Ezekiel 1 records the prophet’s first vision of God’s glory, given while he lived among the exiles by the river Chebar. The chapter describes living creatures, wheels, an expanse and a throne, and ends with Ezekiel falling on his face before the Lord. These questions suit a small group, a Sunday class or personal study, and each set comes with leader notes so you can move through the chapter without preparing a separate summary.
Ezekiel 1 at a Glance
The chapter moves outward from the creatures to the throne. Ezekiel first sees a storm and fire coming from the north, then the four living creatures with their faces and wings, then the wheels beside them, then the expanse above their heads. The climax is a figure seated on a throne, surrounded by brightness like a rainbow.
Ezekiel does not claim to see God directly. He describes “the likeness of the glory of the Lord,” which keeps the account honest about what the human eye can take in. Notice how the text repeats phrases like “the appearance of” and “as it were,” which show a prophet searching for words to describe something beyond ordinary language.
Observation Questions
Use these questions to slow the group down and make sure everyone has seen what the text actually says before anyone interprets it. Let people answer from the passage itself, and gently correct any detail that has been added from memory.
Ezekiel 1:1
Now 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.
(WEB)
This opening verse sets the time and place of the vision and tells us that the heavens were opened. Reading it first anchors the group in the exile and prepares them for an unusual encounter.
Ezekiel 1:4-5
4 I looked, and behold, a stormy wind came out of the north: a great cloud, with flashing lightning, and a brightness around it, and out of the middle of it as it were glowing metal, out of the middle of the fire. 5 Out of its center came the likeness of four living creatures. This was their appearance: They had the likeness of a man.
(WEB)
These verses introduce the storm and the living creatures, the central images of the chapter. Reading them aloud helps the group hear how the vision builds from weather to living beings.
Ezekiel 1:15-16
15 Now as I saw the living creatures, behold, there was one wheel on the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces of it. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their work was like a beryl. The four of them had one likeness. Their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel within a wheel.
(WEB)
The wheels appear here, and the phrase “a wheel within a wheel” is one of the most discussed images in the book. Reading it aloud lets the group picture the design together.
Ezekiel 1:20-21
20 Wherever the spirit was to go, they went. The spirit was to go there. The wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went. When those stood, these stood. When those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up beside them; for the spirit of the living creature was in the wheels.
(WEB)
These verses state that the spirit directs the creatures and the wheels. They are a good place to talk about how God’s guidance moves through creation, and they are worth a slow reading.
Ezekiel 1:28
As the appearance of the rainbow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness all around. This was the appearance of the likeness of the LORD’s glory. When I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of one that spoke.
(WEB)
This verse brings the vision to its climax, with the rainbow-like brightness and the prophet falling on his face. Ending the reading here gives the group space for silence and reflection.
Memory Verse for Ezekiel 1
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as Ezekiel did, far from the places we expect to find you and yet aware that your glory is not limited by distance or circumstance. Thank you for the vision of the living creatures, the wheels and the throne, which remind us that you govern all things with order and purpose. Teach us to move when your Spirit directs us and to wait when you are still. Make us quick to bow before your holiness and slow to rush ahead with our own plans. Speak to each person here as you spoke to Ezekiel, and give us courage to answer. Amen.
