Bible Studies: Worldnet Grace Ministries

EZEKIEL 1

God Manifests Himself To Man

By Johnny Tatum

PART 4: WHAT IS ALL THE BUZZ ABOUT?

Ezekiel is moving in. Let us also get an even closer look at these four living beings…

13 In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire.

See his pattern? Ezekiel always goes out and then he comes in; he is getting closer in to the center.

14 And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning.

15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them.

The literal words each of are not in the text, but the little word the in front of four is a case meaning "each of". So each of the living beings had a wheel.

What in the world is this talking about? Before we try to understand, let us just take it at face value and ask What is a normal use of a wheel? Wheels move and are transportation.

Note: Remember that we are going to use plain, normal meanings (instead of symbolism) unless there is a compelling reason not to.

I do not know about you, but I do not see a compelling reason to not take it at literal value here:

This wheel is some object.

16 The appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like sparkling beryl,

Sparkling is the important part; it is another indication of more light. Something that sparkles does not produce its own light. So every thing these beings do catches and reflects the light of the glory of God.

Remember that Ezekiel is going from out to in. Now he looks into the wheel…

and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship as if one wheel were within another.

I have heard the interpretation that the wheels are at right angles; however, here it will not work grammatically. It means "concentric", so they are all on the same plane (one inside the other).

A Speculation: Since the whole picture is talking about God's character and His works/activities, then this has to be one of those two. A moving wheel is speaking about God's activities.

Picture: One wheel within the other shows the way God works. God does not work one event, and then work another event, and then another, and so forth. He works on one thing while working some thing else. For example, let us say that God is working on Plan A. When triggered, Plan A activates something else so that both events are going on at the same time, and that continues ad infinitum.

One wheel within another

This phrase is really interesting. Every time I found this phrase in classical Greek literature it always meant " things were moving in different directions". They are on the same plane, but they are moving in different directions!

Picture: God's activities. Does it not seem that God is doing activities that are exactly opposite of what we believe God should be doing? [If somebody has not experienced that, then please!] It is NOT that God is not doing anything, He appears to be doing the opposite of what it seems He should be doing!

Illustration:

The Results Are Right

When you look at the face of a watch, you expect to see the hands moving clockwise. But if you open the back of a watch, you will see that some of the gears are going counter clockwise (moving in the opposite direction). However, if they were not going the opposite way, the net result would NOT be that the hands are moving clockwise.

For God to accomplish His purposes, He has to do some things backward from the way it seems they should be.

The reason I think that is a valid interpretation is that is one of God's accomplishments in the Book of Ezekiel. God is restoring Israel by sending the Israelites back to Babylon -- [seemingly] going the wrong direction!] However, God accomplished something good.

Note: God is NEVER doing anything backward; it is from our perspective that seems He is going the wrong way. The end result is always the right way.

Apparently, a lot of people have thought that God was going in the opposite direction than He should, because God sure made it a point to give Ezekiel that picture.

Believe it or not, there is even more about the wheels…

18 As for their rims they were lofty and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of eyes round about.

The rims of those wheels are the outside perimeter. It says the rims were full of eyes, which are NOT the eyes of the cherubs. These eyes are different. In fact, they would look really strange because it says All four of them were full of eyes round about.

This translation is a little bit weak, because it means Circling about; the eyes were constantly circling.

Basically: It would have looked something like those tacky chaser lights you see around some license plate frames!

What is the purpose of having all of those eyes?

The Big Picture [in Ezekiel's vision]: God is conveying either His character of His workings and His activities.

Picture [of the Eyes]: God is in constant motion (movement and activity). He could have just had eyes; the eyes did not have to be moving around like this. The movement of the eyes show us that:

God sees everything,

God knows everything, and

God is NOT passively looking -- He is actively looking and He is actively seeing everything.

One more thing about the wheel that obviously intrigued Ezekiel, because he said the same thing twice:

20 …And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

A very strange thing to say.

Ezekiel says it again in the next verse:

21 Whenever those went, these went;

What does that mean? Whenever the wheels went, the living beings went. Whenever the living beings stood still, the wheels stood still. Whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them.

Then he said the same thing again…

for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.

Now this is strange, because he has already made it very clear that the wheels are separate (distinct) from the living beings. But then he says the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. Why? Because they were not picking up those wheels and taking the wheels with them. They were NOT saying We will go here, will you grab the wheels?

The cherub did not drive the wheels; the cherub willed to go somewhere and the wheels followed.

The spirit of the living beings, although separate, was in the wheels. Understandably, Ezekiel was having a very difficult time understanding this. However, what he did understand very clearly was that:

The living beings moved by will alone, and

Their will moved the wheel.

They are riding on the wheel, but it was their will that moved the wheel. And they obviously expended no energy, no effort; it was just pure will. But again, the will was related to the external wheel.

Picture: Wheels are a picture of something associated with us. Think about this. There is something that is external to us, but by our will we can carry it along (though we do not always, but we can). It is our bodies.

A body:

In itself, is passive.
Is a neutral vessel.
Does not make a decision about where to go or what to do. [The reason we know this is because a person who does not have a brain or a mind is dead; his body does NOT go anywhere!]

Application for the Unbeliever: The body is controlled by the mind.

Application for the Believer: The body can also be controlled by the mind [unfortunately that is too often the case], or there is another way.

The believer has Holy Spirit, the Person who has regenerated the individual's will so it is not a closed, dead will anymore. It is an active, free will and the believer's body [and mind] is totally subservient. Since the believer has a regenerated will full of Holy Spirit, it should be the case that his total life is run by an act of his will acting in conjunction with Holy Spirit.

A Picture of What Could Be for the Believer: It should be the believer's will to be perfect:

I will to be perfect, as my heavenly Father is perfect. (See Matthew 5:48.)

At various times believers experience that, and then they fall away, returning to their own flesh to guide them.

The believer's body is distinct from his regenerated spirit just as the wheels are distinct from the living beings. As the wheels are totally a slave to the will of the cherubs, so the body of the believer can be under the control of his regenerated spirit --through the direction of Holy Spirit.

Ezekiel moves in and out. Now he is going to zoom out to get the big picture again, and then he will zoom back in at a different location. At verse 22 Ezekiel zooms out…

22 Now over the heads of the living beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, extending over their heads.

Crystal means "diamonds".

For a Laugh: Speaking of awesome… There is a verse in the first version of the King James Bible that reads, The Lord our God is terrible and awful. Actually that meant "terribly awesome".

Next: Ezekiel 1, PART 5: OH, THAT IS WHAT THAT WAS!

Back To: Ezekiel Home Page

Worldnet Grace Ministries Home Page

Back To: Radical Grace Bible Study Page

wgmeditors@qwest.net

This data file is the sole property of Worldnet Grace Ministries. It may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

This data file may not be copied in part, edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, without the written permission of Worldnet Grace Ministries. Requests for permission should be made in writing and addressed to:

Worldnet Grace Ministries, PO Box 130006, The Woodlands, Texas 77393, USA