1:4 Ezekiel saw within the opened heavens a great cloud blown toward him by the north wind with lightning flashing from it almost constantly (cf. 1 Kings 19:11-13; Job 38:1; 40:6; Ps. 29:3-5). Israel's enemies had invaded from the north, so the implication was that an invasion was coming. He also saw a bright light around this cloud and something like hot glowing metal shining in its midst, evidently God Himself (cf. Exod. 13:17-22; 19:16-18; Deut. 4:24; Heb. 12:28-29). The biblical writers sometimes described God's abode as in the north (e.g., Ps. 48:2; Isa. 14:13; cf. Matt. 24:30; 26:24; 1 Thess. 4:17), and they often associated storms and clouds with theophanies (e.g., Job 38:1; Ps. 29:3-9; 104:3; Isa. 29:6; cf. Exod. 13:21; Lev. 16:2).
As God had riveted the attention of Moses by showing him a bush that was burning but not burning up (Exod. 3:1-15), so God captured Ezekiel's attention with this vision of a burning cloud.
1:5-7 Within the cloud the prophet saw four figures that resembled living beings (cf. Rev. 4). They had human form, but each of them had four faces and four wings. Each face represents the highest form of animal life in a general category probably showing that God is lord of all creation.56Their legs did not have knee joints making them very stable. Their feet looked like the hoofs of calves, but they shone like they were polished bronze. Calves feet suggest nimbleness (cf. Ps. 29:6; Mal. 4:2), and their sheen may represent their strength.
These living creatures were cherubim (cf. 10:15, 20; Gen. 3:22-24). Appearances of cherubim sometime accompany references to God's glory and holiness in the Old Testament, but their specific function remains a mystery. Ezekiel would have been familiar with cherubim because they were pictured on the ark and in the curtains of the temple (Exod. 25:17-22; 26:31; Num. 7:89; 1 Sam. 4:4; 2 Sam. 6:2; 1 Chron. 28:18; Ps. 80:1; 99:1; Isa. 37:16). The Mesopotamians also represented spirit beings guarding their temples in their artwork.57
1:8-9 There were four wings on each of the cherubim, one on each of their four sides, and under each wing Ezekiel could see a human hand. The wings of each creature touched each other, and these creatures also had a face on each of their four sides. This enabled them to move in any direction without having to turn their faces. They enjoyed maximum mobility.
1:10-11 The forward face on each creature looked like a man, another like a lion, another like a bull, and the fourth like an eagle (cf. Rev. 4:7).58These were traditionally the four most impressive animals, man being the chief over all, the lion chief of the wild animals, the ox chief of the domesticated animals, and the eagle chief of the birds.59Their faces may represent the intelligence, majesty (or strength), strength (or ferocity), and speed (or freedom) of these creatures. Their wings spread out above them, evidently to support the platform above (vv. 22-23). Another view is that the cherubim were the wheels in the sense that the life spirit of the creatures was in the wheels.60Two wings of each creature touched the wings of another of the creatures uniting them in action, and two of them covered the bodies of each creature in humility.
1:12 Each creature moved straight forward without deviating, in the direction of the front of each body. Each one followed the lead of the Spirit without twisting as it went. In this context, the Spirit in view is probably the Holy Spirit of God.61
1:13 In the center of this group of four living beings was something that looked to Ezekiel like a fire of burning coals that sent out sparks toward the creatures. This fire was very bright, and what appeared to be lightning as well as sparks flashed forth from it.
1:14 The four living beings themselves darted about in Ezekiel's vision like bolts of lightning. Perhaps this presages the prophet's message of God's burning judgment on Judah.62
"These spiritual beings who were part angel, part human, and part animal were fitting representatives of the whole created order. Their activity affirmed the relationship of God to his creation as Lord of all things. This idea was vital in helping Ezekiel and the captives in exile and the people in Judah understand that in the midst of the storms of life, God was still on his throne. He was not oblivious to their circumstances."63
