LIFE-STUDY OF EZEKIEL
Message 6
EAGLE’S WINGS, MAN’S HANDS, AND CALF’S HOOVES
EAGLE’S WINGS, MAN’S HANDS, AND CALF’S HOOVES
WEEK 2 - SATURDAY
Scripture Reading: Exo 19:4; Psa 17:8b, 57:1b, 63:7, 91:4; Isa 40:31; Ezek 1:6b-9a, 11b; 1 Cor 1:31, 15:10; 2 Cor 1:12, 4:7, 12:9
Read and pray: “that, as it is written: He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.” (1 Cor 1:31)
The first chapter of Ezekiel contains many figures that compose a picture. Unless all of these are applied in a spiritual way, they will seem to make no sense.
Consider, for example, the four faces of the living creatures: the face of a man, the face of a lion, the face of a calf, and the face of an eagle. If we apply these things spiritually, they will be very meaningful.
In this message, we will consider the eagle’s wings, the human hands, and the calf’s hooves. The four faces are the expression of the living creatures, and the wings, the hands, and the hooves are related to the actions and the moving of the living creatures.
Speaking of the living creatures, Ezekiel 1:6 says, “Each had four faces, and each had four wings.” Certainly the wings are eagle’s wings, because among the creatures represented by the four faces, only the eagle has wings.
Verse 8 says, “Under their wings on their four sides were human hands.” On each side there was an eagle’s wing, and under the wing was a man’s hand.
Verse 7 speaks of the calf’s hooves: “Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the sole of a calf’s foot.” Of the creatures represented by the four faces, only one, the calf, has straight legs.
Man’s feet are not straight but are shaped like an “L.” A lion does not have feet but paws with claws. An eagle also has claws. Strictly speaking, verse 7 does not speak of ox’s feet but of calf’s feet, or hooves, which are straight.
If we want to understand the spiritual meaning of the eagle’s wings, the man’s hands, and the calf’s hooves, we need to remember the meaning of the blowing wind, the hovering cloud, and the consuming fire, searching, enlightening, and burning, out of which the shining electrum comes forth.
As we have pointed out, the experiences of all these things bring us to become the living creatures, expressing Christ and living His life in a corporate way.
THE EAGLE’S WINGS
We will now begin to consider the eagle’s wings.
They Signify the Strength of God Applied to Us
According to the pure Word, it is easy to see the spiritual meaning of the eagle’s wings, the man’s hand, and the calf’s feet. In the Bible, the wings of an eagle represent the strength of God applied to us.
In Exodus 19:4, God said to His people, “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” This verse speaks of the strength of God applied to His people.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” This also shows us that the strength of God applied to us is like the wings of an eagle.
In the New Testament, the eagle’s wings are the grace, the power, and the strength of God in Christ applied to us. Second Corinthians 4:7 says, “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.” This is the eagle’s wings.
In 1:12 Paul says, “For our boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience, that we conducted ourselves in the world in simplicity and sincerity of God, not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God, and more abundantly toward you.” Again, this is the eagle’s wings.
Furthermore, in 12:9a the Lord Jesus said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Because of this, in 12:9b Paul could say, “Most gladly therefore I will rather boast in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may tabernacle over me.”
In our experience of the Lord, the power of Christ can protect us, just as the eagle’s wings cover and protect. From these verses we can see that the eagle’s wings typify the strength and grace of the Lord Jesus applied to us.
In 1 Corinthians 15:10 Paul says, “By the grace of God I am what I am; and His grace toward me was not in vain, but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” This is the eagle’s wings.
Everything we do and everything we are should not be according to our own wisdom, strength, and ability, but by the grace, power, and strength of the Lord.
Therefore, as Paul says, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord” (1:31). We have no ground in ourselves to boast, nor in anything else, but only in the Lord. His power, strength, and grace are the eagle’s wings to us today.
In our Christian life we all should have four wings on the four sides, showing others that everything we are and everything we do is not by us and not of ourselves, but of God, so that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
For Covering and Moving
“Each of the four living creatures had four wings, two for covering and two for moving. Their wings were joined one to another” (Ezek. 1:9a). This joining is for moving. Later we will see that this moving is altogether a corporate matter.
The Bible reveals that the wings of an eagle are not only for power but also for protection. In Psalm 17:8, David asked God to hide him under the shadow of His wings. Psalm 57:1 speaks of making our refuge in the shadow of God’s wings, and 63:7 speaks of rejoicing in the shadow of His wings.
Psalm 91:4 says, “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge.” The grace, power, and strength of the Lord are both for moving and for covering us. On the one hand, the Lord’s grace is the power for us to move; on the other hand, the Lord’s power is our refuge, our hiding place.
We are under the covering of the grace and power of Christ, and we are under the covering of His power. Everything we do and everything we are should be by the grace of the Lord and the power of the Lord. At the same time, we are under the protection and covering of the grace and power of the Lord.
This indicates that, as Christians, children of God, we should have an element that causes others to be impressed with us. They should sense that something is covering and protecting us. They should realize that we are normal, yet there is something enabling us, strengthening us, protecting us, and covering us.
The front face of the four living creatures is the face of a man, but the body is that of an eagle. Two of their wings are stretched out to join the other living creatures, and two are around their body as a covering.
Thus, if you look at his face, he looks like a man, but if you look at his body, he looks like an eagle. He looks like a man, but he moves like an eagle. This indicates that we should always express ourselves as a normal man, for example, as a normal and proper husband, wife, father, and son.
But when others look at us and consider us, they should realize that there is something covering, strengthening, enabling, protecting, and keeping us. As a result, it should be difficult for others to describe us.
Those who work with such a person may say, “He can suffer things we cannot suffer, and he can bear a responsibility we cannot bear. He understands things more deeply than we do. What kind of person is he? How can he live in this way?”
The point here is that, with us as children of God, there should always be something mysterious. Although we suffer, we are happy and rejoice in the Lord because something is covering us. We have two wings for moving and two for covering and protecting us.
These wings that move and protect should give others an impression of the Divine Being. We have the four eagle’s wings, giving others the impression that we have God with us as our power and protection. This is the eagle.
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