S3E164 – Ezekiel 1-6: Wheels Within Wheels

Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-6 NASB

Podcast Introduction

It’s Prophecy Friday, and we’ll read Ezekiel 1-6. I’m calling this episode “Wheels Within Wheels.”

Comments on Ezekiel 1

Regarding the visions that Ezekiel saw in chapter one, I have to say that it is hard to envision what he describes. Don’t you think? I can only imagine that he must have been terrified. The storm, the four beings (which some commentators say are angels) with the four faces and wings and hands and legs, and eyes. Nothing like these beings had ever before been seen by a human, that we know. 

We have seen all sorts of strange creatures, thanks to Hollywood special effects. But Ezekiel had absolutely no frame of reference. 

And then the wheels within wheels. It’s sort of a wonder that Ezekiel was able to put any of this into words, but then again, he was given the words to write by the Holy Spirit. But still, imagine how dumbfounded he must have been at these visions.

And the sounds he heard! Sounds like tremendous waterfalls and the tumult of an army camp. Have you ever stood close to a large waterfall? It’s almost deafening. And the sound is unrelenting. It makes you feel so small and insignificant. Such enormous power.

And then, over the beings and the wheels, above them all, was something like a throne that looked like a kind of jewel, with a man sitting on the throne. But His appearance was like no ordinary man, and the radiance around the throne was unlike anything seen on earth. Who was the man? We know Him as Jesus.

We generally think of Him as He appeared on earth. But think of it. His time here was just a flash of time, but for all of eternity past, present and future, except for those 33 years, He is in this place which our words are unable to describe adequately. We think of Him kind of like a buddy or big brother, but seeing Him like this…I think we would just have to fall on our faces. And of course, we know that when we do see Him at some point in the future, that is precisely what we will do. 

I can’t wait.

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Transcript

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Steve Webb 0:00
Words are unable to describe adequately.

Steve Webb 0:10
This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. And podcasting since 2004. I am Euro je Godcaster Steve Webb. It’s the daily podcast where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today is prophecy Friday and we’re going to read Ezekiel one through six. I’m calling the episode, wheels within wheels. Let’s get started with a word of prayer. Our heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for your love. And we thank you for giving us the Bible so that we can know you. I pray God that as we read today, you would teach us and I pray this in Jesus name, amen. Okay, are you ready? Let’s begin.

Steve Webb 0:52
Ezekiel chapter one. Now it came about in the 30th year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river, key bar among the exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. On the fifth of the month, in the fifth year of King Jehovah kings exile, the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest son abuse I, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river key bar, and there the hand of the Lord came upon him. As I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually, and a bright light around it, and in its midst, something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. Within it were figures resembling for living beings, and this was their appearance, they had human form. Each of them had four faces in four wings. Their legs were straight, and their feet were like a calves hoof, and they gleaned like burnished bronze. under their wings on their four sides were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, their wings touched one another. Their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. As for the form of their faces, each had the face of a man, all forehead, the face of a lion on the right, and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle, such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above each head to touching another being and to covering their bodies. And each one straightforward. Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go without turning as they went. In the midst of the living beings, there was something that looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was flashing from the fire, and the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning. Now, as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. The appearance of the wheels, and their workmanship was like sparkling barrel, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship, being as if one wheel were within another. Whenever they moved, they moved in any of their four directions without turning as they moved. As for their rims, they were lofty and awesome. And the rims of all four of them were full of eyes roundabout. Whenever the living beings moved, the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also, wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction, and the wheels rose close beside them, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. Whenever those went, these went. And whenever those stood still, these stood still. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose close beside them, for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. Now over the heads of the living beings, there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystals spread out over their heads. Under the expanse, their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other. Each one also had two wings covering its body on one side and on the other. I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp. Whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings, and there came a voice from above the expanse that was over their heads. Whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. Now above the expanse that was over their heads, there was something resembling a throne like lapis lazuli in appearance, and on that which resembled a throne high up was a figure with the appearance of a man. Then I noticed from the appearance of his loins and upward, something like glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it. And from the appearance of his loins and downward I saw something like fire, and there was a radiance around him as the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. So was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. As such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.

Steve Webb 5:08
Ezekiel chapter two. Then he said to me, Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you. As he spoke to me, the spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. Then he said to me, Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel to a rebellious people who have rebelled against me, they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day, I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord God, as for them, whether they listen or not, for they are a rebellious house, they will know that a prophet has been among them, and US Son of man, neither fear them, nor fear their words, though thistles and thorns are with you, and you sit on scorpions, neither of fear their words, nor be dismayed their presence, for they are a rebellious house, but you shall speak my words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious. Now you son of man, listen to what I am speaking to you. Do not be rebellious like that rebellious house, open your mouth and eat what I’m giving you. Then I looked, and behold, a hand was extended to me, and lo, a scroll was on it. When he spread it out before me, it was written on the front and back, and written on it were lamentations, mourning and woe.

Steve Webb 6:28
Ezekiel, chapter three. Then he said to me, Son of man, eat what you find, eat this scroll and go speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and he fed me this scroll. He said to me, Son of man, feed your stomach and fill your body with this grow, which I’m giving you, then I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth. Then he said to me, Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with my words to them, for you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you. Yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate, Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead is hard as their foreheads like Emory harder than Flint, I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house. Moreover, he said to me, Son of man, take into your heart, all my words which I speak to you and listen closely, go to the exiles to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them whether they listen or not, Thus says the Lord God, then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard a great rumbling sound behind me, bless it be the glory of the Lord in his place. And I heard the sound of the wings of the living beings touching one another, and the sound of the wheels beside them, even a great rumbling sound. So the spirit lifted me up and took me away. And I went embittered in the rage of My Spirit, and the hand of the Lord was strong upon me. Then I came to the exiles who lived beside the river, key bar at Tel Aviv. And I sat there seven days where they were living, causing consternation among them. At the end of seven days, the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, warn them from me. When I say to the wicked, you will surely die, and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live. That wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet if you have warned the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered yourself. Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die, since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered, but his blood I will require at your hand. However, if you have warned the righteous man, that the righteous should not sin, and He does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning, and you have delivered yourself. The hand of the Lord was on me there and he said to me, get up, go out to the plane, and there I will speak to you. So I got up and went out to the plane. And behold, the glory of the Lord was standing there, like the glory which I saw by the river key bar, and I fell on my face. The Spirit then entered me and made me stand on my feet. And he spoke with me and said to me, go shut yourself up in your house. As for us, Son of Man, they will put ropes on you and bind you with them so that you cannot go out among them. Moreover, I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be mute and cannot be a man who rebukes them for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak to you, I will open your mouth and you will say to them, Thus says the Lord God, he who hears let him hear, and he who refuses, let him refuse, for they are a rebellious house.

Steve Webb 10:28
Ezekiel chapter four. Now you son of man, get yourself a brick, place it before you and inscribe a city on it, Jerusalem, then lay siege against it, build a siege wall, raise up a ramp, pitch camps, and place battering rams against it all around. Then get yourself an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between you in the city and set your face toward it so that it is under siege and beseech it, this is assigned to the house of Israel. As for you, lie down on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it, you shall bear their iniquity for the number of days that you lie on it. For I have assigned you a number of days corresponding to the years of their iniquity 390 days, thus you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah. I have assigned it to you for 40 days a day for each year. Then you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. Now behold, I will put ropes on you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege. But as for you take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet and spelt, put them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself. You shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side. 390 days, your food which you eat shall be 20 shekels a day by weight, and you shall eat it from time to time. The water you drink shall be the sixth part of a hen by measure, you shall drink it from time to time. You shall eat it as a barley cake, having baked it in their sight over human done. Then the Lord said, Thus will the sons of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will banish them. But I said, Ah, Lord God, Behold, I have never been defiled. For from my youth, until now I have never eaten what died of itself, or was torn by beasts, nor has any unclean meat ever entered my mouth. Then he said to me, see, I will give you cow’s dung in place of human dung over which you will prepare your bread. Moreover, he said to me, Son of man, behold, I’m going to break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by weight, and with anxiety and drink water by measure and in horror, because bread and water will be scarce, and they will be appalled with one another, and waste away in their iniquity.

Steve Webb 13:04
Ezekiel chapter five. As for you, Son of man, take a sharp sword. Take it, use it as a barber’s razor on your head and beard, then take scales for weighing in divide the hair 1/3, you shall burn in the fire at the center of the city, when the days of the siege are completed, then you shall take 1/3 and strike it with the sword all around the city, and 1/3 You shall scatter to the wind, and I will Unchi the sword behind them. Take also a few in number from them, and bind them in the edges of your robes, take again some of them and throw them into the fire and burn them in the fire. From it, a fire will spread to all the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord God, this is Jerusalem, I have set her at the center of the nations with lands around her, but she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nation’s and against my statutes more than the lands which surround her, for they have rejected My ordinances, and if not walked in My statutes. Therefore, Thus says the Lord God, because you have more turmoil than the nations which surround you, and have not walked in My statutes, nor observed My ordinances, nor observed the ordinances of the nations which surround you. Therefore, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I, even I am against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. And because of all your abominations I will do among you what I have not done, and the like of which I will never do again. Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers, for I will execute judgments on you and scatter all your remnant to every wind. So as I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable idols, and with all your abominations, therefore, I will also withdraw and my I will have no pity and I will not bear 1/3 of you will die by plague or be consumed by famine among you 1/3 will fall by the sword around you, and 1/3 I will scatter to every wind and I will unsheathed the sword behind them. Thus my anger will be spent, and I will satisfy my wrath on them, and I will be appeased, then they will know that I the LORD have spoken in my zeal when I have spent my wrath upon them. Moreover, I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations which surround you in the sight of all who passed by. So it will be a reproach, a reviling a warning and an object of horror to the nation’s which surround you when I execute judgments against you and anger, wrath and raging rebukes. I the LORD have spoken, when I sinned against them, that deadly arrows of famine which were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I also will intensify the famine upon you, and break the staff have bred. Moreover, I will send on you famine and wild beasts and they will be review of children, plague and bloodshed also will pass through you and I will bring the sword on you, I, the LORD have spoken.

Steve Webb 16:08
Ezekiel chapter six. And the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them and say, mountains of Israel, listen to the word of the Lord God. Thus says the Lord God to the mountains, the hills, the ravines and the valleys. Behold, I myself am going to bring a sword on you and I will destroy your high places, so your altars will become desolate and your incense altars will be smashed, and I will make your slain fall in front of your idols, I will also lay the dead bodies of the sons of Israel in front of their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. In all your dwellings, cities will become waste in the high places will become desolate, that your altars may become waste and desolate, your idols may be broken and brought to an end, your incense altars may be cut down, and your works may be blotted out, the slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the Lord. However, I will leave a remnant for you will have those who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries, then those of you who escaped will remember me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts, which turned away from me, and by their eyes, which played the harlot after their idols, and they will load themselves in their own site for the evils which they have committed for all their abominations, then they will know that I am the Lord, I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them. Thus says the Lord God, clap your hand, stamp your foot and say, alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, which will fall by sword, famine and plague, he who is far off will die by the plague, and he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains in his besieged will die by the famine. Thus, I will spend my wrath on them, then you will know that I am the Lord when they’re slain are among their idols around their altars on every high hill, on all the tops of the mountains under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, the places where they offered soothing aroma to all their idols. So throughout all their habitations, I will stretch out my hand against them, and make the land more desolate and waste than the wilderness toward Dibbler. Thus, they will know that I am the Lord.

Steve Webb 18:34
Well, beloved, regarding the visions that Ezekiel saw in chapter one, I’ve got to say that it’s hard to envision what he describes, don’t you think? I can only imagine that he must have been just absolutely terrified. The storm the four beings, which some commentators say are angels, with the four faces and wings, and hands and legs and eyes, and nothing like these beings had ever been seen before by a human that we know. Now you and I have seen all sorts of strange creatures, Thanks to Hollywood special effects. But a zekiel had absolutely no frame of reference. And then the wheels within wheels. It’s sort of a wonder that Ezekiel was even able to put any of this into words, but then again, he was given the words to write by the Holy Spirit, wasn’t he? But still, imagine how dumbfounded he must have been at these visions? And the sounds he heard? Sounds like tremendous waterfalls in the tumult of an army camp. Have you ever stood close to a large waterfall? It’s almost deafening, isn’t it? And the sound is unrelenting. That just makes you feel so small and insignificant, such enormous power. And then over the beings and the wheels above the mall was something like a throne that looked like a kind of jewel, with a man sitting on the throne. But His appearance was like no ordinary man and the radiance around the throne was unlike anything seen on Earth. So who was this man? Well, we know him as Jesus, we generally think of him as he appeared on Earth. But think of it his time here was just a flash of time. But for all of eternity past, present, and future, except for those 33 years, he Jesus is in this place, which our words are unable to describe adequately. We think of Jesus kind of like a buddy or a Big Brother, don’t we, but seeing him like this, I think we would just have to fall on our faces. And of course, we know that that’s probably what we’ll do. When we see him at some point in the future. I think for sure, that is precisely what I’m going to do. And to be honest, I can’t wait. Can you imagine being in Ezekiel’s place and having this vision? What do you think you would do? Call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511 or leave a comment via boostagram You can also go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. I try to make it as easy as possible for you to get in touch with me. Also, you can email me at Steve at Lifespringmedia.com. Tomorrow, we’ll be gospel Saturday, and we’ll get back into the book of Luke will read chapters 11 and 12.

Steve Webb 21:19
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Jingle 21:32
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Steve Webb 21:36
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Steve Webb 22:11
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