◄ Ezekiel 1:11 ►
Such were their faces. Their wings were spread upward; each had two wings touching the wings of the creature on either side, and two wings covering its body.
Study Bible
Such were their faces.
The description of the faces in Ezekiel 1:11 follows the earlier verses where the faces of the living creatures are detailed as that of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. These faces symbolize various attributes: humanity, royalty, strength, and swiftness. This imagery is consistent with the cherubim described in other parts of Scripture, such as Revelation 4:7, and reflects the multifaceted nature of God's creation and His attributes.

Their wings were spread upward;
The upward spread of the wings signifies readiness to serve and the ability to swiftly carry out God's commands. In ancient Near Eastern iconography, wings often symbolize divine presence and protection. The upward position may also indicate a posture of worship and reverence towards God, aligning with the biblical theme of angels and heavenly beings being in constant service and adoration of the Almighty.

Each had two wings touching the wings of the creature on either side,
This detail emphasizes unity and coordination among the living creatures. The touching of wings suggests a harmonious and interconnected operation, reflecting the order and unity within God's creation and His heavenly court. This imagery can be compared to the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant, whose wings also touched, symbolizing the presence and glory of God (Exodus 25:20).

and two wings covering its body.
The covering of the body with wings indicates modesty and humility before God. This act of covering can be seen as a sign of reverence and awe in the presence of divine holiness. It parallels the seraphim in Isaiah 6:2, who also cover themselves with their wings in the presence of God, highlighting the theme of holiness and the appropriate response of created beings to the divine majesty.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Ezekiel
A prophet and priest during the Babylonian exile, Ezekiel is the author of the book and the recipient of the visions described.

2. Cherubim
These are the living creatures described in Ezekiel's vision. They are often associated with the presence and glory of God.

3. Babylon
The place of exile for the Israelites, where Ezekiel received his visions.

4. The Vision of God’s Glory
This event is a divine revelation given to Ezekiel, showcasing the majesty and holiness of God through symbolic imagery.

5. The River Kebar
The location where Ezekiel received his vision, a canal near Babylon.
Teaching Points
The Holiness of God
The vision emphasizes God's holiness and majesty, reminding us to approach Him with reverence and awe.

Unity in Diversity
The creatures' wings touching each other symbolize unity and cooperation, a model for the body of Christ.

Protection and Covering
The wings covering the body suggest God's protection over His people, encouraging us to trust in His care.

Symbolism in Scripture
Understanding the symbolic nature of biblical visions can deepen our comprehension of God's messages.

God's Presence in Exile
Even in exile, God reveals His glory to Ezekiel, assuring us of His presence in our own times of trial.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the description of the cherubim's wings in Ezekiel 1:11 enhance our understanding of God's holiness and majesty?

2. In what ways can the unity of the cherubim's wings touching each other inspire unity within the church today?

3. How does the imagery of wings covering the body relate to the concept of God's protection in other parts of Scripture?

4. What can we learn from Ezekiel's vision about God's presence and revelation during difficult times, such as exile or personal trials?

5. How do the visions in Ezekiel 1 compare to other biblical visions of heavenly creatures, and what consistent themes can we identify?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Isaiah 6
Isaiah's vision of the seraphim, which also involves creatures with wings, highlights the holiness and majesty of God.

Revelation 4
John's vision of the throne room of God includes living creatures with wings, drawing a parallel to Ezekiel's vision.

Exodus 25
The description of the cherubim on the Ark of the Covenant connects to the imagery of divine presence and protection.
Sermons
The Glory of the EternalVarious Authors Ezekiel 1:4-25
The Providential Government of GodW. Jones Ezekiel 1:4-28
Unseen Forms of Intelligent MinistryJ.D. Davies Ezekiel 1:5-14
People
Babylonians, Buzi, Ezekiel, Jehoiachin
Places
Chebar
Topics
Bodies, Body, Covered, Covering, Creature, Either, Faces, Joined, Joining, Parted, Separate, Spread, Stretched, Thus, Touched, Touching, Upward, Wing, Wings
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Ezekiel 1:11

     5136   body

Ezekiel 1:1-28

     8474   seeing God

Ezekiel 1:3-28

     7775   prophets, lives

Ezekiel 1:4-14

     4150   cherubim

Ezekiel 1:4-18

     1454   theophany

Ezekiel 1:4-28

     1090   God, majesty of
     1469   visions

Ezekiel 1:5-25

     4627   creatures

Library
God's Providence
"Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces. The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon their four sides: and they turned not when they went. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 54: 1908

The Noble Results of this Species of Prayer
The Noble Results of this Species of Prayer Some persons, when they hear of the prayer of silence, falsely imagine, that the soul remains stupid, dead, and inactive. But, unquestionably, it acteth therein, more nobly and more extensively than it had ever done before; for God Himself is the mover, and the soul now acteth by the agency of His Spirit. When S. Paul speaks of our being led by the Spirit of God, it is not meant that we should cease from action; but that we should act through the internal …
Madame Guyon—A Short and Easy Method of Prayer

'Deliver us from Evil'
'But deliver us from evil.'--MATT. vi. 13. The two halves of this prayer are like a calm sky with stars shining silently in its steadfast blue, and a troubled earth beneath, where storms sweep, and changes come, and tears are ever being shed. The one is so tranquil, the other so full of woe and want. What a dark picture of human conditions lies beneath the petitions of this second half! Hunger and sin and temptation, and wider still, that tragic word which includes them all--evil. Forgiveness and …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

This State of Prayer not one of Idleness, but of Noble Action, Wrought by the Spirit of God, and in Dependence Upon Him --The Communication Of
Some people, hearing of the prayer of silence, have wrongly imagined that the soul remains inactive, lifeless, and without movement. But the truth is, that its action is more noble and more extensive than it ever was before it entered this degree, since it is moved by God Himself, and acted upon by His Spirit. St Paul desires that we should be led by the Spirit of God (Rom. viii. 14). I do not say that there must be no action, but that we must act in dependence upon the divine movement. This …
Jeanne Marie Bouvières—A Short Method Of Prayer And Spiritual Torrents

The Prophet Jonah.
It has been asserted without any sufficient reason, that Jonah is older than Hosea, Joel, Amos, and Obadiah,--that he is the oldest among the prophets whose written monuments have been preserved to us. The passage in 2 Kings xiv. 25, where it is said, that Jonah, the son of Amittai the prophet, prophesied to Jeroboam the happy success of his arms, and the restoration of the ancient boundaries of Israel, and that this prophecy was confirmed by the event, cannot decide in favour of this assertion, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

How Subjects and Prelates are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 5.) Differently to be admonished are subjects and prelates: the former that subjection crush them not, the latter that superior place elate them not: the former that they fail not to fulfil what is commanded them, the latter that they command not more to be fulfilled than is just: the former that they submit humbly, the latter that they preside temperately. For this, which may be understood also figuratively, is said to the former, Children, obey your parents in the Lord: but to …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

A Sight of the Crowned Christ
(Revelation, Chapter i.) "Since mine eyes were fixed on Jesus, I've lost sight of all beside, So enchained my spirit's vision, Looking at the Crucified." "The Lord Christ passed my humble cot: I knew him, yet I knew him not; But as I oft had done before, I hurried through my narrow door To touch His garment's hem. "He drew me to a place apart From curious crowd and noisy mart; And as I sat there at His feet I caught the thrill of His heart-beat Beyond His garment's hem. "Rare was the bread He broke …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Appendix v. Rabbinic Theology and Literature
1. The Traditional Law. - The brief account given in vol. i. p. 100, of the character and authority claimed for the traditional law may here be supplemented by a chronological arrangement of the Halakhoth in the order of their supposed introduction or promulgation. In the first class, or Halakhoth of Moses from Sinai,' tradition enumerates fifty-five, [6370] which may be thus designated: religio-agrarian, four; [6371] ritual, including questions about clean and unclean,' twenty-three; [6372] concerning …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Of Love to God
I proceed to the second general branch of the text. The persons interested in this privilege. They are lovers of God. "All things work together for good, to them that love God." Despisers and haters of God have no lot or part in this privilege. It is children's bread, it belongs only to them that love God. Because love is the very heart and spirit of religion, I shall the more fully treat upon this; and for the further discussion of it, let us notice these five things concerning love to God. 1. The …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Covenanting Enforced by the Grant of Covenant Signs and Seals.
To declare emphatically that the people of God are a covenant people, various signs were in sovereignty vouchsafed. The lights in the firmament of heaven were appointed to be for signs, affording direction to the mariner, the husbandman, and others. Miracles wrought on memorable occasions, were constituted signs or tokens of God's universal government. The gracious grant of covenant signs was made in order to proclaim the truth of the existence of God's covenant with his people, to urge the performance …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting

An Advance Step in the Royal Programme
(Revelation, Chapters iv. and v.) "We are watching, we are waiting, For the bright prophetic day; When the shadows, weary shadows, From the world shall roll away. "We are watching, we are waiting, For the star that brings the day; When the night of sin shall vanish, And the shadows melt away. "We are watching, we are waiting, For the beauteous King of day; For the chiefest of ten thousand, For the Light, the Truth, the Way. "We are waiting for the morning, When the beauteous day is dawning, We are …
by S. D. Gordon—Quiet Talks on the Crowned Christ of Revelation

Brief Outline of Ancient Jewish Theological Literature
The arrangements of the synagogue, as hitherto described, combined in a remarkable manner fixedness of order with liberty of the individual. Alike the seasons and the time of public services, their order, the prayers to be offered, and the portions of the law to be read were fixed. On the other hand, between the eighteen "benedictions" said on ordinary days, and the seven repeated on the Sabbaths, free prayer might be inserted; the selection from the prophets, with which the public reading concluded--the …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Ezekiel
To a modern taste, Ezekiel does not appeal anything like so powerfully as Isaiah or Jeremiah. He has neither the majesty of the one nor the tenderness and passion of the other. There is much in him that is fantastic, and much that is ritualistic. His imaginations border sometimes on the grotesque and sometimes on the mechanical. Yet he is a historical figure of the first importance; it was very largely from him that Judaism received the ecclesiastical impulse by which for centuries it was powerfully …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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