At the time of Ezekiel’s call to be a prophet to the exiled people of Judah, he was located with them along the banks of the Kebar, a canal located about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north of the city of Babylon. At around the same time, the prophet Jeremiah was ministering to those who had escaped exile, and the prophet Daniel was beginning his own ministry in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar, in the city of Babylon. All three prophets had been privileged to receive impactful visions of God’s glory and throne.
Ezekiel’s remarkable vision included four esteemed cherubim, who serve the Lord and help transport His throne alongside four giant sets of perpendicular wheels within wheels, each covered with a multitude of eyes. These remarkable wheels were able to move about in any direction without turning because of their construction. They were also able to leave or return to the ground, as God’s Spirit willed, guided by each of the cherubim, as the Spirit directed. It is beyond the capability of my mind to picture how God might be able construct functional, perpendicular “wheels within wheels”, but He did it.
Many have interpreted these wheels to be the foundation of God’s divine chariot, a mobile throne, described in Ezekiel’s vision as being encased in His glory, with a form of human appearance riding upon it, with the throne set upon a beautiful crystal platform supported by the wheels, each containing the spirits of their guiding cherubim.
Ezekiel continues to describe his vision:
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 wheels stopped. When the beings flew upward, the wheels rose up, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. Ezekiel 1:15-21 (NLT)
Although the wheels sparkled with the appearance of a beautiful mineral, the spirits of the four living Cherubim actually resided within them. These wheels were infused with life and covered with a multitude of eyes, implying a great capability for observation, knowledge, and wisdom. Perhaps an analogy can be made that we, too, who were dead due to sin, are now made alive when God put His own Spirit within us, cleansed by faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. Colossians 2:13 (NLT)
In our redeemed state, we are now able to receive spiritual gifts from Christ, including divine gifts of His knowledge and wisdom, such as that implied by the eyes on the wheels.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. James 1:5 (NLT)
Some have interpreted the wheels in Ezekiel’s vision to be a reference to UFOs, Unidentified Flying Objects, in the Bible. But these wheels need to be interpreted in the context of the entire vision, which in totality, describes the glory and majesty of God. Thanks to Scripture, these are actually Identified Flying Objects, or IFO’s.
The Lord chose to reveal this exotic vision to Ezekiel both for our benefit and as a means to call and strengthen Ezekiel for service. Like the prophet Jeremiah, Ezekiel was being sent to speak the words of God to people who were in no way intending to listen to the Lord. But both prophets were still charged with doing so. It was a thankless and often dangerous assignment, from an earthly perspective, but at all times, they were being protected and kept safe in the loving hands of God as they sought to follow His will.
May God help us as we seek to do the same.
Reflection
Ezekiel’s exotic vision reminds us that there is much more around us than we could ever see or detect with only our physical senses. The bedrock of all creation is the remarkable love of a caring God, who will gladly reveal Himself to us in any of a number of ways, if we seek Him. He will also grant us gifts, such the gift of wisdom, if we ask of Him.
Lord, continue to reveal Yourself to me to show me how high, deep, and wide Your love truly is. Thank you for going to the cross as my substitute, as an eternal atonement for all of my sin. By faith in You, raise me up and fill me with Your life, just as Jesus was raised to life by Your Holy Spirit from the dead. Grant me a holy wisdom and knowledge, and guide my steps today. Help me to reflect and return your wonderful love back to You, and to abundantly share it with those around me. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Have a blessed day under the protection of the Lord today.
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 