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EZEKIEL 1
page 729
The people of Judah had become so desensitized to sin and to the discipline of God
that only total destruction of everything dear to them would get their attention. Pray
that this will not be the case in your personal life or the life of your nation. Begin now
to resensitize all areas of life to God and to root out sin where it has gained a foothold.
Then read the last chapters of Ezekiel (33–48) and look forward to the marvelous time
when God will ultimately restore his people, when we will be made pure and holy, and
when worship will become perfect fellowship with him.
Key verses in Ezekiel
2 :7 “You must give them my
messages whether they listen or
not. But they won’t listen, for they
are completely rebellious!”
3:10 “Let all my words sink deep
into your own heart first. Listen to
them carefully for yourself.”
16: 62-63 “And I will reaffirm
my covenant with you, and you
will know that I am the Lord. You
will remember your sins and cover
your mouth in silent shame when
I forgive you of all that you have
done. I, the Sovereign Lord, have
spoken!”
33 :11 “As surely as I live, says the
Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure
in the death of wicked people. I only
18:30 “Repent, and turn from your want them to turn from their wicked
ways so they can live. Turn! Turn
sins. Don’t let them destroy you!”
from your wickedness, O people of
22:30 “I looked for someone who Israel! Why should you die?”
might rebuild the wall of righ33:31 “So my people come
teousness that guards the land.
pretending to be sincere and sit
I searched for someone to stand
in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t before you. They listen to your
words, but they have no intention
have to destroy the land, but I
found no one.”
of doing what you say.”
A Vision of Living Beings
On July 31* of my thirtieth year,* while I
was with the Judean exiles beside the Kebar
River in Babylon, the heavens were opened and
I saw visions of God. 2 This happened during the
fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity. 3 (The
Lord gave this message to Ezekiel son of Buzi,
a priest, beside the Kebar River in the land of the
Babylonians,* and he felt the hand of the Lord
take hold of him.)
4 As I looked, I saw a great storm coming from
the north, driving before it a huge cloud that
flashed with lightning and shone with brilliant
light. There was fire inside the cloud, and in the
middle of the fire glowed something like gleaming amber.* 5 From the center of the cloud came
four living beings that looked human, 6 except
that each had four faces and four wings. 7 Their
legs were straight, and their feet had hooves
like those of a calf and shone like burnished
bronze. 8 Under each of their four wings I could
see human hands. So each of the four beings
had four faces and four wings. 9 The wings of
each living being touched the wings of the beings beside it. Each one moved straight forward
in any direction without turning around.
10 Each had a human face in the front, the
1
1:1a Hebrew On the fifth day of the fourth month, of the ancient
Hebrew lunar calendar. A number of dates in Ezekiel can be
cross-checked with dates in surviving Babylonian records and
related accurately to our modern calendar. This event occurred
on July 31, 593 b.c. 1:1b Or in the thirtieth year. 1:3 Or
Chaldeans. 1:4 Or like burnished metal; also in 1:27.
face of a lion on the right side, the face of an
ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle at
the back. 11 Each had two pairs of outstretched
wings—one pair stretched out to touch the
wings of the living beings on either side of it,
and the other pair covered its body. 12 They went
in whatever direction the spirit chose, and they
moved straight forward in any direction without
turning around.
13 The living beings looked like bright coals of
fire or brilliant torches, and lightning seemed
to flash back and forth among them. 14 And the
living beings darted to and fro like flashes of
lightning.
15 As I looked at these beings, I saw four
wheels touching the ground beside them, one
wheel belonging to each. 16 The wheels sparkled
as if made of beryl. All four wheels looked alike
and were made the same; each wheel had a
second wheel turning crosswise within it. 17 The
beings could move in any of the four directions
they faced, without turning as they moved.
18 The rims of the four wheels were tall and
frightening, and they were covered with eyes
all around.
19 When the living beings moved, the wheels
moved with them. When they flew upward,
the wheels went up, too. 20 The spirit of the
living beings was in the wheels. So wherever
the spirit went, the wheels and the living beings also went. 21 When the beings moved, the
wheels moved. When the beings stopped, the