Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in
the fifth of the month, as I was among the captives by the river
Chebar, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. In the
fifth of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's
captivity, The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the
priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river
Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.
The book of Ezekiel starts with the description of a great vision, which
the prophet had among the captives of the river Chebar. The first word
"now," which really means "and," connects the book with Jeremiah, as
Joshua is connected in the same way with Deuteronomy. The two statements
"I was" and "I saw" in the first verse make it clear that Ezekiel is the
author of this book. The third verse has been marked by the critics as
an addition by some person, who edited the book later. There is no
evidence for that. In describing his own person and descent, he no
longer uses the personal pronoun. When he describes the vision itself,
giving his experience, he resumes the "I"--"I looked." The "thirtieth
year" has often been taken as the age of Ezekiel and upon this a
parallel has been drawn between Ezekiel and our Lord. As Ezekiel was
thirty years old and saw heaven open at the banks of a river, so, it is
taught, the Lord Jesus was thirty years of age, when He saw heaven open
at His baptism in Jordan (Matt. iii:16; Luke iii:21). There is nothing
in the text to warrant this application. The thirtieth year must be
reckoned according to the Babylonian era, beginning with Nabopolassar,
father of Nebuchadnezzar, who became King of Babylon 625 B. C. This was
the date when Hilkiah found the book of the law in the eighteenth year
of King Josiah. This was the thirtieth year before the fifth year of the
captivity.
Four things are mentioned by Ezekiel in the introduction of his book. 1.
The Heavens were opened. 2. He saw visions of God. 3. The Word of the
Lord came upon him. 4. The hand of the Lord was upon him. The opened
heavens are not mentioned elsewhere in the Old Testament. Ezekiel, the
priest, is the only prophet of whom it is said that he saw the heavens
opened. Four times this phrase is found in the New Testament. In Matthew
iii:16 heaven was opened at the Baptism of our Lord. In John i:51 the
Lord speaks of the heavens opened and the manifestation of angels, which
is still future and refers to His Coming in power and glory. In
Revelations iv:1 a door was opened in heaven and John heard the words
"Come up hither"; it is symbolical of the time, when the true church is
taken into the presence of the Lord. The last time opened heavens are
mentioned is in Revelations xix:11. It will be when our Lord comes as
King of kings and Lord of lords.
The opened heavens brought for Ezekiel visions of God and the Word of
the Jehovah. Not visions of Jehovah and the Word of God. He saw the
visions of God in His governmental dealings with Israel, but the
commission to him is the commission of Jehovah, the name which denotes
the closer covenant relationship with His people. The vision of opened
heavens in the New Testament sense was not given to Ezekiel. New
Testament believers behold heaven opened and have a vision. In the
language of the Scriptures, "We see Jesus, who was made a little lower
than the angels, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and
honor, that He by the grace of God should taste death of every man"
(Heb. ii:9). Our vision in the opened heavens is the glorified Son of
Man, in whom we are saved and seated in the Heavenlies, in Whom we are
accepted and Whose glory we shall share. And when the Word of Jehovah
came to him, calling the priest to the prophetic office, the hand of the
Lord came also upon him. Opened heavens, visions, direct call and
enablement by the power of God. Such is still the order for God's
servants. And after the great vision is passed, the seer is upon his
face (verse 28). Then Jehovah lifts him up and the Spirit entered into
him (ii:2).
The phrase "the hand of the Lord was upon him" or "came upon me" is
found exactly seven times in the Book of Ezekiel i:3; iii:14 and 22;
viii:1; xxxiii:22; xxxvii:1 and xl:1.