Ezekiel 1:18
As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four. As for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful; and their rings were full of eyes round about them four.
The high rims of the living wheels were awe-inspiring and dreadful to behold, and they were full of eyes all around each of the four.
To finite sight their wheels within wheels looked intricate and confusing like complete entanglement, yet an infinitely wise hand beneath them moved and directed them until perfect order came out of apparent confusion.
The eyes in the rings show wakeful vigilance and unceasing ministry, that God sees and guides all workings in heaven and on earth.
The whole world and the events of human history remain under His control, with heaven closely joined to earth and myriads of glorified beings ready at His word to overrule evil and work for the good of His faithful people.
The advancement of His work belongs to Him and not to human management, so human agents must not try to control it themselves but stand at their post of duty and trust His providence and direction.
Vision's Imagery and Setting
The rings or rims of the living wheels were very high and dreadful, inspiring awe, and they were full of eyes round about them four. Their height and their covering of eyes all around belong to the appearance of the living wheels in the vision of God's glory. The high and dreadful rings full of eyes round about are the machinery of earth and heaven.
The living wheels belong beneath a cloudy heavenly chariot that rolls upward toward the New Jerusalem and the Holy City when the saints are taken up. As the chariot rises, the wheels cry "Holy," joining the wings and the angels in praising God. Wheels and wings together proclaim holiness as the glorious heavenly chariot ascends.
To the finite eye the wheels within wheels looked intricate and complicated, confusing and unexplainable, like complete entanglement. Their appearance seemed beyond human explanation and difficult to explain, yet infinite wisdom directs them. What looked like confusion to the finite eye is brought by heavenly direction and the Spirit of God into exact harmony and perfect order. The wheels and living creatures moved in exact harmony under that direction, showing God's power ruling above earthly rulers.
The wheels are complicated, complex machinery of earth and heaven with many faces, guided by the hand seen beneath the wheels and beneath the cherubim's wings. Every part of the machinery must be seen in relation to the Hand beneath the wheels, which brings perfect order from confusion. Their movement, even amid conflict among nations, shows the events of human history remaining under divine control.
God's Sovereign Direction
Amid the wheels a hand of infinite wisdom is revealed, and the Spirit of God moves and directs them so that perfect order is brought out of apparent confusion. What looked intricate, complicated and beyond human explanation is governed not by human beings but by God, with every wheel in its right place working in exact and complete harmony with every other part. The wheels and the living creatures moved in precise harmony under heavenly direction, showing that God's wisdom is at work within what appears complex and unexplainable. Each part does its specified work, yet with individual freedom of action.
The movement shows that the whole world remains under His control and that God's power rules above earthly rulers. Even amid conflict among nations the events of human history remain under divine control, guided by the hand beneath the cherubim's wings. Heaven is closely connected with events on earth, and the destiny of nations and the concerns of the church are in His charge because He cares for those who are loyal to Him. At His word myriads of glorified beings stand ready to overrule the power and policy of evil men and to bring good to His faithful ones. Eternal justice is at work in the world by a powerful influence not under man's control, working to counteract Satan's plans for the good of His faithful people.
While man fancies that he is directing matters, higher than human influences are at work. Those who do not know God cannot comprehend His movements. The rings full of eyes show wakeful vigilance and unceasing ministry of heavenly beings in connection with beings on earth, with different work enlisting the energies of different messengers. They mean that God sees and guides all workings in heaven and earth, including talents and inventive genius and the means of rapid traveling provided for the great day of preparation.
Trusting God's Management
The high and dreadful rings full of eyes belong to a vision in which wheels and living creatures look intricate and beyond human explanation, yet infinite wisdom directs them until every wheel stands in its right place in perfect harmony with every other. The advancement of the work belongs to the great I AM and rests under His providence and direction, because God and not human beings orders and governs His work. Each human worker is only an instrument in His hands, guided and girded by God even without knowing Him, while different heavenly messengers give their energies to different work in wakeful vigilance and unceasing ministry in connection with beings on earth.
Human agents must not seek after too much power and try to control and manage the work themselves, leaving God out of their methods and plans and failing to trust Him. God in providence is preparing a way so the work may be done by human agents, so every man must stand at his post of duty to act his part for this time and know that God is his instructor.
The first and second chapters of Ezekiel should be carefully studied by every one of God's workmen with humility and earnest prayer. What looks like confusion to the finite eye is machinery in which every part must be seen in relation to the Hand beneath the wheels, since a hand of infinite wisdom is revealed amid the wheels and brings perfect order out of the confusion. The many faces of the wheels represent that machinery in which every part works in its right place in perfect harmony with every other part.
The living and true God is a necessity everywhere, in harmony with the laws of nature. Explanations that replace His principles and providence with human claims produce confusion, and creation, providence, plagues, earthquakes and famines are not to be explained by mere law of nature and human science. The eyes round about show that God sees and guides all workings in heaven and earth, including talents and inventive genius and the means of rapid traveling provided for the great day of preparation.