Ezekiel 10:1 - Meaning and Application

To help us feel holy awe and reverence before God, we should notice this part of the prophet’s vision. It gives us a glimpse of the unseen world, with only faint signs of its brightness and beauty. These are only shadows, and they can never equal the reality, but they are enough to make us bow in reverence if we let them shape our minds.

First, God appears in glory above the cherubim, that is, the mighty angelic beings who attend his throne (Ezekiel 10:1). He shows his glory in the highest realm, where purity and splendor are complete. The wide expanse of the sky points to his greatness and reminds us that he is above all things. He is above the cherubim not only in honor, but also in rule, because even they are subject to him and to Christ.

He is also seen on a throne, or something like a throne, because human language cannot fully describe his rule. The throne looked like sapphire stone, clear and sparkling, and it shows that God’s heavenly throne is far greater than any earthly king’s. His government is perfect, and nothing on earth can compare with it.

God is attended by a glorious company of holy angels. When the Lord came into his temple, the cherubim stood on the right side of the house, like a royal guard waiting at the palace gate (Ezekiel 10:3). Christ has angels at his command, and they are all called to worship him. Some think they stood on the south side because the image of jealousy and other idols were on the north side, and they kept as far from idolatry as possible.

The glory of God is partly hidden by a cloud, but it also shines out in dazzling brightness. In the house and inner court there was cloud and darkness, yet the court was also filled with the brightness of the Lord’s glory (Ezekiel 10:3, 10:4). His righteousness is clear, like high mountains, and it fills the court. But his judgments are deep and hidden, and we cannot fully understand them.

The brightness is enough to awaken our consciences and guide us, but the cloud keeps us from trying to satisfy our curiosity. We cannot see through everything God does, nor can we fully explain his ways. This is how he is with us now, though one day in the heavenly temple there will be no cloud, and we will see him face to face.

The cherubim made a terrible sound with their wings (Ezekiel 10:5). Their wings moved with a noise like musical strings, or like the sound made by birds and insects in flight. This likely showed that they were preparing to move, as they stretched out and lifted their wings. The sound was like the voice of God himself, like thunder, or like the voice heard at Mount Sinai (Psalm 29:3).

That sound reached even the outer court, the court of the people. So God’s judgments make themselves heard in the city, even by those who do not see the visions. This vision is not only meant to show God’s greatness. It also gives orders for Jerusalem’s destruction.

Great destruction often comes by fire and sword. In the last chapter, orders were given for the slaughter of Jerusalem’s people. Here the city itself is to be burned, by coals of fire taken from between the cherubim. The glory of the Lord rises from the cherub and stands on the threshold of the house, just as courts of judgment were held at the city gates. Since the people would not hear God’s words from his temple, they must now hear their sentence there.

The man clothed in linen, the one who had marked those who were to be spared, is now used in this work. The same Jesus who protects and saves believers, and to whom all judgment has been given, will also come in flaming fire to punish those who do not obey the gospel. The one on the throne calls him to go among the wheels, fill his hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city.

This shows, first, that the burning of the city and temple by the Chaldeans was a settled judgment, carried out according to God’s plan. Second, it shows that the fire of divine wrath is holy and just, because it is taken from between the cherubim. The fire on God’s altar, where atonement was made, had been treated lightly, so fire is now taken from heaven to avenge that sin, just as Nadab and Abihu were killed for offering strange fire. If any city, town, or house is burned, whether by design or by accident, we should remember that the first cause lies with God, because no such evil happens apart from his rule.

This also shows that Jesus Christ acts by the Father’s command, since he receives authority to carry out judgment as the Son of man. Christ came to bring fire on the earth (Luke 12:49), and in the last day he will turn this world to ashes. By fire from his hand, the earth and everything in it will be burned up.

The man clothed in linen, likely an angelic messenger, carried out this task at once. Even though linen clothes were not suited for handling burning coals, he answered, “I am ready,” and obeyed the command he had received from the Father. The prophet saw him go in, as noted in Ezekiel 10:2. He went in and stood beside the wheels, waiting to receive the coals he was to scatter.

He had to receive what he was to give, whether for mercy or for judgment. He was told to take fire, but he waited until it was given to him. This shows how slow the Lord is to carry out judgment, and how patient he is toward us.

One of the cherubim, the heavenly beings around God’s throne, reached out a handful of fire from among the living creatures. When Ezekiel first saw this vision, he had already noticed burning coals and lamps moving among the living creatures (Ezekiel 1:13). Here the fire is taken from that same place, in Ezekiel 10:7. The spirit of burning, the refining fire by which Christ purifies his church, comes from God himself. It is by this heavenly fire that great works are done.

The cherubim put the fire into his hand, showing that the angels are ready to serve the Lord Jesus and carry out all his purposes. When he had taken the fire, he went out, no doubt to scatter it over the city, as he had been commanded. Who can endure the day when he comes? Who can stand before him when he goes out in anger?