1. HOPE AMIDST DARKNESS Sunday June 25

a. Under what mournful circumstances was the prophet Ezekiel given his first vision? Ezekiel 1:1–3. “This vision [of the wheels within the wheels] was given to Ezekiel at a time when his mind was filled with gloomy forebodings. He saw the land of his fathers lying desolate. The city that was once full of people was no longer inhabited. The voice of mirth and the song of praise were no more heard within her walls. The prophet himself was a stranger in a strange land, where boundless ambition and savage cruelty reigned supreme. That which he saw and heard of human tyranny and wrong distressed his soul, and he mourned bitterly day and night.” –Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 752. b. Describe what Ezekiel saw. Ezekiel 1:4–7. What factor in Ezekiel’s vision had special significance in the days of the prophet, and what does it mean in our days? Ezekiel 1:8. “While nations have rejected God’s principles, and in this rejection have wrought their own ruin, yet a divine, overruling purpose has manifestly been at work throughout the ages. It was this that the prophet Ezekiel saw in the wonderful representation given him during his exile in the land of the Chaldeans, when before his astonished gaze were portrayed the symbols that revealed an overruling Power that has to do with the affairs of earthly rulers.”–Prophets and Kings, p. 535.“The wheellike complications that appeared to the prophet to be involved in such confusion were under the guidance of an infinite hand. The Spirit of God, revealed to him as moving and directing these wheels, brought harmony out of confusion; so the whole world was under His control. Myriads of glorified beings were ready at His word to overrule the power and policy of evil men, and bring good to His faithful ones.”–Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 752.“In Ezekiel’s vision God had His hand beneath the wings of the cherubim. This is to teach His servants that it is divine power that gives them success. He will work with them if they will put away iniquity and become pure in heart and life.”–Ibid., p. 754.

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2. WORDS OF COMFORT Monday June 26

a. What realization of the psalmist parallels Ezekiel’s vision and why should it echo in our hearts? Psalm 121:1–4. “He who slumbers not, who is continually at work for the accomplishment of His designs, can carry forward His great work harmoniously. That which appears to finite minds entangled and complicated, the Lord’s hand can keep in perfect order. He can devise ways and means to thwart the purposes of wicked men, and He will bring to confusion the counsels of them that plot mischief against His people.”–Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 754. b. What assurance does God extend to us in seeking to promote His cause on the earth? Matthew 28:20; Romans 8:31. “We permit ourselves to feel altogether too much care, trouble, and perplexity in the Lord’s work. We need to trust Him, believe in Him, and go forward. The tireless vigilance of the heavenly messengers, their unceasing employment in their ministry in connection with the beings of earth, show us how God’s hand is guiding the wheel within a wheel. The divine Instructor is saying to every actor in His work, as He said to Cyrus of old, ‘I girded thee, though thou hast not known me.’”–The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 4, p. 1161.

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3. DIVINE GUIDANCE AND EFFICIENCY Tuesday June 27

a. Of what should the hand beneath the wheels in Ezekiel’s vision remind us? Jeremiah 32:27. “God is acquainted with every man. Could our eyes be opened we would see that eternal justice is at work in our world. A powerful influence, not under man’s control, is working. Man may fancy that he is directing matters, but there are higher than human influences at work. The servants of God know that He is working to counteract Satan’s plans. Those who know not God cannot comprehend His movements. There is at work a wheel within a wheel. Apparently the complication of machinery is so intricate that man can see only a complete entanglement. But the divine hand, as seen by the prophet Ezekiel, is placed upon the wheels, and every part moves in complete harmony, each doing its specified work, yet with individual freedom of action.”–The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 4, p. 1161. b. Describe the creatures which Ezekiel saw, and explain the significance of their appearance as a flash of lightning. Ezekiel 1:9–14; Hebrews 1:7. “The bright light going among the living creatures with the swiftness of lightning represents the speed with which this work will finally go forward to completion.”–Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 754.

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4. THE WHEEL WITHIN A WHEEL Wednesday June 28

a. How is efficiency depicted in Ezekiel’s vision? Ezekiel 1:15–21. “The striking feature of divine operations is the accomplishment of the greatest work that can be done in our world by very simple means. It is God’s plan that every part of His government shall depend on every other part, the whole as a wheel within a wheel, working with entire harmony. He moves upon human forces, causing His Spirit to touch invisible chords, and the vibration rings to the extremity of the universe.”–Evangelism, p. 93. b. How else is this principle described? Zechariah 4:10. “God often uses the simplest means to accomplish the greatest results. It is His plan that every part of His work shall depend on every other part, as a wheel within a wheel, all acting in harmony. The humblest worker, moved by the Holy Spirit, will touch invisible chords, whose vibrations will ring to the ends of the earth, and make melody through eternal ages.”–The Desire of Ages, pp. 822, 823.

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5. THE RAINBOW OF PROMISE Thursday June 29

a. What else did Ezekiel see and hear in this vision? Ezekiel 1:22–25. Describe the most glorious aspect of the scene, and explain how it can encourage us today. Ezekiel 1:26, 27. “We are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Prophecy is fast fulfilling. . . . Those who are making an effort to change the Constitution and secure a law enforcing Sunday observance little realize what will be the result. A crisis is just upon us.“But God’s servants are not to trust to themselves in this great emergency. In the visions given to Isaiah, to Ezekiel, and to John we see how closely heaven is connected with the events taking place upon the earth and how great is the care of God for those who are loyal to Him. The world is not without a ruler. The program of coming events is in the hands of the Lord. The Majesty of heaven has the destiny of nations, as well as the concerns of His church, in His own charge.“We permit ourselves to feel altogether too much care, trouble, and perplexity in the Lord’s work. Finite men are not left to carry the burden of responsibility. We need to trust in God, believe in Him, and go forward.”–Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 753, 754. b. What scene did Ezekiel finally behold, and how did he respond? Ezekiel 1:28. “There were wheels within wheels in an arrangement so complicated that at first sight they appeared to Ezekiel to be all in confusion. But when they moved, it was with beautiful exactness and in perfect harmony. Heavenly beings were impelling these wheels, and, above all, upon the glorious sapphire throne, was the Eternal One; while round about the throne was the encircling rainbow, emblem of grace and love. Overpowered by the terrible glory of the scene, Ezekiel fell upon his face, when a voice bade him arise and hear the word of the Lord. Then there was given him a message of warning for Israel.”–Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 751.“A rainbow is represented in Heaven round about the throne, also above the head of Christ, as a symbol of God’s mercy encompassing the earth. When man by his great wickedness provokes the wrath of God, Christ, man’s intercessor, pleads for him, and points to the rainbow in the cloud, as evidence of God’s great mercy and compassion for erring man; also the rainbow above the throne and upon His head, emblematical of the glory and mercy from God resting there for the benefit of repentant man.”–The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, p. 78.

REVIEW AND THOUGHT QUESTIONS Friday June 30

1. How did God give hope at an especially dark hour in Israel’s history? 2. What is meant by the hand supporting the wheels? 3. How does the lightning-swift pace shown in vision apply today? 4. What is the “wheel within a wheel” to represent to us today? 5. How does Ezekiel chapter 1 close with a message of hope for us?