Ezekiel's Call and Vision of God's Glory

Chapter 1

1In the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles by the River Kebar, the heavens opened and I saw visions of God. 2On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin— 3the word of the LORD came directly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Kebar. And there the LORD’s hand was upon him. 4I looked and saw a whirlwind coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing back and forth and brilliant light all around it. In the center of the fire was a gleam like amber, 5and within it was the form of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had a human form, 6but each had four faces and four wings. 7Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, gleaming like polished bronze. 8Under their wings on their four sides they had human hands. All four living creatures had faces and wings, 9and their wings were touching one another. They did not turn as they moved; each one went straight ahead. 10The form of their faces was that of a man, and each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and also the face of an eagle. 11Such were their faces. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creature on either side, and two wings covering its body. 12Each creature went straight ahead. Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, without turning as they moved. 13In the midst of the living creatures was the appearance of glowing coals of fire, or of torches. Fire moved back and forth between the living creatures; it was bright, and lightning flashed out of it. 14The creatures were darting back and forth as quickly as flashes of lightning. 15When I looked at the living creatures, I saw a wheel on the ground beside each creature with its four faces. 16The workmanship of the wheels looked like the gleam of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. Their workmanship looked like a wheel within a wheel. 17As they moved, they went in any of the four directions, without pivoting as they moved. 18Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around. 19So as the living creatures moved, the wheels moved beside them, and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels also rose. 20Wherever the spirit would go, they would go, and the wheels would rise alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 21When the creatures moved, the wheels moved; when the creatures stood still, the wheels stood still; and when the creatures rose from the ground, the wheels rose alongside them, because the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels. 22Spread out above the heads of the living creatures was the likeness of an awesome expanse, gleaming like crystal. 23And under the expanse, their wings stretched out toward one another. Each one also had two wings covering its body. 24When the creatures moved, I heard the sound of their wings like the roar of many waters, like the voice of the Almighty, like the tumult of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings. 25And there came a voice from above the expanse over their heads as they stood still with their wings lowered. 26Above the expanse over their heads was the likeness of a throne with the appearance of sapphire, and on the throne high above was a figure like that of a man. 27From what seemed to be His waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire within it all around. And from what seemed to be His waist down, I saw what looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded Him. 28The appearance of the brilliant light all around Him was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell facedown and heard a voice speaking.

Chapter 2

1“Son of man, ” He said to me, “stand up on your feet and I will speak to you.” 2And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me. 3“Son of man,” He said to me, “I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me. To this very day they and their fathers have rebelled against Me. 4They are obstinate and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ 5And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 6But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house. 7But speak My words to them, whether they listen or refuse to listen, for they are rebellious. 8And you, son of man, listen to what I tell you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house. Open your mouth and eat what I give you.” 9Then I looked and saw a hand reaching out to me, and in it was a scroll, 10which He unrolled before me. And written on the front and back of it were words of lamentation, mourning, and woe.

Chapter 3

1“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat what you find here. Eat this scroll, then go and speak to the house of Israel.” 2So I opened my mouth, and He fed me the scroll. 3“Son of man,” He said to me, “eat and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you.” So I ate, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. 4Then He said to me, “Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak My words to them. 5For you are not being sent to a people of unfamiliar speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel— 6not to the many peoples of unfamiliar speech and difficult language whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7But the house of Israel will be unwilling to listen to you, since they are unwilling to listen to Me. For the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. 8Behold, I will make your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. 9I will make your forehead like a diamond, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or dismayed at their presence, even though they are a rebellious house.” 10“Son of man,” He added, “listen carefully to all the words I speak to you, and take them to heart. 11Go to your people, the exiles; speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.” 12Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me: “Blessed be the glory of the LORD in His dwelling place!” 13It was the sound of the wings of the living creatures brushing against one another and the sound of the wheels beside them, a great rumbling sound. 14So the Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness and in the anger of my spirit, with the strong hand of the LORD upon me. 15I came to the exiles at Tel-abib who dwelt by the River Kebar. And for seven days I sat where they sat and remained there among them, overwhelmed. 16At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 17“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from My mouth, give them a warning from Me. 18If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood. 19But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself. 20Now if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I put a stumbling block before him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. And I will hold you responsible for his blood. 21But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he heeded your warning, and you will have saved yourself.” 22And there the hand of the LORD was upon me, and He said to me, “Get up, go out to the plain, and there I will speak with you.” 23So I got up and went out to the plain, and behold, the glory of the LORD was present there, like the glory I had seen by the River Kebar, and I fell facedown. 24Then the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet. He spoke with me and said, “Go, shut yourself inside your house. 25And you, son of man, they will tie with ropes, and you will be bound so that you cannot go out among the people. 26I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, and you will be silent and unable to rebuke them, though they are a rebellious house. 27But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you are to tell them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ Whoever listens, let him listen; and whoever refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

Chapter 4

1“Now you, son of man, take a brick, place it before you, and draw on it the city of Jerusalem. 2Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides. 3Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel. 4Then lie down on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their iniquity for the number of days you lie on your side. 5For I have assigned to you 390 days, according to the number of years of their iniquity. So you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6When you have completed these days, lie down again, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned to you 40 days, a day for each year. 7You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared, and prophesy against it. 8Now behold, I will tie you up with ropes so you cannot turn from side to side until you have finished the days of your siege. 9But take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt; put them in a single container and make them into bread for yourself. This is what you are to eat during the 390 days you lie on your side. 10You are to weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day, and you are to eat it at set times. 11You are also to measure out a sixth of a hin of water to drink, and you are to drink it at set times. 12And you shall eat the food as you would a barley cake, after you bake it over dried human excrement in the sight of the people.” 13Then the LORD said, “This is how the Israelites will eat their defiled bread among the nations to which I will banish them.” 14“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have not eaten anything found dead or mauled by wild beasts. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth.” 15“Look,” He replied, “I will let you use cow dung instead of human excrement, and you may bake your bread over that.” 16Then He told me, “Son of man, I am going to cut off the supply of food in Jerusalem. They will anxiously eat bread rationed by weight, and in despair they will drink water by measure. 17So they will lack food and water; they will be appalled at the sight of one another wasting away in their iniquity.

Chapter 5

1“As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword, use it as a barber’s razor, and shave your head and beard. Then take a set of scales and divide the hair. 2When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind. For I will unleash a sword behind them. 3But you are to take a few strands of hair and secure them in the folds of your garment. 4Again, take a few of these, throw them into the fire, and burn them. From there a fire will spread to the whole house of Israel. 5This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘This is Jerusalem, which I have set in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations, and against My statutes worse than the countries around her. For her people have rejected My ordinances and have not walked in My statutes.’ 7Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You have been more insubordinate than the nations around you; you have not walked in My statutes or kept My ordinances, nor have you even conformed to the ordinances of the nations around you.’ 8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. 9Because of all your abominations, I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again. 10As a result, fathers among you will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your remnant to every wind.’ 11Therefore as surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and abominations, I Myself will withdraw My favor; I will not look upon you with pity, nor will I spare you. 12A third of your people will die by plague or be consumed by famine within you, a third will fall by the sword outside your walls, and a third I will scatter to every wind and unleash a sword behind them. 13And when My anger is spent and I have vented My wrath against them, I will be appeased. And when I have spent My wrath on them, they will know that I, the LORD, in My zeal have spoken. 14I will make you a ruin and a disgrace among the nations around you, in the sight of all who pass by. 15So you will be a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror to the nations around you, when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath, and raging fury. I, the LORD, have spoken. 16When I shower you with the deadly arrows of famine and destruction that I will send to destroy you, I will intensify the famine against you and cut off your supply of food. 17I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will leave you childless. Plague and bloodshed will sweep through you, and I will bring a sword against you. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

Chapter 6

1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Son of man, set your face against the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them. 3You are to say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places. 4Your altars will be demolished and your incense altars will be smashed; and I will cast down your slain before your idols. 5I will lay the corpses of the Israelites before their idols and scatter your bones around your altars. 6Wherever you live, the cities will be laid waste and the high places will be demolished, so that your altars will be laid waste and desecrated, your idols smashed and obliterated, your incense altars cut down, and your works blotted out. 7The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD. 8Yet I will leave a remnant, for some of you will escape the sword when you are scattered among the nations and throughout the lands. 9Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations. 10And they will know that I am the LORD; I did not declare in vain that I would bring this calamity upon them. 11This is what the Lord GOD says: Clap your hands, stomp your feet, and cry out “Alas!” because of all the wicked abominations of the house of Israel, who will fall by sword and famine and plague. 12He who is far off will die by the plague, he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains will die by famine. So I will vent My fury upon them. 13Then you will know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, and under every green tree and leafy oak—the places where they offered fragrant incense to all their idols. 14I will stretch out My hand against them, and wherever they live I will make the land a desolate waste, from the wilderness to Diblah. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”

Chapter 7

1And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“O son of man, this is what the Lord GOD says to the land of Israel:

Historical Context

Ezekiel was a priest turned prophet, writing to his fellow exiles in Babylon around 593–571 BC. This period was marked by immense grief and disillusionment for the people of Judah, as Jerusalem had been conquered by the Babylonians. The Kingdom of Judah was in exile, and the temple—the heart of their worship—had been desecrated. Ezekiel himself was among the exiles located near the River Kebar, a canal in the land of Babylon where the exiles had been settled. The vision in Ezekiel 1, with its surreal imagery of cherubim, wheels, and God’s throne, served as a dramatic revelation of God's power and majesty to encourage the exiles to recognize His sovereignty, even in the foreign land of their captivity. The ensuing chapters call Israel to repentance and serve as a warning of further judgment for persistent rebellion if they fail to return to the Lord.

Theological Insight

These chapters emphasize God's holiness, sovereignty, and justice. The vision of God’s glory in chapter 1 establishes Him as a majestic, all-powerful King who transcends human understanding. The vivid imagery of fire, brilliant light, and unearthly beings amplifies the divine mystery and authority. The central message is clear: God is not confined to the temple in Jerusalem or to the land of Israel. He is present with His people even in exile. Additionally, the concept of divine judgment is prominent as God addresses the persistent sin and rebellion of His people. Chapters 4–7 demonstrate God's patience but also reveal the inevitable consequences of unrepentant sin. Even so, God promises a faithful remnant will remain, pointing to His enduring commitment to His covenant and His ultimate plan for redemption through Christ.

Practical Application

Ezekiel’s experience by the River Kebar reminds us that God meets us where we are—even in our moments of exile, loss, or uncertainty. His plan is not limited by location or circumstances, and His power and presence can be found even in our darkest valleys. This understanding can be a source of comfort in times of hardship, as it reminds us of God’s sovereignty and closeness, even when life feels unmanageable or foreign to us. Like the exiles, we are invited to trust in the God who sees and knows all things. He remains faithful even when the world around us is shaken.    The repeated call to repentance is a powerful lesson for us today. God’s warnings to the people show His deep concern for their redemption, not destruction. This invites us to examine our own lives for areas where we may have turned away from Him or allowed competing 'idols' to take His rightful place. Repentance is not about shame but about realigning ourselves with God’s loving and perfect will.   Finally, Ezekiel being called to act as a watchman to warn others reminds us of the weight of our own witness. We are called to speak the truth in love, even to those who may resist or reject it. This challenges us to balance boldness and compassion as we share the hope of the gospel in our daily lives, trusting God with the results.

What do the vivid imagery and descriptions of God's glory in Ezekiel 1, such as the four living creatures and the throne above the expanse, reveal about His majesty and transcendence?

Ezekiel is repeatedly referred to as 'son of man.' What might be the significance of this title in contrast to the grandeur of God's visions, and how does this reflect the role of prophets in Scripture?

Ezekiel was called to deliver God's message to the rebellious Israelites regardless of their response. In what ways are you called to share truth or represent God faithfully in challenging situations today?

Reflect on Ezekiel's experience eating the scroll that tasted as sweet as honey. How do you approach God's Word, and do you allow its sweetness and challenges to transform your actions and perspective?

Father, I come humbled before You, recognizing Your holy greatness and justice revealed in Ezekiel’s vision. Help me to see Your glory and respond with awe and obedience, even when Your words challenge or convict me. Teach me to heed Your warnings, to turn from rebellion, and to cling to You as my source of truth and light. Preserve and transform me, Lord, and make me a witness to Your ways, whether others listen or refuse to listen. Amen.

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