Ezekiel 1:21

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ezekiel 1:15-25

The prophet is very exact in making and recording his observations concerning this vision. And here we have, I. The notice he took of the wheels, Ezek. 1:15-21. The glory of God appears not only in the splendour of his retinue in the upper world, but in the steadiness of his government here in this lower world. Having seen how God does according to his will in the armies of heaven, let us now see how he does according to it among the inhabitants of the earth; for there, on the earth, the... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 1:21

When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood ,.... When ministers are active and lively, then the churches are; but when they are indolent, dull, and inactive, then the churches are so likewise: and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over against them ; See Gill on Ezekiel 1:19 ; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels ; or, "the spirit of life", as in Ezekiel 1:20 ; see Revelation 11:11 . read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Ezekiel 1:21

Verse 21 He continues the same sentence, that the wheels were fixed, not that they fell but stood without motion, which we know to be unnatural, for a wheel cannot stand on any part of its rim, but will either fall on one side or the other, or will roll on: for the Prophet says that the wheels were immovable. Whence it follows that their moving force was external to themselves. Afterwards he confirms the same by additional words. For as the living creatures and the wheels stood together, so... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 1:1-28

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 1:4-25

The glory of the Eternal. This marvellous vision, which has correspondences with others to be found in Scripture, must be interpreted in the light of the prophet's peculiar genius and imagination, and in the light of the canons and customs of ancient and Oriental art. To find significance in every detail would be to indulge an idle curiosity; to dismiss the figures as the product of an imagination dissociated from truth would be irrational and irreverent. It is plain that Ezekiel was... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 1:4-28

The providential government of God. This is acknowledged even by some of the ablest expositors to be a most difficult portion of sacred Scripture. Isaac Casaubon says that "in the whole of the Old Testament there is nothing more obscure than the beginning and the end of the Book of Ezekiel." And Calvin "acknowledges that he does not understand this vision." Yet we would humbly and reverently endeavour to set forth what appear to us to be the principal teachings of this marvellous vision.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 1:15-21

Nature's material forces are the active servants of the Church. New phenomena now appear to the prophet's ecstatic vision. Wheels of vast and appalling magnitude are seen, and seen in combination with the cherubim. Now, wheels are essential parts of man's mechanical contrivances; therefore we are compelled to regard the material earth and the encircling atmosphere as the scene of this activity. In a striking and instructive manner we perceive God working in and through material nature. We... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ezekiel 1:21

When those went, these went. The words, strictly speaking, add nothing to the previous description; but the prophet appears to have wished to combine what he had before said separately, so as to make the picture complete, before passing on to the yet more glorious vision that next met his gaze. read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ezekiel 1:19-21

Ezekiel 1:19-21. When the living creatures went, the wheels went by them The living creatures and the wheels moved in concert, to show with what readiness and alacrity all the instruments of providence concur in carrying on its great designs and purposes; and that second causes here below act under the superintendence and conduct of God and his holy angels. When the living creatures were lifted up, &c., the wheels were lifted up By the wheels being lifted up with the living... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ezekiel 1:1-28

1:1-3:27 THE CALL OF EZEKIELA vision of God’s glory (1:1-28)Ezekiel lived in a Jewish settlement that bordered the Chebar River. He had been in Babylon five years and was now thirty years of age, the age at which he normally would have begun his priestly service in the temple in Jerusalem (cf. Numbers 4:2-3). But he had no chance now of returning to Jerusalem. Instead God called him to be a prophet, who would take his message to his people in Babylon (1:1-3).The call came as Ezekiel was... read more

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