Ezekiel and the Whirlwind

Ezekiel 1:3
3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

[came expressly unto Ezekiel] - Expressly cannot mean "only". It must mean something like "in very deed, or in reality to Ezekiel". We know this because Jeremiah was called the prophetic office at roughly the same time as Ezekiel was. Thus, "expressly" cannot mean that God spoke only to Ezekiel alone.

[the priest] Both Ezekiel and Jeremiah were priests called to the prophetic office. There were not many priests who are also Prophets in the Old Testament, but both Jeremiah and Ezekiel did so in this capacity because they also stood in the presence of God, a privilege reserve for the priest alone.

[the hand of the LORD was there upon him] An expression in prophecy used to denote the power or constraining influence of the Holy Spirit operating through men as they yield. There are pictures of God looking over the shoulder of men as they do various things with His hand on their shoulder. The use of imagery in many of these pictures goes a little further than I'm comfortable with, but in this instance it conveys the idea. It was God's "hand" that enabled Ezekiel to do all that he did.

As is usually the case with true servants of God, this is an important matter to get very clear at the very beginning of this great book. This is especially true as there are some very unusual things recorded in this book, unusual even for a prophetic book. Ezekiel wants us to be very clear that it was the hand of God that both enabled him and directed him in all that he did. This is speaking both of power and of wisdom.

Ezekiel 1:4
Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire..

As is usually the case there is much to observe in the simple description the "whirlwind" here in verse four:

[And I looked, and behold ...] What Ezekiel sees is a fivefold vision of the "whirlwind" or cloud:
1. A whirlwind came from the north
2. A great cloud
3. A fire infolding
4. Brightness was about the cloud
5. Out of the cloud and out of the fire came a color of amber

This recalls the traditions of the ark of the covenant (Ex. 25:10–22 ), especially within the context of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 8:6–8 ), and stands at the head of what came to be the later mystical merkavah (Hb. for “chariot”) tradition within Judaism

It is a stormy wind (Hb. ruakh se‘arah) and heralds the approach of the Lord, as in Job 38:1 and 40:6. Likewise, the north is associated with the divine abode (see Ps. 48:2 ), and in Jeremiah it indicates the source of divine judgment (Jer. 1:13–15). All of those are appropriate in this context.

The phrase as it is translates the Hebrew preposition ke-, “like,” which is used 18 times in this description; half of those are in Ezek. 1:24–28 . Clearly Ezekiel is groping for language to describe the vision.

The phrase [whirlwind] itself is interesting - Four whirlwinds in the Scripture:
1. Elijah taken to heaven in one ( 2Ki. 2:1, 11 )
2. The Lord answered Job out of one ( Job 38:1; 40:6 )
3. Ezekiel saw one ( Ezek. 1:4 )
4. The Lord will come to the earth in one ( Isa. 66:15 ; Zech. 9:14)

There are those who see this whirlwind as emblematic of God's judgments (Jer. 23:19; 25:32). The would interpret its' coming "out of the north" as meaning from Chaldea, whose hostile forces would invade Judea from a northerly direction. They picture the prophet as conceiving himself in the temple. fire infolding itself--laying hold on whatever surrounds it, drawing it to itself, and devouring it. But it seems much more likely that this is a vision of the coming of Israel's Lord to execute justice Himself. This is much more in keeping with the rest of the book and with the subsequent visions that Ezekiel sees.

There is a terrible and awesome beauty to this "side" of God isn't there? We are so wrapped up in the love of God in the mercy and patience of God, and rightly so! He reveals himself as a god has given chance after chance to those who are wayward and for those who wander.

But here we see a God Who is coming, in His "terrible beauty". It is an awesome majesty that is unfathomable even to one of his priests! Even Ezekiel cannot find the words to describe what he sees. And rightly so, for there are no words to adequately describe what he sees coming down from the north! This is God in all of his Holiness; all of his righteous beauty; all of his furious and thunderous magnificence.

He called Abraham out to serve Him in holiness and righteousness before the entire earth. Abraham's seed failed and failed roundly in that charge, bringing the judgment promised instead of the blessings promised. (Now, remember that not all Israel is Israel according to the NT...there are are many, many believers who are of the seed of Abraham by faith by grace through, not by physical lineage.)

The point here is that He is coming in all of His glory, but that glory is and awesome and fear-inspiring glory.

We've just come through a month when our southern central area had many tornados. Quite a number of them were captured on film and they were, in a word, simply awesome to behold. Earlier this year huge tidal waves wept through much of the eastern coastal area of Japan, doing terrible and extensive damage. The film of the wave surging inland was, likewise, awesome to behold.

But neither those, nor any other human or earthly condition can hold a candle to the arrival of the presence of God in His glory. Whether we are speaking of the "interim" occasions that are recorded (such as this one) of His final coming at the dissolution and reconciliation of all things. The ultimate coming of the Lord will be glorious beyond all imagining. That, surely, is a coming worth looking eagerly for!