Ezekiel 1:7 Komentář

The circumstances of the vision which Ezekiel saw, and in which he received his commission and instructions, are here very particularly set down, that the narrative may appear to be authentic and not romantic. It may be of use to keep an account when and where God has been pleased to manifest himself to our souls in a peculiar manner, that the return of the day, and our return to the place of the altar (Gen 13:4), may revive the pleasing grateful remembrance of God's favour to us. "Remember, O my soul! and never forget what communications of divine love thou didst receive at such a time, at such a place; tell others what God did for thee." I. The time when Ezekiel had this vision is here recorded. It was in the thirtieth year, v. 1. Some make it the thirtieth year of the prophet's age; being a priest, he was at that age to enter upon the full execution of the priestly office, but being debarred from that by the iniquity and calamity of the times, now that they had neither temple nor altar, God at that age called him to the dignity of a prophet. Others make it to be the thirtieth year from the beginning of the reign of Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar, from which the Chaldeans began a new computation of time, as they had done from Nabonassar 123 years before. Nabopolassar reigned nineteen years, and this was the eleventh of his son, which makes the thirty. And it was proper enough for Ezekiel, when he was in Babylon, to use the computation they there used, as we in foreign countries date by the new style; and he afterwards uses the melancholy computation of his own country, observing (Eze 1:2) that it was the fifth year of Jehoiachin's captivity. But the Chaldee paraphrase fixes upon another era, and says that this was the thirtieth year after Hilkiah the priest found the book of the law in the house of the sanctuary, at midnight, after the setting of the moon, in the days of Josiah the king. And it is true that this was just thirty years from that time; and that was an event so remarkable (as it put the Jewish state upon a new trial) that it was proper enough to date form it; and perhaps therefore the prophet speaks indefinitely of thirty years, as having an eye both to that event and to the Chaldean computation, which were coincident. It was in the fourth month, answering to our June, and in the fifth day of the month, that Ezekiel had this vision, Eze 1:2. It is probably that it was on the sabbath day, because we read (Eze 3:16) that at the end of seven days, which we may well suppose to be the next sabbath, the word of the Lord came to him again. Thus John was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, when he saw the visions of the Almighty, Rev 1:10. God would hereby put an honour upon his sabbaths, when the enemies mocked at them, Lam 1:7. And he would thus encourage his people to keep up their attendance on the ministry of his prophets every sabbath day, by the extraordinary manifestations of himself on some sabbath days. II. The melancholy circumstances he was in when God honoured him, and thereby favoured his people, with this vision. he was in the land of the Chaldeans, among the captives, by the river of Chebar, and it was in the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity. Observe, 1. The people of God were now, some of them, captives in the land of the Chaldeans. The body of the Jewish nation yet remained in their own land, but these were the first-fruits of the captivity, and they were some of the best; for in Jeremiah's vision these were the good figs, whom God had sent into the land of the Chaldeans for their good (Jer 24:5); and, that it might be for their good, God raised up a prophet among them, to teach them out of the law, then when he chastened them, Psa 94:12. Note, It is a great mercy to have the word of God brought to us, and a great duty to attend to it diligently, when we are in affliction. The word of instruction and the rod of correction may be of great service to us, in concert and concurrence with each other, the word to explain the rod and the rod to enforce the word: both together give wisdom. It is happy for a man, when he is sick and in pain, to have a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, if he have but his ear open to discipline, Job 36:10. One of the quarrels God had with the Jews, when he sent them into captivity, we for mocking his messengers and misusing his prophets; and yet, when they were suffering for this sin, he favoured them with this forfeited mercy. It were ill with us if God did not sometimes graciously thrust upon us those means of grace and salvation which we have foolishly thrust from us. In their captivity they were destitute of ordinary helps for their souls, and therefore God raised them up these extraordinary ones; for God's children, if they be hindered in their education one way, shall have it made up another way. But observe, It was in the fifth year of the captivity that Ezekiel was raised up amongst them, and not before. So long God left them without any prophet, till they began to lament after the Lord and to complain that they saw not their signs and there was none to tell them how long (Psa 74:9), and then they would know how to value a prophet, and God's discoveries of himself to them by him would be the more acceptable and comfortable. The Jews that remained in their own land had Jeremiah with them, those that had gone into captivity had Ezekiel with them; for wherever the children of God are scattered abroad he will find out tutors for them. 2. The prophet was himself among the captives, those of them that were posted by the river Chebar; for it was by the rivers of Babylon that they sat down, and on the willow-trees by the river's side that they hanged their harps, Psa 137:1, Psa 137:2. The planters in America keep along by the sides of the rivers, and perhaps those captives were employed by their masters in improving some parts of the country by the rivers' sides that were uncultivated, the natives being generally employed in war; or they employed them in manufactures, and therefore chose to fix them by the sides of rivers, that the good they made might the more easily be conveyed by water-carriage. Interpreters agree not what river this of Chebar was, but among the captives by that river Ezekiel was, and himself a captive. Observe here, (1.) The best men, and those that are dearest to God, often share, not only in the common calamities of this life, but in the public and national judgments that are inflicted for sin; those feel the smart who contributed nothing to the guilt, by which it appears that the difference between good and bad arises not from the events that befal them, but from the temper and disposition of their spirits under them. And since not only righteous men, but prophets, share with the worst in present punishments, we may infer thence, with the greatest assurance, that there are rewards reserved for them in the future state. (2.) Words of conviction, counsel, and comfort, come best to those who are in affliction from their fellow sufferers. The captives will be best instructed by one who is a captive among them and experimentally knows their sorrows. (3.) The spirit of prophecy was not confined to the land of Israel, but some of the brightest of divine revelations were revealed in the land of the Chaldeans, which was a happy presage of the carrying of the church, with that divine revelation upon which it is built, into the Gentile world; and, as now, so afterwards, when the gospel kingdom was to be set up, the dispersion of the Jews contributed to the spreading of the knowledge of God. (4.) Wherever we are we may keep up our communion with God. Undique ad coelos tantundem est viae - From the remotest corners of the earth we may find a way open heavenward. (5.) When God's ministers are bound the word of the Lord is not bound, Ti2 2:9. When St. Paul was a prisoner the gospel had a free course. When St. John was banished into the Isle of Patmos Christ visited him there. Nay, God's suffering servants have generally been treated as favourites, and their consolations have much more abounded when affliction has abounded, Co2 1:5. III. The discovery which God was pleased to make of himself to the prophet when he was in these circumstances, to be by him communicated to his people. He here tells us what he saw, what he heard, and what he felt. 1. He saw visions of God, Eze 1:1. No man can see God and live; but many have seen visions of God, such displays of the divine glory as have both instructed and affected them; and commonly, when God first revealed himself to any prophet, he did it by an extraordinary vision, as to Isaiah (Isa 6:1-13), to Jeremiah (ch. 1), to Abraham (Act 7:2), to settle a correspondence and a satisfactory way of intercourse, so that there needed not afterwards a vision upon ever revelation. Ezekiel was employed in turning the hearts of the people to the Lord their God, and therefore he must himself see the visions of God. Note, It concerns those to be well acquainted with God themselves, and much affected with what they know of him, whose business it is to bring others to the knowledge and love of him. That he might see the visions of God the heavens were opened; the darkness and distance which hindered his visions were conquered, and he was let into the light of the glories of the upper world, as near and clear as if heaven had been opened to him. 2. He heard the voice of God (Eze 1:3): The word of the Lord came expressly to him, and what he saw was designed to prepare him for what he was to hear. The expression is emphatic. Essendo fuit verbum Dei - The word of the Lord was as really it was to him. There was no mistake in it; it came to him in the fulness of its light and power, in the evidence and demonstration of the Spirit; it came close to him, nay, it came into him, took possession of him and dwelt in him richly. It came expressly, or accurately, to him; he did himself clearly understand what he said and was abundantly satisfied f the truth of it. The essential Word (so we may take it), the Word who is, who is what he is, came to Ezekiel, to send him on his errand. 3. He felt the power of God opening his eyes to see the visions, opening his ear to hear the voice, and opening his heart to receive both: The hand of the Lord was there upon him. Note, The hand of the Lord goes along with the word f the Lord, and so it becomes effectual; those only understand and believe the report to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed. The hand of God was upon him, as upon Moses, to cover him, that he should not be overcome by the dazzling light and lustre of the visions he saw, Exo 33:22. It was upon him (as upon St. John, Rev 1:17), to revive and support him, that he might bear up, and not faint, under these discoveries, that he might neither be lifted up nor cast down with the abundance of the revelations. God's grace is sufficient for him, and, in token of that, his hand is upon him.

This chapter contains a vision, which is the introduction to the prophet's call and commission to perform his office; in the account of which may be observed the time when it was seen, Eze 1:1; and the place both where the prophet was when he saw it, and the object or things that were beheld by him; and the original, form, and manner of the vision, Eze 1:3; next follow the particulars of it; and first, four living creatures appear, described by their general likeness, as human, Eze 1:5; and, in particular, by their faces, feet, hands, and wings, Eze 1:6; by their motion and progress, and the spirit by which they were influenced, Eze 1:12; and by their forms of light, brightness, and heat, in which they appeared and moved, Eze 1:13; and next the wheels, described by their number; for, though they seemed to be as one, they were four; and by their situation on the earth, and by the side of the living creatures, Eze 1:15; by their appearance, which was alike in them all, and as the colour of beryl, and as a wheel within a wheel, Eze 1:16, by their motion, which was on their sides, and not retrograde, Eze 1:17; by their rings or circumferences, which were high, dreadful, and full of eyes, Eze 1:18; by their dependence on the living creatures, moving as they, having the same spirit they had, Eze 1:19; and then a firmament is seen, described by its situation, over the heads of the living creatures; and by its colour, as the terrible crystal, Eze 1:22; by what were under it, the wings of the living creatures of which a more particular account is given, Eze 1:23; by what was heard from it, a voice, Eze 1:25; and by what was above it, a throne; described by its colour, as a sapphire stone; and by a person on it, who had the appearance of a man, Eze 1:26; who, in general, looked like the colour of amber; within which was the appearance of fire from his loins upwards, and from his loins downwards; the fire had a brightness round about it; and that brightness was like a rainbow in a cloud, on a rainy day; and this appearance was no other than that of a divine and glorious Person; which, when seen by the prophet, caused him, through reverence, to fall upon his face; when he heard a voice speaking to him what is recorded in the following chapter, Eze 1:27.

And their feet were straight feet,.... And they went straight forward, as in Eze 1:12; they made straight paths for their feet, and walked uprightly, according to the truth of the Gospel; did not go into crooked paths, or turn to the right hand, or the left; and having put their hand to the plough of the Gospel neither looked back, nor turned back. And or "for" the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot; round, and the hoof divided, and fit for treading out the corn, in which oxen were employed; denoting the firmness and constancy of ministers in their work, treading out the corn of the word for the nourishment of souls, to whom they minister. The Septuagint render it, "their feet were winged"; or "flying", as the Arabic version; in like manner as Mercury, the Heathen god, is painted: this may denote the readiness and swiftness of Gospel ministers to do their master's work; their feet being shod with the preparation of the Gospel, and so very beautiful, Eph 6:15. The Targum is, "the sole of their feet as the sole of feet that are round (l), and they moved the world where they went;'' and they sparkled like the colour of burnished brass; that is, their feet; being burning and shining lights in their conversation, as well as in their doctrine; see Rev 1:15. (l) So R. Sol. Urbin, Ohel Moed, fol. 60. 2.

(Verse 7) The four faces to one, and the four wings to one, 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 appearance of burnished brass. And the hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides. LXX: And the four faces to one, and the four wings to one, and their legs were straight, and they had winged feet. And they sparkled like flashing bronze, and their wings were light, and the hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides. Of the four animals, whose appearance was a likeness of a human (only in such a way that each had four faces, and four wings, and straight legs, and the sole of their feet was like the hooves of a calf, or, as the eagle interpreted it, round, which the LXX completely omitted), of the shining sparks of bronze, and of their light feathers, which are not mentioned in Hebrew, of the hand of man also under their wings in four parts, and the rest which the prophetic speech describes, we will endeavor to explain what it seems to say to us, when we briefly summarize the opinions of each person. Some claim that the four Gospels, which we have also followed in the preface of the commentary on Matthew, are designated by the names of these animals: Matthew, because it describes Jesus as a man: The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. They attribute it to Mark the lion: The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight (Isaiah 40:3). Calves, to the Gospel of Luke, which begins with the priesthood of Zacharias. Eagles, to the beginning of John, who, soaring to the heights, began: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Regarding what we think about these, we have said in the aforementioned work, and more fully in the Apocalypse of John (Chapter IV), the appearance and names of these animals refer to the four Gospels (or, to the Evangelists). We will try to explain in their proper place how the description of all animals can be adapted. But others, who foolishly follow the wisdom of philosophers, think that there are two hemispheres in the two temples of the Cherubim, us and the Antipodes, as if humans were lying on their backs and falling. Many, according to Plato, attribute the rational soul, the irascible soul, and the concupiscent soul, which he calls the logical, the spirited, and the appetitive, to man, lion, and calf: placing reason, knowledge, mind, and counsel, as well as the same virtue and wisdom, in the citadel of the brain; but attributing ferocity, anger, and violence to the lion, which resides in the gall. Moreover, they place desire, luxury, and the craving for all pleasures in the liver, that is, in the calf that clings to the works of the earth. And they consider as a fourth thing, which is beyond and outside these three, what the Greeks call συντήρησιν, which is the spark of conscience that is not extinguished even in Cain's heart, after he was cast out of paradise. And it is by this spark that we, conquered by pleasures or by madness, and sometimes deceived even by the semblance of reason itself, feel that we sin. How properly they are appointed to eagles, not mixing themselves with the three, but correcting the three wandering ones; which in the Scriptures we sometimes read is called the spirit, who intercedes for us with unutterable groanings. For no one knows the things that belong to man, except the spirit that is in him. Whom Paul also, writing to the Thessalonians, prays that they may be preserved sound in soul and body. And yet this very conscience, according to what is written in Proverbs: The wicked man, when he comes into the depth of sins, contemns it (Prov. XVIII, 13): we see certain individuals being precipitated and losing their place, who do not even have shame and modesty in their transgressions, and deserve to hear: Your face has become like that of a harlot, you did not want (Al. you do not know) to be ashamed (Jerem. III, 3). Therefore, God guides this chariot like a charioteer, and restrains it running with uncontrolled steps, making it obedient, and forces it to obey His command. We will also discuss the nature of the soul, that is, the soul of man, which is called the microcosm by the same philosophers. Some believe that the four elements of the world, namely fire, air, water, and earth, are simply represented in four animals, according to the opinion of Hippocrates. How these elements mix with each other, and how they seem to be joined together and touch each other, and how they have four distinct species and forms in one animal, is not the purpose of this work. They also consider the four wheels rising from the earth to the heights, joined to each other by four-formed animals or the mixture of the same elements, or the cycle of the four seasons, which is completed by nine months, and the turning year, which has received its name from the fact that it always turns and returns to itself. Of these things, it has been beautifully said in one verse: Spring, summer, autumn, winter, and months, and years. And it is said: There was a wheel in a wheel, they think to signify the year in the year. About which another poet (Virgil, II Georg.) says: And in its own footprints, the year rolls on. They also want this sky, which we observe, to be understood as a likeness of crystal: under which four living creatures roll and pass. And they think that the throne of sapphire-colored, and the man sitting above it in human likeness, described the omnipotence of God, who rules over all things and has everything under his feet. And, finally, it is said: This is the vision of the likeness of the glory of God, through which, as through a certain picture and image, providence is demonstrated. And just as the feet of animals are said to be straight, and the hoof of a calf, or round, to soar from earthly things to heavenly things, and with all angles cut off, to follow roundness, which is the most beautiful of all shapes. To show shining sparks, indicating all things full of light, and the hands of man under the wings of both man himself, and lion, and calf, and eagle: so that reason may support all things, and lift them up from earthly humility to heavenly things. These things can be referred to both the Gospels and everything we have mentioned above. I remember hearing about four passions, which Cicero discusses in detail in his Tusculan Disputations: joy, sadness, desire, and fear, of which two are present and two are future, symbolized by four animals, about which Virgil also briefly speaks in Book VI of the Aeneid. From here they fear, desire, grieve, and rejoice: the things that should be subject to the rule and power of God; and which, on the contrary, the four virtues - Prudence, Justice, Fortitude, and Temperance - are set against or imposed upon, in order to be governed by their authority. They completely neglect to mention how these virtues are adapted to the faces of man, lion, calf, and eagle. On these matters, the same philosopher and orator discuss in three books addressed to their son concerning duties. I have read a brief dispute by a certain Catinaeus, whom the Syrians call 'subtle,' that is, sharp and ingenious, which asserts that the arrangement of the twelve tribes of the camp can be described in the wilderness, towards the East and West, North and South, which are joined together by love and kinship, and this is the wheel within a wheel, which is guided by the spirit and protected by a cloud in the desert, and illuminated by a column of fire at night; they do not return to Egypt, but always hasten to go to the promised land. But the eagle in the midst represents the Holy of Holies, and the face of the man represents the whole of Israel; the lion represents the royal scepter of Judah; the calf represents the priestly and Levitical tribe. In addition, the face of the eagle symbolizes the divine vengeance and retribution from heaven, overseeing everything, and prepared to tear apart the sinner, as it is said in Hosea: 'As an eagle over the house of God' (Hos. 8:1), that is, the temple. And in the same prophet Hosea (17), the great eagle with large wings and claws, which has the ability to enter into Lebanon, is understood to represent Nebuchadnezzar, whom even now signifies as coming, and sitting upon such a four-wheeled chariot like a charioteer, governing and commanding what is to be done or not to be done. However, he says, it is said to the people who live in Babylon, that if they submit their necks to God and obey his restraints, they will earn his help again, and they will regain the land which they had lost.

After this description of the prophet, we still cannot comprehend as we read. But if we cannot comprehend the throne that he has described, how will we be able to comprehend him who sits on it, the invisible and ineffable God? It is impossible to examine closely the nature of God, but for his works, which we see, we can offer him praise and glory.

After I wrote the letter, I remembered what is written in Ezekiel, which he showed as an example of perfection. He saw an animal above the river Chebar that had four faces and four feet and four wings. The face of the cherub is when the Spirit of God rests in the soul and ensures that it gives praise with a pleasant and beautiful voice. When he wants to rise and enquire of a person, he takes on himself the face of the man. But what is the ox? That is surely when the faithful soul is involved in struggle; the Spirit assists in the form of an ox, which is a strong animal, able to confound Satan. And what of the eagle? The eagle flies to the heights, higher than all the birds that fly. When the soul ascends to the heights, the Spirit comes and acts in the form of an eagle, so that it can remain on high and be near to God.

The four animals that bore the chariot were a type of the leading characteristics of the soul. For as the eagle rules over all the other birds and the lion is king of the wild beasts and the bull over the tamed animals and humanity rules over all creatures, so the soul has certain dominant powers that are superior to others. I am speaking of the faculties of the will: conscience, the mind and the power of loving. For it is through such that the chariot of the soul is directed, and it is in these that God resides. In some other fashion also such a symbolism can be applied to the heavenly church of the saints. In this text of Ezekiel’s vision it is said that the animals were exceedingly tall, full of eyes. It was impossible for anyone to comprehend the number of eyes or grasp their height since the knowledge of such was not given. And in a similar manner the stars in the sky are given for people to gaze on and be filled with awe, but to know their number is given to no one. So in regard to the saints in the heavenly church it is permitted to all who only enter into it and enjoy it as they strive to live in it. But to know and comprehend the number of the saints is given only to God.

What is designated by feet if not the steps of actions? Therefore the feet of the four living creatures are described as being straight, because the works of the holy evangelists and of all the perfect are not twisted to follow iniquity. But those do not have straight feet who are bent back to the evils of the world which they had abandoned. Of whom it is written: "The dog returned to his own vomit, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire." The distinguished teacher grieved over certain ones because they had twisted the straightness of their feet backward, to whom he said by way of rebuke: "How do you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, which you desire to serve again? You observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. I fear for you, lest perhaps I have labored among you in vain." He who admonishes others, saying: "Therefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the weakened knees, and make straight steps with your feet." But in order that gravity of life, fortitude, and discretion might be shown in these same holy preachers, it is rightly added: "The sole of their foot was like the sole of a calf's foot." For the holy preachers are designated by the name of oxen, as Paul the Apostle teaches, explaining the testimony of the law: "You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain." In the holy preachers, therefore, the sole of the foot is that of a calf, namely proceeding with maturity, and strong, and divided, because each preacher has both reverence in maturity, and strength in work, and division of the hoof in discernment. For his preaching is not easily received if he appears to be frivolous in his conduct. And there will be no display of maturity if strength of work is not present against all adversities. Moreover, the strength of work itself loses the merit of virtue if it is not discerning in understanding. For behold, we read Sacred Scripture: if we understand everything according to the letter, we have lost the virtue of discernment; if we lead everything toward spiritual allegory, we are similarly bound by the folly of indiscretion. For the holy preachers read the sacred words, and sometimes they accept the letter in its historical sense, sometimes indeed they seek the spirit through the meaning of the letter. And at times they imitate the good deeds of the preceding fathers just as they find them according to the letter; at times they understand spiritually certain things that are not to be imitated according to history, and they strive toward advancement. What else, therefore, do the holy preachers do in their work but divide the hoof in their foot? Concerning whom it is still fittingly added: "And sparks like the appearance of glowing bronze." Bronze is a very resonant metal. And rightly are the voices of preachers compared to bronze, because their sound has gone out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world. Moreover, bronze is fittingly called glowing, because the life of preachers both resounds and burns. For it burns with desire and resounds with the word. Glowing bronze, therefore, is preaching set on fire. But sparks come forth from glowing bronze, because from their exhortations flaming words proceed to the ears of the hearers. Rightly, moreover, are the words of preachers called sparks, because they set on fire those whom they touch in the heart. It should also be considered that sparks are very fine and thin, because when holy preachers speak of the heavenly fatherland, they are not able to reveal as much by their word as they can burn with desire. From their tongue, therefore, certain sparks as it were come to us, because from the heavenly fatherland scarcely something faint is known through their voice, which nevertheless is not faintly loved by them. For they are neither able to see the heavenly glory as great as it is, nor able to speak as much as they see. Glowing bronze, therefore, casts forth sparks when the preacher is scarcely able to speak faintly of that by which he himself is powerfully set on fire. But by divine mercy it is brought about that from these very faint sparks the soul of the hearer is inflamed, because there are some who, when they hear small things, are filled with greater desire; and from that source they burn perfectly in the love of God, from which they have received only the faintest sparks of words. The word of preaching is indeed a seed in the heart of the hearer. And the good hearer afterwards brings forth from it a great harvest of knowledge, from which he had previously received only a small seed of speech. To this matter the miracle performed by the prophet Elisha for the widow fittingly corresponds, who, lest she lose her two sons when the creditor took them away, obeyed the prophet's words, and from the little oil she had, she poured it out through empty vessels, which were all afterwards filled to the brim, and from their filling the woman was freed from her debt to her creditor. What else does this woman signify but the holy Church, mother of two peoples, that is, the Jewish and the Gentile, as if of two sons? She had previously received from the creditor, as it were, a certain coin of sin through the persuasion of the cunning spirit by perverse work, and she feared to lose the two sons whom she had begotten in faith. But obeying the prophet's words, that is, the precepts of Sacred Scripture, she poured from the little oil she had into empty vessels, because when the empty minds of many hear something small about the love of the Divinity from the mouth of one teacher, with grace abounding, they are filled to the brim with the ointment of divine love. And now many hearts, which were previously empty little vessels, are full of the ointment of the Spirit, which seemed to have been poured only from a small quantity of oil. While this is given to some and to others, and faith is received by the hearers, the woman of Zarephath, namely the holy Church, is no longer held under debt to her creditor.

This chapter contains that extraordinary vision of the Divine glory with which the prophet was favored when he received the commission and instructions respecting the discharge of his office, which are contained in the two following chapters. The time of this Divine manifestation to the prophet, Eze 1:1-3. The vision of the four living creatures, and of the four wheels, vv. 4-25. Description of the firmament that was spread over them, and of the throne upon which one sat in appearance as a man, Eze 1:26-28. This vision, proceeding in a whirlwind from the North, seems to indicate the dreadful judgments that were coming upon the whole land of Judah through the instrumentality of the cruel Chaldeans, who lay to the north of it. See Jer 1:14; Jer 4:6; Jer 6:1.

Their feet were straight feet - There did not seem to be any flexure at the knee, nor were the legs separated in that way as to indicate progression by walking. I have before me several ancient Egyptian images of Isis, Osiris. Anubis, etc., where the legs are not separated, nor is there any bend at the knees; so that if there was any motion at all, it must have been by gliding, not progressive walking. It is a remark of Adrian, that the gods are never represented as walking, but always gliding; and he gives this as a criterion to discern common angelic appearances from those of the gods: all other spiritual beings walked progressively, rising on one foot, while they stretched out the other; but the deities always glided without gradual progressive motions. And Heliodorus in his Romance of Theogines and Charicha, gives the same reason for the united feet of the gods, etc., and describes the same appearances. Like the sole of a calf's foot - Before it is stated to be a straight foot; one that did not lay down a flat horizontal sole, like that of the human foot. And they sparkled like the color of burnished brass - I suppose this refers rather to the hoof of the calf's foot, than to the whole appearance of the leg. There is scarcely any thing that gives a higher lustre than highly polished or burnished brass. Our blessed Lord is represented with legs like burnished brass, Rev 1:15.

EZEKIEL'S VISION BY THE CHEBAR. FOUR CHERUBIM AND WHEELS. (Eze. 1:1-28) Now it came to pass--rather, "And it came," &c. As this formula in Jos 1:1 has reference to the written history of previous times, so here (and in Rut 1:1, and Est 1:1), it refers to the unwritten history which was before the mind of the writer. The prophet by it, as it were, continues the history of the preceding times. In the fourth year of Zedekiah's reign (Jer 51:59), Jeremiah sent by Seraiah a message to the captives (Jer. 29:1-32) to submit themselves to God and lay aside their flattering hopes of a speedy restoration. This communication was in the next year, the fifth, and the fourth month of the same king (for Jehoiachin's captivity and Zedekiah's accession coincide in time), followed up by a prophet raised up among the captives themselves, the energetic Ezekiel. thirtieth year--that is, counting from the beginning of the reign of Nabopolassar, father of Nebuchadnezzar, the era of the Babylonian empire, 625 B.C., which epoch coincides with the eighteenth year of Josiah, that in which the book of the law was found, and the consequent reformation began [SCALIGER]; or the thirtieth year of Ezekiel's life. As the Lord was about to be a "little sanctuary" (Eze 11:16) to the exiles on the Chebar, so Ezekiel was to be the ministering priest; therefore he marks his priestly relation to God and the people at the outset; the close, which describes the future temple, thus answering to the beginning. By designating himself expressly as "the priest" (Eze 1:3), and as having reached his thirtieth year (the regular year of priests commencing their office), he marks his office as the priest among the prophets. Thus the opening vision follows naturally as the formal institution of that spiritual temple in which he was to minister [FAIRBAIRN]. Chebar--the same as Chabor or Habor, whither the ten tribes had been transported by Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser (Kg2 17:6; Ch1 5:26). It flows into the Euphrates near Carchemish or Circesium, two hundred miles north of Babylon. visions of God--Four expressions are used as to the revelation granted to Ezekiel, the three first having respect to what was presented from without, to assure him of its reality, the fourth to his being internally made fit to receive the revelation; "the heavens were opened" (so Mat 3:16; Act 7:56; Act 10:11; Rev 19:11); "he saw visions of God"; "the word of Jehovah came verily (as the meaning is rather than 'expressly, English Version, Eze 1:3) unto him" (it was no unreal hallucination); and "the hand of Jehovah was upon him" (Isa 8:11; Dan 10:10, Dan 10:18; Rev 1:17; the Lord by His touch strengthening him for his high and arduous ministry, that he might be able to witness and report aright the revelations made to him).

straight feet--that is, straight legs. Not protruding in any part as the legs of an ox, but straight like a man's [GROTIUS]. Or, like solid pillars; not bending, as man's, at the knee. They glided along, rather than walked. Their movements were all sure, right, and without effort [KITTO, Cyclopedia]. sole . . . calf's foot--HENDERSON hence supposes that "straight feet" implies that they did not project horizontally like men's feet, but vertically as calves' feet. The solid firmness of the round foot of a calf seems to be the point of comparison. colour--the glittering appearance, indicating God's purity.

First Half - The Prophecies of Judgment - Ezekiel 1-32 The Consecration and Calling of Ezekiel to the Office of Prophet - Ezekiel 1-3:21 In a vision of God, Ezekiel beholds in a great cloud, through which shone the splendour of fire, and which a tempestuous wind drives from the north, the glory of the Lord above the cherubim upon a majestic throne in human form (Ezekiel 1), and hears a voice, which sends him as a prophet to Israel, and inspires him with the subject-matter of his announcements (Ezekiel 2:1-3:3). He is thereafter transported in spirit to Tel-abib on the Chebar, into the midst of the exiles, and the duties and responsibilities of his calling laid before him (3:4-21). By this divine appearance and the commission therewith connected is he consecrated, called, and ordained to the prophetic office. The whole occurrences in the vision are subdivided into the copious description of the theophany, Ezekiel 1, by which he is consecrated for his calling; and into the revelation of the word, Ezekiel 2:1-3:21, which prepares him for the discharge of the same. From these contents it clearly appears that these chapters do not constitute the first section of the book, but the introduction to the whole, to which the circumstantial notices of the time and place of this revelation of God at the commencement, Eze 1:1-3, also point.