Ezekiel 1:4 covers four main things: the wind, the cloud, the fire, and the electrum. The Bible is a book full of pictures revealing to us God and the spiritual things. Because God is Spirit, He is very abstract and mysterious. Without a picture, it would be rather difficult for us to understand God and spiritual things. The Bible uses many types, figures, and pictures to describe and portray to us the spiritual things. The book of Ezekiel is especially a book of pictures. The visions Ezekiel saw were absolutely related to God and to spiritual things. Through the figures and pictures, the invisible, spiritual things become visible to us. Chapter one of Ezekiel has many figures and pictures. Verse four alone covers four figures: the wind, the cloud, the fire, and the electrum. The picture in this one verse is better than a thousand words. Let us consider these figures in detail.
First of all, the wind came from the north. Why did the wind come from the north, and not from the south, or from the east, or from the west? The answer is in Psalm 75. There it says that the lifting up, the promotion, comes not from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south, but that God judges. What does this prove? This proves that God is at the north. Even in geographical terms the north is always up. North is not down; north is up. Of course, God is always up. When we are going north, we say we are going up. This means that when we are going north we are going to God. The wind from the north means that the wind came from God. God is the source of this wind. The dwelling place, the habitation of God, is the very source of all spiritual things. The wind came from the north, from the habitation of God.
The Hebrew word for wind is ruach. Ruach may be translated wind, breath, or spirit. In the King James Version, this same Hebrew word, ruach, is translated into all three of these words in Ezekiel 37. In verse 9 of that chapter, ruach is translated into wind; in verses 5, 6, 8, 9, and 10, ruach is translated into breath; and in verses 1 and 14, ruach is translated into Spirit. It is very difficult for the translators to decide whether in a certain verse it means the wind, the breath, or the spirit. The decision must be made according to the context. Ruach, which in 1:4 is translated into wind, is nothing less than the powerful Spirit. It is not just a wind, but a stormy wind.
On the day of Pentecost there was a rushing, mighty wind which filled the house where they were sitting (Acts 2:2). Then all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. No doubt the mighty, rushing wind is just the powerful Spirit. In John 3:8, the Lord Jesus said, "the wind blows..." Some versions point out in their footnote that this word wind is translated from the Greek word pneuma. The Hebrew word ruach is exactly the same as the Greek word pneuma. Pneuma is also translated into wind, breath, or spirit, depending on the context of the verse. Thus, what the Lord Jesus said may also be translated as "the Spirit blows..." In Ezekiel 1, the wind is a figure, a picture of the mighty Spirit of God. This is not a weak wind, but a strong, stormy wind.
All our spiritual experiences always start with a spiritual storm. Even when you were saved, there was a storm. Perhaps you were a student who was caring for nothing but studying, playing, and simply going to school. But one day a storm came to you. A stormy wind blew upon you and turned you upside down. This caused you to consider: "What is the meaning of human life? Where did I come from? Where shall I go?" This was the blowing of the stormy wind. Surely all the saved ones experienced a storm at their conversion. I can never forget the storm that I experienced. I was a young man under twenty years of age and full of ambition. I was studying hard in order to have a good future. But one day I listened to a gospel message and a stormy wind blew upon me and turned me upside down. Didn't you also have such a storm? Whether you are young or old, you all had such a storm. Not only at the time of our salvation, but also even after we were saved we had many storms. Some of the dear ones in the local churches were missionaries on the mission field or Christian workers. One day a storm came and turned everything upside down. This caused them to seek the Lord desperately and eventually to come into the local churches.
Not only at our conversion, but at every turn of our spiritual life a storm comes to us from the Lord. Praise the Lord! It is not bad—it is really grace to have a storm coming from God. Praise God! He is a God who gives us the storms. Many storms come to us from the north. I cannot tell you how many storms I have received. Every storm is worthwhile to recall. I do believe that when we are in eternity, we will recall the storms. The storms will be a pleasant remembrance to us. As we follow the Lord, many storms will come to us. Hallelujah! The stormy wind is just God Himself. He blows upon us to bring a storm into our life, into our work, and into our church.