessed, and all but
overwhelmed, by a conviction
of the glorious attributes and universal sway of God. The
imagery under
which he conceived and represented the Divine presence and
government is
altogether different from either classical or modern art;
but it would be a
narrow pedantry which on this account would repudiate it as
valueless or
ineffective. In fact, it is opulent, varied, and
impressive. Everything earthly
must come short of setting forth Divine glory; yet much is
communicated
or suggested by this vision of
the majesty of the Eternal which may
aid us
to apprehend God’s character, and reverently to study God’s
kingly
operations carried on throughout the universe.
It was in these, as in a
setting, that the more specific forms discerned by the
prophet were enshrined. The
stormy wind from the north, the great cloud
with its flashing fire, the
amber brightness gleaming about it, — all these
are manifestations of an unseen
but mighty power, recognized by the spirit
as Divine. This is certainly a
stroke of the true artist, first to portray the
material, the vehicle, and then
to proceed to paint in the more defined
symbolic figures. The modern
doctrine of the correlation and convertibility
of forces points us to the unity
which is at the heart of all things, and
convinces us that we are in a universe, a cosmos, which, if it is to be
explained by any
rational and spiritual power behind it, must be explained
by A POWER WHICH IS
UNDIVIDED AND SINGLE! Poets and
prophets alike find scope for
their imagination in connecting all the
phenomena and the forces of
nature with the creative Spirit conceived
as revealed by their means.
CREATURES. There is,
of course, no intention to picture any actually
existing animals under the
imagery of the vs. 5-14. But we have a
symbolic
representation of life. Every observer is conscious that, in passing
from mechanical and chemical
forces to consider the manifold forms of life,
he is climbing, so to speak, to
a higher platform. Living beings, in all their
wonderful and admirable variety
of structure and of formation, are
witnesses to the
wisdom and the power of the Creator.
Let Science tell us
of the order and of the process
of their appearing; the fact of their
appearing, in whatever manner,
is a welcome taken of the Divine interest in
this earth and its population.
If the poet delights to trace God’s splendor
in “the light of setting suns,”
the physicist may with equal justice
investigate in organic nature
the handiwork of the All-wise. Late is the
work of the living God, in whom all creatures “live, and move, and have
their being” (Acts
17:28). A
lifeless planet would lack, not only the
interest with which our earth
must be regarded, but something of the
evidence which tells us GOD IS HERE AND IS EVER CARRYING
OUT HIS GLORIOUS
PLANS!
ATTRIBUTES. Each
living one in the prophet’s vision possessed a
fourfold aspect or countenance;
the combination being intended to enrich
our conceptions of the handiwork
of God, and the witness of that
handiwork to Him.
Interpretations differ; but it is not uncommon to
recognize in the ox the
sacrificial, in the lion the powerful and regal, in the
eagle the aspiring, elements,
added to the true humanity, and combining
with it to complete the
representation. The four Gospels have been
generally regarded as exhibiting
severally these four characteristics; and
accordingly the symbol of
Matthew is the man, of Mark the lion, of Luke
the ox, of John the eagle.
INTELLIGENCE. The wheels
had their rings or felloes “full of eyes round
about.” This is symbolical of understanding, because sight is the
most
intellectual of the senses, the
eye being the medium of the greater part of
our most valuable knowledge of
the world without. Conscious intelligence
can only arise through participation in the Divine nature (II
Peter 1:4); it is
the subject, not the object, of
knowledge. In an especial manner the intellect
witnesses to the glory of God,
for by it we have insight into the Divine
reason. In the exercise of the
prerogative of knowledge and judgment, in
insight and intuition, we are
putting forth powers which are in themselves
among the most splendid and
convincing testimonies to “the Father of
lights.” (James 1:17)
UTTERANCE. The prophet
in his vision heard the noise of the wings of
the living ones, and the voice
above the firmament — appealing to the
sense, not of sight, but of
hearing. It is perhaps not fanciful to discern here
a conscious, voluntary witness
to God borne by His creation, and especially
by those endowed with the human
prerogative of speech, as the utterance
and expression of thought and
reason. The music of the spheres, the voice
of the stars, “the melody of
woods and winds and waters,” all testify to
God. The poet represents the heavenly bodies as
“Forever
singing as they shine,
‘The hand
that made us is Divine.’”
Yet the articulate, definite,
and intelligible utterances of beings endowed
with intellect and with speech
are necessary to enrich and to complete the
chorus of
adoration and praise offered by earth to heaven. The tongue, “the
glory of the frame,” has its
place to fill, its witness to bear, in the service of
the vast, illimitable temple.
COMMUNITY AND HARMONY APPOINTED BETWEEN HEAVEN
AND EARTH. The
living creatures had wings by which they soared into
the sky; they reposed and ran,
however, upon wheels, by which they
maintained their connection with
the solid ground. This remarkable
combination of wings and wheels
seems to point to the twofold aspect of
all creation. All things have an
earthly and a heavenly side. If wheels alone
were provided, earth would seem
cut off from heaven; if wings alone, the
terrestrial element would be
lacking, which would be a contradiction to
obvious fact. Man has a body, and bodily needs and occupations, which
link him to the
earth; but he has also a spiritual nature and
life which
witness his
relation to the ever-living God — the
Spirit who seeketh such
to worship him as
worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). Yet his
whole nature is created by God,
and redeemed by Christ; and his service
and sacrifice, in order to being
acceptable, must be undivided and complete.
Whether we regard the nature of
the individual man, or regard the Church
which is the body of Christ, we
are constrained to acknowledge that all
parts of the
living nature — body, soul, and spirit — are summoned to unite
in revealing to the
universe THE INCOMPARABLE MAJESTY AND
GLORY OF GOD!
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.” The likeness of a throne. The greatest glory was kept
to the last. High above the azure expanse was the likeness of
a throne (we note
the constant recurrence of the word “likeness,” nine times in
this one
chapter, as indicating Ezekiel’s consciousness of the
vision character of
what he saw). The idea of the throne of the great King
first appears in
I Kings 22:19, is frequent in the Psalms (Psalm 9:4, 7;
11:4; 45:6),
notably in Isaiah 6:1. In the visions of John (Revelation
1:4, and
passim) it is the
dominant, central object throughout. As
the appearance
of a sapphire
stone. The
intense blue of the sapphire has made it in all
ages the natural symbol of a heavenly purity. Ezekiel’s
vision reproduces
that of Exodus 24:10. It appears among the gems of the high
priest’s
breastplate (Ibid. ch.28:18; 39:11) and in the “foundations” of the wall of
the heavenly city,
Revelation 21:19. The description of the sapphire given
by Pliny (‘Hist. Nat.,’ 37:9), as
“never transparent, and refulgent with spots
of gold,” suggests lapis lazuli. As used in the Old
Testament, however, the
word probably means the sapphire of modern jewelry (Braun,
‘De Vest.
Sacerd.,’ p. 630, edit. 1680). A likeness as of the appearance of a man.
The throne, the symbol of the sovereignty of God over the “living
creatures” and the “wheels,”
over the forces and the laws which they
represented, is not empty. There was “a likeness as of the appearance” (we
note again the accumulation of words intended to guard
against the
thought that what was seen was more than an approximate
symbolism) “of
a man.” In that likeness there was the witness that we can only
think of
God by reasoning upward from all that is highest in our
conceptions of
human greatness and goodness, and thinking of them as free
from their
present limitations. Man’s highest thought of God is that
it is “a face like
his face that receives him.” He finds a humanity in the
Godhead. It is
noticeable that this preluding
anticipation of the thought of the Incarnation,
not recognized in the vision of Moses (Exodus 24:10) or
Isaiah (6:1),
appears prominently in the two prophets of the exile — here
and in the
memorable Messianic vision of “One
like unto the [‘a,’ Revised Version]
Son of man” in
Daniel 7:13. What might have been perilously
anthropomorphic in the early stages of the growth of
tended to identify the symbol with the thing symbolized,
was now made
subservient to the truth which underlies even
anthropomorphic thought
(compare Revelation 1:13). Irenaeus
(‘Adv. Haer.,’ 4:20. 10), it may be
noted, dwells on the fact that Ezekiel uses the words, “‘haec visio
similitudmis gloriae Domini,’
ne quis putaret
forte eum in his proprie
vidisse Deum.”
27 “And I
saw as the color 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.”
As the color of
amber. The
“amber” (see note on v. 4)
represents the purity and
glory of the Divine nature — the truth
that “God
is light” in His eternal essence. The “fire”
which, here as ever, represents
the wrath of God against evil, is round about within it, i.e. is less
absolutely identified with the Divine will, of which it is
yet an almost
constant manifestation. It is, in the language of the older
logicians, an
inseparable accident rather than part of its essential
nature.
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.”
As the appearance
of the bow. The glorious epiphany was
completed, as in Revelation 4:3 and 10:1, by the appearance
of the
rainbow. The symbol of
God’s faithfulness, and of the hope that rested on
it (Genesis 9:13). was
seen in the glory of the Divine perfection, even in
the midst of the fire of the Divine wrath. Mercy and love
are thought of as
OVER-ARCHING ALL THE PHENOMENA OF THE WORLD AND
ITS HISTORY, attempering the
chastisements which are needed for those
with whom that love is
dealing. The
whole complex appearances of Ezekiel’s
descriptions, including the arch of prismatic colors, finds its nearest
natural
analogue, as has been before suggested (note on v. 4), in the
phenomena of the
Northern Lights. I
fell upon my face. As in ch.3:23; Daniel 8:17-19; compare
Revelation 10:5-6; Ibid. ch.
1:17, the prostrate attitude of lowliest adoration,
the dread and awe of one who has seen the King, the Lord of
hosts, and yet
survives, was a preparation for the more direct revelation
to his consciousness
of the Word and will of Jehovah (comp. Dante ‘Inferno,’
3:136; 5:142).
The Providential Government of God (vs.
4-28)
This is acknowledged even by some of the ablest expositors
to be a most
difficult portion of sacred Scripture. Isaac Casaubon says
that “in the
whole of the Old Testament there is nothing more obscure
than the
beginning and the end of the Book of Ezekiel.” And Calvin
“acknowledges
that he does not understand this vision.” Yet we would
humbly and
reverently endeavor to set forth what appear to us to be
the principal
teachings of this marvelous vision. Its chief meaning the
prophet himself
tells us when he says that he saw “the appearance of the likeness of the
glory of Jehovah”
(v. 28). But in this case that glory is His glory in the
providential government of our world. In dealing with this
subject we may
perhaps bring out the main teachings of our text by
considering:
PROVIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD.
Ø
The entire animate creation is thus employed. Great is the
diversity of
opinion as to the meaning of the
four living creatures, the likeness of
which Ezekiel saw (vs. 4-10). We
will state what we believe to be their
true significance. As delineated
by the prophet “it is an ideal
combination,” as Fairbairn says; “no such composite creature exists in
the actual world.” And the name
by which they are called, living ones,
presents them to our view as exhibiting the property of life in its highest
state of power
and activity; as forms of creaturely
existence altogether
instinct with life.” Hengstenberg says
that the living creatures are
“the ideal combination of all
that lives on earth.” We regard them as
intended to symbolize the whole
living creation of God. And their
composition, relations, and movements
teach us that every variety
and order of life is employed in
His providential government of
our world. The endeavor has been
made to assign a specific meaning
to each different portion of the
living creatures. The symbolism unfolds
itself to us thus: “The
likeness of a man” indicates mental and moral
powers; e.g. reason,
conscience, affections, etc. “The hands of a man”
indicate dexterity, power of
skilful and active service. “The face of a
lion” suggests strength (compare Proverbs 30:30), courage (Ibid.
28:1),
and sovereignty. “The
face of an ox” leads us to think of patient,
diligent, productive labor
(compare Ibid. ch. 14:4). And
“the face of an
eagle” suggests the power of soaring
high above the
earth (compare Job 39:27; Isaiah
40:31), the keen, searching gaze, and
the far extended vision. In the
evolution of His providential government
God employs powers of every kind
and degree. The convincing reasoner
and the eloquent speaker, the
man of brilliant imagination and the man of
patient investigation, the
skilful inventor and the diligent handicraftsman,
and men and women and little
children even, having only feeble and
commonplace abilities, God uses in the working out of His great designs.
All creatures, from the lowest
insect to the highest intelligence, are subject
to His control and subservient
to His purposes. It is doubtful whether the
symbolism of the living
creatures includes the angelic creation. But apart
from this vision, we know that
angels are employed by God in His
providential government of our
world. Illustrations of such employment
abound in the sacred Scriptures.
Endless in variety and countless in
number are the
agents which He employs.
Ø
The
great forces of nature are thus employed by God. (vs. 15-21.)
The wheels symbolize the powers
of nature. Their relation to the living
creatures, and the relation of
both to the great God, is thus pictorially set
forth by Hengstenberg: “The
whole was designed to represent a kind of
vehicle, in which the Lord
occupied the place of the charioteer, the living
creature the place of the
chariot, under which are the powers of nature
represented by the wheels.” This
interpretation of the meaning of the
wheels is confirmed by Psalm
18:10: “He rode upon a cherub, and did
fly; yea, He did
fly upon the wings of the wind;” Psalm
104:3: “Who
maketh the clouds His chariot: who walketh
upon the wings of the
wind,” etc.; Psalm 148:8: “Fire,
and hail; snow, and vapors; stormy
wind fulfilling His word.” All the forces of nature serve God, and are
used by Him in the execution of
His purposes. In the case before us
these powers are represented as
about to be employed for judgment
upon the unfaithful Jews. But they
are also employed for purposes
of mercy and grace. He can use them for the protection of His
faithful people, as well as for the punishment of the
rebellious.
PROVIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD.
Ø
The immensity of its extent. It is said of the rings, or circumference, of
the wheels that “they
were so high that they were dreadful;” or, “they
were both high and
terrible.” How vast are the designs
and doings of
the providence of God! That
providence goes back into the
immeasurable and awful
past; it reaches onward into the endless future
(Romans 11:33-36). It embraces an infinity of events, some
of which
are of stupendous importance.
Ø
The complexity of its movements. We read of the wheels
that “their
appearance and
their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of
a wheel” (v. 16). The wheels are not ordinary wheels,but
double
wheels, one set into the
other. Looking upon the working of an
elaborate and intricate machine
or engine, the uninitiated are
bewildered by the movements, the
relations and bearings of
which they know not. Somewhat thus do
we contemplate the
operations of the
providential government of God. “Thy way is
in the sea, and
thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps
are not known” (Psalm 77:19); “Oh
the depth of the riches both
of the wisdom and
knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His
judgments, and His
ways past finding out!” (Romans 11:33).
Unfathomably deep to us are the
mysteries of the Divine providence.
Ø
The wisdom of its direction. The rings of the
wheels were “full of eyes
round about them” (v. 18). Eyes are the symbols of intelligence. The
forces of nature are not blind
or aimless in their movements, but are
directed by the
All-wise. And however inexplicable to
us the workings
of the providential government
of God may be, they are guided
and
controlled by
infinite intelligence and goodness.
Ø
The harmoniousness of its operation. “When the living creatures went,
the wheels went by them,” etc. (vs. 19-21). One
Spirit animated the
whole. The one Power
which employs and controls the whole living
creation also
governs the inanimate forces of nature, so that all
cooperate towards
one great and blessed end. Though the
great
powers at work in our world
often seem to us to be in conflict,
yet in His providence God is
prompting some, and restraining others,
for the accomplishment of His
own gracious and glorious purposes.
“All things work
together for good to them that love God.”
(Romans 8:28)
Ø
The progressiveness of its movements. “They turned not when they
went; they went every
one straight forward” (v. 9); “They went every
one straight
forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; they
turned not when
they went” (v. 12). Real and great progress is being
made in our world.
The former days were not better than
these. The
social condition of
the people improves; education advances along the
whole line; science makes
great and rapid strides; in the
apprehension
of revealed truth
there is marked progress; and
Christian principles
and practice are ever extending their
empire. Under the providential
government of
God, the world is moving, not to the darkness of
midnight, but to
the splendors of noontide.
THE PROVIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT OF GOD. (vs. 22-28.)
Notice:
Ø
The manifestation of the God-Man. We have spoken of the
manifestation of the God-Man;
but Ezekiel does not say that he saw
either man or God. Very guarded
are his words: “Upon the likeness
of the throne was the likeness as the
appearance of a man above
upon it” (v. 26). He tells us that he also saw “the
appearance of the
likeness of the
glory of the Lord” (v. 28). It was a
vision, perhaps as
clear as the prophet was capable of
receiving, of the Divine-Human.
We can have no
doubt of the Person thus indicated. It was a
foreshadowing of
the incarnation of the Son of God; an
anticipation of
God manifest in the flesh.
Ø
The supremacy of the God-Man. “Upon the likeness
of the throne
Was the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon
it.”
The Lord is upon the throne. He is the great Head of the providential
government of God. All
created life, and all nature’s forces, are
subject to His control. “All power is given unto Him in heaven
and in earth” (Matthew
28:18). This fact is rich in consolation
and in inspiration to all
who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ø
The gracious fidelity of the God-Man. “As the appearance of the bow
that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the
appearance of the
brightness that was round about. This was the appearance
of the
likeness of the glory of the Lord.” The meaning of “the
bow that
is in the cloud” is determined by Genesis 9:12-17. It indicates that
in the severe judgments which were coming upon the chosen people,
God would not forget the gracious covenant which He had made
with their fathers. Even the judgments would be inflicted for their
well being, and after the judgments there would be a
return of
prosperity and of
the manifest favor of God (compare
Isaiah 54:7-10).
In wrath He
remembers mercy. The God-Man presides over the
providential
government of our world IN INFINITE FIDELITY
AND GRACE! He reigns to
bless and to save. The Lord
reigns. (See Psalms 97-103)
He Who is upon the Throne (vs. 26-28)
There is a natural tendency to clothe the spiritual in
material form, and thus
to bring the invisible and impalpable within the range and
sphere of sense.
It must not be supposed that, when the inspired writers, in
this and similar
passages, depict in imagery of material splendor the
presence of the
Almighty, they are misled by their own language, and forget
that “God is a
Spirit.” Their
aim is to represent, in such a way as shall impress the mind,
the glorious attributes of the Eternal, to suggest the
relations which He
sustains to His creatures, and to inspire those emotions
which are becoming
to the subjects of Divine authority in approaching their
rightful King. Thus
understood, the language of this passage is fitted to help
us to conceive
aright of Him whom no man hath seen. (I Timothy 6:16)
The living creatures are
depicted as above the earth, but below the
heavens. Above the firmament that
was over their heads, the prophet in his
vision saw the dim form which
shadowed forth the presence of the Eternal.
Position, we know, is relative,
and it would be absurd to take this
representation as literal. Yet
how instructive and inspiring is this picture!
Ezekiel took the same view of
the great Author of all being as was taken
by Isaiah, who saw the Lord “high and lifted up” (Isaiah 6:1). Raise
our thoughts as we may, God is
still immeasurably above us. When we
speak of him as “the Most High,”
we are striving, in such language, to
set forth His infinite
superiority to ourselves and to all the works of His
hands.
throne speaks, not only of
greatness, but of power and of right to rule. God
is the King, to whose sway all creation is subject, and to whose moral
authority all His creatures
who are endowed with an intelligent and
voluntary nature should
delight to offer A GLAD OBEDIENCE! His
commands are the laws which we
are bound to obey; His voice is for us
the welcome voice of rightful
authority. The religion of the Bible is a
religion which enjoins and
requires obedience and subjection. Christianity
is the revelation of a kingdom which is righteousness, peace, and joy in
the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17)
first hearing sound almost
daring. And nothing would be further from the
truth than to suggest that the
Deity is subject to human frailties and
infirmities, such as the heathen
— both savage and cultivated — have been
in the habit of attributing to
their gods. But there is great significance in the
language of Ezekiel, when he
tells us that upon the throne of universal
empire “there was the appearance of a man.” We have thus brought before
us the glorious truth that the human nature is akin to THE DIVINE!
We can reason to some extent
from our own thoughts and feelings to
those of the Infinite Spirit.
The resemblance is of course partial, but it
is real. And believers in the Incarnation
cannot but recognize the
justice and the preciousness of
this representation of the prophet.
resources of nature to invest
his representation of the Eternal with
unapproachable splendor. He failed,
where all must fail, in the attempt to
portray that which cannot
be portrayed. His language, glowing as it
is,
gives but hints and suggestions
of glory which surpasses human
apprehension. Yet, as he speaks
of sapphire and amber, of fire and
brightness, we feel that his
mind was impressed with the Divine glory, and
that his description is fitted
to awaken our profoundest and loftiest
reverence and adoration.
and attributes of the Supreme
would be complete which did not include
mercy. Man stands pressingly in need of THE DIVINE COMPASSION!
Man’s weakness, his sin, his
helplessness, are such, that Divine pity is
his
only hope. Now, the bow in the cloud is the emblem of mercy. The rain,
the
dense dark clouds, the floods
upon the earth, represent affliction,
chastisement, distress. But the
sun of grace and kindness shines through
the gloom; the rainbow spans the
sky, and its beauty cheers the soul of the
beholder, as with an assurance
of compassion, as with a promise of relief.
Mercy is the
crowning attribute of the Supreme. God is our King and
Judge; but He has not forgotten
to be gracious; He is
also our Father and
our Saviour.
The Rainbow (v. 28)
The glory of God is here compared to a rainbow. Observe
some of the
points of resemblance.
of the field, in the plumage of
birds, in the brightness of insect life, and in
innumerable objects of the great
garden of nature. There is also beauty in
heaven. The smile of God is
heaven’s sunshine; His presence is the joy of
the eternal summer of that
perfect clime. To see God is to behold the
highest beauty. Happy the soul
to which it can be said, “Thine eyes shall
see the King in his
beauty” (Isaiah 33:17). Men who shrink from Divine
things as though they were dull
and unattractive are as yet blind to the
true nature of them. The house of God is a place of gladness for
those
who have learned to worship in
the beauty of holiness.
the rainbow, ranged in perfect
order and blending where they meet without
any harshness of contrast. There is rich variety in the glory of God. Each
may find there his favorite hues
of the perfect character. Some may select
the true blue of faithfulness,
others may prefer the glowing red of love. To
one the golden splendor of
perfection is most entrancing, to a second the
imperial purple appears as the
supremely important color, to a third the
green that reminds him of sweet
fields of nature and earthly beauty may
seem most attractive. All are
present in the rich pleroma of glory. And all
are in harmony. There is no
clashing of Divine attributes. “Mercy and truth
are met
together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other”
(Psalm 85:10).
cloud.” It is seen “in the day of
rain.” These facts give it the
peculiar
significance which we attach to
it. All is not bright. Therefore the serene
arc is the more welcome; and
when it stands against an inky thundercloud
its brightness is most apparent.
There can be no rainbow on a cloudless
day. The glory of God’s goodness
is seen in contrast with the thunders of
wrath against sin. It is most visible
in days of storm and terror if only men
will look up for it.
primitive promise to Noah
(Genesis 9:12-17). But each rainbow is a
new appearance, and therefore a fresh pledge or
the old world promise.
Apart from the special
application of the bow to the Flood in the covenant
with Noah, it is a natural token of mercy in the midst of judgment, and thus
a natural sign of God’s saving
grace. The glory of God is like this rainbow.
He is glorious, therefore, in
His mercy. LOVE is the chief beauty of the
character of God,
as indeed it is ITS CENTRAL FACT!
from hill to plain, from
frowning cliff to far across the purple waves of the
storm lashed sea. The glory of
God’s grace is not a choice fact for a few
rare souls to enjoy. It is THE SUBSTANCE OF A WORLD WIDE GOSPEL!
All are invited to behold it.
Reverence (v. 28)
In order that the prophet might be prepared to discharge
his prophetic
ministry aright, it was necessary that, in the first place, he should
experience a just conception of the greatness, holiness,
and authority of the
Being by whom he was commissioned. He could only then appear in a
proper attitude before men when he had found what was his
proper
attitude before God. The
fear of the King of heaven alone could preserve
him from any fear of those whom he was directed to visit
as an authorized
ambassador. Hence
there was first afforded to Ezekiel a vision of the
Eternal Majesty — a vision which doubtless often recurred
to his memory
when he was fulfilling the duties devolving upon him as the
servant and
messenger of Jehovah to men, and when he encountered
incredulity,
neglect, scorn, or opposition.
thing, reverence is another.
Fear is awakened by the sense and
apprehension of personal danger;
reverence is enkindled by the sight of
supreme goodness, purity, and
power. It may be base to fear; it must be
honorable and profitable to
venerate. It is the prerogative of man to
recognize, to admire, to adore
supreme excellence.
REVERENCE. Within
limits it is right and good that we should honor
and revere our fellow men. The
child may justly revere the parent, the
pupil, the teacher, the subject
the king. Yet there is but One who may be
revered with no
qualification, with no reserve. The
Divine attributes are
such that, the more we study them,
the more we shall find in them
deserving of wondering and
adoring awe, and the more shall we be
assured that there is in them an
infinity of excellence which is
unfathomable,
undiscoverable. (“O the depth of the riches both
of
the wisdom and
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are
His
judgments, and His
ways past finding out!” - Romans 11:33)
SHOULD BE MANIFESTED AND EXPRESSED. Ezekiel says, with
beautiful simplicity, “I
fell upon my face.” Overcome with the vision of
natural and moral perfection,
the prophet felt himself unfit to look up, felt
that his right place was in the
dust. It is meet and proper theft we should
manifest the emotions which we
justly feel. With reverence and godly fear
should human spirits, conscious
alike of dependence and of ill desert, draw
near to the Infinite Holiness
and Strength. Familiarity in devotion is hateful
and contemptible; lowly
veneration is both becoming and acceptable.
JUSTIFIED IN EXPECTING BLESSING FROM GOD.
Ø
It is good for us
profoundly to feel our inferiority, our dependence,
our innumerable
necessities.
Ø
It is good for us to
receive the revelation of God that is only made
to the lowly and
submissive.
Ø
It is good that
reverent, prophetic spirits should be the channel by
which men may submissively receive authoritative
representations
of Divine glory
and Divine grace.
The Vision of God is the Source of
Prophetic Inspiration (vs. 22-28)
We cannot fail to observe in Scripture that the prominent
prophets were
prepared for their responsible work by an ecstatic sight of
Deity. Without a
clear and overpowering sense of the greatness of God, along
with the
undeserved honor of being His messenger, mortal men shrink
from the
perilous task of reproving and warning their fellows. This
was the royal
university in which the prophets received their high
commission; and every
evangelic prophet, too, must hear his message from
Jehovah’s lips before
he can speak with authority to the people. In the words
of Paul, modern
preachers should be able to say, “I have received of the Lord that which
also I delivered unto you.”
(I Corinthians 11:23) We learn:
MORAL ATTITUDE RATHER THAN MATERIAL DISTANCE. His
eminence measured by intrinsic
excellence, not by intervening space. That
both angels and men — all the
principalities and powers — are symbolized
in the “living creatures” (or cherubim) is evident from the fact that
immediately above the wings of
these ideal beings stretched the floor of
heaven — a crystal firmament,
awe-inspiring in its splendor — and on this
was erected the sapphire throne
of Deity. Between the blue transparent
floor of the heavenly palace and
the wings of the cherubim no distance
intervened. “He is not far from every one of us; in him we live and
move and have our
being.” (Acts 17:27-28). We may see, not only
the rod, but also the hand that
has appointed it. “Because He
is at my right hand,
I shall not be moved” (Psalm 16:8);
“The Lord
of hosts is with
us” (Ibid. ch.
46;76); “Thou encompassest
my path”
(Ibid. ch.
139:3); “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
(Matthew 5:8)
ADMINISTRATION OF THIS UNIVERSE. He was seen by Ezekiel, as
also by Isaiah, occupying a throne.
This implies that He has not given
Himself up to majestic and well
earned repose. The crystal firmament and
the sapphire throne bespeak the presence
of serene and perfect peace. Yet
there is no indolence in heaven.
Perfect life means constant activity. “My
Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17); “They
serve Him day
and night in His temple” (Revelation
7:15). It is an exploded fallacy of
the skeptics that God has
withdrawn Himself from the scenes of earth,
and takes no interest in human
affairs. The very opposite is
the truth.
He acts mediately
in the most minute changes and events. “His throne
is prepared in the heavens: His kingdom ruleth over all.” (Psalm
103:19)
IN HUMAN FORM. This is an unquestionable honor put upon human
nature. We have in these visions
of Ezekiel mysterious forms of cherubic
life, but God does not disclose
Himself to the view of the prophet in any of
these forms. “Verily
He took not on Him the nature of angels” (Hebrews
2:16). It is nowhere said that God created the
angels in His own image.
It is said that man was formed
after the likeness of Himself. It is nowhere
said that recovery was provided
for fallen angels; for man it is
provided,
and at prodigious
expense. Angels are uniformly styled “servants;” the
redeemed from humanity
are designated “sons.” In the apocalpytic
visions of John, the angels
stand in an outer circle round about the throne;
while the elders —
representatives of the Church — sit on thrones nearer
to the Deity. God has
put stupendous honor on human nature. There is
a
Man upon the
highest throne. God has stooped to our
poor level, that He
Might raise us up to His. “We
are to be partakers of the Divine nature”
(II Peter 1:4). In this vision granted to Ezekiel we have a forecast of the
Incarnation — an anticipation of
AGAINST SIN. The
glorious Being who occupied the throne, presented in
one respect a twofold
appearance. From the loins — as a dividing line —
upwards He appeared as chasmal,
electron — as when gold and silver are
fused in the flame. From the
loins downward there was the appearance of
fire. No other interpretation
can be put upon this, but that the God of
heaven was about to proceed on
an errand of judgment. It was still in His
heart to forgive, if only men would abandon the abominable thing;
but the
lower parts of His person — His
legs and feet — burned with fierce resolve
to vindicate His
outraged honor. Similar is the
declaration of the Apostle
Paul, that “the Lord Jesus will
be revealed from heaven, in flaming fire
taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not
the gospel
of his Son;” (II Thessalonians 2;8); “He will burn up the
chaff with
unquenchable fire;” (Matthew 3:12; Luke 3:17); “Our God is a
consuming Fire.” (Hebrews 12:29)
COVENANTED MERCY, “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.” The execution of righteous retribution upon the ungodly
will be an
occasion of advantage, and
blessing to the redeemed. The blacker the
storm cloud, the more clear and
beauteous is the rainbow traced upon its
departing form, when the Sun of
Righteousness again shines forth. This is
God’s repeated
proclamation of mercy — the renewal of his gracious
covenant. This brightness was round about Jehovah’s head — a halo of
glory, a diadem of transcendent
beauty — redemption’s matchless crown.
In it are blended all the
attributes of Divine perfection, from the scarlet hue
of righteousness to the soft
blue of perfect peace. “He will be ever
mindful
of his covenant” (Psalm
111:5; 105:8); and it increases our strong
consolation
to be ever mindful of it also.
On the raindrops this heavenly bow of beauty
is sketched, as if to suggest
that on the daily gifts which flow from the Divine
hand we may discern the “everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and
sure.” (II Samuel 23:5)
STOOPS TO HOLD INTERCOURSE WITH MEN. This series of
magnificent visions was intended
to prepare the mind of the prophet to
receive new disclosures of
truth, new commissions of duty. The splendor
of the scene, when once the
prophet’s visual organ was enlarged — the
glorious sovereignty of Jehovah
especially — so impressed and awed the
prophet’s mind, that he fell
upon his face. Nothing so
humbles the proud
heart of man as
the sight of God, or even a general
sense of His nearness.
In the presence of God’s
greatness, he perceived by contrast his own
littleness; in the presence of
God’s purity, he saw his own vileness; under a
sense of God’s absolute rule, he
was constrained to render glad and
preempt obedience. Such lowliness of spirit is a prerequisite for the
Master’s service. “The meek will He teach his way” (Psalm 25:9).
Because the lawgiver of
known His ways
unto Moses” (Ibid. 103:7).
So is it still. “With the
froward thou wilt show thyself froward” (II
Samuel 22:27; Psalm
18:26). Humility of mind is the only attitude in
which we can wait
with patience at wisdom’s gate, and
really pray, “Speak, Lord; for
thy servants hear” (I Samuel
3:10). And still God speaks to humble
men. Prayer is not a mere
traditional custom of piety. It is a real
application
poured into the attentive ear of God, and
gracious messages
of love come to
us in return. Said our Lord in His
last days on
earth,
“If a man love
me, he will keep my commandments, and my
Father will love
him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode
With him.” (John 14:23 - God has the ability and desire to live in every
man, woman and child
SIMULTANEOUSLY! -
CY – 2014) Ezekiel
—
a man of like passions with
ourselves — records, “I heard the voice of
One that spake.” (v.
28)
"Excerpted text Copyright AGES Library, LLC. All rights reserved.
Materials are reproduced by
permission."
This material can be found at:
http://www.adultbibleclass.com
If this exposition is helpful, please share
with others.
The
Bright Fire (v. 13)
“And the fire was bright.” Either the living creatures
themselves seem to be
transformed into fire, to be glowing with fire, or the
prophet means to tell
us that he saw a bright fire in the midst of them. In any
case this fire is part
of the heavenly vision. It is symbolical of the life of
perfection.
I. CONSIDER
HOW GOOD IT IS FOR THE FIRE TO BE BRIGHT.
There are men in whose breasts the fire of God burns dimly.
The embers
smoulder in a dull mass, threatening speedy extinction. Love is
chilling,
faith is fainting; as for the flame of hope, that is long
since dead. On the
other hand, the bright fire may stand for fresh warmth of
soul, a burning
zeal, a passion of devotion, a glow of heavenly love. Let
us note the
advantages of this.
1. Light. The
bright fire shines. Truth is obscure in the dull soul. Out of
burning love springs the flame that illumines many a dark
mystery.
2. Power. Heat
is a source of energy in the human body as well as in the
furnace of the steam-engine. Spiritual heat is spiritual
force. Lethargy and
paralysis seize the soul when it has ceased to glow with
heavenly devotion.
3. Purification. The
bright fire burns up foul refuse, which would only lie
on a dull fire in a lump that gives off evil odours, while it quenches the
flames that are too feeble to consume it. Evil thoughts and
passions only
disappear when they are burnt up in the fires of devotion.
4. Cheering. There
is no pleasanter image than that of an English fireside.
When the winter storm howls out of doors, the open fire
within is a centre
about which the family gladly gathers, and where domestic
life spends its
happiest hours. So there is a cheerful glow in the company
of souls among
whom the fire of God burns. Gloomy religion is a sign of
cold-heartedness.
But the brightest glow of earthly devotion is as a
foretaste of the warmth
and brightness and joy of God’s heavenly home, where he is
gathering his
children one by one from the frosts and wilds of earth
around the great fire
of his own love.
II. INQUIRE
HOW THE DULL FIRE MAY BE BRIGHTENED. The
first inquiry must be as to whether the fire is alight at
all — whether it has
been extinguished, or whether it has ever been lit. No bellows
or fuel will
bring fire into the cold, black grate. It may be that the
fire of devotion to
God has never been kindled in a man’s breast. For him the
first need is for
a spark from the heavenly altar. Fire kindles fire.
Christ’s glowing heat sets
our dull heart beating in response. “We love him, because
he first loved
us.” But the fire may be alight and yet it may burn but
poorly. Here,
however, we must beware of a mistake. The fire that
crackles and blazes
most has not necessarily the most strength and beat. It may
be only the
“flash in the pan,” while quiet glowing coals will last
longer and give out
more power. Yet even these may fail. Let us see what is
then needed.
1. Fresh air. The
coals may have “caked.” They must be stirred and broken
up. One vigorous thrust with the poker may startle the dull
cinders into a
brisk blaze. Souls need shaking up. Crusty habits must be
broken.
Changes, shocks of surprise, blows of trouble, all do their
work to let the
air of heaven in upon the dull fire of the self-contained
soul.
2. More fuel. A
fire cannot live forever on its own cinders. Old grey
ashes
will not burn again. Souls need fresh fuel — new truth,
repeated stores of
grace, food in Scripture and in Christ, nourishment from
communion with
God.
3. A free vent. While the chimney is foul the fire wilt be dull.. The
upward
movement of the flame of devotion may be choked by the
sooty accretions
of earth. It must have a free course to the sky. It must
also have scope for
the play of its energy in life and work. Then it will leap
up bright and
strong.
Wheels of
Whatever else the prophet may have understood by the vision
of the
wheels, it seems clear that some earthly things are there
indicated in
contrast with the heavenly cherubim. The living creatures
have wings, to
soar above the earth. The wheels are constructed to run
along the ground.
They therefore seem to represent the Divine upon earth.
I. FREE
MOVEMENT. Each wheel has another wheel within it, seemingly
set at right angles to it, so that the two are like the
equator and the
meridian on a globe. This construction allows of free
motion in any
direction.
1.
life. There is a Divine progress moving on to a grand
consummation.
2. This motion is
free. The wheels within wheels can run in any direction.
The great world does not go spinning down the grooves of
change. Nature
and human life are not cramped and limited to the set course
of a railway.
God works in freedom, and can turn the direction of events
whithersoever
he chooses.
II. TERRIBLE
INTELLIGENCE. The circles of the wheels are awful to
behold, for they are studded with eyes. The course of
nature is not blind.
Every fact is stamped with thought; every change is marked
by intelligence.
History also, the great course of the human world, is
marked by the
thought of a Divine purpose. This thought shows adaptation
to
circumstances. The many-eyed wheels can see welt where they
are going,
and so avoid disaster and make straight for their goal. But
such vast and
universal intelligence has an element of terror about it.
Man is sure to be
baffled and confounded if he is mad enough to try to outwit
God’s
providence. Even when he submits, there must be something
tremendous in
the conception of a universal and all-searching gaze.
III. HARMONY
WITH HEAVEN. The wheels always accompany the
living creatures. The lower course on earth corresponds to
the direction of
beings whose wings sweep through heavenly regions. Heaven
and earth are
linked together. The same principles that are displayed
above are to be seen
in the Divine movements here. The contrast between the two
worlds is
only too sadly apparent on the human side; on the Divine
side it does not
exist. Moreover, just in proportion as men endeavor to
conform to the will
of God do they make their lives to run parallel with the
holy lives of
heavenly beings. Thus the good man’s career is a partial
realization of
heaven upon earth.
IV. SPIRITUAL
DIRECTION. Like the living creatures, the wheels run
whithersoever the Spirit is to go.
1. God’s
Spirit is on the earth. Heaven is his throne, but earth is his
footstool. Nature and providence are inspired. The thought
and purpose
and harmony of the whole are above and beyond the blind
concourse of
dead matter, the wild, chaotic rush of uncontrolled waves
of circumstance.
The signs of mind in the world are not like the wave-marks
found on rocks,
which bear testimony to the past existence of an ocean, but
only in distant
geologic ages. They show a present living Spirit.
2. The recognition
of the presence of God’s Spirit will make earth agree
with heaven. The
wheels do not follow the living creatures. Both are
directed by the same Spirit. It is a vain fancy that men
can imitate the
angels of heaven. But it is a possible thing to follow the
leadings of God’s
Spirit. In doing so earthly life is surely assimilated to
the life of heaven.
Exile and
Captivity (v. 1)
It is not the soil which a people till that makes that
people a nation. The
Jews have more than once furnished a striking illustration
of this principle;
for no nation has suffered more from banishment and
dispersion, and no
nation has more tenaciously clung to its nationality, or
more effectively
preserved it in circumstances the most unfavourable.
It is its religion which
makes a people a nation; even more than a common language,
a common
ancestry, and common traditions. It has ever been so
conspicuously with
the Jews. The record of their captivity in the East is a
record of their
religious experience; the literature of their captivity is
the literature of their
prophets, amongst whom Ezekiel occupies a place of
prominence and
interest. His figure, as we see him in imagination, “among
the captives by
the
sacred and precious truth.
I. THE
CAPTIVITY AND EXILE OF
REGARDED AS RETRIBUTIVE CHASTISEMENT INFLICTED BY
GOD ON ACCOUNT OF THEIR APOSTASY. Although much obscurity
gathers around the earlier history of the “chosen people,”
one fact stands
out in undisputed clearness — they were a people prone to
idolatry and
rebellion against Jehovah. Their own historians, men proud
of their descent
from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, men themselves profoundly
attached to
the one true God, record with unsparing fidelity the
defections of their
countrymen from the service and worship to which they were
bound by
every tie of gratitude and loyalty. Apostasy was not
confined to any class;
kings and subjects alike did wickedly in departing from
God. As a nation
they sinned, and as a nation they suffered. Surrounded by
people more
powerful than themselves — by
strength lay in their pure faith and their spiritual
worship. But again and
again they yielded to temptation, and fell into the
idolatries practised by
surrounding peoples. The punishment was foretold, the
warning was
repeated; but all was in vain. And it was in fulfillment of
prophetic threats
that the inhabitants, first of Northern and then of
transported to the East, and condemned to the existence
which awakened
their pathetic lamentations, when, strangers in a strange
land, they wept
when they remembered
of his prophetic mission, found himself amongst those who
were bearing
the penalty due to their follies and sins.
II. THE
CAPTIVITY AND EXILE OF
THE OCCASION OF THE RAISING UP AMONG THEM OF GREAT
SPIRITUAL TEACHERS AND LEADERS. It is obvious that, when
separated from their metropolis and their temple, when
denied the religious
privileges to which their fathers had been accustomed, the
Jews stood very
especially in need of men who, by their character, their
knowledge, their
sympathy, and their moral authority, should rally the
courage, inflame the
piety, and inspire the hope of their countrymen. And it is
a proof of God’s
wonderful care and kindness that the Hebrews in their
captivity were not
left without such men. A noble, heroic, and saintly band
they were; and
right well did they fulfil a
mission of no ordinary difficulty. It is sufficient to
name Ezra and Nehemiah, who were commissioned to lead bands
of the
exiles back to the sacred soil; and Ezekiel and Daniel, who
were directed to
instruct their fellow countrymen in religious truth, to
admonish and to
comfort them, and to utter to the heathen nations around
words of faithful
warning.
III. THE
CAPTIVITY AND EXILE OF
THE MEANS OF SECURING TO THE FAVOURED NATION
IMPORTANT AND MEMORABLE RELIGIOUS ADVANTAGES AND
BENEFITS.
1. There were negative
advantages. By means of the Captivity, the chosen
nation was finally and forever delivered from the sin of
idolatry. The
witness of the prophets, the stern discipline of adversity,
the opportunity of
reflection and repentance, were not in vain.
2. There was this
great positive advantage accruing to
exile in the East — the people were encouraged to turn to
the Lord whom
they had forsaken, to seek reconciliation and restoration,
and to make
vows of obedience and fidelity to him to whom their
allegiance was justly
due. .
Visions
of God (v, 1)
God is; God lives; God everywhere and forever works and
manifests
Himself. But spirit is only apprehensible by spirit. And
the created
intelligence finds its noblest exercise in tracing the
presence and
recognizing the attributes of the Supreme. An especial
revelation was
accorded to the prophets; but one great end of this special
revelation
doubtless was that by their intermediation and ministry men
generally might
be encouraged to look upwards, and to behold the gracious
face of their
Father in heaven.
I. MAN’S
CAPACITY FOR THE VISION OF GOD. This is often denied
by those who seem to delight in degrading man to a mere
observer of
natural phenomena. But as upon earth the knowledge of our
fellow men is
more precious and excellent than the knowledge of material
processes and
physical laws; so do we find the full scope for the highest
powers of our
being when we pass from his works to the Divine Worker, and
from his
children to the Father of the spirits of all flesh. Whether
we call the faculty
the higher reason, or spiritual faith, there is a faculty
by which we gain
knowledge of the Author of our being. The greatest men have
been those
who have enjoyed the clearest vision of God. Such vision is
possible only
to natures endowed with intelligence, with moral capacity,
with a free and
spiritual faculty. Such natures “look unto him, and are
lightened.” In his
light they see light. It is the especial privilege of the
pure in heart that they
“see God.” Only the superstitious and ignorant can suppose
that he who is
the Eternal, Immortal, and Invisible is apprehended by
sense. He is seen by
the cleansed, illumined vision of the soul.
II. MAN
IS SUBJECT TO MANY HINDRANCES WHICH PREVENT
HIM FROM EXPERIENCING AND ENJOYING THIS VISION. God is
Reason. and the nature must be rational which is to commune
with him.
There are many who, gifted with powers of intellect, rise
to a rational
apprehension of him who is the Eternal Law and Order behind
all
phenomena which appeal to sense. But God is Righteousness,
Holiness,
and Love, and the nature must be moral, and morally
susceptible and
loving, which is to experience a fuller communion with him.
Worldliness,
the absorption in the outward show of things; sin, the
repugnance to
submissive contact with the pure and blessed Spirit;-these
are the
hindrances which prevent men from seeing God. The eyes of
the blind must
be opened, the scales must fall from them, before the
glorious vision of
perfect goodness can be enjoyed, before the spirit of man
can sun itself in
the light of the Divine countenance.
III. THERE
WERE MORAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR A SPECIAL
AND PROPHETIC VISION OF GOD. Doubtless those who were
summoned to be the vehicles of Divine truth to their fellow
men were
providentially selected and fitted for the office. Certain
times, places,
circumstances of various kinds, were chosen with this end
in view. But we
are more concerned with those moral preparations
which made men meet
to see “visions of God.” We especially note two
characteristics of all
honoured with this capacity and faculty.
1. Humility and
receptivity. God reveals himself to the lowly, while he
rejects the proud. Man must empty himself of self-conceit,
self-
righteousness, and self-confidence, in order that he may be
filled with the
Divine nature.
2. Aspiration. The
look must be heavenward; the desire and longing must
be Godward. “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth
my
soul after thee, O God!”
IV. PROPHETIC
AID HAS EVER BEEN USED TO ENLIGHTEN
MEN, AND TO ENABLE THEM TO EXPERIENCE VISIONS OF
GOD. As a matter of fact, man does thus help his fellow
man. Ezekiel
brought God near to the hearts of the children of the
Captivity. Readers of
the inspired Scriptures have always been indebted to
prophets and apostles
for spiritual help; God himself has spoken through the
enlightened nature
of his special ministers, and his voice has thus reached
multitudes who
were profoundly in need of teaching, of guidance, of consolation.
And this
service is being rendered today. In the
daily enjoyed; and for those visions Christians are
indebted to the agency,
the ministry, of their fellow men. The service is
constantly rendered, and is
as constantly acknowledged with gratitude and appreciation.
APPLICATION. A clearer
and completer vision of God is attained by
those who are brought spiritually into contact with Jesus
Christ, the Son of
the Father, and the true Light. A fuller illumination is
effected by the
agency of the Holy Spirit, whose presence has, ever since
Pentecost., more
abundantly enriched the Church. The children of the
Captivity were
indebted to Ezekiel for aid in recognizing and rejoicing in
the eternal light;
but we are far more under obligation to him who has come
forth from God,
and has gone to God, and who has assured us, “He that hath
seen me hath
seen the Father.”
The Lord’s Word and the
Lord’s Hand (v. 3)
The prophet felt and knew that God was drawing near to him.
This
experience he could only express in language drawn from
human relations.
Spiritual realities were by him expressed in terms derived
from the acts of
bodily life. The “word” and the “hand” here spoken of are
metaphorical,
but they are strictly true; i.e. the just idea is,
as far as may be by language
and emblem, thus conveyed to our mind. If God reveal
himself to man, it
must be by means of the characteristics of man’s spiritual
nature; and such
characteristics are pictured in the expressions here employed
by Ezekiel.
The “word” of the Lord means one thing, the “hand” another;
yet the
employment of both expressions is necessary in order to
convey, with
anything like completeness, the penetration of the
prophet’s nature by
Divine truth, the commission of the prophet to undertake
Divine service.
I. THE
QUICKENING AND ILLUMINATION OF THE MIND TO
RECEIVE THE TRUTH. The word is the expression of the
thought. The
Divine word is the utterance of the Divine thought, and the
Divine thought
is truth. The expression here used implies a community of
nature between
man and God. God has thoughts and purposes which concern
man’s good;
and man’s highest well being is dependent upon the
introduction of these
into his spiritual nature. Man has not simply to hear and
understand the
word; it is for him to welcome and retain and ponder it, as
a precious
possession and a mighty power. The word of God, no doubt,
came in a
special sense to the prophets; there was a directness, an
absence of any
intermediary, in this communication. Through the prophet
the word came
to the people, to whom it might and did prove a word of
enlightenment, of
warning, of encouragement. That this might be so, the
prophet’s nature
needed to be yielded up to the penetrating, purifying,
illumining grace of
God himself.
II. THE
SUBMISSION AND OBEDIENCE OF THE WILL
PRACTICALLY TO ACKNOWLEDGE DIVINE AUTHORITY. The
“hand of the Lord” is an expression frequently met with in
the Scriptures.
Nehemiah acknowledges the “good hand of God upon him.” To
interpret
the expression, it must be remembered that the hand is the
symbol of
activity, of the practical nature, of direction, of
control, of protecting
power. Now, a man could not fulfil
prophetic functions simply by hearing
the word of the Lord; there was something for him to do. In
truth, the
relations between God and man are such that it is necessary
that God
should command, and that man should obey. And if this is
true of men
generally, it is manifestly true of those who were called to
the prophetic
office. They had need not simply of revelation, but of
guidance, of
authority exercised and conveyed. What is this but to say
that they needed
that the hand of the Lord should be upon them? It must be
remembered
that the Prophet Ezekiel discharged his ministry, both by
the
communication verbally of Divine messages, and by the
performance of
certain actions. Of these actions some were symbolical, and
others were
directly and obviously instructive and directive. Thus the
prophet needed,
not merely the word of the Lord to enter his mind, but the
hand of the
Lord to control and govern his conduct.
APPLICATION. True
religion is twofold. It enjoins upon us
(1) the reception of
Divine truth, as graciously revealed in various ways to
the human intelligence; and
(2) the subjection
to Divine authority, as exercised with wisdom and
compassion by him whose omnipotent hand can both point out
the path of
duty and service, and can clear away every obstacle which
might prevent
that path being pursued.
—
Early Symbols of
Jehovah’s Presence (v. 4)
The materials of the
vision are supplied from the storehouse of nature. We
climb along the altar-steps of material nature up to
nature’s God. Earthly
phenomena serve
(1) as veils, which
scarcely hide the Divine Artificer;
(2) as symbols,
indicating his perfections;
(3) as instruments,
with which he accomplishes his will.
For the vision before us, God chose to employ, not the
grosser forms of
inert matter, but the dynamic forces which are at work on
every side —
wind, light, heat.
I. The
idea is brought before us of INSCRUTABLE MYSTERY. This is
betokened by the whirlwind. In all revelation of his doings
which God
vouchsafes to man, there must be more or less of
mystery. The finite
cannot measure the infinite. How the wind originates, what
its full mission,
or whither its destination, we cannot tell. This was a
stormy wind — partly
baneful, partly beneficent. It betokened a severe
visitation of Jehovah — a
temporary calamity destined to issue in permanent good. “He
rideth upon
the wings of the wind.” As in the hotter climate of the
East, a storm rapidly
rises and sweeps the face of the earth; so, after repeated
monitions,
Jehovah suddenly visits men in judgment. “His footsteps are
not known;”
“He maketh his messengers winds.”
II. There
is the idea of PARTIAL REVELATION. This is indicated by the
cloud. The cloud both tempers the heat of the sun and
conceals the
wonders of the starry heavens. Whenever God has revealed
his glorious
majesty to men, there has been the attendant circumstance
of the cloud. At
the Red Sea, on
Transfiguration, the glory of God was veiled within the
drapery of a cloud.
The eye of sinful man cannot sustain the overpowering
brightness of the
Deity. For what is at present concealed from us, no less
than for what is
disclosed to us, it becomes us to be sincerely thankful.
“What we know not
now we snail know hereafter.”
III. There
is the idea of PURIFYING ENERGY. This is symbolized by
the fire. One of the most potent and widespread agents at
work in the
material universe, is fire — an impressive emblem of the
purity ann justice
of the Most High. Nothing in nature is more destructive
than fire. For the
precious metals, it is the only agent that purifies.
The flame was selfkindled,
as was the flame that consumed the sacrifice on the temple
altar.
This vision was intended to extinguish the false hopes of
the Hebrews. The
design was threefold, viz. to produce
(1) suitable terror
and alarm;
(2) genuine sorrow;
and
(3) internal
purification.
“A fire is kindled in mine anger.” Wood and hay and stubble
will be
consumed; gold and silver will be beautified.
IV. There
is the PROSPECT OF EVENTUAL PROSPERITY. “A
brightness was about it.” We have here a prefigurement of that “abounding
grace” which is yet in reserve fur the chosen remnant of
of the “times of refreshing” which shall in due time come
“from the
presence of the Lord.” A prophet who announces only judgment
is no less
false than he who peals forth only the clarion note of
mercy. The brightness
is set forth here as suffusing the whole vision — storm,
cloud, fire. Every
part of Jehovah’s administration shall be covered with
renown. He will
graciously vindicate his ways to the satisfaction and joy
of his saints.
Immortal splendour will encircle
the final result.
The Divine Summons to the Prophetic
“Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year,” etc. Our text
authorizes the
following observations. The Divine summons to the prophetic
mission –
I. WAS
ADDRESSED TO EZEKIEL AT A TIME WHICH HE VERY
MINUTELY RECORDS. “Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year,
in the
fourth month, in the fifth day of the month In the fifth
day of the month,
which was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s
captivity.” This statement
made with so much detail suggests:
1. That Ezekiel
received this summons in vigorous manhood. We take “in
the thirtieth year” as referring to the age of the prophet.
The mighty call
reached him when he had passed beyond the inexperience and
immaturity
of youth, and before the approach of the decay of either
his physical or
mental powers. Thirty years was the age at which the
Levites in the
wilderness entered upon their laborious duties (<040403>Numbers 4:3). Jerome
says that the priests entered upon their office at the same
age; but the
statement is very questionable. John the Baptist began his
ministry on the
completion of his thirtieth year. And “the Light of the
world” was not
publicly manifested until our Lord had attained the same
age.
2. That he desired
to place the reality of his predictions beyond question.
Some of these are very remarkable. “We should deem it
impossible for any
one,” says Fairbairn, “in a
spirit of candour and sincerity, to peruse the
wonderful and discriminating predictions contained in his
writings
respecting either the Jews themselves (those, for example,
in ch. 5., 6., 11.,
17., 21.), or the neighbouring
nations, more particularly those of
different and varying fortunes, and such as necessarily
required ages for
their accomplishment — we should deem it impossible for any
one in a
proper spirit to examine these, and compare them with the fulfilment,
without being persuaded that they afford indubitable
evidence of a
supernatural insight into the far distant future.” And the
minuteness of the
statement of time in the text, and the chronological order
which is observed
and stated in the prophecies, would emphasize the
genuineness of these
predictions and the certainty of their Divine origin.
3. That the summons
made a deep impression upon the sold of the
prophet. The careful
particularity of the record indicates that Ezekiel felt
profoundly the importance of that which he records. Those
seasons in
which God approaches most near to the soul, and
communicates most
directly with us, are momentous; they constitute epochs in
our spiritual
history.
II. WAS
ADDRESSED TO HIM IN SIGNIFICANT
CIRCUMSTANCES.
1. In a heathen
land. “In the hind of the Chaldeans,” whither he
had been
carried captive by Nebuchadnezzar.
The Chaldeans were idolaters. The
Jewish rabbins assert that the
Holy Spirit inspired the prophets only in the
Ezekiel, heaven is opened unto him, visions of God are
unfolded unto him,
and the voice of God speaks to him. In the same land the
Divine inspiration
came to Daniel. And it was not at
beheld his marvellous and
glorious visions, and heard the mighty and awful
voices of the great apocalypse. God is not limited to any
place whatsoever.
His Spirit can work as freely and effectively in one place
as in another.
2. In a captive
condition. “As I was among the captives,”
or, “in the midst
of the captivity.” With others of his fellow countrymen
Ezekiel had been
taken from Judaea and settled in
painfully felt their condition is clear kern Psalm 137. To
the patriotic and
the pious there was much in their exile to cause grief.
They would mourn
for the fatherland with its stirring and sacred memories, and
for the temple
and its precious privileges, kern which they had been
removed. These
sorrows the godly had to suffer in common with the wicked.
Those who
were faithful to the Lord their God had to bear the
captivity which had
come upon the people by reason of the general
unfaithfulness. Ezekiel,
Daniel, and his three noble companions in the court of Nebuchadnezzar,
men eminent for their religious fidelity, suffered the
privations and griefs of
the captivity not less, but perhaps much more, than they
did whose sins
caused that captivity. In every age the good are subject to
the same
outward afflictions and trials as the wicked. They have no
exemption from
the common calamities of life. In this respect “all things
come alike to all,”
etc. (Ecclesiastes 9:2).
3. By the
According to some it is “the modern Khabour,
which rises near Nisibis,
and flows into the
Malcha, or Royal Canal of Nebuchadnezzar — the greatest of all the
cuttings in
by this river, and these are favourable
to the reception of Divine
communications. It was amid the awful heights of Sinai that
Moses on two
occasions was alone with God forty days and forty nights
(Exodus
24:15-18; 34.). And somewhere in the seclusion of the same
mountain
region “the Lord passed by” the Prophet Elijah, and the
voice of God
spake unto him (1 Kings 19:8-18). And our Lord and Saviour
frequently sought retirement for communion with his Father
(Matthew
14:22, 23; Mark 1:35; Luke 4:42; 5:16). Devout solitude and
serenity are congenial with Divine manifestation and
communication.
Moreover, there is something very suggestive about a river.
It tends to
hush the tumults of the mind and to stimulate peaceful and
pure thought.
When the spirit of Elisha was
agitated, he was incapable of exercising his
prophetic office, but when the agitation was allayed by
music, he was able
to prophesy. “When the minstrel played the hand of the Lord
came upon
him.” And, as has been suggested by another, the gentle murmutings and
rhythmic ripplings of the waters
of the river may in like manner have
attuned the spirit of Ezekiel to prophetic action and
utterance.
III. WAS
ACCOMPANIED BY DIVINE VISIONS. “The heavens were
opened, and I saw visions of God.” These words indicate:
1. A remarkable
faculty in man. He has power to behold
“visions of God.”
1 do not attempt to determine whether he saw them with the
eye of the
body or of the mind. To me it seems almost certain that the
vision was
spiritual. But whether it was physical or spiritual does
not affect the great
truth that we have power to receive spiritual and Divine
revelations.
Doubtless the seeing faculty in the case of the prophet was
purified and
strengthened for beholding these sublime and celestial
scenes (compare
II Kings 6:17); but no new or additional faculties were
given unto him. It
behoves us to respect our nature, seeing that it is capable of
beholding
visions and hearing voices from God.
2. Great
condescension in God. He opened the heavens, unfolded the
glorious revelations, and empowered the prophet to behold
them. The
prophet speaks of them as “visions of God.” The expression
indicates that:
(1) God was their
Author. They proceeded from him.
(2) God was their
Object. It is true that “no man hath seen God at any
time.” The essential Deity “no man hath seen, nor can see;”
yet these
visions were manifestations of his majesty. Schmieder has beautifully said,
“The Lord stooped to him, and his spirit was caught up to
see God.”
IV. WAS
ACCOMPANIED BY DIVINE COMMUNICATIONS. “The
word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest.”
Or, more
correctly, “The word of Jehovah came in reality unto
Ezekiel.” The
prophet not only saw Divine visions, but he also “heard the
voice of One
that spake” (v. 28). The true
prophet is himself taught of God. His
authority with men arises from the fact that he speaks not
his own
thoughts, opinions, or conclusions, but the word which he
has received
from God; that he conies to them with an assured “Thus saith the Lord.”
V. WAS
ACCOMPANIED BY THE DIVINE IMPARTATION OF
POWER. And the hand of the Lord was there upon him.” The
power of
God was acting upon the spirit of Ezekiel as an inspiring,
strengthening,
constraining force. “The hand of Jehovah was on Elijah,”
and though
weary, he put forth great physical exertion (1 Kings
18:46). The right
hand of the glorified Lord was laid upon
he was revived and strengthened. Whom God summons to
arduous service
he strengthens for the discharge of the same. He gives power
commensurate with duty.
—
The Overwhelming and the Reviving in
Divine Revelations
(v.
28 to ch. 2:2)
“And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a
voice of One that
spake. And he said unto me, Son of man,” etc. Two main lines of
meditation are suggested by these verses.
I. THE
MANIFESTATION OF THE DIVINE GLORY OVERWHELMS
EVEN THE BEST OF MEN IN THEIR
saw “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the
Lord,” Ezekiel fell
upon his face. We find the same thing in Ezekiel 3:23;
43:3; 44:4.
Isaiah felt himself “undone” when he “saw the Lord sitting
upon a throne”
(Isaiah 6:5). Daniel, after a vision of heavenly glory, was
emptied of all
strength (Daniel 10:8). And even
had reclined upon the bosom of the Lord, when he saw the
revelation of his
majesty, “fell at his feet as dead” (Revelation 1:17).
1. The sight of
such glory humbles man with the sense of his own
immeasurable inferiority. How vast is the disparity between the Creator
and the creature! He, “the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,
whose name is holy, and who dwelleth
in the high and holy place;” we, frail
men “that dwell in houses of clay, whose foundation is in
the dust, and are
crushed before the moth.” It is humiliating to reflect upon
the infinite
distance between the glory of God and our insignificance
and meanness
and shame. Such considerations rebuke those persons who, in
hymn or
prayer, address the Most High in terms of unbecoming
familiarity, or even
of positive irreverence. Most inadequate must be their
realization of the
truth that he is “glorious in holiness,” and of their own
unworthiness. “God
is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words
be few.”
“The more
thy glories strike mine eyes,
The
humbler I shall lie.”
2. The sight of
such glory overwhelms man by quickening his
consciousness of sin into greater activity. Thus it was with Isaiah
(Isaiah 6:5); and with St. Peter, when he was impressed
with the
superhuman powers of his Master, and perhaps realized that
he was the
Son of God (Luke 5:8). Such splendours
as Ezekiel saw reveal the
darkness and defilement of the hearts and lives of those
who see them. The
conscious presence of perfect holiness awakens or
intensifies man’s sense
of his own sinfulness. “I have heard of thee,” saith Job, “by the hearing of
the ear: but now mine eye seeth
thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent
in dust and ashes.”
3. Such humiliation
is a condition of hearing the voice of God. “I fell upon
my face, and I heard a voice of One that spake.” Pride and self-sufficiency
cannot hear the Divine voice. “The meek will he guide in
judgment; and the
meek will he teach his way.… The secret of the Lord is with
them that fear
him; and he will show them his covenant.” The highest
revelations are for
the simple, spiritual, and teachable — the child. like
spirits (compare
Matthew 11:25, 26). Moses, eminent for his meekness, was
admitted
into communion and communication with God of special intimacy
(Numbers 12:6-8). The humbling effect of Divine visions
sometimes
qualifies the soul to hear Divine voices.
II. GOD
IN HIS GRACE RAISES AND REVIVES HIS SERVANTS
OVERWHELMED WITH THE MANIFESTATIONS OF HIS GLORY.
“And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet,”
etc. Three
remarks are suggested.
1. The design of
such manifestations is not to overwhelm, but to prepare
for service. The
Divine intention in the vision which Ezekiel saw was to
prepare him for the discharge of the arduous duties of his
prophetic
mission. So also was it with Isaiah 6 and with
if spiritual visions of the true and the holy are granted
unto God’s servants
now, it is in order that they may more efficiently serve
him amongst their
fellow men.
2. The Divine
summons to duty or service is accompanied by Divine
strength to obey the same. “And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon
thy feet, and I will speak unto thee. And the Spirit
entered into me when he
spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake unto
me.” Here are three points.
(1) The title by
which Ezekiel is addressed. “Son of man.” Expositors have
discovered various meanings in this appellation; but it
seems to us that the
interpretation of Lightfoot is the true one. “This
expression is of frequent
use in Scripture, in the Hebrew rabbins,
but more especially in the
Chaldean and Syrian tongues Why Ezekiel, and no other prophet,
should
have been so often styled thus, has been ascribed to
different reasons by
different commentators. To me… the principal reason appears
to be this —
that, as his prophecy was written during the Babylonish captivity, he
naturally made use of the Chaldean
phrase, ‘Son of man,’ that is, ‘O man.’”
(2) The summons
which was addressed to him. “Stand upon thy feet.” That
is the attitude of respectful attention. It also indicates
readiness for service.
(3) The strength
which was communicated to him. “And the Spirit entered
into me,” etc. It is the same Spirit which was in the
living creatures and in
the wheels. The Spirit was given to the prophet to set him
upon his feet
and to empower him to hear the word of the Lord. The
entrance of the
Spirit into him “is a quickening of mind and body conjointly,
which brings
about the transition from the revelation in vision to the
revelation by word”
(Schroder). When God commands, he
also invigorates for the fulfilment of
the command. When he summons man from spiritual death, he
bestows the
life-giving Spirit to every one who will receive him
(compare Ephesians 2:4-6;
5:14). When he calls upon us to work out our own salvation,
he
encourages us to do so by the assurance that he worketh in us
(Philippians 2:12-13). When He sends us forth to arduous
service, He
says, “Certainly I will be with thee” (Exodus 3:12). And
when he calls
us to painful endurance, he gives us the assurance, “My
grace is sufficient
for thee” (II Corinthians 12:9).
3. After the Divine
summons and strength comes the Divine voice. “I heard
him that spake unto me.” Humbled
by the vision of glory, and revived and
strengthened by the Spirit, the prophet was now in a
condition to hear the
voice of the Lord (compare 1 Corinthians 2:12-13). “Signs
without the Word
are in vain. What fruit would there have been if the
prophet had merely
seen the vision, but no word of God had followed it?”
(Calvin).
CONCLUSION. Here are
two cheering considerations.
1. When God casts
down it is in order that he may the more effectually
revive us. (<280601>Hosea 6:1, 2.)
2. Whom God
commissions he also qualifies.