Posted by
Steve Brown on Thursday, February 15, 2007 6:29:08 PM
In my last post I described the layout of the tribes camped around the tabernacle (Numbers ch 2) ; to the North -Dan, who would judge his people; to the South -Reuben, firstborn son who is judged for sin; to the East -Judah, a lion's whelp; and to the west -Ephraim, born in bondage and slavery.
Next we'll go to Ezekiel chapter 1. In verse 4 a storm comes out of the North. There is a great cloud, fire and a bright light. In the midst of this are figures resembling four living beings. Each has four faces. There are other characteristics listed, but the faces are what I'll focus on.
Verse 10 says each had the face of a man, the face of a lion on the right, a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. Since verse 4 tells us the beings came from the North, it's logical to assume Ezekiel faced North to look at them. If you face north like Ezekiel, East is to the right, West is to the left so we can know that the lion was to the East, The bull to the West.
If the face of the man faced South and the eagle North, Ezekiel would see the human face first and the face of the eagle last. Since that is the order they're mentioned in it doesn't seem like much of a stretch to believe that was how they were arranged.
A similar set of four creatures is seen in Revelation ch. 4 verse 7. The setting is heaven. The first creature is like a lion, the second like a calf, the third has the face of a man, the fourth is like a flying eagle. One difference is that where the beings in Ezekiel ch 1 have 4 wings each, the creatures in Rev ch 4 have 6 wings each.
Why the difference in wing count? In my opinion, the beings in Ezekiel aren't the creatures in Revelation. Why are they so similar? They're both designed to reflect attributes of God.
Jesus is our God; our judge and king. He came as a humble servant who bore our sins and judgement. A lion like the one to the East is a common symbol for a king, directly opposite is a bull. Bulls in agricultural societies were beasts of burden used for plowing and pulling heavy loads. Jer. 49:22 is an example of judgement coming as if on the wings of eagles. Opposite the eagle is a firstborn son who is judged.
Another interesting detail is in Ezek.1:12 "And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went" (NASB). I take this to mean that the lion, for instance was always facing to the East, the bull to the West etc. Though the being came from the North, it had all 4 characteristics at all times. God doesn't stop ruling to serve or judge.