Deeper Commentary
Ezekiel 1:1 Now it happened- The intention may be to connect with the previous prophecy, Jeremiah, which had concluded with Jeremiah sending a message to the captives urging them to accept their situation and not expect an immediate return from exile (Jer. 51:59 cp. Jer. 29:1-32). Ezekiel was therefore encouraging the exiles that despite no immediate restoration, they could be sure of a huge activity of God for them which would bring about the restoration in due course.In the thirtieth year in the fourth month in the fifth of the month- This could refer to Ezekiel as a priest starting ministry at age 30 (:3). He was the priest of the "little sanctuary" in exile (Ez. 11:16 "yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary"), a sanctuary that didn't require a temple.
As I was among the captives by the river Chebar- The mention of the river was to connect with the description sitting by the rivers of Babylon weeping in depression (Ps. 137:1).
That the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God- Ezekiel’s opening vision of the cherubim was surely to encourage the captives in Babylon that above them was an awesome Angelic system, that was able to carry them with it back to the land- if they were workers together with God. Although it seemed that they were sitting still, nothing was happening, they were just passing time by the rivers of Babylon, above them there was an intensely active system of Angels working for their good. Asaph, writing Psalms in the captivity, perceived this when [surely referring to Ezekiel’s recent vision] he speaks of how the God who dwells between the cherubim is in fact actively leading Judah somewhere (Ps. 80:1). And yet the common phrase “Lord of Hosts” / Angels never once occurs in Ezekiel or Daniel. This outstanding omission is surely reflective of the sad fact that the Angel-cherubim withdrew from the land during the captivity- the land where the Angelic eyes of the Lord had run to and fro previously. See on:20.
Ezekiel 1:2 In the fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity- At this time a year before, the false prophets of Judah were prophesying the overthrow of Babylon and the return of Jeconiah within two years (Jer. 28:3). Ezekiel's message was intended to help them reject these fanciful ideas of immediate salvation and to demonstrate that the things of God's glory are far weightier and eternal than that. In the third or fourth year of Jehoiakim, father of Jehoiachin, the first carrying away of Jewish captives to Babylon took place (including Daniel). It seems that Ezekiel was in the second wave of captives.
Ezekiel 1:3 The word of Yahweh came specifically to Ezekiel the priest the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of Yahweh was there on him- As noted on :1, he became a priest at 30 and was intended to be the priest of the "little sanctuary" in exile (Ez. 11:16). If Chebar is the same as Chabor or Habor, then this was the place where the ten tribes had been transported by Tiglath Pileser and Shalmaneser (2 Kings 17:6; 1 Chron. 5:26). They had now been joined by the early exiles from Judah. So there was the potential for Israel and Judah to be united, as envisioned under the new covenant; and if they accepted the Spirit, to return together and united to Zion to restore the Kingdom.
Ezekiel 1:4 I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north, a great cloud, with flashing lightning and a brightness around it; and out of its midst as it were glowing metal out of the midst of the fire- The primary potential fulfilment of Ezekiel was in the restoration from Babylon. The great emphasis on the Angel-cherubim shows the importance of the Angels in it. The Cherubim of chapter 1 "came out of the north". "The North" in the prophets often refers to "the north country" of Babylon. Is the whole vision primarily describing the Angels coming from Babylon, with the wheels "upon the earth" (:15) representing natural Israel under Angelic control? Thus "when the living creatures (Angels) went, the wheels went by them" (:19), due to the Angelic inspiration of the Jews and their touching the hearts of men like Cyrus, Ezra and Nehemiah "according to the good hand (Angel) of... God upon" them; "the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels" (:20). Had the exiles accepted the new covenant, they would have received the Spirit and returned from exile. Remember that the Angels are the vehicles of God's Spirit. The visions of the glory progressively removing from the temple show the Angel departing from Jerusalem, and then in chapters 40-48 the glory Angel returns to a re-built Jerusalem. Recall how the Angel in Ex. 33 and 34 is also described as the "glory". The idea is that as the depressed captives sat by the rivers of Babylon in "the north", they were to be aware that a huge, powerful, glorious system of Divine operation was hanging over them. If they identified with it, then this would ultimately return them to Zion.
And yet the cherubim vision also spoke of an invasion from Babylon unless there was repentance amongst the exiles and those still in the land. Ezekiel was taken captive in the second wave of deportations; but the temple had still not been sacked nor Jerusalem taken. Hence the cherubim vision had a double application. It could speak of a further invasion from the north, or of the return of the exiles. All alike would work out God's glory.
Ezekiel 1:5 Out of its midst came the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man- The overall silhouette upon them was of a man. This is impossible to visually represent. All attempts at visual representation rather fail here. The cherubim were the heavenly representation of men, both the exiles and also perhaps the invading Babylonian armies. So there was something human about all this majesty of God's glory. His care for man is paramount to His glory and personality. Ultimately this came to full term in His glorious manifestation in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4:6).
Ezekiel was prophesying against the background of the Assyrians and Babylonians. Their sculptures reveal winged bulls and lions with human heads. The cherubim alluded to them in that one aspect of meaning is that they could represent the invaders from the north which God would bring upon His people. But the "living creatures" were alive, not dead like the Babylonian ones. They were not quadrupeds, like the Assyrian and Babylonian forms. They were more human, and stood erect, having feet and hands as men have.
Ezekiel 1:6 Each one had four faces, and each one of them had four wings-
In Rev. 4:7 the four heads are distributed, one to each of the "living
creatures", while here each has four faces. This is to highlight the sense
of humanity, and of God's awareness of every angle of human situation.
That was the lesson so required by Judah in their depression by the rivers
of Babylon.
Ezekiel 1:7 Their feet were straight feet-
The return of the exiles
led by Ezra made the journey by a "right way" from Babylon to Zion (Ezra
8:21). Yet this is the very word used about the "straight" feet of the
Cherubim Angels here (also :23). The Hebrew word for
"straight" is quite common and is used nearly always for righteousness,
moral straightness. The idea is that the new covenant, if accepted, would
mean the Spirit entering the exiles and propelling them in the paths of
righteousness back to the land. Their shub, repentance / return,
would be in that they repented and therefore returned. The vast picture of
Divine working is to give some material impression of how great is His
working in the hearts of men. If they want it. The return from Babylon involved
following in the path of the Angels, walking in step with them. The
restoration prophecy of Jer. 31:9 spoke of how the returnees would walk
"in a straight way" (s.w.) "by the rivers of waters"- and surely Ezra
consciously alluded to this when by the river Ahava he fasted for the
exiles to return in a "right / straight way". He knew that these
prophecies of restoration would not just automatically come true- they had
to be fulfilled by much prayer, fasting and stepping out in faith. But so
very few perceived that. And the challenge remains for us today- to walk
in the way which God's Angels have potentially prepared for us, with
prayer and boldness. I feel this is especially true in the matter of
latter day witnessing. Rev. 14:6 describes the great latter fulfilment of
the great preaching commission in terms of an Angel flying in Heaven with
the Gospel of the Kingdom to be preached to all nations and languages.
Surely the implication is that the latter day preachers of the Gospel are
walking on earth in league with an Angelic system above them, empowering
and enabling them.
The captives would have been led into exile barefoot. This was part of the shame of captivity. Is. 20:4 speaks of captives led "naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered". But the soles of their feet would return in glory, energized by their connection with the huge cherubic system above them.
Ezekiel 1:8 They had the hands of a man under their wings on their four
sides; and the four of them had their faces and their wings like this-
See on :10. As noted on :5 and :6, one theme of the visions of glory was
God's humanity and how the function and direction of the huge system of
Divine activity is influenced by and in a sense dependent upon man. This
is why Ezekiel sees the hands of a woman under the wings on every side of
them. This presence of human hands is so emphasized; each of them, on all
four sides, had this image of human hands as it were supporting them.
Because God's work is responsive to human freewill, God is in a sense "in
need of man", as Abraham Heschel put it. Or we could see this as
all encouraging us to understand that God is a person, we are made in His
image, He is thereby closer to us than we imagine. And hence the vision
concludes with the vision of God Himself, presented as a human-like Being.
Ezekiel 1:9 Their wings were joined one to another; they didn’t turn when
they went; each one went straight forward- This is
an intentional
paradox; wings can hardly be joined to each other if they are used for
flying. Likewise the wheels within wheels, with no gears
meshing them together, somehow travelling in all directions.
But this is the paradox and contradiction, as viewed from earth,
of God's glorious progress and activity for His people. The whole system
would not be diverted- that is twice emphasized in saying that they didn't
turn, but went straight forward. The life led by the Spirit
is likewise forward motion only. What appears to be a backward step is in
fact forwards towards God's Kingdom. We think of the 3 x 40 year periods
in Moses' life. See on :7. An alternative is to
understand that they each moved with two wings upward and two always down
(:11,24), and it was the two upward wings which touched each other and
therefore appeared to be "joined". The word speaks of joining in
fellowship. This huge system was united, for the ultimate good of God's
people and to restore Zion. Hence Jerusalem would be built as a city
compacted or "joined" together (Ps. 122:3 s.w.).
Ezekiel 1:10 As for the likeness of their faces, they each had the face of
a man; and the face of a lion on the right side; and they four had the
face of an ox on the left side; the four of them also had the face of an
eagle- There are evident similarities between Ezekiel's cherubim, and
the four living creatures of Rev. 4. They are both described as "full of
eyes" (Ez. 1:18 = Rev. 4:6), with four very similar faces (lion, calf,
man, eagle in Rev. 4:7 = lion, ox, man, eagle in Ez. 1:10); and both have
wings (Rev. 4:8 = Ez. 1:8). Yet the living creatures of Revelation speak
of being redeemed by the blood of Christ and made king-priests in God's
Kingdom (Rev. 5:8-10)- as if they are the redeemed people of God. The four
faces are likely to be connected with the four standards of the tribes of
Israel (Lion = Judah, Man = Reuben, Ox = Ephraim, Eagle = Dan). Each of
those tribes had two other tribes assigned to them in the encampment
procedures of Num. 2. There is extra-Biblical tradition that the cherubim
in Solomon's temple had the same four faces which Ezekiel saw on the
cherubim- lion, ox, man and eagle (John
Thomas,
Eureka (West Beach: Logos, 1984 ed.)
Vol. 2 Ch. 4 sec. 4.2). Those to whom Ezekiel related his vision
would have immediately understood the point- that the earthly sanctuary
was a reflection of the Heavenly, and that above that was a huge Angelic
system operating, which also represented God's people- them. But that huge
system was to remove to Babylon, and then the final visions of Ezekiel
show that glory returning. Ezekiel, as the representative "son of man" as
he's so often styled, was caught up within that system and transported at
ease between Babylon and Jerusalem- and those who wanted to opt in with
God and His Angels could likewise be taken to Babylon and returned. Those
who chose to remain in Babylon were therefore resisting being part of an
awesome system of God manifestation and Angelic operation. We have that
same choice in things great and small today.
Ezekiel 1:11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; two
wings of each one touched another, and two covered their bodies- See
on :9. Heb. 'were parted from above'. The impression is of unity in
diversity. What appeared to the exiles to be contradictory was in fact
working together in unity towards God's purpose.
Wings are a picture of protection. The first reference to cherubim is in the context of preservation (Gen. 3:24). The vision therefore promised protection to these spiritually depressed exiles, possibly fearing for their lives. And there is also the sense of salvation, they kept the way to the tree of life. Hab. 3:8 brings this out: "You rode on your horses, your chariots of salvation". But the cherubim are also a chariot, with wheels. The idea is of transport. "He [Yhwh] mounted upon a cherub and flew; he swooped on the wings of the wind" (Ps. 18:11). So the exiles were being shown that God could transport them back to Zion, and protect them. These two things met their worries- of how ever they could possibly experience restoration to Zion.
Ezekiel 1:12 Each one went straight forward- Literally, 'in front
of their faces'. Their faces were set and they didn't flinch. The same
idea was to be applied to Ezekiel in Ez. 3:9. He was to identify with
God's way and the cherubim, and would be strengthened to follow in the one
way if that was what he chose.
Where the spirit was to go, they went; they didn’t turn when they went- The cherubim, this massive system of Divine operation, was direct by God's Spirit. The feature of not turning during their movement is a major feature (Ez. 1:9,12,17; 10:11,16). The impression was given of God's unchanging massive help towards the realization of His purpose with His people. This idea is alluded to when we are told that we who have accepted the new covenant, who have received the Spirit, are to "walk in step with the Spirit" (Gal. 5:25). Likewise in all the commands to "walk not after the flesh, but after[following after] the Spirit... walk in the Spirit" (Rom. 8:1; Gal. 5:16).
Ezekiel 1:13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance
was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches. The fire
went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and
out of the fire went forth lightning- See on :7.
The visual
impression was of perpetual, churning activity and the cycling of power.
This was a necessary encouragement for the exiles sitting in depression by
the rivers of Babylon. God had not forgotten. His apparent silence only
masked a hugely active and powerful system of operation.
Whilst on one hand the descriptions here beg to be visualized, and some
have made valiant attempts to do so, I'm unsure if that is the intention.
The point is that the whole scene as described cannot be
visualized. The cherubim on the tabernacle curtains were two dimensional,
but here we have 3-D. The overall impression is of a huge, intricate,
dynamic system of working which is in fact beyond our conception and
visualization. It is beyond the visual. The 'end stress' of the vision is
that the whole system is overarched by a rainbow, with the message of the
end of Divine judgment and salvation by grace.
Ezekiel 1:14 The living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a
flash of lightning- Perhaps the idea was that they ran and returned
between Jerusalem and the exiles' camp in Babylon. The return from exile
could be achieved in a flash, and likewise the Jews still in Judah could
be taken to Babylon in a flash. "Ran and returned" suggests this
was continually happening. Similar visions speak of how “they rest not day
or night” (Rev. 4:8; Zech. 4:10). God takes no time out from His purpose
to restore and save us. The exiles who thought God had forgotten
them are being reminded of His incessant, constant activity to restore
them. God doesn't just act now and again in our lives. Because He only
comes to our minds "now and again", we are wrongly inclined to think that
this is how He relates to us. But in fact His interaction and activity is
constant, and we should seek towards a similar constant awareness of Him.
This is surely the greatest aspect of salvation, to come to that point of
total spiritual awareness and interaction with and for Him.
Ezekiel 1:15 Now as I saw the living creatures, there was one wheel on the
earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces of it-
The wheels make the living creatures appear as on a chariot, connecting
with "the chariot of the cherubim" (1 Chron. 28:18).
The firm grounding of
this heavenly vision of power "on the earth" indicates that God's glory
and activity were not simply in Heaven but active upon earth, both to
transport a repentant Judah back to the land, and also to bring forth
chariots of enemies to further destroy the land and temple. The
difficulty of a wheel having four "faces" or sides is intentional.
Likewise the idea that the four wheels "went in their four directions" or
"on their four sides" (:17). Again, the idea is that we can't visualize
this system. Tempting as it is- just as it is to try to fully understand
our own lives.
Ezekiel 1:16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like a beryl:
and the four of them had one likeness; and their appearance and their work
was as it were a wheel within a wheel- The wheels imply they were
chariots, or mounted on chariots; indeed this is a root meaning of the
Hebrew word translated "cherub". Zechariah sees the same Angel chariots
emerging from between two bronze mountains (Zech. 1:7-11), perhaps
designed to recall the bronze pillars of the temple (1 Kings 7:15-22). The
rebuilt temple was intended to be the point from which the Angel chariots
would go forth; but that didn't happen at the very limited restoration
from Babylon, and so the first four seals of Rev. 6 are full of allusion
to this Zechariah vision- it was not left unfulfilled because of Israel's
indolence, but rather was reapplied to the latter day events of which
Revelation speaks.
Ezekiel 1:17 When they went, they went in their four directions. They
didn’t turn when they went- Like a complex series of gyroscopes
within each other, so that the movement might be without turning to
wherever they advanced. Thus each wheel was composed of two circles,
cutting one another at right angles, "one" only of which appeared to touch
the ground ("upon the earth" :15), according to the direction the cherubim
desired to move in. The idea was that what might appear to be
contradictory direction was in fact all seamlessly part of movement in the
same direction. And again this has so much meaning for our lives, as it
did for the exiles by the river Chebar. What appears useless, taking us
away from our intended direction, is being used by God in His bigger
direction of our lives towards His Kingdom and restoration.
Ezekiel 1:18 As for their rims, they were high and dreadful; and the four
of them had their rims full of eyes all around- See on :10. The
abundance of eyes gave the impression of God's awareness and intense gaze
upon His people. The captives were tempted to think that God was no longer
looking at them, unaware of their struggles, their losses, their history.
But the vision impressed upon them that He was intensely aware. Likewise
the same idea of many eyes is used to encourage the exiles to the same
effect in Zech. 3:9; 4:10. And again, as noted on :16,
Zechariah's stone
full of eyes looked forward to the Lord Jesus, the Messiah figure who was
to be the quintessence and personalization of all this Spirit, power and
glory. The rims full of eyes may refer to eye-shaped gem stones,
giving the idea of total knowledge of their situation and His power to
transform it. Although the word "cherubim" doesn't occur in Ez. 1, the
similar vision in Ez. 10 uses the term. The Hebrew word comes from the
Assyrian karabu, "to be near". But Gesenius defines it as meaning
'to be gracious'. This awesome display of physical glory and power was to
show the depressed exiles that God knew all about them, was powerful to
save by grace, and was in fact very near to them.
Ezekiel 1:19 When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them;
and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels
were lifted up- The wheels would speak of God's active engagement
with things upon the earth. And there were times when the whole chariot
was lifted up above the earth. Potentially, the exiles could have
been restored to Zion- through God's gracious work through the cherubim.
The intricacy of the vision is beyond exact understanding, and that's the
point- that God's working is indeed impossible to depict as a visual or
even verbal expression. Zechariah's visions of the restoration include
chariots, wheels, horses, the winds / spirit, eyes on a stone, "the eyes of
the LORD, which run to and fro through the whole earth" (Zech. 4:10) etc.
Those visions are in places hard to understand because they are describing
what could potentially have happened to the exiles. But he is alluding all
the time to Ezekiel's visions of the cherubim, to explain how the
restoration could be accomplished.
Ezekiel 1:20 Wherever the spirit was to go, they went under the spirit’s
control- The wheels, it appears, represented God’s people Israel on
earth. If they had kept in step with the Spirit-Angel, following Him both
to Babylon and back to Judah at His bidding, they would have been in step
with God’s plan for them, and all would have prospered.
This passage
appears to be behind Paul’s appeal to us to walk in step with the Spirit
(Gal. 5:25). Ezekiel himself was the great example of this, for he was
“lifted up” by the Spirit just as the wheels were lifted up, and went
wherever he was taken, backwards and forwards between Babylon and Judah
(Ez. 8:3; 11:1). He became part of the Cherubic system. See on Ez.
10:2,8.
And the wheels were lifted up beside them, for the spirit of the
living creature was in the wheels- The spirit of the living creatures in the Heavens was the same
spirit in the wheels, God’s people who operationalize God’s will here on
earth. That vision was then immediately demonstrated in
practice when the Spirit of God entered into Ezekiel and he was sent to
preach; just as the Spirit of the living creatures had been in the wheels,
and they were sent to and fro in the earth (Ez. 2:2). And thus Ezekiel
sees the hand of a man coming to him, just as he had seen it
associated with the cherubim in the vision (Ez. 1:8 = Ez. 2:9). And surely
Ezekiel is addressed as “son of man” in this context because the living
creatures have the “likeness of a man” (Ez. 1:5); Ezekiel, God’s man on
earth, alone and separate from his brethren, was merged with the huge
Heavenly system above him, because God’s Spirit was in him, and he was
willing to do God’s will. He was "amongst" the exiles by
Chebar; they could have had his experience. Just
as the cherub “stretched forth his hand” to
direct another Angel, so God’s hand was stretched forth [s.w.] upon
Ezekiel and he likewise was sent to do God’s will (Ez. 2:9; 8:3; 10:7 "the
spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my
feet...behold, an hand was sent unto me...he put forth the form of an
hand, and took me by a lock of mine head; and the spirit lifted me up
between the earth and the heaven, and brought me in the visions of God to
Jerusalem.. " ).
Knowing that we are part of this huge Heavenly system of working,
identified with the Angels and the very cherubim of glory above, can
eclipse to a large extent our human feelings of loneliness.
Ezekiel 1:22 Over the head of the living creature there was the likeness
of an expanse, like an awesome crystal to look on, stretched forth over
their heads above- Continually we encounter the word and idea of
"likeness". Ezekiel is seeing a vision of God's operations with His
people, and we are unwise to try to attach meaning to every detail. The
overall impression is of hugely powerful and active operation of God
through His Spirit. The "expanse" seems to be a kind of crystal platform
for God Himself who presided over the workings of this great system.
Ezekiel 1:23 Under the expanse were their wings straight, the one toward
the other: each one had two which covered their bodies on this side, and
each one had two which covered their bodies on that side- For
"straight" see on :7. The cherubim are not so much pictured as supporting
God but covering themselves in bowed reverence beneath Him.
Ezekiel 1:24 When they went, I heard the noise of their wings like the
noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, a noise of tumult
like the noise of an army. When they stood, they let down their wings-
Ezekiel 1:25 There was a voice above the expanse that was over their heads
when they stood and let down their wings- It was God's word which was
paramount, and even more powerful than this huge system of Angelic power.
And it was that word which Ezekiel was to speak to Israel.
Ezekiel 1:26 Above the expanse that was over their heads was the likeness
of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire stone; and on the likeness of
the throne was a likeness as the appearance of a man on it above- The
repeated sense of "likeness" is because here we have an impression of God
Himself. We are made in God's image; not mentally, because we need to
develop that image within us. Therefore it seems that we are somehow in
His literal image. Whatever word we use about God- corporeal, material,
tangible etc.- seems somehow inappropriate. But the fact is that God is
real, He exists in an actual personal form, we pray to Him as children in
His image, and we can form personal relationship with Him. He is not a
puff of smoke out in the cosmos, nor a mere abstraction, but a personal
being who had a begotten Son.
Ezekiel 1:27 I saw as it were glowing metal, as the appearance of fire
within it all around, from the appearance of his waist and upward. From
the appearance of his waist and downward I saw as it were the appearance
of fire, and there was brightness around him- The idea is
of the
maximum heat known to people at that time- metal which was molten. The
Babylonian worship of fire and the gods of fire was being deconstructed;
Israel's God was the ultimate fire greater than all others. And yet that
intense heat was ameliorated by the grace and promise of the rainbow that
appeared silhouetted over it (:28).
Ezekiel 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day
of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the
appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. When I saw it, I fell
on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke-
When Paul writes of
our being transformed into “the image of Christ” (Rom. 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49)
he seems to have in mind Ez. 1:28 LXX: “The appearance of the image of the
glory of the Lord”. “The glory” in Ezekiel is personified- it refers to a
person, and I submit that person was a prophetic image of Jesus Christ.
But Paul’s big point is that we each
with unveiled face have beheld
the Lord’s glory (2 Cor. 3:16- 4:6); just as he did on the Damascus road,
and just as Ezekiel did. It follows, therefore, that not only is Paul our
example, but our beholding of the Lord’s glory propels us on our personal
commission in the Lord’s service, whatever it may be.
The appearance of the rainbow overarching all this power and glory was surely allusive to the first rainbow. It was a sign that judgment had passed and God's intention is now to save and not to destroy. We can too easily assume that the colour of "the brightness of glory" was white or golden light- because that is how it is illustrated by artists. But here we have the definition of that brightness of glory as being the rainbow. The vision of the heavenly throne room in Rev. 5 gives the same impression. God's glory is in His saving grace, not white light of itself. And it is in this sense that we behold the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ- His grace, the promise of no more condemnation, His salvation, the rainbow. Not a white, very bright light. What you see as you imagine looking into the face of the Lord Jesus is not bright light, but grace, an end of judgment, grace, a desire to save. And as 2 cor. 3:18,19 explain, that in due course is by stages, from glory to glory, reflected from our faces. By the work of the Spirit.
Presumably Ezekiel was intended to share his vision of the cherubim with the exiles. Representations of the cherubim were located on the ark, and in between them there was the shekinah glory of God, His very presence. It has been observed: "The only time Aaron and his successor high priests were admitted into the sacred space of the Holy of Holies was on the Day of Atonement; but also in that day “he shall place the incense upon the fire, before the Lord, so that the cloud of the incense shall envelop the ark cover that is over the tablets of Testimony, so that he shall not die” (Lev. 16:13). This means that, in order “not to die” because “man shall not see Me and live” [Exod. 33:20], even the high priest legally entering in the sacred space had to carefully make a smoke screen between himself and the ark so that he could not see the cherubim nor the space between them". So to see the cherubim was as it were to see God's presence. The implication may be that the atonement had been made, somehow. An ordinary priest like Ezekiel could now see the glory. And he was to share that with the exiles; but this vision had to be believed, which Ez. 2 suggests the exiles didn't. Far above their immediate suffering and depression, they were to see that God wanted them in His very presence. "Their faces were inward" in 2 Chron. 3:13, but here they are visible and looking outward. God as it were wanted to share His very presence with all Israel.
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