FRAMEWORKS:
Ezekiel 10: God's
Glory Departs from the Temple
[Preliminary
Comment: Understanding this chapter is helped by reference
to v.15 that identifies ‘the four living creatures' with the ‘cherubim',
angels serving God. [see also note with 9:3,4] We have highlighted
the significance of this chapter in the Concluding Comment at
the end of the chapter.]
v.1,2
The Lord instructs the recorder to now become a destroyer
v.1
I
looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above
the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim.
v.2
The LORD said
to the man clothed in linen, “Go in among the wheels beneath the
cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim
and scatter them over the city.” And as I watched, he went in.
[Notes:
The
throne in the vision is revealed again, no doubt to emphasise
God's role as supreme ruler. He instructs the man previously noted
as a recorder [9:2] to take fire from the angels and scatter it
over Jerusalem, a destructive effect. Now the man has marked out
the faithful remnant, he has the role of applying the judgment.]
v.3-5
The move of the glory of God is reiterated [from 9:3]
v.3
Now the cherubim
were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went
in, and a cloud filled the inner court.
v.4
Then the glory
of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold
of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court
was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.
v.5
The
sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away
as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he
speaks.
[Notes:
The
glory of the Lord, already previously noted as having moved from
its proper place over the cherubim in the Most Holy Place of the
Temple, is stated again, as if to emphasise the move.]
v.6-8
The Cherubim give fire to the man
v.6
When
the LORD commanded the man in linen, “Take fire from among the
wheels, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside
a wheel.
v.7
Then one of
the cherubim reached out his hand to the fire that was among them.
He took up some of it and put it into the hands of the man in
linen, who took it and went out.
v.8
(Under the
wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.)
[Notes:
The
man receives the fire from the angel.]
v.9-22
The Description of the Creatures/Cherubim reiterated from chapter
1
v.9
I looked,
and I saw beside the cherubim four wheels, one beside each of
the cherubim; the wheels sparkled like topaz.
v.10
As for their
appearance, the four of them looked alike; each was like a wheel
intersecting a wheel.
v.11
As they moved,
they would go in any one of the four directions the cherubim faced;
the wheels did not turn about as the cherubim went. The cherubim
went in whatever direction the head faced, without turning as
they went.
v.12
Their entire
bodies, including their backs, their hands and their wings, were
completely full of eyes, as were their four wheels.
v.13
I heard the
wheels being called “the whirling wheels.”
v.14
Each of the
cherubim had four faces: One face was that of a cherub, the second
the face of a human being, the third the face of a lion, and the
fourth the face of an eagle.
v.15
Then the
cherubim rose upward. These were the living creatures
I had seen by the Kebar River.
v.16
When the cherubim
moved, the wheels beside them moved; and when the cherubim spread
their wings to rise from the ground, the wheels did not leave
their side.
v.17
When the cherubim
stood still, they also stood still; and when the cherubim rose,
they rose with them, because the spirit of the living creatures
was in them.
v.18
Then the glory
of the LORD departed from over the threshold of the temple and
stopped above the cherubim.
v.19
While I watched,
the cherubim spread their wings and rose from the ground, and
as they went, the wheels went with them. They stopped at the entrance
of the east gate of the LORD's house, and the glory of the God
of Israel was above them.
v.20
These were
the living creatures I had seen beneath the God of Israel by the
Kebar River, and I realized that they were cherubim.
v.21
Each had four
faces and four wings, and under their wings was what looked like
human hands.
v.22
Their faces
had the same appearance as those I had seen by the Kebar River.
Each one went straight ahead.
[Notes:
The
above verses echo those of the vision in chapter 1. The ‘four
living creatures' are now clearly described as representing cherubim.
The reader should remember the opening comments of chapter 1 that
what we have here is a vision
or prophecy seeking to convey to limited human minds the wonder
of spiritual realities.]
[Concluding
Note: Chapter
9 had presented the awful picture of God's glory starting to make
a move to leave the Temple, the dwelling place of God in the midst
of His people on earth and that is now reiterated strongly in
this chapter, emphasised by the vision first seen in chapter 1
of the divine presence with His accompanying angels. If the concept
of God's people being taken out of the Promised Land into exile,
wasn't bad enough, this picture of the departure of God's presence
from the midst of His people is even worse. It indicates that
no longer was He there in the Temple to receive the offerings
and sacrifices of the covenant people who now, it would appear,
have no recourse to Him, no way for their sins to be removed by
the sacrificial system, only now to be removed by judgment.]
Continue
to Chapter 11