September 10th, 2022

We again have it that the Old Testament text for this Sunday is a significant distance from the book’s beginning, and this time it may be helpful for several reasons to look at those first few verses of that book. This week’s text is from the prophet Ezekiel [34:11-24], and the text gives a picture of the LORD being a good shepherd and seeking after his lost sheep.

What follows is a somewhat-literal translation of the first ten verses from the book of Ezekiel, and here we have a significant picture of the LORD that has had significant ramifications through many centuries (and you may wish to read the text in other translations and also see the corresponding notes that are in study bibles; you may also wish to delve into some commentaries):

And it was, in thirty year, in the fourth, on the five, to the month, and I, in midst of the exile, by river of Kebar, they were opened, the heavens, and I saw sights of God.

On five to the month, it, the year, the fifth, to exile of the king, Jehoiachin. To be, it was, word of Yahweh, to Ezekiel, son of Buzi, the priest, in land of Chaldeans, by river of Kebar, and it was, upon him, there, hand of Yahweh.

And I saw, and behold, wind of storm, coming from the north, great cloud and fire, taking hold of itself, and brightness to it, round and from the midst of it, like appearance of the glowing metal, from midst of the fire.

And from midst of it, form of four living creatures, and this, their sights, form of man to them. And four faces to one, and four wings to one, to them. And their feet, straight foot, and sole of their feet, like sole of calf leg, and ones gleaming, like eye of burnished bronze. And his hand, man, from under their wings, on four of their sides, and their faces and their wings, to four of them. Touching each to its other, their wings, they did not turn, as they went, each to ahead, his face, they went.

And form of their faces, face of man, and face of lion to the right, to four of them, and face of ox from the left, to four of them, and face of eagle, to four of them.

These words could have been translated in many ways. And much more could have been translated. The end of the chapter (verse 28) describes this as the form of the LORD’s glory (literally ‘heaviness’) and has Ezekiel falling on his face. And, as always, much could be said about just a few words from such a special text. Ezekiel is, after all, one of the major prophets, and this is a major appearance of Yahweh. The importance of this appearance is emphasized right at the very end of the first sentence.

The importance of words of Yahweh coming to Ezekiel is also important. (Within the second section of the text it says, ‘To be, it was’, and this is a Hebrew way to say something with some emphasis. In other words, the word of the LORD certainly was there, and it certainly came to Ezekiel that day. Such a structure is rare.) What follows is not something that Ezekiel made up.

Much has been written about these four living creatures that are identified in the last section of the text above, and this is the first time in scripture that they are specifically mentioned. And it will be difficult to treat the topic adequately.

At this point in time, the direction this writing will go is to connect those living creatures to the four gospel accounts. This has been done for many centuries and in many ways. Unfortunately, many people think that this is an artificial connection and not an important topic. Perhaps a closer look at the order of all the appearances of the living creatures may help bring some clarity and be a benefit.

Since this is the first time these living creatures are given in detail, it should not be surprising that they are given in the order which connects to the normal order of the four gospel accounts of the New Testament. These connections have been the most common throughout history, and here are the four creatures that were mentioned above and their corresponding accounts:

 Man and Matthew, lion and Mark, ox and Luke, eagle and John

What causes the most trouble is that, when these creatures are mentioned elsewhere, they are in different orders. They are mentioned again in Ezekiel 10:14 and Revelation 4:7 in the following orders:
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Cherub, man, lion, eagle

Lion, calf, man, eagle

Are there different creatures listed? In essence, no. A calf is very similar to an ox [See A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition, Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 2000; page 660]. But a cherub is significantly different. One possible reason for putting the word ‘cherub’ instead of ‘ox’ is because the ox often appears first in other biblical lists when human possessions are listed. This is something significantly different from a list of a person’s possessions, and the word ‘cherub’ is a good reminder of that. To simplify things, here are the two orders with two slight changes made:

Ox, man, lion, eagle

Lion, ox, man, eagle

The reason for the changes in the order that was in the first chapter of Ezekiel is not meant to make a different connection to a different gospel account. These creatures have different tasks in the other texts and therefore appear in a different order.

In the Ezekiel 10 passage, the context of their listing is that the glory is leaving the temple (see Ezekiel 10:18), and this glory would leave the temple when Jesus would come. After all, he did have a close relationship with the temple. And the order of the accounts that would leave the temple would be when they were written.

If the four accounts would be thought of as basically being written at the same time, since they all focused on Jesus, which one would ‘lead the way’ for the glory of Yahweh leaving the temple? The accounts that have genealogies would have already been written down in other places long before Jesus was born, and this could signify a way of departure. And the two gospel accounts that have genealogies are the Gospel according to Matthew and the Gospel according to Luke. And the latter one has the more ancient genealogy since it goes all the way back to Adam (see Luke 3:38). So, in this way, the connections to the gospel accounts are, therefore, the following:

Ox and Luke, man and Matthew, lion and Mark, eagle and John

The unusual order of the living creatures in the book of Revelation becomes important in Revelation 6 when the seals are broken for the book. These are broken when each one of the four living creatures says the word ‘Come.’ Each living creature is, of course, different, and what comes as a result of the calling is also different. What comes as a result of the calling are four different types of horses that cause a particular kind of trouble in the world. If the four living creatures are connected to the four gospel accounts, then these accounts seem to have the resources to answer those four evils that the four horses bring with them.

Rather than connecting those creatures to the evils, to be brief, it seems that the four gospel accounts must have been authorized by some type of authority before they were distributed. And those gospel accounts which were written by secretaries would have been authorized before those that were written by disciples of Jesus. And the two secretaries were Mark and Luke. So, in this way, they were allowed to say ‘Come’ first. And the connection to the gospel accounts in this case is as follows:

Lion and Mark, ox and Luke, man and Matthew, eagle and John

As was said above, many people have dismissed the connections between the four living creatures and the four gospel accounts. And it certainly can be confusing. Another thing that did not help to make the same connections between living creatures and gospel accounts is that when connections are made from the living creature to the BEGINNING of the gospel account. Those connections, although they may be true, do not necessarily continue through the rest of the account. Connections throughout the accounts may be made when looking for the historical presents within each account. But that subject must be saved for another time.

The beginning of the book of Ezekiel was about the sights of God. And these became the sights of Ezekiel. And he passed them on to others. The gifts that are given through these sights are not entirely obvious. If they were, then power would probably have to accompany them, and many people would probably be scared away. Ezekiel also hinted words to be more important than power. And words usually come in a gentle way. And when the LORD of heaven and earth wishes to draw closer to his people, his sheep, he will often use simple words.

When we read these four gospel accounts, we usually do not fall on our faces. But these accounts do show the LORD’s glory, his weight and significance, and all of his ramifications on humanity. And by using his simple words, they come in a very gentle way. And when they come to you in four slightly different ways, they are even more helpful.