What A Way To Get A Guy's Attention
Ezekiel had to be stunned by the way God got his attention. He opens his book by matter-of-factly telling us he was a 30 year old Jewish priest living among the exiles in Babylon in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, which would put it around 599 B.C. He says beginning at that time, while near the River Chebar which flows into the Euphrates in what is now Iraq, “the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God.” Then he gives this mind-blowing vision of something apparently never before seen by man.
“As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire.” Clearly it was something having to do with the power and transcendence of God. Ezekiel then described fully what he saw in the midst of the cloud, but it’s hard to visualize what he described because it was something far different from any of our human experiences. Furthermore, different commentators give different opinions as to what the various aspects of Ezekiel’s vision symbolize.
A very important rule of Biblical Interpretation is to let the Bible interpret itself. Said another way, the Bible is its own best commentary. True, we can gain some insight into the meaning of a passage where symbolism is involved by surmising out of our own brains. For example, if we see a lion as a symbol in a given passage, since we know lions are powerful, we can surmise out of our mind that the symbolism intended is “power.” But the more reliable interpretation is to find similar references in other parts of the Bible. For example, in the passage quoted above, the “storm wind” from the north was defined by Jeremiah to be judgment coming from God. And the cloud with fire flashing forth continually was much like what Moses described when God gave him the Law.
Ezekiel’s detailed description included references to living beings with wings, and a face of a man, a lion, a bull (or ox), and an eagle; wheels in the middle of wheels; all moving in one direction or another in perfect orchestrated unison. A stunning vision of supernatural reality and power – but what was it?
A superficial look might lead one to believe this vision was some sort of manifestation of God or the Holy Spirit. But God is described in the vision as above this stunning display: “Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance all around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face…”
Back, for a moment, to the vision of the living beings just under what Ezekiel says was the "glory of God." Later in his book, in chapter 10, Ezekiel indicates the vision was that of an angel or angels: “Then the cherubim rose up. They are the living beings that I saw by the River Chebar.” So this vision was one of “cherubim” - a particular class of angels. But what of the particulars of the vision? What do they symbolize? As I read commentary after commentary, all I got were the surmisings out of the commentators’ own minds. Then it occurred to me that, since Ezekiel was a priest, the symbolisms might be especially relevant to him due to his training as a priest (and, concomitantly, more obscure to us who do not have that same background.)
Depictions of cherubim were prominent in priestly service, having been ordered by God to be above the mercy seat which was positioned in the Holy of Holies in the temple, and having been included in Solomon’s Temple according to historical accounts in First Kings: “Also in the inner sanctuary, he [Solomon] made two cherubim of olive wood each ten cubits high…He placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall.” Solomon’s Temple also had depictions of wheels and the faces of a lion and an ox: “And on the borders [of the stands of bronze] which were between the frames were lions, oxen, and cherubim…now each stand had four bronze wheels with bronze axles…the workmanship of the wheels was like the workmanship of a chariot wheel.” And when Solomon brought the ark of the covenant (the mercy seat) into the Holy of Holies: “Then the priest brought the ark of the covenant to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, to the most holy place, under the wings of the cherubim. For the cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim made a covering over the ark…”
The temple was a place where God heard the prayers and repentance of His people. The mercy seat was the place where God accepted the sacrifice on the day of atonement for the sins of Israel. The priests were the people God appointed to minister in the temple, with the High Priest being the one who brought the sacrifice into the Holy of Holies under the depiction of the wings of the cherubim. It was at the mercy seat where God said, “I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, I will speak to you about all that I will give you in commandment for the sons of Israel.”
As a priest, Ezekiel had to be aware of these symbolic depictions in the temple building. Now in exile, he was witnessing, not depictions, but their reality! (John described that same reality in Revelation 4.) And, beneath the wings of these cherubim, he was meeting God and getting a message, not of forgiveness, but a message of judgment. Judgment because of disobedience to all that the temple and its sacrifices and the Law stood for.
Nobody can get one’s attention like God can! In fact, when God sets out to get a person’s attention, mind-blowing techniques are His specialty. So when God next gave his instructions to Ezekiel, there would be no hesitation in this young priest’s mind to obey: “Then He said to me, ‘Son of Man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!’ As He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking with me. Then He said to me, “Son of Man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. I am sending you to them that are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘thus says the Lord God.’ As for them, whether they listen or not – for they are a rebellious house – they will know that a prophet has been among them.’”
Ezekiel knew beyond a mind-blowing doubt, that above the wings of the cherubim in the midst of flashing fire and glowing metal and wheels in the middle of wheels and living beings with the faces of a man and an ox and an eagle and a lion, Almighty God Himself had directed him to speak to his countrymen.
Scripture References
Ezekiel 1:1-2:5
Jeremiah 23:19
Exodus 19
Ezekiel 10
Exodus 25:10-22
First Kings 6-8
Second Chronicles 2-6
Revelation 4
Originally published January 18, 2009.
