And under the expanse were their wings straight, the one toward the other every one had two which covered on this side, and every one had two which covered on that side their bodies.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty, a tumultuous noise, as the noise of a host when they stood, they let down their wings;
Ezekiel was a prisoner far from home when he heard the living creatures move. He describes the roar of their wings three ways at once: water, the Almighty, an army. So whose voice is heard when these creatures move?
The sound reaches a man with no way out.
At the time of this vision, Ezekiel was in a very trying position. The children of Israel were in captivity and it appeared that all hope was gone for these prisoners of war. Yet it was just there, in those very circumstances, that God gave him this vision. Need we wonder that his name means "God strengthens"? In all our lives there are times when we, like Ezekiel, need a fresh impression of the greatness and glory of God.
The roar could sound like chaos. It is the opposite — and it starts and stops at a word.
As soon as we look up there, the posture of the living creatures tells us something. They are themselves in deep subjection to the higher power above them. Their harmony with one another shows only one thing: they are all in subjection to One who controls all… Now their wings sound like many waters. It is a waterfall of sound, and we soon realise it is the voice of the Almighty. The noise is that of a multitude, yet not disorderly. It is the sound of an army in ordered ranks… At His voice they move before Him, wrapped in their wings. At His voice they are stilled to complete rest, with their wings let down.
Translators have read the words "a sound of tumult" in several ways.
For Ezekiel 1:24, Fuerst gives "voice of speech" and "sound of a multitude"; Henderson gives "tumult"; Rosenmüller gives "falling rain." The same word occurs in Jeremiah 11:16, where it is translated "tumult."
The sound is compared to the voice of the Almighty. That title has a long history, and its exact sense is disputed.
Scholars do not agree where the word shaddai comes from, or what it means. Some give it as 'all bountiful,' others 'all sufficient,' others 'all mighty,' and so on. This is no surprise. Any name of God must be above mere human learning or definition, yet it was the ground of faith to those who had the revelation. The name first occurs in Genesis 17:1, where God said to Abraham, "I am the Almighty God." This links it with the patriarchs: it is the name by which they knew God.
Verse 24 sits between two other statements in the chapter. Together they show who directs the movement. The writer uses an older translation: "voice of the Almighty" where the ESV has "sound."
Earlier in the chapter, the Spirit appears to be the power in control of them. Then in verse 24 we read, "And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings, like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty" — He was commanding them. Finally, verse 26 shows the One who had the administration in hand: "the appearance of a man above upon it." So while everything springs from God Himself, the administration is in the hands of Christ, and the Spirit of God is the power that brings it all about.
Scripture uses this picture more than once, and one writer follows it through to Christ. He calls the living creatures cherubim.
"And His voice was as the sound of many waters." This figure is a striking expression of majesty and power… In Ezekiel 1:24 the wings of the cherubim make a sound like "the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty." Later comes this: "the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east, and His voice was like a noise of many waters" (Ezekiel 43:2). So a voice like the sound of many waters is a Scriptural figure of the glory and majesty of God. Christ, though man, now appears in that glory.
Ezekiel hears these wings again in chapter 10, and there the meaning is severe.
"And the sound of the cherubim's wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when He speaks." The glory was departing, not coming to dwell there… The Lord is driven away — not by force, but by the wrongdoing and unfaithfulness of His own people. Ezekiel's prophecy is clear: He will return and dwell there. He will never leave His home again as long as the earth lasts.
- Where — God gave the vision to a captive with no way out, at the point where hope looked finished.
- What — the roar of the wings is like great waters. Scripture uses that picture for the majesty and power of God.
- Who — the sound is the voice of the Almighty, the name God first used with Abraham, and one scholars still debate.
- How — the noise is a multitude but not disorder: an army in ranks. At His voice they move; at His voice they stand still and let their wings down.
- Where it leads — the same sound goes with the glory as it leaves Jerusalem in chapter 10. Yet He has promised to return. And the voice like many waters now belongs to Christ in glory.
and there was a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads. When they stood, they let down their wings.
Ezekiel is watching a moving throne, carried by living creatures and wheels, far from the temple in Jerusalem. Now the whole vision halts to hear a voice from above the creatures — so whose voice is it, and why does all that power fall silent for it?
One dividing line runs through the whole vision. Everything that carries, moves, and executes is under the expanse; the One who speaks is over it.
All was under the control of the will and purpose of Him who sat on the throne and judged rightly. Majesty, government, and providence united to form the throne of His glory. But all the instruments of His glory were below the expanse; He whom they glorified was above it. He is the One the nations did not know.
What, then, is above the expanse? Ezekiel's account leads the eye up in stages.
Ezekiel does not see only the wheels, or the living creatures. Over their heads he sees the likeness of an expanse, with the look of terrifying crystal, stretched out above them. And above the likeness of the expanse itself there is the likeness of a throne. On the likeness of the throne there is something strange and wonderful to see: the appearance of a Man above upon it.
In the previous verse the wings made the sound. This voice does not come from them. The living creatures — the cherubim — never speak in Ezekiel's vision. Elsewhere in Scripture they do.
Then a voice spoke — not the voice of a cherub. In Revelation the cherubim speak; in Ezekiel they are silent.
The detail about lowering the wings is not decoration. It shows that these powerful creatures do not direct themselves. They move at a word and stop at a word. Their unity comes from listening to the same Person.
As soon as we look up there, the posture of the living creatures makes something clear. They are themselves in deep subjection to the higher power above them. They act in harmony with one another, and that harmony shows itself to be only the result of a common subjection to One who controls everything… Here they are in their place, and serving. At His voice they move, wrapped in their wings before Him. At His voice they are stilled to complete rest, with their wings let down.
The wheels on the ground and the throne above them are one connected machine.
It is the exact opposite of circumstances left to blind chance. On the contrary, whatever the upheavals or changes among men, everything is guided with full knowledge, right where you would least expect it. The instruments of the providential government, below the expanse, were in full accord with what was above. Over this was the likeness of a throne. Above all was the likeness of a man carrying out judgment, though with the unfailing pledge of mercy to an evil world.
The voice speaks from above a throne that no longer stands in Jerusalem's temple. This throne also differs from the one John later sees in Revelation 4.
So the throne of God was no longer in Israel. Instead, the God of heaven chose to use the Gentile nations to carry out His will in punishing guilty Jerusalem, and He was about to do it. It is His throne from heaven, not yet His throne in heaven. In Revelation 4 there are no wheels, but six wings to each… There the living creatures are in the circle of the throne and in its midst, no longer under it as in Ezekiel.
- Above. The voice comes from over the expanse. Every wheel, wing, and creature is below that line. Above it is a throne, and on the throne the likeness of a Man — the One the nations never knew.
- Silent. The creatures do not speak in this vision. The sound of their wings is one thing. The voice from above the expanse is another.
- Stilled. Lowered wings are the picture of subjection. They move at His voice and stop at His voice. Their agreement with each other comes only from obeying One.
- Steered. Because the throne is above, nothing underneath it is random. God guides the upheavals among nations, right where you would least expect it.
- Moved. This throne has wheels and is no longer in Israel. God judges guilty Jerusalem from it, and He still pledges mercy to the world.