Ezekiel 1

• In the thirtieth year: Priests began their service in the temple in Jerusalem when they were 30 years old. Ezekiel was a priest (see Ezekiel 1:3). However, he was living with the Judean exiles in Babylon. Because he was far from Jerusalem, he could not serve in the temple in the usual way.

  Ezekiel’s identity as a priest in exile is important for understanding his message. The exiles felt separated from God and from the normal ways of worshiping him in the temple. In the ancient world, people often believed that their gods were closely connected to specific lands. So those who were taken away from the promised land could easily think that the Lord no longer cared about them.

  But God’s word came to Ezekiel while he was in Babylon. This showed that God had not forgotten his people. It also showed that God still had plans and a future for them.

• The Kebar River was probably a large irrigation canal near Nippur, southeast of Babylon. The Babylonians had removed the earlier residents because they supported Assyria. Then they settled other exiles in that region, including people from Judah.

  The Babylonians usually moved people in groups and allowed them to keep their ethnic identity. The Assyrians followed a different policy. They scattered people among many nations to weaken them. Because the Babylonians kept groups together, the people of Judah were later able to return to their homeland. Those from the northern kingdom, who had been exiled earlier by the Assyrians, did not return in the same way.

The opening verses show that the prophet began his ministry among the exiles from Judah. The Babylonians had taken these people away from their land and brought them to Babylon.

Old Testament prophetic books often begin with a “call narrative.” A call narrative describes how God chose and sent a prophet to serve in this role (for example, Jeremiah 1:4–19).

This account showed that the prophet’s message was legitimate. It made clear that the prophet spoke as the Lord’s ambassador (a representative sent with authority). The call narrative also introduced important themes that the book would explain more fully later.

In Ezekiel, the call narrative focuses on the Lord’s coming judgment on his people.

it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin: The word of the Lord first came to Ezekiel in 593 BC. At that time, Judah was still partly independent (see Ezekiel Book Introduction, “Setting”). However, the Babylonians had already taken control of the nation in 597 BC. They had carried King Jehoiachin away into exile in Babylon.

Jehoiachin’s uncle, Zedekiah, ruled Judah as a vassal of Babylon from 597 to 586 BC. A vassal was a king who ruled under the authority of a stronger king. Ezekiel dated his prophecy from the time of Jehoiachin’s captivity, not from the reign of Zedekiah. He likely viewed Zedekiah as a temporary ruler in place of the rightful king, Jehoiachin.

Later, Zedekiah rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (2 Kings 24:20). In response, Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem in 588 BC. He destroyed the city and burned the temple in 586 BC.

Ezekiel was a priest by birth. He was also a prophet because the hand of the Lord was upon him. This means that God had chosen him and given him authority.

Priests offered sacrifices in the temple and taught God’s law to the people. Prophets delivered God’s messages of blessing or judgment. They also prayed to God on behalf of the people.

Ezekiel’s ministry included both of these roles. He served as a priest and as a prophet. Through this work, he represented God to the people and brought the people’s concerns before God.

I … saw a whirlwind: This language describes a theophany (a visible manifestation of God; see study note on Ezekiel 1:4–28) as God appears in judgment. The fiery presence coming from the north, the direction from which Israel’s enemies traditionally came, increases the sense of danger. God was coming as a mighty warrior, not to rescue his people, but to bring judgment against them.

The language of this opening vision describes a theophany (a visible appearance of God; see study note on Deuteronomy 1:33). Ezekiel found it hard to describe what he saw. He often used phrases such as "the appearance of," "looked like," and "the likeness of." These words show that the vision was beyond normal human experience.

Even so, the message is clear and serious. The vision combines movement with symbols of judgment. It warns that God’s judgment would surely come upon rebellious Jerusalem.

At the center of the fiery cloud were four living beings. Each one had four faces and four wings.

The number four often represents completeness in the Bible. These creatures, made up of different features, represented the whole created order (everything that God has made).

Each living being had four faces. One face was a lion, the strongest of the wild animals. One face was an ox, the strongest of the domestic animals. One face was an eagle, the strongest of the birds. One face was human, representing the highest part of God’s creation.

In Mesopotamia, the guardians placed at palace entrances also combined features of these same creatures. However, those figures did not have four faces.

These fiery creatures had wings and legs. They could move very quickly in any direction, like lightning. No one could escape from such powerful beings.

In a similar vision in Ezekiel 10, Ezekiel identifies them as cherubim. Cherubim are heavenly beings who carry out God’s judgment.

The living creatures were not the only reason for fear. Among them, Ezekiel saw four wheels. These wheels were part of a divine war chariot (a chariot that symbolized God’s power in battle).

In the ancient world, chariots were powerful weapons of war. Many people feared them because they moved quickly and caused great destruction.

Building a real chariot with each wheel having another wheel turning sideways inside it is impossible. This image shows a chariot that can move easily in any direction, symbolizing God's freedom to act in judgment.

The wheels were tall and frightening. They were covered with eyes (see Ezekiel 10:12). Because of this, no one could hide from the chariot. Just as no one could escape from it, no one could escape its sight.

The chariot shared the same spirit as the living beings. The same life and power guided both the creatures and the wheels.

The surface that looked like the sky, shining like crystal, separated God’s realm from the human realm. It marked the boundary between heaven (the place of God’s presence) and earth.

The vision includes images of the sky, the cherubim (see study note on Ezekiel 1:11–14), and the rainbow (Ezekiel 1:28). These images remind us of the opening chapters of Genesis. They suggest that the story about to unfold concerns the destruction of what God had created, followed by its re-creation (making it new again).

In Genesis, God destroyed the world with a flood and later restored it through Noah. In a similar way, Ezekiel’s world was being undone and would later be restored.

On God's throne was a figure that looked like a man. Ezekiel struggled to describe the scene because it was so magnificent. This human form showed the Lord's bright glory, which had once filled the tabernacle and the temple as a visible sign of God's presence (see Daniel 7:9–10; Revelation 1:12–17). God's presence in human form comforts his faithful people but warns of judgment for those who disobey him. This vision foretells God coming to earth as a man in Jesus Christ.

• rainbow in a cloud: This image mixes the idea of judgment with a hint of mercy. The storm clouds were ready to bring judgment on God's sinful people, but a rainbow, the sign of hope God established after the flood (Genesis 9:12–17), would also appear.

  Although the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of its people to Babylon would be a severe disaster where many would die, God would remember his promise to keep a remnant alive. Judgment would not be God's final word.

• When Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord, he fell face down on the ground as though dead. This was a common human response when people experienced God’s glory (compare Leviticus 9:23–24; Numbers 22:31; 1 Kings 18:38–39; 1 Chronicles 21:16; 2 Chronicles 7:1–3; Matthew 17:5–6).