The commentary on Ezekiel 10 describes a vision of God's glory departing from the temple, with the prophet observing a throne resembling sapphire above the cherubim. It emphasizes the majesty and dominion of God over celestial beings, and the judgments to befall Jerusalem as symbolized by coals of fire scattered over the city. This vision signifies the removal of God's presence from the temple and highlights the themes of divine judgment and the awe of God's holiness.

1. EZEKIEL 10 COMMENTARY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
God’s Glory Departs From the Temple
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.
BARNES, "As in Ezek. 1, the vision of the glory of the Lord, the particulars given
identifying the two visions.
CLARKE, "As it were a sapphire stone - See the note on Eze_1:22-26 (note).
The chariot, here mentioned by the prophet, was precisely the same as that which he saw
at the river Chebar, as himself tells us, Eze_1:15, of which see the description in Ezekiel
1.
GILL, "Then I looked, and, behold,.... After the vision of the destruction of the
greater part of the inhabitants of Jerusalem by the six men with slaughter weapons, and
of the preservation of a few by the man clothed with linen; another vision is seen by the
prophet, in some things like to that he saw, of which there is an account in the first
chapter; though in some circumstances different, and exhibited with a different view;
partly to represent the destruction of Jerusalem by fire, and partly the Lord's removal
from it, before or at that time:
in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim; the same with the
living creatures, Eze_1:22; where the firmament or expanse of heaven is said to be over
their heads, as here; See Gill on Eze_1:22,
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2. there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of
the likeness of a throne; See Gill on Eze_1:26.
HENRY 1-2, “
To inspire us with a holy awe and dread of God, and to fill us with his fear, we may
observe, in this part of the vision which the prophet had,
I. The glorious appearance of his majesty. Something of the invisible world is here in
the visible, some faint representations of its brightness and beauty, some shadows, but
such as are no more to be compared with the truth and substance than a picture with the
life; yet here is enough to oblige us all to the utmost reverence in our thoughts of God
and approaches to him, if we will but admit the impressions this discovery of him will
make. 1. He is here in the firmament above the head of the cherubim, Eze_10:1. He
manifests his glory in the upper world, where purity and brightness are both in
perfection; and the vast expanse of the firmament aims to speak the God that dwells
there infinite. It is the firmament of his power and of his prospect too; for thence he
beholds all the children of men. The divine nature infinitely transcends the angelic
nature, and God is above the head of the cherubim, in respect not only of his dignity
above them, but of his dominion over them. Cherubim have great power, and wisdom,
and influence, but they are all subject to God and Christ. 2. He is here upon the throne,
or that which had the appearance of the likeness of a throne (for God's glory and
government infinitely transcend all the brightest ideas our minds can either form or
receive concerning them); and it was as it were a sapphire-stone, pure and sparkling;
such a throne has God prepared in the heavens, far exceeding the thrones of any earthly
potentates. 3. He is here attended with a glorious train of holy angels. When God came
into his temple the cherubim stood on the right side of the house (Eze_10:3), as the
prince's life-guard, attending the gate of his palace. Christ has angels at command. The
orders given to all the angels of God are, to worship him. Some observe that they stood
on the right side of the house, that is, the south side, because on the north side the image
of jealousy was, and other instances of idolatry, from which they would place themselves
at as great a distance as might be. 4. The appearance of his glory is veiled with a cloud,
and yet out of that cloud darts forth a dazzling lustre; in the house and inner court there
was a cloud and darkness, which filled them, and yet either the outer court, or the same
court after some time, was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory, Eze_10:3, Eze_
10:4. There was a darting forth of light and brightness; but if any over curious eye pried
into it, it would find itself lost in a cloud. His righteousness is conspicuous as the great
mountains, and the brightness of it fills the court; but his judgements are a great deep,
which we cannot fathom, a cloud which we cannot see through. The brightness discovers
enough to awe and direct our consciences, but the cloud forbids us to expect the
gratifying of our curiosity; for we cannot order our speech by reasons of darkness. Thus
(Hab_3:4) he had rays coming out of his hand, and yet there was the hiding of his
power. Nothing is more clear than that God is, nothing more dark than what he is. God
covers himself with light, and yet, as to us, makes darkness his pavilion. God took
possession of the tabernacle and the temple in a cloud, which was always the symbol of
his presence. In the temple above there will be no cloud, but we shall see face to face. 5.
The cherubim, made a dreadful sound with their wings, Eze_10:5. The vibration of
them, as of the strings of musical instruments, made a curious melody; bees, and other
winged insects, make a noise with their wings. Probably this intimated their preparing to
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3. remove, by stretching forth and lifting up their wings, which made this noise as it were
to give warning of it. This noise is said to be as the voice of the almighty God when he
speaks, as the thunder, which is called the voice of the Lord (Psa_29:3), or as the voice
of the Lord when he spoke to Israel on Mount Sinai; and therefore he then gave the law
with abundance of terror, to signify with what terror he would reckon for the violation of
it, which he was now about to do. This noise of their wings was heard even to the outer
court, the court of the people; for the Lord's voice, in his judgements, cries in the city,
which those may hear that do not, as Ezekiel, see the visions of them.
JAMISON, "Eze_10:1-22. Vision of coals of fire scattered over the city: Repetition of
the vision of the cherubim.
The throne of Jehovah appearing in the midst of the judgments implies that whatever
intermediate agencies be employed, He controls them, and that the whole flows as a
necessary consequence from His essential holiness (Eze_1:22, Eze_1:26).
cherubim — in Eze_1:5, called “living creatures.” The repetition of the vision implies
that the judgments are approaching nearer and nearer. These two visions of Deity were
granted in the beginning of Ezekiel’s career, to qualify him for witnessing to God’s glory
amidst his God-forgetting people and to stamp truth on his announcements; also to
signify the removal of God’s manifestation from the visible temple (Eze_10:18) for a long
period (Eze_43:2). The feature (Eze_10:12) mentioned as to the cherubim that they
were “full of eyes,” though omitted in the former vision, is not a difference, but a more
specific detail observed by Ezekiel now on closer inspection. Also, here, there is no
rainbow (the symbol of mercy after the flood of wrath) as in the former; for here
judgment is the prominent thought, though the marking of the remnant in Eze_9:4,
Eze_9:6 shows that there was mercy in the background. The cherubim, perhaps,
represent redeemed humanity combining in and with itself the highest forms of
subordinate creaturely life (compare Rom_8:20). Therefore they are associated with the
twenty-four elders and are distinguished from the angels (Rev_5:1-14). They stand on
the mercy seat of the ark, and on that ground become the habitation of God from which
His glory is to shine upon the world. The different forms symbolize the different phases
of the Church. So the quadriform Gospel, in which the incarnate Savior has lodged the
revelation of Himself in a fourfold aspect, and from which His glory shines on the
Christian world, answers to the emblematic throne from which He shone on the Jewish
Church.
K&D 1-8, “The angel scatters coals of fire over Jerusalem. - Eze_10:1. And I saw, and
behold upon the firmament, which was above the cherubim, it was like sapphire-stone,
to look at as the likeness of a throne; He appeared above them. Eze_10:2. And He spake
to the man clothed in white linen, and said: Come between the wheels below the
cherubim, and fill thy hollow hands with fire-coals from between the cherubim, and
scatter them over the city: and he came before my eyes. Eze_10:3. And the cherubim
stood to the right of the house when the man came, and the cloud filled the inner court.
Eze_10:4. And the glory of Jehovah had lifted itself up from the cherubim to the
threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of
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4. the splendour of the glory of Jehovah. Eze_10:5. And the noise of the wings of the
cherubim was heard to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when He
speaketh. Eze_10:6. And it came to pass, when He commanded the man clothed in
white linen, and said, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim,
and he came and stood by the side of the wheel, Eze_10:7. That the cherub stretched out
his hand between the cherubim to the fire, which was between the cherubim, and lifted
(some) off and gave it into the hands of the man clothed in white linen. And he took it,
and went out. Eze_10:8. And there appeared by the cherubim the likeness of a man's
hand under their wings. - Eze_10:1 introduces the description of the second act of the
judgment. According to Eze_9:3, Jehovah had come down from His throne above the
cherubim to the threshold of the temple to issue His orders thence for the judgment
upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and according to Eze_10:4 He goes thither once
more. Consequently He had resumed His seat above the cherubim in the meantime. This
is expressed in Eze_10:1, not indeed in so many words, but indirectly or by implication.
Ezekiel sees the theophany; and on the firmament above the cherubim, like sapphire-
stone to look at, he beholds the likeness of a throne on which Jehovah appeared. To
avoid giving too great prominence in this appearance of Jehovah to the bodily or human
form, Ezekiel does not speak even here of the form of Jehovah, but simply of His throne,
which he describes in the same manner as in Eze_1:26. ‫ל‬ ֶ‫א‬ stands for ‫ל‬ַ‫ע‬ according to
the later usage of the language. It will never do to take ‫ל‬ ֶ‫א‬ in its literal sense, as Kliefoth
does, and render the words: “Ezekiel saw it move away to the firmament;” for the object
to ‫ה‬ ֶ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ָא‬‫ו‬ ‫ֵה‬‫נּ‬ ִ‫ה‬ ְ‫ו‬ is not ‫ָה‬ ‫ה‬ְ‫י‬ or ‫ד‬ ‫ב‬ ְ‫כּ‬ , but the form of the throne sparkling in sapphire-
stone; and this throne had not separated itself from the firmament above the cherubim,
but Jehovah, or the glory of Jehovah, according to Eze_9:3, had risen up from the
cherubim, and moved away to the temple threshold. The ְ‫כּ‬ before ‫ה‬ ֵ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַ‫מ‬ is not to be
erased, as Hitzig proposes after the lxx, on the ground that it is not found in Eze_1:26; it
is quite appropriate here. For the words do not affirm that Ezekiel saw the likeness of a
throne like sapphire-stone; but that he saw something like sapphire-stone, like the
appearance of the form of a throne. Ezekiel does not see Jehovah, or the glory of
Jehovah, move away to the firmament, and then return to the throne. He simply sees
once more the resemblance of a throne upon the firmament, and the Lord appearing
thereon. The latter is indicated in ‫ה‬ ָ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ִ‫נ‬ ‫ם‬ ֶ‫יה‬ֵ‫ֲל‬‫ע‬. These words are not to be taken in
connection with '‫ה‬ ֵ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ ַ‫מ‬ ְ‫כּ‬ ‫,וגו‬ so as to form one sentence; but have been very properly
separated by the athnach under ‫א‬ ֵ‫סּ‬ ִ‫,כּ‬ and treated as an independent assertion. The
subject to ‫ה‬ ָ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ִ‫נ‬ might, indeed, be ‫מוּת‬ ְ‫דּ‬ ‫א‬ ֵ‫סּ‬ ִ‫,כּ‬ “the likeness of a throne appeared above
the cherubim;” but in that case the words would form a pure tautology, as the fact of the
throne becoming visible has already been mentioned in the preceding clause. The subject
must therefore be Jehovah, as in the case of ‫ר‬ ֶ‫ַיּאמ‬ in Eze_10:2, where there can be no
doubt on the matter. Jehovah has resumed His throne, not “for the purpose of removing
to a distance, because the courts of the temple have been defiled by dead bodies”
(Hitzig), but because the object for which He left it has been attained.
He now commands the man clothed in white linen to go in between the wheels under
the cherubim, and fill his hands with fire-coals from thence, and scatter them over the
city (Jerusalem). This he did, so that Ezekiel could see it. According to this, it appears as
if Jehovah had issued the command from His throne; but if we compare what follows, it
is evident from Eze_10:4 that the glory of Jehovah had risen up again from the throne,
4

5. and removed to the threshold of the temple, and that it was not till after the man in
white linen had scattered the coals over the city that it left the threshold of the temple,
and ascended once more up to the throne above the cherubim, so as to forsake the
temple (Eze_10:18.). Consequently we can only understand Eze_10:2-7 as implying that
Jehovah issued the command in Eze_10:2, not from His throne, but from the threshold
of the temple, and that He had therefore returned to the threshold of the temple for this
purpose, and for the very same reason as in Eze_9:3. The possibility of interpreting the
verses in this way is apparent from the fact that Eze_10:2 contains a summary of the
whole of the contents of this section, and that Eze_10:3-7 simply furnish more minute
explanations, or contain circumstantial clauses, which throw light upon the whole affair.
This is obvious in the case of Eze_10:3, from the form of the clause; and in Eze_10:4 and
Eze_10:5, from the fact that in Eze_10:6 and Eze_10:7 the command (Eze_10:2) is
resumed, and the execution of it, which was already indicated in ‫ֹא‬‫ָב‬‫יּ‬ַ‫ו‬ ‫ַי‬‫נ‬‫י‬ֵ‫ע‬ ְ‫ל‬ (Eze_10:2),
more minutely described and carried forward in the closing words of the seventh verse,
‫ח‬ ַ‫קּ‬ִ‫ַיּ‬‫ו‬ . ‫ַל‬‫גּ‬ ְ‫ַל‬‫גּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ in Eze_10:2 signifies the whirl or rotatory motion, i.e., the wheel-work, or
the four ōphannim under the cherubim regarded as moving. The angel was to go in
between these, and take coals out of the fire there, and scatter them over the city. “In the
fire of God, the fire of His wrath, will kindle the fire for consuming the city” (Kliefoth).
To depict the scene more clearly, Ezekiel observes in Eze_10:3, that at this moment the
cherubim were standing to the right of the house, i.e., on the south or rather south-east
of the temple house, on the south of the altar of burnt-offering. According to the Hebrew
usage the right side as the southern side, and the prophet was in the inner court,
whither, according to Eze_8:16, the divine glory had taken him; and, according to Eze_
9:2, the seven angels had gone to the front of the altar, to receive the commands of the
Lord. Consequently we have to picture to ourselves the cherubim as appearing in the
neighbourhood of the altar, and then taking up their position to the south thereof, when
the Lord returned to the threshold of the temple. The reason for stating this is not to be
sought, as Calvin supposes, in the desire to show “that the way was opened fore the angel
to go straight to God, and that the cherubim were standing there ready, as it were, to
contribute their labour.” The position in which the cherubim appeared is more probably
given with prospective reference to the account which follows in Eze_10:9-22 of the
departure of the glory of the Lord from the temple. As an indication of the significance of
this act to Israel, the glory which issued from this manifestation of divine doxa is
described in Eze_10:3-5. The cloud, as the earthly vehicle of the divine doxa, filled the
inner court; and when the glory of the Lord stood upon the threshold, it filled the temple
also, while the court became full of the splendour of the divine glory. That is to say, the
brilliancy of the divine nature shone through the cloud, so that the court and the temple
were lighted by the shining of the light-cloud. The brilliant splendour is a symbol of the
light of the divine grace. The wings of the cherubim rustled, and at the movement of God
(Eze_1:24) were audible even in the outer court.
After this picture of the glorious manifestation of the divine doxa, the fetching of the
fire-coals from the space between the wheels under the cherubim is more closely
described in Eze_10:6 and Eze_10:7. One of the cherub's hands took the coals out of the
fire, and put them into the hands of the man clothed in white linen. To this a
supplementary remark is added in Eze_10:8, to the effect that the figure of a hand was
visible by the side of the cherubim under their wings. The word ‫א‬ֵ‫ֵצ‬‫יּ‬ַ‫ו‬, “and he went out,”
indicates that the man clothed in white linen scattered the coals over the city, to set it on
fire and consume it.
5

6. CALVIN, “Here the Prophet relates another vision which has a great likeness to the
first which he related to us in the first chapter, but it has another object, as we shall
soon see. Since we discussed the chief members of the vision in the first chapter, I
shall now therefore be shorter. I shall only glance at what I formerly said, and at the
same time point out any difference. But before we descend to that, God’s design in
this vision must be understood. God wished to bear witness to the Jews that he had
nothing further in common with them, because he intended to leave the temple, and
then to consume the whole city with burning. But lest this threat should be
unheeded by the Jews, God’s majesty was placed before them so fearfully that it
might strike even the obstinate with fear. Now I come to the words. He says, that he
saw again over the heads of the cherubim a throne, whose color was like sapphire
Instead of living creatures he now puts cherubim, and there is no doubt that those
living creatures of which he formerly spoke were cherubim. But because the vision
occurs in the temple, God begins familiarly to explain to his servant what was
previously too obscure. For he had seen the four living creatures near the river
Chebar, namely, in a profane country. When therefore the Jews and Israelites were
absent as exiles far from the temple, it is no wonder that God did not appear so
clearly to his Prophet as he now does when brought into the temple. For although
the Prophet has not changed his place, yet he does not seem to have been transferred
to Jerusalem in vain, and to behold what was done in the temple. This is the reason
why he now calls those cherubim which he had before called simply living creatures.
But we have explained why four cherubim were seen, while only two were in the
sanctuary, namely, because the Jews were almost buried in gross ignorance. They
had long ago departed from the pursuit of sincere piety, and the light of celestial
doctrine had been almost extinct among them. Since, therefore, the ignorance of the
people was so gross, something rude must be put before them, or otherwise they
could not understand what they ought to learn.
Now it is by no means doubtful that God obliquely wishes to reprove that base
ignorance, because it was not his fault that they did not perceive in the law and the
temple whatever was useful to be known for their salvation. When, therefore, God
changes this legal form, there is no doubt he shows how degenerate the people was,
just as if he had transfigured himself. But we must also remember what I then said,
that four cherubim were offered to the Prophet that God might show that he
embraced the whole world under his own dominion. We saw a little while ago, that
the Jews, While they thought themselves already without God’s care, being
thoroughly callous, were so blind that they supposed at the same time that God
6

7. exercised no care over the world. In vain, therefore, in their perverse imaginations
they shut up God in heaven; he shows that he rules the whole universe, and that
nothing moves except by his secret power. Since then four cherubim are put instead
of two, it is just as if God showed that he reigned throughout the four quarters of
the globe, and that his power is extended in all directions, and hence that it was the
height of impiety for the Jews to imagine that he had deserted the earth Thirdly, we
must remark what has also been said before, that the cherubim had four heads, that
God might show that angelic motions flourish in all creatures. But I shall repeat this
last comment in its proper place. I now only touch it shortly.
We must now see why the Prophet says, there was a throne whose color was like
sapphire, and the throne itself was above the four cherubim: because in truth God
has his angels at hand to obey him: hence they are placed under his feet, that we
may know that they are not independent, but are so subject to God that they always
depend upon his nod, and are borne wherever he commands them. This is the
reason why they were placed under the expanse where God’s throne was As far as
the expanse is concerned, it is the noun which Moses uses in relating the creation of
the world. (Genesis 1:6.) The Greeks translated it by στερεωμα but badly: the
Latins imitated them when they used the expression “firmament:” but it is taken for
the heavens, and for the whole space between us and heaven, and yet it is above the
world. God shows his throne above the expanse of heaven, not without himself, lest
the Prophet should conceive anything earthly. For we know how inclined men’s
minds are to their own fictions. But when God is mentioned, we cannot conceive
anything aright unless we raise all our senses above the whole world. God,
therefore, to raise up the mind of his Prophet, and to show himself at hand that the
Prophet may reverently attend to the oracles, and then that he may regard the
heavenly glory of God with becoming humility, interposed the expansion between
his throne and the earth. It follows —
COFFMAN, “Verse 1
BURNING OF JERUSALEM; AND WITHDRAWAL OF GOD'S PRESENCE
Here we have a continuation of the major theme of Ezekiel 8-11, which particularly
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8. deals with the final departure of the presence of God from the apostate capitol of the
Once Chosen people. Ezekiel 10:1-8 prophesy the burning of Jerusalem; and Ezekiel
9:9-22 show preparations for the withdrawal of God's presence, his final departure
being revealed in the next chapter.
GOD'S COMMAND TO BURN THE CITY
Ezekiel 10:1-4
"Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was over the head of the
cherubim there appeared above them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance
of the likeness of a throne. And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go
in between the whirling wheels, even under the cherub, and fill both thy hands with
coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter them over the city. And he
went in in my sight. Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house, when the
man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. And the glory of Jehovah
mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the
house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Jehovah's
glory."
"Coals of fire ... scatter them over the city ..." (Ezekiel 10:2). This sentence of
Jerusalem's destruction took place in the Temple itself, "Thus making it manifest
that the judgment is in vindication of the affronted holiness of God, caused by the
sins of Israel against his covenant."[1]
"And he spake ..." (Ezekiel 10:2). The speaker here is the person enthroned,
namely, God.
The fire spoken of in this passage is far different from the fire of the altar. "That
fire spoke of God's grace (Leviticus 6:12,13); here it speaks of the destruction of the
wicked."[2]
8

9. Pearson noted that in Ezekiel 10:2 a singular noun is used to describe the whole
complex of whirling wheels, etc., supporting the sapphire throne.[3] This indicates
that the entire apparatus had the utility of standing as a representation of the
presence and glory of the Almighty.
"The glory of Jehovah mounted up from the cherub ..." (4). Cook used the past
perfect tense here. "'The glory of the Lord had gone up from the cherub to the
threshold of the house,' to describe what had happened before the man went in (v.
3)."[4] This description runs through verse 6.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:1 Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above
the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as
the appearance of the likeness of a throne.
Ver. 1. Then I looked, and behold in the firmament.] Heb, In that expanse or
firmament mentioned, Ezekiel 1:22.
That was above the head of the cherubims.] Called before "living creatures."
[Ezekiel 1:5; Ezekiel 1:13-15; Ezekiel 1:19] Now God is represented as in his temple,
where things are more clearly descried and described. [Psalms 29:9] In his temple
doth every one speak of his glory. Cherubims the angels are called, from the
greatness of their knowledge, saith Jerome, as God’s Rabbis; or rather, because the
Lord rideth upon them [Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1] as upon his chariot. [1
Chronicles 28:18] Here they are said to be under the firmament and near the throne
to execute God’s commands with expedition. It is not therefore as those miscreants
said, [Ezekiel 9:9] The Lord hath forsaken the earth.
There appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone,] i.e., Jehovah in his glory.
As the appearance.] It was but as, and as the appearance: we cannot see God as he
9

10. is. Some have seen Mercabah velo harocheb, say the Hebrews, the chariot, but not
the rider therein.
WHEDON, “ 1. “Behold… as it were a sapphire stone, with the appearance of the
likeness of a throne upon it” (LXX.). The glory of the Lord has returned from the
threshold of the house (Ezekiel 9:3) and the prophet now sees it above the cherubim.
If we follow the Septuagint it is not the color of the throne which is described as
sapphire, but of the foundation, “the firmament” upon which rests the throne; and
this agrees with Exodus 24:10, and Revelation 21:19. It is a very curious fact,
pointed out by Delitzsch, that the ancients lacked color perception. No ancient
language contains the word sky-blue. It was not until the Middle Ages that even the
poets seem to have noticed that the sky was blue. The Hebrews alone seem to have
discovered this and have expressed the thought beautifully with the help of the
sapphire — which is the more precious the deeper the blue. “Sapphire blue is the
blue of the heaven; blue is the color of the atmosphere illumined by the sun, through
which shine the dark depths of space; the color of the finite pervaded by the infinite;
the color taken by that which is most heavenly as it comes down on the earthly, the
color of the covenant between God and men. And blue passes almost universally as
the color of fidelity… In biblical symbolism there is associated with blue the idea of
the blue sky and with the blue sky the idea of the Godhead coming forth from its
mysterious dwelling in the unseen world and graciously condescending to the
creature.” — Franz Delitzsch, Iris.
PARKER, “ Concerning the Cherubims
Ezekiel 10
This chapter is a varied representation of the vision disclosed in the first chapter;
including, indeed, two new points, but still practically being the first vision as
contemplated from another point of view. The two chapters may be regarded as in a
sense binocular: looking through both of them we seem to see the real vision, so far
as human sense can apprehend it. What is this variety of the same vision but a
repetition of what occurs constantly in human life? Is it not always the same things
that we look at? Are there in reality two things to be observed? Is it the object that
10

11. changes, or the point of view? Is it the revelation or the atmosphere that undergoes
modification? Is the landscape the same on cloudy days as in the full tide of summer
sunshine? Yet the land abides; the trees, the towns, the gardens, the rivers are all
the same, yet not the same by reason of the varying light which plays upon them,
giving distinctness and shadow, new accent and proportion, according to a
mysterious operation not yet fully comprehended. It is the same with theology, or
with theologies! thoughts, such as God, Prayer of Manasseh , Salvation, Destiny:
there is a central quantity which abides the same and unchangeable, and yet in all
practical effect that central quantity seems to be continually changing; what we
have to accept is the doctrine that it is not the central quantity that changes, but the
conditions, the atmospheric density, the degree of light, and innumerable other
circumstances which constitute the medium through which all our observations are
taken. What is today but a repetition cf yesterday? To-day has of course brought its
own light, its own temperature, its own immediate appeals; yet the two days are not
dissimilar, they are indeed continuous; in very truth they are the same day, though
we have divided them with a black line which we call night What is this summer but
a repetition of the summer of last year? Yet this summer has its own flowers and
fruits, its own birds, its own aspect of glory; still there is but one summer in all
time,—a day of warmth and beauty and tenderness, a day of revelation and mystery
and fructification, a day which seems to shadow forth somewhat of the brightness
and meaning of eternity. So with all beauty, so with all childhood, so with
everything that grows. The difference is in the external, not in the internal; in the
outward and visible leaf, not in the inward and invisible root. This is the very glory
of providence; in it there is no monotony or mere repetition or tediousness; the
providential sovereignty abides, but all the events through which it expresses itself
continually change their light, their shadow, their agony, their tragedy. He therefore
who studies providence studies a book that is always the same, yet never the same.
The student of providence never wearies. He sees differences that are minute, but
being microscopic are not the less important. We lose much by studying only great
broad lines of historical movement: he is the truest historian who can lead us to see
the finest lines of human thought, purpose, and action, and who afterwards can
combine these into massive philosophies and laws.
Ezekiel saw a "sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne." So in
all the world"s tumult, revolution, and tempestuous politics and wars, we ought to
be able to see over and above the whole the outline of a throne. The meaning is that
the misrule, the fury, the rush of elements, is far below the point of sovereignty, and
is under the continual vigilance and rule of a supreme Power. "Thy throne, O God,
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12. is for ever and ever." So early as the Book of Exodus we were made aware of a
rulership enthroned in glory: "They saw the God of Israel: and there was under his
feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in
his clearness." Yet the prophet is very careful in his statement, not speaking as one
who had seen the fulness of the glory or the vastness of the magnitude of the throne;
he speaks of "the appearance of the likeness of a throne,"—that is to say, it was an
outline, a shadow, a hint, something projected by an object infinitely greater than
itself, a shadow that might have come down from infinite heights. It is thus that we
see God in nature, in providence, and in all human life—"No man hath seen God at
any time; the only begotten Song of Solomon , which is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him"; "And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth." It is given to the spiritually minded to see
these outlines of sovereignty. Not always do they come upon the vision as distinct
images, but the events themselves are actually shaped as into the outline of a throne;
the events are from one point of view sundered and scattered and unrelated, yet as
time elapses they are brought together by an invisible hand, and set up in expressive
unity, so clearly indeed that the only image which will represent their new relation is
the image of a throne filled with majesty. Blessed be God, this throne is not always
to be a distant and dazzling object; there is a way by which men may share the glory
and security of that throne—"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in
my throne, even as I also overcame, and am sat down with my Father in his throne."
Are we not all called to rulership? Are not the saints to judge the world? Is not all
our toil, if rightly accepted and sanctified, to end in glory, honour, and immortality?
These are questions which should cheer the heart amid all the rush of events, the
turmoil of history, the tempest and fury of revolution.
In the second verse we have one new point varying the chapter from the opening
vision:—
"And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels,
even under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the
cherubims, and scatter them over the city." ( Ezekiel 10:2)
A wonderful thing it is that fire burns and does not burn! Here is a man clothed
with linen who goes in between the wheels, and fills his very hand with coals of fire:
they do not burn him; he handles them with impunity; and yet when he scatters
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13. them over the city the whole metropolis burns to destruction. The elements are one
thing in the hand of their Creator, and another when thrown in an act of judgment
upon creation. The gospel is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death;
fire either becomes a summer to warm, or a conflagration to destroy; fire is either
servant or master—as servant, a friend; as master, a destroyer. It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God.
In the twelfth verse we read concerning the cherubims that "their whole body, and
their backs, and their hands, and their wings, and the wheels, were full of eyes
round about, even the wheels that they four had." Here is an image of vigilance.
God has been called "All eye." This is the terrible pain of living, that there is no
privacy, no solitude, no possibility of a man getting absolutely with himself and by
himself. Wherever we are we are in public. We can indeed exclude the vulgar
public, the common herd, the thoughtless multitude; a plain deal door can shut out
that kind of world: but what can shut out the beings who do the will of Heaven, and
who are full of eyes, their very chariot wheels being luminous with eyes, everything
round about them looking at us critically, penetratingly, judicially? We live
unwisely when we suppose that we are not being superintended, observed, criticised,
and judged. "Thou God seest me"; "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout
the whole earth." What Ezekiel saw in vision John also saw: "In the midst of the
throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and
behind.... And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him; and they were
full of eyes within." All this must be taken as symbolic of vigilance and criticism. We
need not regard this aspect of divine providence as alarming. The aspect will be to
us what we are to it. Faithful servants are encouraged by the remembrance of the
fact that the taskmaster"s eye is upon them; unfaithful servants will regard the
action of that eye as a judgment. Thus God is to us what we are to God. If we are
humble, he is gracious; if we are froward, he is haughty; if we are sinful, he is
angry; if we are prayerful, he is condescending and sympathetic. Let the wicked
man tremble when he hears that the whole horizon is starred with gleaming eyes
that are looking him through and through; but let the good man rejoice that all
heaven is one eye looking upon him with complacency, watching all his action that it
may come to joy, reward, rest, and higher power of service in the generations yet to
dawn. Whilst on the one hand we have an image of vigilance, we have in the
fourteenth verse an image of manifoldness: "Every one had four faces: the first face
was the face of a cherub, and the second face was the face of a Prayer of Manasseh ,
and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle."
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14. We have read that one face was like the face of an ox. It has been suggested that in
the Syriac tongue the word "cherub" is derived from a word which signifies
drawing the plough, which was considered the proper work of the ox. All these,
however, may be but fanciful interpretations. The great doctrine is that the
providence of God is manifold, and the ministry of God is also manifold, and that
his Church should not have one aspect but many, looking in all directions, typifying
all states of life and emotion, and providing for all the varying necessities of life and
time and progress. The first face was that of a cherub, expressive of knowledge,
Wisdom of Solomon , largeness of mind, omniscience; the second face was the face
of a Prayer of Manasseh , expressive of brotherhood, sympathy, relationship, so that
the face could be approached, and all the powers and elements which it typified
could be implored, reasoned with, appealed to; the third was the face of a lion,
expressive of courage, determination, aggressiveness, strength; the fourth was the
face of an eagle, expressive of loftiness, fearlessness, enterprise, holy ambition. This
is to be the image of the Church. It is to know, to sympathise, to express strength,
and to represent invincible determination and magnificent enterprise.
Now the prophet realises the vision in its inter-relations:—
"When the cherubims went, the wheels went by them: and when the cherubims
lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same wheels also turned not
from beside them. When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these
lifted up themselves also: for the spirit of the living creature was in them" ( Ezekiel
10:16-17).
The inspiration was common; all forces, actions, ministries, are after all in the hands
of one sovereign. If the universe is an infinite machine, part is related to part with
infinite skill, and the weight of the whole is as nothing, because of the ease with
which the entire body moves: we have the action of wheels, representing
smoothness; the action of wings, representing swiftness; combined action,
representing unity; and the whole moving with such regularity, spontaneity, and
completeness as to represent a living creature. Wheels move, wings fly, place is
changed, yet it is possible amid all this mutability to realise the blessedness of
permanence. The living creature is greater than the machine which he moves; that
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15. living creature we do not see, but we are sure of his presence because of the action
which is patent to our vision.
The second new point is in the abandonment of the temple, related in Ezekiel
10:18-19 :—
"Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood
over the cherubims. And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up from
the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also were beside them, and
every one stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord"s house; and the glory of the
God of Israel was over them above."
A fearful picture is this when looked at in the light of its spiritual significance. The
sun may be darkened, the moon may be turned into blood, the stable earth may be
shaken and blown about like a withered leaf: say not tomorrow shall be as this day
and more abundant, because we hold all our privileges conditionally; the very glory
of the Lord may be ashamed of the Lord"s house, and may flee from it as from a
polluted body. The cherubim do not rest with us because of our being necessary to
their happiness; they only abide with us because of the good we are willing to
receive from them: we do not honour God; God honours us. When did the Lord so
communicate himself to any being as to deprive himself of any part of his
sovereignty? God has not given anything that he cannot take away again. The gifts
and calling of God are undoubtedly without repentance, so long as we receive and
appropriate them with willing hands and grateful hearts; but he will not suffer his
gifts to die with our death, or to remain with us when we have forsaken him, merely
for the sake of preserving his literal word. Understand clearly, deeply, and once for
all, that God only gives us life that we may live; he only gives us honour that we may
reflect it, and use it for the good of others; he only causes his light to abide with us
so long as it can be made useful to our own education and to the assistance and
comfort of others. When the Church is unfaithful, God will abandon her altars. No
matter how glorious the house we have built for him, if our lives be not more
glorious still we may write "Ichabod" upon the temple doors, for the Lord hath fled
away from us. No man can guarantee the continuity of his own genius. We have no
unchangeable hold on our own life; what we have we have conditionally, we hold as
trustees, and only as we are faithful can we rely upon the continued custody of the
divinest blessings. Genius may fade, riches may flee, health may decay, and all
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16. outward things may become to us as the image of so many reproaches and rebukes,
and even life itself may wither and die. This power of withdrawal on the part of God
is a power we may not have sufficiently considered. We awake in the morning and
expect to find everything as it was yesterday, when, lo! God may have visited us in
the night-time, and taken away from us everything that made life a blessing and a
hope. God never does this arbitrarily; when this is done there is a great moral
reason below it and behind it: God acts by certain well-declared and unchangeable
laws, every one of which we can read for ourselves; and we well know that
obedience leads to blessedness, and disobedience leads to unrest and self-contempt.
How unwilling is God to withdraw from his house! How loath he is to lift himself up
from any mind that he may abandon that mind to its own devices, which hasten it
swiftly to destruction! God lingers with us, communes with us, intercedes with us,
asks us, Why will ye die? How good he Isaiah , and tender; how patient and
longsuffering! What is the meaning of all this? Can our poor life be of consequence
to him? Yes; he holds every one of us as of great value. He has made nothing that is
insignificant; he looks upon each life as necessary to the completeness of his
kingdom, and the fulness of his music. When one of us goes astray the Lord comes
after the lost one with a shepherd"s tender care. Hear the word of the Lord—so
grand, so pathetic, so tearful: "Turn ye, turn ye! why will ye die?" "As I live, saith
the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." On the other hand,
remember this solemn word, that the glory of the Lord may lift up itself and flee
away, and leave poor human, sinful, impenitent life to enter into the mystery of
judgment and penalty.
PETT, “Introduction
Chapter 10. Yahweh Leaves The Temple Environs.
We have already seen that Yahweh has deserted the sanctuary for the threshold of
the temple, while judgment was carried out on those within it. Now He will desert
the temple completely. He will no longer have any part in it. When Nebuchadnezzar
comes to capture Jerusalem it will not be Yahweh’s city or Yahweh’s temple, but an
empty shell.
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17. Verse 1
‘Then I looked and behold, on the flat plate that was over the head of the cherubim
there appeared above them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the
likeness of a throne.’
Here we are carried right back again to the first vision in chapter 1. The flat level
plain of the colour of awesome ice borne by the cherubim, and the glorious,
sparkling blue likeness to a throne above (Ezekiel 1:22; Ezekiel 1:26). But this time
it is at Jerusalem. This is the first mention of the chariot since chapter 3, unless we
take Ezekiel 8:4 as such a reference. We are probably intended to see that it has
arrived to take Yahweh away. Here the living creatures are identified as cherubim
for the first time. Until now Ezekiel has not wanted to suggest that Yahweh’s
permanent earthly throne was no longer in the temple.
PULPIT, “Ezekiel 10:1, Ezekiel 10:2
Then I looked, etc. There follows on the work of judgment another theophany, like
that of Ezekiel 1:15-28. In the "expanse," or firmament, like the "terrible crystal,"
there is seen as before the likeness of a sapphire throne (see Ezekiel 1:26, note). The
form of the man who is the manifestation of Jehovah is implied, though not named.
It is he who speaks to the captain of the six ministers of vengeance, himself the
seventh, and bids him go in beneath the "whirling wheels" that are beneath the
cherub (collective singular, as in Ezekiel 9:9), and fill his hands with coals of fire
(Ezekiel 1:13), and scatter them over the city, as the symbol of its doom. We are
reminded of Isaiah's vision (Isaiah 6:6); but there the work of the fire was to purify,
here simply to destroy.
2 The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, “Go
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18. 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.
BARNES, "He spake - The person enthroned.
The cherub - The particular cherub who was to hand the coals to destroy Psa_120:4;
Isa_10:16; Rev_15:8.
CLARKE, "Coals of fire - These were to signify the burning of the city by the
Chaldeans. It seems that the space between the four wheels, which was all on fire, was
that from which those coals were taken.
GILL, "And he spake unto the man clothed with linen,.... That is, the God of
Israel, or the glory of the Lord, that sat upon the throne before described; he gave orders
to the man clothed in linen, who appears in another character, and represents the
Chaldean or Roman army:
and said, go in between the wheels, even under the cherub; the singular for the
plural, the "cherubim"; the wheels were under these; the churches are under their
ministers, their pastors, guides, and governors; or rather, since the wheels were by the
cherubim, it should be rendered, as by some, "unto the cherub", or "cherubim" (a):
and fill thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter
them over the city; these "coals of fire" were an emblem of the wrath of God against
Jerusalem, and of the destruction of it by fire; and these being fetched from between the
cherubim, show that the cause of this wrath and ruin was the ill treatment of the
prophets of the Lord; see 2Ch_36:15; as the destruction of the same city afterwards by
the Romans was owing, as to the rejection and killing of the Messiah, so to the
prosecution of his apostles, 1Th_2:15;
and he went in my sight; in the sight of the prophet, as it appeared to him in vision
he saw him go in, as he was ordered, between the wheels, and under the cherubim; but
as yet he did not see him take the coals of fire, and much less scatter them; these were
18

19. afterwards done, as related in the other part of the vision.
JAMISON, "he — Jehovah; He who sat on the “throne.”
the man — the Messenger of mercy becoming the Messenger of judgment (see on
Eze_9:2). Human agents of destruction shall fulfil the will of “the Man,” who is Lord of
men.
wheels — Hebrew, galgal, implying quick revolution; so the impetuous onset of the
foe (compare Eze_23:24; Eze_26:10); whereas “ophan,” in Eze_1:15, Eze_1:16 implies
mere revolution.
coals of fire — the wrath of God about to burn the city, as His sword had previously
slain its guilty inhabitants. This “fire,” how different from the fire on the altar never
going out (Lev_6:12, Lev_6:13), whereby, in type, peace was made with God! Compare
Isa_33:12, Isa_33:14. It is therefore not taken from the altar of reconciliation, but from
between the wheels of the cherubim, representing the providence of God, whereby, and
not by chance, judgment is to fall.
CALVIN, “Now the end of the vision is related, which I just touched upon, since
God determined utterly to destroy the city; but this is described by a visible and
external symbol. God therefore is said to have commanded the wan who was clad in
linen garments to fill his hands with coals, and to scatter them, on the city, namely,
that he might cause a general burning. Here, indeed, God’s name is not expressed,
but shortly afterwards the Prophet more clearly relates what he here touches so
briefly and so obscurely. It is evident that the person seated on the throne is here
spoken of, and we may collect from the context, that this command cannot be
referred to any but to God. But we must observe, that the angel commanded to
mark the elect now assumes a new character. And hence we collect that the angels
were so the ministers of God’s favor toward the faithful, that at the same time,
whenever they were commanded, they executed his vengeance; as a steward placed
over a large family, not only sustains the office of providing for the family, in
supplying it with food and clothing, but in chastising those who conduct themselves
sinfully and wickedly. Such, therefore, is the duty of God’s angels. When God
wishes to brand sinners with double shame, he often delivers them up to the devil as
his executioner, and when we are delivered into the devil’s hand, this is a sign of
extreme vengeance. But God by his angels often exercises judgment against the
reprobate, as examples everywhere occur; but that is peculiarly remarkable, when
the angel slew so many thousands in the army of Sennacherib, that he raised the
siege by which the Assyrians oppressed Jerusalem. (2 Kings 19:35; Isaiah 37:36.)
The same thing is now delivered by the Prophet. We saw the angel clad in the linen
garments become the protector of the faithful, to preserve them from all injury. But
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20. now he is sent to scatter coals through the whole city, to consume the stones and the
wood, as well as the men.
These things seem to be contrary to each other, but we show that there is nothing
absurd in it, if God imposes a double character on his angels. He said, therefore, to
the man who was clothed, enter within the wheel under the cherub Here there is a
change of number, because the singular number cherub is put for cherubim. But I
remarked before that this is usual, and God proposed nothing else than to mark the
place where the fiery coals were taken which burnt up the city. The altar was never
without fire; for it was not lawful to use any kind of fire, since in this way the
sacrifices were contaminated. (Leviticus 6:12.) But that perpetual fire, which God
wished to burn upon the altar, regarded reconciliation to himself; for sins were
expiated by sacrifices, and therefore the fire on the altar was as it were the people’s
life. But now God signifies that he had a hidden fire within the wheels, which were
near the cherubim, or the four animals. But we have said, and it will be necessary to
repeat it again, that by wheels all agitations are represented which are discerned
under heaven, or revolutions, as they are usually called. But he saw wheels under
the angels, because when the wind rises, when the sky is covered with clouds and
mists, when the rain descends, and the air is disturbed by lightnings, we think, when
all these things happen, that such motions and agitations take place naturally. But
before this God wished to teach us that great agitations are not blind, but are
directed by secret instinct, and hence the notion or inspiration of the angels, always
exists. Now, therefore, when God orders his angel to take fire from the midst of the
wheel which was under the cherub, this only means that God has various means of
destroying the city. Now the wheels, as we saw before, were carried in different
directions, so that they flew throughout the city. Since, therefore, the fire was in the
midst of the wheels, while the angels transferred the wheels by their own secret
motion, hence we gather that the burning of the city was in the hand of God, and at
the same time in the temple. For the Prophet does not now see the wheels near the
river Chebar, but in the temple itself; and there is a tacit contrast, as I have
reminded you, between the fire by whose incense God was reconciled, and whence
also the sacrifices had their odor sweet and pleasing to God, and between this fire,
which should be destructive to the whole people. But he says, the angel had entered,
that we may know, as I have said before, as soon as God has pronounced what he
wishes to be done, that the execution of it is at hand. Lastly, the Prophet here
commends to us the effect of his command, when he says, that the angel entered
immediately, as God had commanded. It follows —
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21. COKE, “Ezekiel 10:2. Even under the cherub— Houbigant very properly reads the
first verse in a parenthesis; for this evidently connects with the last of the preceding
chapter. This part of the vision represented the burning of the city by the
Chaldeans. The reader will observe, that the representation of the cherubim given in
chap. 1 is continued throughout this vision; and the account given at the fourth
verse must strike every reader, as to its similarity with the description of the
Shechinah given in the books of Moses.
ELLICOTT, “ (2) Unto the man clothed with linen.—Hitherto, in Ezekiel 9, he has
been employed only in a work of mercy and protection. It is not without significance
that now the same person is made the agent of judgment. As God’s love is turned to
wrath by man’s impenitence, and as His blessings given to man become curses by
their abuse, so those employed by Him as the instruments of His loving-kindness
become the very executioners of his “fury.” The “coals of fire,” the symbols of
Divine wrath, are represented as “between the cherubim.” In every possible way it
is signified that the impending doom is not from man’s will, however men may be
used as its instruments, or from any accident, but from God Himself.
Scatter them over the city.—For its destruction. Perhaps the imagery does not
signify anything more than destruction, without especial reference to the means
employed; but 2 Kings 25:9 and 2 Chronicles 36:19 show that the Temple and city
were actually burned by the Chaldæans, as was often done with conquered cities
that had resisted obstinately.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:2 And he spake unto the man clothed with linen, and said, Go
in between the wheels, [even] under the cherub, and fill thine hand with coals of fire
from between the cherubims, and scatter [them] over the city. And he went in in my
sight.
Ver. 2. And he spake unto the man.] See Ezekiel 9:2. Christ, who had marked the
mourners, scattereth coals upon the rebellious city: "kiss the Son lest he be angry,
and ye perish."
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22. And scatter them over the city.] To show that Jerusalem was to be burnt by the
Chaldees, as must likewise Rome by the kings of the earth; for strong is the Lord
who judgeth her. [Revelation 18:8]
And he went in my sight.] Saints see and foresee that which is often hid from others.
WHEDON, “ 2. Between the wheels — Literally, whirling; a different word from
the one formerly used for wheel. It is used also in Ezekiel 10:13, and signifies that
the wheels are all the time moving like a whirlwind. (Compare also Psalms 77:18;
Ezekiel 33:23.) It is used, not of a single wheel, but of the entire “wheelwork,” or
chariot.
Coals of fire — That which previously the prophet had only ventured to describe as
appearing like coals of fire (Ezekiel 1:13) he now sees can be handled and used as
powerful weapons of judgment.
Scatter them over the city — All this is symbolical of judgment to come. Josephus
tells us how this prophecy was fulfilled by Nebuzaradan, who, having robbed the
temple of its treasures, set fire to it “in the fifth month, the first day of the month, in
the eleventh year of the reign of Zedekiah, and in the eighteenth year of
Nebuchadnezzar he also burnt the palace and overthrew the city” (Ant., X, Ezekiel
8:5).
PETT, “Verse 2
‘And he went in in my sight.’
The man clothed in linen immediately obeyed and went in between the whirling
wheels below the level plain of awesome ice and the throne, in Ezekiel’s full view.
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23. The sight clearly affected him for he specifically stresses that he saw it. Perhaps it
was because he was awestricken that any being other than a cherub could enter
within that place of glorious majesty. In examining the detail we must not omit to
notice the glory of the occasion.
bi, “Fill thy hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims and scatter them over
the city.
Divine forces and human agents is retribution
I. There are in the economy of God, terrific forces for the destruction of evil. The
whirling globe of fire was but a symbol of the manifold elements that, through processes
of pain, and it may be throes of agony, have punished and will punish sin. And very often
those elements are just those that have been guiltily used by man. It was true of these
Jews “that they had abused fire to maintain their gluttony, for fulness of bread was one
of their sins; they burned incense to idols, and abused the altar fire which had been the
greatest refreshing to their souls, and now even this fire kindled upon them.” Thus,
indeed, is it clearly taught in the prediction of Christ, “They that take the sword shall
perish by the sword,” that the implements of our evil become the engines of our
punishment. And such engines have terrific force.
1. To avoid sin ourselves.
2. To believe in the final victory of goodness.
II. The great forces provided against evil will often be used by the instrumentality of
man. A man’s hand was to scatter these coals of retribution. Thus it commonly is. As
man is the tempter, so is man frequently the punisher of man. Chaldean armies are
instruments of Divine righteousness. Human judges are often the swords of God: human
revolutionists the vindicators of liberty against despots. It is for this hand sometimes to
scatter the fires of retribution; but ever to scatter the fires of purification. The
consuming of the sin—sin in thought, sin in feeling, sin in habit, rather than retribution,
on the sinner, may perhaps be the higher and better teaching of this vision for all of us.
(Urijah R. Thomas.)
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.
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24. BARNES, "On the right side - On the south Eze_47:2. The idolatries had been
seen on the north side. On the south stood the “cherubim” ready to receive and bear
away the glory of the Lord.
CLARKE, "On the right side of the house - The right hand always marked the
south among the Hebrews.
GILL, "Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house,.... According to
the Targum, it was the south side of the house; and so Jarchi interprets it opposite to the
north, where the gross idolatries were committed, Eze_8:3; standing at the greatest
distance from them, and bearing their testimony against them:
when the man went in; they stood as it were in a levee, through which the man
passed, waiting upon him; paying a respect to him; assenting to what he did; and
approving of it: this circumstance is mentioned, because they were not always in this
position, only at this time; nor did they continue so; we afterwards hear of their motion:
and the cloud filled the inner court; the court of the priests, not as a token of God's
presence, as at the dedication of the temple; but rather of judicial blindness and
darkness, which the people of the Jews were left unto.
HENRY 3-6, “The terrible directions of his wrath. This vision has a further tendency
than merely to set forth the divine grandeur; further orders are to be given for the
destruction of Jerusalem. The greatest devastations are made by fire and sword. For a
general slaughter of the inhabitants of Jerusalem orders were given in the foregoing
chapter; now here we have a command to lay the city in ashes, by scattering coals of fire
upon it, which in the vision were fetched from between the cherubim.
1. For the issuing out of orders to do this the glory of the Lord was lifted up from the
cherub (as in the chapter before for the giving of orders there, Eze_10:3) and stood upon
the threshold of the house, in imitation of the courts of judgement, which they kept in
the gates of their cities. The people would not hear the oracles which God had delivered
to them from his holy temple, and therefore they shall thence be made to hear their
doom.
2. The man clothed in linen who had marked those that were to be preserved is to be
employed in this service; for the same Jesus that is the protector and Saviour of those
that believe, having all judgement committed to him, that of condemnation as well as
that of absolution, will come in a flaming fire to take vengeance on those that obey not
his gospel. He that sits on the throne calls to the man clothed in linen to go in between
the wheels, and fill his hand with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and scatter
them over the city. This intimates, (1.) That the burning of the city and temple by the
24

25. Chaldeans was a consumption determined, and that therein they executed God's
counsel, did what he designed before should be done. (2.) That the fire of divine wrath,
which kindles judgement upon a people, is just and holy, for it is fire fetched from
between the cherubim. The fire on God's altar, where atonement was made, had been
slighted, to avenge which fire is here fetched from heaven, like that by which Nadab and
Abihu were killed for offering strange fire. If a city, or town, or house, be burnt, whether
by design or accident, if we trace it in its original, we shall find that the coals which
kindled the fire came from between the wheels; for there is not any evil of that kind in
the city, but the Lord has done it. (3.) That Jesus Christ acts by commission from the
Father, for from him he receives authority to execute judgement, because he is the Son
of man. Christ came to send fire on the earth (Luk_12:49) and in the great day will speak
this world into ashes. By fire from his hand, the earth, and all the works that are therein,
will be burnt up.
3. This man clothed with linen readily attended to this service; though, being clothed
with linen, he was very unfit to go among the burning coals, yet, being called, he said,
Lo, I come; this commandment he had received of his Father, and he complied with it;
the prophet saw him go in, Eze_10:2. He went in, and stood beside the wheels, expecting
to be furnished there with the coals he was to scatter; for what Christ was to give he first
received, whether for mercy or judgement. He was directed to take fire, but he staid till
he had it given him, to show how slow he is to execute judgement, and how long-
suffering to us-ward.
JAMISON, "right ... of ... house — The scene of the locality whence judgment
emanates is the temple, to mark God’s vindication of His holiness injured there. The
cherubim here are not those in the holy of holies, for the latter had not “wheels.” They
stood on “the right of the house,” that is, the south, for the Chaldean power, guided by
them, had already advanced from the north (the direction of Babylon), and had
destroyed the men in the temple, and was now proceeding to destroy the city, which lay
south and west.
the cherubim ... the man — There was perfect concert of action between the
cherubic representative of the angels and “the Man,” to minister to whom they “stood”
there (Eze_10:7).
cloud — emblem of God’s displeasure; as the “glory” or “brightness” (Eze_10:4)
typifies His majesty and clearness in judgment.
CALVIN, “Here the Prophet relates where the cherubim were when the men
entered, which looks only to the certainty of the prophecy. For we are not here to
seek any cunning speculations why they were on the right hand. It is only intended
to show that the way was open to the angel to approach directly to God, and that the
cherubim were disposed there to render their assistance; for there ought to be an
agreement between the angel who took the fire which he scattered through the
whole city, and the cherubim who carried all the angels. Here the Prophet shows
this agreement, because the cherubim were turned to the right hand when he
entered, so that God was at hand; then also the cherubim were at. hand, and thus
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26. the wheels bore along the fire.
Now we understand the intention of what we read. The interior court was filled with
a cloud: doubtless this signifies, that God by all means confirmed the vision, that no
suspicion should creep in that the Prophet was deluded with an empty spectra
(Exodus 40:34; Numbers 9:15.) This therefore is the reason why God not only
appeared on his heavenly throne, but also filled the temple with a cloud; although,
as I have said before, this cloud was a symbol of God’s alienation, (1 Kings 8:10;
Psalms 18:12,) and we know that the sanctuary was filled with a cloud, although
God then wished to testify his paternal favor: but in this place and elsewhere, as in
Psalms 18:0, and in other places, a cloud seems to signify the averted face of God, as
if the temple was full of darkness. And this afterwards is better confirmed; for he
says —
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:3 Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when
the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
Ver. 3. Now the cherubims stood on the right side., ] i.e., On the south side; being
now removed from the north door, [Ezekiel 8:3-4; Ezekiel 9:3] as loathing that place
of so great idolatry.
And the cloud filled the inner court.] (a) To signify that now upon God’s departure,
there should be darkness in the temple, yea, in the priests’ courts. See Psalms 18:11,
Revelation 15:8.
WHEDON, “ 3. Right side — Or, south side — of the temple. Ezekiel, coming
through the north door into the outer court of the sanctuary, sees just in front of
him the cherubim and the throne. He states the position in order to show that he
had the best possible opportunity to see what happened when the man went into the
fire.
26

27. PETT, “Verse 3-4
‘Now the cherubim stood on the right side (thus ‘the south side’) of the house when
the man went in, and the cloud filled the inner court. And the glory of Yahweh
mounted up from the cherub and stood over the threshold of the house, and the
house was filled with the cloud and the court was full of the brightness of the glory
of Yahweh.’
The position of the cherubim, and thus of the chariot, is now described. It was to the
right of the house as they awaited further instruction, and it was at this point that
the man went in between the whirling wheels, at which the cloud filled the inner
court before the sanctuary. This was because Yahweh was about to move in His
glory. Then the glory of Yahweh again left His chariot throne and ‘stood’ over the
threshold of the house, veiled by the cloud. It should be noted that this was not in
the sanctuary itself. That had been deserted. It was no longer His earthly
dwellingplace, it was the place from which He would pour forth His judgments. As
ever the cloud spoke of the presence of Yahweh in veiled form so that the brightness
of His glory could be revealed without destroying those who saw it.
PULPIT, “Ezekiel 10:3, Ezekiel 10:4
Now the cherubim stood, etc. The position of the cherubim is defined, with a vivid
distinctness of detail, which once more reminds us of Dante. They had been standing
on the right, i.e. the southern side of the sanctuary. What follows is probably a
reproduction of the change of positions described in Ezekiel 9:3, and the verbs
should be taken, therefore, as pluperfects. The cloud of glory, as in 1 Kings 8:10, 1
Kings 8:11 and Isaiah 6:1, Isaiah 6:2, the Shechinah, that was the taken of the
Divine presence, filled the court, but the glory itself had moved to the threshold at
the first stage of its departure.
27

28. 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.
BARNES, "A repetition of Eze_9:3. Now the glory of the Lord had gone up from the
cherub to the threshold of the house. Eze_10:4-6 describe what had occurred before the
“man went in” Eze_10:3.
CLARKE, "The glory of the Lord went up - This is repeated from Eze_9:3.
The house was filled with the cloud - This is a fact similar to what occurred
frequently at the tabernacle in the wilderness, and in the dedication of the temple by
Solomon. What is mentioned here was the Divine shechinah, the symbolical
representation of the majesty of God.
GILL, "Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub,.... Or, "cherubim";
those that were upon the mercy seat, between which the Shechinah or glorious majesty
of God dwelt, in the most holy place: this is a token and intimation of the Lord's leaving
of the temple; and a little before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, to which
this vision chiefly, if not together, refers, a voice was heard in the temple,
"let us go hence (b):''
and stood over the threshold of the house; either of the holy of holies, from
whence he was removing; or rather of the holy place, the court of the priests, the inward
court, and so open to the outward court, and view of the people in it:
and the house was filled with the cloud; the temple, being forsaken of God, was
filled with darkness; as an emblem of that blindness which is come upon the Jews, and
will continue on them till the fulness of the Gentiles brought in:
and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord's glory; either the inward
court, as the glory of the Lord passed through it, from the holy of holies; or rather the
outward court, of which mention is made in Eze_10:4; the glory of the Lord being on the
28

29. threshold Of the house, which looked towards that, and so enlightened it. This outward
court signifies the Gentiles; who, when the Lord removed from the Jewish nation and
people, were favoured with the glorious light of the Gospel, and ordinances of Christ;
whereby they were enlightened, and filled with the knowledge of the Lord; with the
knowledge of him, who is the brightness of his father's glory, and the express image of
his person; so through the fall of the Jews salvation came to the Gentiles, Rom_11:11.
JAMISON, "The court outside was full of the Lord’s brightness, while it was only the
cloud that filled the house inside, the scene of idolatries, and therefore of God’s
displeasure. God’s throne was on the threshold. The temple, once filled with brightness,
is now darkened with cloud.
CALVIN, “In this verse the Prophet confirms what he lately touched upon, viz., that
the temple was filled with blackness, because God had transferred his glory away.
He says then, that the brightness of God’s glory appeared above the threshold But
the glory of God resided in the sanctuary and in the very ark of the covenant; but
now, when it advances to the threshold, it is just as if he should extinguish the
splendor of his glory by which the temple was adorned, and transfer it elsewhere.
But he says, that the glory of Jehovah was elevated from its place: these words
signify change of place: God is everywhere said to dwell between the cherubim, and
he wished to be called upon there; but now his glory is said to be removed
elsewhere. Hence, therefore, it appears, that the temple was deprived of God’s
presence, and was in some sense stripped of its furniture; for without God what
remained? Hence that darkness which was formerly mentioned, and is again
repeated. The glory of Jehovah then was withdrawn: from whence? from its own
place and station, where it dwelt between the cherubim, and came to the threshold
of the temple: then he says, all was changed. For the temple in which God’s glory
formerly shone forth became full of darkness; but the threshold of the house, which
was as it were profane, was full of splendor: not that God dwelt at the threshold, for
this vision has another meaning, viz., that God after leaving his temple appeared
without it; for by the threshold he signifies a place conspicuous to all. Now therefore
we understand the design of the Holy Spirit when he says, the glory of Jehovah was
elevated from that seat, which he had chosen as a residence for himself between the
cherubim, and was conspicuous above the threshold: whence it happened that the
temple itself grew dark, but God’s brightness was conspicuous in the court itself. It
follows —
ELLICOTT, “(4) The glory of the Lord went up from the cherub.—As in Ezekiel
10:2, the singular, cherub, instead of the usual plural. Here it is thought to
29

30. designate, not the four living creatures of the vision, but the cherubim
overshadowing the mercy-seat, and to indicate that the manifestation of the Divine
presence now left the Holy of Holies, and went to the threshold of the door of the
house, preparatory to leaving it altogether. The expression is obscure, since the
place of the manifestation of the Divine presence in the most holy place is usually
described as “between the cherubim” (Exodus 25:22; Numbers 7:89; Psalms 80:1;
Psalms 99:1, &c.). Of the main point, however, there can be no doubt—that the
Divine presence is represented as in the act of leaving the Temple. “The house was
filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s glory” as
He departed, in striking contrast with the similar manifestations (Exodus 40:34-35;
1 Kings 8:10-11), when God accepted the tabernacle and the Temple as the peculiar
place of His abode.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:4 Then the glory of the LORD went up from the cherub, [and
stood] over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and
the court was full of the brightness of the LORD’S glory.
Ver. 4. Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub,] i.e., From the
cherubims; so it had done once before, [Ezekiel 9:3] and returned again, to show
that he was even driven out by the people’s impenitence.
And stood over the threshold of the house.] As taking his last leave of it.
And the house was filled with a cloud.] Sublatenter abit a suo loco Dominus. (a) So
Isaiah 6:4; "The house was filled with smoke." Josephus saith, that when God
departed, a voice was heard out of the temple, saying, Let us leave these seats; like
as, a little before the last desolation of it, there was heard Migremus hinc, Let us go
hence. And a heathen writer saith, that a voice greater than man’s was heard, that
the gods were thence departing. (b)
WHEDON, “ 4. The glory of the Lord went up — The cherubim remained, but
Jehovah once more removed to the threshold (Ezekiel 9:3). Was this in order to view
the execution of his commands in the burning of the city? This is wholly conjecture.
30

31. Perhaps the idea is that otherwise the man could not have had the strength to fulfill
his commission. Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:28; Ezekiel 3:23) could not stand near God’s
glory; how much less would he have been able to enter his chariot!
The house was filled with the cloud — “God’s presence without a cloud is to man
insupportable.” Even when God appeared to Moses “the glory of the Lord appeared
in a cloud,” and of those on the mount of transfiguration it is said “a cloud
overshadowed them.”
From the cherub — Or, from the chariot. As in Hebrew the words cherub and
chariot are nearly identical it would only require a very slight error to make this
substitution. The connection shows that the entire chariot is meant. In the recently
discovered Senschirli inscriptions, dating from about Ezekiel’s era, one man is
named “Rekub-El,” chariot of God.
Court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s glory — It is here for the first time
made perfectly clear that the brightness which from the beginning had impressed
the prophet was the shining of the divine One and not of the throne or the chariot.
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[a] when he speaks.
BARNES, "The Almighty God - El Shaddai; compare the Gen_17:1 note.
CLARKE, "As the voice of the Almighty God - That is, as thunder; for this was
31

32. called the voice of God.
GILL, "And the sound of the cherubim's wings was heard even to the outer
court,.... Or outward court. The sound of the Gospel, which is a joyful sound; a sound of
love, grace, and mercy; of life, liberty, peace, pardon, righteousness, and salvation by
Christ; the sound of this in the swift ministry of the apostles, signified by the
"cherubim's wings", went into all the earth, and throughout the whole Gentile world; by
which many souls were quickened and enlightened; many churches were formed; and
the glory of the Lord, being revealed, was seen by all flesh; and the whole world was
filled with the brightness of the Lord's glory, as it will be again, and more abundantly, in
the latter day: and this sound was
as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh; the Gospel is as thunder,
which is the voice of God; and the ministers of it are "Boanergeses", "sons of thunder",
Mar_3:17, it shakes the conscience; shows men their danger; and points at the Saviour:
it is not the word of man, but in deed and in truth the word of God: it is the voice of
Christ, who is the Almighty; and it appears to be so, by its powerful effects, when
attended with a divine energy, in quickening dead sinners; enlightening dark minds;
unstopping deaf ears; softening hard hearts; and turning men from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan to God; it is so when God speaks in it, and by it; when it
comes not in word only, but in the Holy Ghost, and in power.
JAMISON, "sound of ... wings — prognostic of great and awful changes.
voice of ... God — the thunder (Psa_29:3, etc.).
CALVIN, “In this verse also the Prophet confirms the vision, because God always
gave signs of his presence. But it seems also to have another object, since the
cherubim by the sound of their wings point out a remarkable change, both unusual
and incomprehensible. For he says, there was a noise which shook the place, just as
if God was speaking. When therefore we hear God’s voice, the Prophet means to
say, it is just as if God thundered from heaven and made the whole world tremble;
for no concussion can be more severe than that sound of the cherubims’ wings.
From this a certain wonderful change must be perceptible, since God so filled his
Prophet with terror, that he should be a messenger and witness of it to all others.
COFFMAN, “"And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the
outer court, as the voice of God Almighty when he speaketh. And it came to pass
when he commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the
whirling wheels, from between the cherubim, that he went in and stood beside a
wheel. And the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim unto the
fire that was between the cherubim, and took fire thereof, and put it into the hands
32

33. of him that was clothed in linen, who took it and went out. And there appeared in
the cherubim the form of a man's hand under their wings."
"The sound of the wings ..." (Ezekiel 10:5). This great sound is variously described
as very loud, as the voice of the Almighty, as of a "rushing mighty wind," etc.
Significantly, in the New Testament on the Day of Pentecost, when God's glory was
manifested by the appearance of the Holy Spirit upon the holy apostles, that event
also was marked by forked flames as of fire and the "sound of a rushing mighty
wind" (Acts 2:2).
The great significance of this chapter is that the very manifestation of God's glory
which had appeared to Ezekiel in Babylon at the Chebar river (canal) is here seen in
the process of deserting the Temple in Jerusalem, strongly indicating that God's
concern in the future from the destruction of Jerusalem would rest with the exiles in
Babylon and not with any stragglers left in Jerusalem.
"Who took it and went out ..." (Ezekiel 10:7). "Nothing is said here of the actual
scattering of fire over the city."[5] The same author explained that no account of his
actually doing so is necessary, "Because, it often happens in Scripture that a
prophet mentions a command without describing the actual execution of it."[6] It
must always be assumed, if not stated to the contrary, that God's commandments
were executed exactly as commanded.
"The form of a man's hand ..." (Ezekiel 10:8). "The appearance of this indicates
that human agencies would be utilized in the execution of God's judgment upon
Israel."[7] It would never have been necessary for the Angel of Jehovah himself, the
one clad in linen, to scatter coals of fire in any personal sense over Jerusalem. As
Beasley-Murray stated it, "This vision prophesies the fires that destroyed Jerusalem
in 587 B.C. (2 Kings 25:9), by the armies of the Chaldeans."[8] In a very similar
way, the fires that again destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D. were prophetically
identified by Jesus Christ himself as "God's armies" (Matthew 22:7).
Such passages as these indicate that God is the prime agent in all human history,
33

34. whatever human agencies may be employed from time to time in the achievement of
God's eternal purpose.
"The most significant thing here is the identity of the Destroyer as God."[9] "The
maneuvering of God's Glory in this chapter shows that God, whom men thought to
be inseparably bound to his sanctuary and to his city of Jerusalem is about to
destroy both of them and to abandon their ruins."[10]
ELLICOTT, “ (5) The sound of the cherubims’ wings.—This sound indicates that
the cherubim were already in motion, for when they stood they “let down their
wings” (Ezekiel 1:24). They were now just on the eve of going away, and the
movement was a great one, so that the sound was “heard even to the outer court”
Throughout this chapter the s in cherubims is quite unnecessary, since cherubim is
already the Hebrew plural of cherub.
Ezekiel 10:6-7 are not subsequent in time to Ezekiel 10:5, but are simply a more
particular account, given parenthetically, of what had already been briefly
mentioned in Ezekiel 10:2.
Ezekiel 10:8-17 are largely a repetition of the description of the vision in Ezekiel 1,
but it is here given in parts, parenthetically, in connection with the progress of the
narrative. The course of the narrative itself is as follows :—After the man in linen
has gone out (Ezekiel 10:7), a command is issued, “O wheel.” They were to set
themselves in motion. Then (Ezekiel 10:15) they “were lifted up,” and (Ezekiel
10:18-19) “the glory of the Lord departed” from the Temple, and “mounted up from
the earth.” The repetition of the description of Ezekiel 1 is by no means accidental,
but serves partly to connect the various particulars with the course of the symbolic
narrative, and mainly to emphasize the identity of the glory departing from the
Temple with the Divine glory before seen. There are, however, several variations
from the former description. Particularly in Ezekiel 10:12 (as in Revelation 4:6)
there is mention of the abundance of eyes, a symbol of vigilance and activity,
covering the whole body of the cherubim and the wheels. In Ezekiel 10:14, after
saying that “every one had four faces,” as in Ezekiel 1, the particular faces are
described, but with this important variation :—the first is said to be “the face of a
34

35. cherub,” instead of “the face of an ox,” as in Ezekiel 1; more exactly it is “the face of
the cherub,” since the Hebrew has the definite article. The reason of this variation
and the meaning of “the face of the cherub” are both obscure. In Ezekiel 10:22 it is
expressly said that their faces were the same as those seen by the Chebar; and again,
in Ezekiel 10:15-20, the whole vision is described as the “living creature” seen by the
Chebar. It is plain, therefore, that the variation is only in the description, and not in
the thing described. The most natural solution of the difficulty in the text as it
stands is that a cherub was ordinarily represented with the face of an ox. But there
is no evidence of this, and it is not impossible that a slight error may have been
introduced into the text. The Greek version did not contain the verse in the time of
St. Jerome, and in its Roman form does not now. It was introduced into the
Alexandrian copies from the later version of Theodotion, and Theodoret does not
recognise it.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:5 And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard [even] to
the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.
Ver. 5. And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard.] As applauding Christ’s
act, and rejoicing thereat.
As the voice of the Almighty God,] i.e., As thunder. [Psalms 29:3] Hereby might also
be signified insignis et insolita mutatio in urbe, a notable noise that should be made
in the city by clattering of arms, neighing of horses, roaring of enemies, &c. The
Hebrew word here used is Shaddai, which signifieth vastatorem et victorem, saith
Aben Ezra, a waster and a victor.
WHEDON, “ 5. Even to the outer court — See comments Ezekiel 8:16; Ezekiel 9:3.
We consider the glory to be over the threshold of the inner court, near the
sanctuary.
The voice of the Almighty God — The Hebrews often spoke of the thunder as the
voice of El Shaddai, or Jehovah (Psalms 29). The movements of the cherubs’ wings,
as they made ready to accompany their Master, though detained by divine will,
could be heard even into the court of the Gentiles, and sounded like the noise of
thunder. “‘El Shaddai’ was the name of God as ruling over nature, while ‘Jehovah’
35

36. expressed his covenant relationship to Israel.” — Plumptre.
PETT, “Verse 5
‘And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, as
the voice of God Almighty (El Shaddai) when he speaks.’
The sound of the wings of the cherubim was clearly also awesome (compare Ezekiel
1:24). It filled the whole house even to the outer court. And it was powerful and
strong like the voice of the Almighty. In both cases the mention of the sound of their
wings is connected with the actual voice of Yahweh being heard.
PULPIT, “Ezekiel 10:5, Ezekiel 10:6
And the sound of the cherubim. The use of God Almighty (El Shaddai; comp.
Exodus 6:3), the name of God as ruling over nature, while Jehovah expressed his
covenant relationship to Israel, is, it may be noted, characteristic of the early stage
of the religion of Israel (Genesis 17:1; Genesis 28:3; Genesis 43:14; Genesis 48:3).
Shaddai alone appears eighty-one times in the Book of Job. Psalms 29:1-11. explains
the voice of El Shaddai (though there it is "the voice of Jehovah") as meaning the
roar of the thunder. The hands of the "living creatures," now recognized as
cherubim, had been mentioned in Ezekiel 1:8, and it is one of those hands that gives
the fire into the hands of the linen vested minister of wrath. The elemental forces of
nature, of which the cherubim are, partly at least, the symbols, are working out the
purposes of Jehovah. The two words translated wheels are different in the Hebrew.
The first is singular and collective (galgal, the "whirling thing," used of the wheel of
a war chariot, Ezekiel 23:24; Isaiah 5:28), and might well be translated "chariot"
here. The second, that used in Ezekiel 1:15, Ezekiel 1:16, also in the singular, is
applied to the single wheel of the four by which the angel, ministers stood.
36

37. 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.
BARNES, "And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man
clothed with linen,.... After the orders were given by him that was upon the throne to
the man thus described:
saying, take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim; as in
Eze_10:2;
then he went in; immediately, into the place where the wheels and cherubim were;
even under the firmament of heaven, and the throne that was in it:
GILL, "And it came to pass, that when he had commanded the man clothed
with linen,.... After the orders were given by him that was upon the throne to the man
thus described:
saying, take fire from between the wheels, from between the cherubim; as in
Eze_10:2;
then he went in; immediately, into the place where the wheels and cherubim were;
even under the firmament of heaven, and the throne that was in it:
and stood beside the wheels, or "wheel"; to see what it was, as Kimchi thinks; or
rather in order to go in between them, as he was bid to do, Eze_10:2.
JAMISON, "went in — not into the temple, but between the cherubim. Ezekiel sets
aside the Jews’ boast of the presence of God with them. The cherubim, once the
ministers of grace, are now the ministers of vengeance. When “commanded,” He without
delay obeys (Psa_40:8; Heb_10:7).
37

38. CALVIN, “Here the Prophet teaches the end of the vision. The Jews thought that
they should always be safe and secure under God’s presence; they thought that the
sacred fire on the altar availed for the expiation of all wickedness. But God showed
that he so resided in the temple that he clothed himself with wrath against them, and
that the cherubim were keepers of his arms by which they were at length to be
destroyed. We see, therefore, that this false and perverse glowing by which the Jews
were intoxicated was cut from under them, since they thought that God was in some
way bound to themselves exclusively. Hence the angel is ordered to take fire and to
sprinkle it about the city, that it may be destroyed by the burning. But this was
necessary, because the Jews, while they for a long time obstinately abused the
forbearance of God, could not be induced to repent by any fear of his wrath. For
this reason this vision was shown to the Prophet. Then he says that fire was given,
but whence was it taken? it was, says he, in the midst of the cherubim. When David
prays to God, he makes mention of the cherubim, (Psalms 80:1,) by which a more
familiar access is laid open, and deservedly so; because God, when inviting the
faithful to himself, as if he stretched forth his hands to them, had angels at hand
who brought him in contact with men. Now the Prophet teaches, that God’s
presence was of no use to the Jews, because he was in arms for their destruction;
and the cherubim, who were formerly ministers of his grace, were now at hand to
execute his vengeance, since they extend fire from hand to hand for the
conflagration of the whole city. For he says, that he was come who was clad in linen
garments, and stood near the wheels, by which words he signifies, that angels were
thoroughly prepared to obey God’s commands in every particular. In men there is
great delay and even languor; but the Prophet assures us, that angels were ready for
the performance of their duty. As soon as God shows them what he wishes to be
done, they have their hands extended, and thus they are prepared to execute his will.
For this reason he says, that they stood near the wheels It follows —
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:6 And it came to pass, [that] when he had commanded the man
clothed with linen, saying, Take fire from between the wheels, from between the
cherubims; then he went in, and stood beside the wheels.
Ver. 6. When he had commanded the man.] Christ as mediator was at his Father’s
command. [Matthew 12:18 John 14:31; John 15:10]
Then he went in and stood beside the wheels.] As considering, saith one, the
38

39. mutability and uncertainty of all things, and observing the equity of the divine
proceedings.
PETT, “Verse 6-7
‘And it came about that when he commanded the man clothed in linen, saying,
“Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went
in and stood beside a wheel, and the cherub stretched forth his hand from between
the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took of it, and put it
into the hands of the one who was clothed with linen, who took it and went out.’
Here again we have typical ancient Near Eastern repetition, where a previous
statement is emphasised and expanded. It occurs regularly throughout the Old
Testament and has often confused modern readers into assuming twofold sources,
but the purpose of it was to assist the hearer to remember the important points of
the narrative or to emphasis the particular point. They could not look back to what
had been previously stated and were helped by being reminded of it.
Again we are reminded that Yahweh commanded the man clothed with linen to take
fire from within the whirling wheels (‘the whirlers’) between the cherubim. So the
man obediently went in and stood beside one of the wheels, which was whirling
round and full of eyes (Ezekiel 10:12), a symbol of divine activity and omniscience.
‘The cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that
was between the cherubim.’ This may mean the cherub connected with that wheel,
or as suggested in Ezekiel 10:2 the anointed Cherub, but either way it reveals that
even the angel was limited in how close he could come to the throne. The cherubim
guarded the holiness of God.
And ‘the cherub’ then reached in and took fire and placed it in the hands of the
man, ‘who took it and went out’. Nothing further is heard of the man clothed with
linen. He disappears from the picture. The time of their scattering over the city was
39

40. not yet here. We are just left to assume that he carried out his grim task for Ezekiel
is wholly taken up with the glory before him. The concentration in this passage is on
Yahweh deserting His temple.
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.
BARNES, "One cherub - The “cherub” who stood next the wheel by the side of
which the man stood. The representative of the priestly office now gives up his post of
reconciliation, and becomes simply a minister of wrath; another sign that God will turn
from Jerusalem.
GILL, "And one cherub stretched forth his hand from between the
cherubim,.... One of the four living creatures, or cherubim, put out his hand from
among the rest:
unto the fire that was between the cherubim; so fire is said to go up and down
among them, Eze_1:13; to which the reference is here:
and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed with
linen: denoting, as before observed, that it was for the ill usage of the ministers of God's
word that wrath came upon the people of the Jews, and the destruction of their city by
fire; so wrath will come upon antichrist, and the antichristian states, for their usage of
the ministers and churches of Christ, and in consequence of the prayers, and by the
instigation of such persons; see Rev_6:9; so one of the four beasts or living creatures,
the same with the cherubim here, is said to give to the seven angels seven golden vials,
full of the wrath of God, Rev_15:7;
who took it, and went out; took the fire, and went out of the temple, and scattered it
upon the city of Jerusalem; so representing the Chaldean, or rather the Roman army,
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41. burning it with fire; see Mat_22:7; where they are called the armies of the King of kings.
HENRY, " One of the cherubim reached him a handful of fire from the midst of the
living creatures. The prophet, when he first saw this vision, observed that there were
burning coals of fire, and lamps, that went up and down among the living creatures
(Eze_1:13); thence this fire was taken, Eze_10:7. The spirit of burning, the refiner's fire,
by which Christ purifies his church, is of a divine original. It is by a celestial fire, fire
from between the cherubim, that wonders are wrought. The cherubim put it into his
hand; for the angels are ready to be employed by the Lord Jesus and to serve all his
purposes.
5. When he had taken the fire he went out, no doubt to scatter it up and down upon
the city, as he was directed. And who can abide the day of his coming? Who can stand
before him when he goes out in his anger?
JAMISON, "See on Eze_10:3.
one cherub — one of the four cherubim.
his hand — (Eze_1:8).
went out — to burn the city.
TRAPP, “Verse 7
Ezekiel 10:7 And [one] cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubims
unto the fire that [was] between the cherubims, and took [thereof], and put [it] into
the hands of [him that was] clothed with linen: who took [it], and went out.
Ver. 7. And one cherub stretched forth his hand.] The holy angels, whom the Jews
looked upon as ministers of God’s grace unto them (Josephus calleth them the
keepers of the Jewish people), are here brought in as ministers of those weapons
wherewith they were to be destroyed.
Who took it, and went out.] Nevertheless the city was not burned till four or five
years after this vision.
“ Tam piger ad poenas Deus est, ad praemia velox. ”
41

42. - Ovid.
Meanwhile, how jovial were the Jews! as if no such judgment were likely to befall
them.
WHEDON, “7. And one cherub — Literally, the cherub — the one nearest to him.
Even though the divine glory is compassionately absent, yet human weakness seems
to be inadequate to the task assigned until the guardian of the divine honor assists
him in doing what was commanded. (Compare Isaiah 6:5-6.) We lose sight now of
this man clothed with linen, and there is no attempt whatever to picture the
conflagration.
8 (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen
what looked like human hands.)
BARNES, "An explanation following upon the mention of the “hand.” It is
characteristic of this chapter that the narrative is interrupted by explanatory comments.
The “narrative” is contained in Eze_10:1-3, Eze_10:6-7, Eze_10:13, Eze_10:15 (first
clause), 18, 19; the other verses contain the “interposed explanations.”
CLARKE, "The form of a man’s hand under their wings - I am still of opinion
that the hands and wings were not distinct. The arms were feathered like wings, and the
hand terminated the arm; but as the long front feathers of the wings would extend much
beyond the fingers, hence the hands would appear to be under the wings. See on Eze_1:8
(note). The human hand might be intended to show that God helps and punishes man by
man; and that, in the general operations of his providence, he makes use of human
42

43. agency.
GILL, "And there appeared in the cherubim,.... The Septuagint version is, "I saw
the cherubim"; and so the Syriac version, "I saw in the cherubim"; what follows:
the form of a man's hand under their wings; one of them put forth his hand,
which was seen by the prophet, as declared in Eze_10:7; but this was only the "form" of
one; which is observed to show that it is not to be taken literally, but as seen in the vision
of prophecy; and being under their wings denotes secrecy and privacy: and the whole
being applied to the ministers of the word is expressive of their activity and diligence in
the work of the Lord, both in private and in public; and that they make no boast nor
show of their works and labours, and ascribe nothing to themselves, but all to the grace
of God that is with them, 1Co_15:10; See Gill on Eze_1:8.
HENRY 8-22, “We have here a further account of the vision of God's glory which
Ezekiel saw, here intended to introduce that direful omen of the departure of that glory
from them, which would open the door for ruin to break in.
I. Ezekiel sees the glory of God shining in the sanctuary, as he had seen it by the river
of Chebar, and gives an account of it, that those who had by their wickedness provoked
God to depart from them might know what they had lost and might lament after the
Lord, groaning out their Ichabod, Where is the glory? Ezekiel here sees the operations of
divine Providence in the government of the lower world, and the affairs of it, represented
by the four wheels; and the perfections of the holy angels, the inhabitants of the upper
world, and their ministrations, represented by the four living creatures, every one of
which had four faces. The agency of the angels in directing the affairs of this world is
represented by the close communication that was between the living creatures and the
wheels, the wheels being guided by them in all their motions, as the chariot is by him
that drives it. But the same Spirit being both in the living creatures and in the wheels
denoted the infinite wisdom which serves its own purposes by the ministration of angels
and all the occurrences of this lower world. So that this vision gives out faith a view of
that throne which the Lord has prepared in the heavens, and that kingdom of which
rules over all, Psa_103:19. The prophet observes that this was the same vision with that
he saw by the river of Chebar (Eze_10:15, Eze_10:22), and yet in one thing there seems
to be a material difference, that that which was there was the face of an ox, and was on
the left side (Eze_1:10), is here the face of a cherub, and is the first face (Eze_10:14),
whence some have concluded that the peculiar face of a cherub was that of an ox, which
the Israelites had an eye to when they made the golden calf. I rather think that in this
latter vision the first face was the proper appearance or figure of a cherub, which Ezekiel
knew very well, being a priest, by what he had seen in the temple of the Lord (1Ki_6:29),
but which we now have no certainty of at all; and by this Ezekiel knew assuredly,
whereas before he only conjectured it, that they were all cherubim, though putting on
different faces, Eze_10:20. And this first appearing in the proper figure of a cherub, and
yet it being proper to retain the number of four, that of the ox is left out and dropped,
because the face of the cherub had been most abused by the worship of an ox. As
sometimes when God appeared to deliver his people, so now when he appeared to depart
from them, he rode on a cherub, and did fly. Now observe here, 1. That this world is
43

44. subject to turns, and changes, and various revolutions. The course of affairs in it is
represented by wheels (Eze_10:9); sometimes one spoke is uppermost and sometimes
another; they are still ebbing and flowing like the sea, waxing and waning like the moon,
1Sa_2:4, etc. Nay, their appearance is as if there were a wheel in the midst of a wheel
(Eze_10:10), which intimates the mutual references of providence to each other, their
dependences on each other, and the joint tendency of all to one common end, while their
motions as to us are intricate, and perplexed, and seemingly contrary. 2. That there is an
admirable harmony and uniformity in the various occurrences of providence (Eze_
10:13): As for the wheels, though they moved several ways, yet it was cried to them, O
wheel! they were all as one, being guided by one Spirit to one end; for God works all
according to the counsel of his own will, which is one, for his own glory, which is one.
And this makes the disposal of Providence truly admirable, and to be looked upon with
wonder. As the works of his creation, considered separately, were good, but all together
very good, so the wheels of Providence, considered by themselves, are wonderful, but
put them together and they are very wonderful. O wheel! 3. That the motions of
Providence are steady and regular, and whatever the Lord pleases that he does and is
never put upon new counsels. The wheels turned not as they went (Eze_10:11), and the
living creatures went every one straight forward, Eze_10:22. Whatever difficulties lay
in their way, they were sure to get over them, and were never obliged to stand still, turn
aside, or go back. So perfectly known to God are all his works that he never put upon to
new counsels. 4. That God make more use of the ministration of angels in the
government of this lower world than we are aware of: The four wheels were by the
cherubim, one wheel by one cherub and another wheel by another cherub, Eze_10:9.
What has been imagined by some concerning the spheres above, that every orb has its
intelligence to guide it, is here intimated concerning the wheels below, that every wheel
has its cherub to guide it. We think it a satisfaction to us if under the wise God there are
wise men employed in managing the affairs of the kingdoms and churches; whether
there be so or no, it appears by this that there are wise angels employed, a cherub to
every wheel. 5. That all the motions of Providence and all the ministrations of angels are
under the government of the great God. They are all full of eyes, those eyes of the Lord
which run to and fro through the earth and which the angels have always an eye to, Eze_
10:12. The living creatures and the wheels concur in their motions and rests (Eze_
10:17); for the Spirit of life, as it may be read, or the Spirit of the living creatures, is in
the wheels. The Spirit of God directs all the creatures, both upper and lower, so as to
make them serve the divine purpose. Events are not determined by the wheel of fortune,
which is blind, but by the wheels of Providence, which are full of eyes.
II. Ezekiel sees the glory of God removing out of the sanctuary, the place where God's
honour had long dwelt, and this sight is as sad as the other was grateful. It was pleasant
to see that God had not forsaken the earth (as the idolaters suggested, Eze_9:9), but sad
to see that he was forsaking his sanctuary. The glory of the Lord stood over the
threshold, having thence given the necessary orders for the destruction of the city, and it
stood over the cherubim, not those in the most holy place, but those that Ezekiel now
saw in vision, Eze_10:18. It ascended that stately chariot, as the judge, when he comes
off the bench, goes into his coach and is gone. And immediately the cherubim lifted up
their wings (Eze_10:19), as they were directed, and they mounted up from the earth, as
birds upon the wing; and, when they went out, the wheels of this chariot were not
drawn, but went by instinct, beside them, by which it appeared that the Spirit of the
living creatures was in the wheels. Thus, when God is leaving a people in displeasure,
angels above, and all events here below, shall concur to further his departure. But
44

45. observe here, In the courts of the temple where the people of Israel had dishonoured
their God, had cast off his yoke and withdrawn the shoulder from it, blessed angels
appear very ready to serve him, to draw in his chariot, and to mount upwards with it.
God has shown the prophet how the will of God was disobeyed by men on earth (ch. 8);
here he shows him how readily it is obeyed by angels and inferior creatures; and it is a
comfort to us, when we grieve for the wickedness of the wicked, to think how his angels
do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word, Psa_103:20. Let us now, 1.
Take a view of this chariot in which the glory of the God of Israel rides triumphantly. He
that is the God of Israel is the God of heaven and earth, and has the command of all the
powers of both. Let the faithful Israelites comfort themselves with this, that he who is
their God is above the cherubim; their Redeemer is so (1Pe_3:22) and has the sole and
sovereign disposal of all events; the living creatures and the wheels agree to serve him,
so that he is head over all things to the church. The rabbin call this vision that Ezekiel
had Mercabah - the vision of the chariot; and thence they call the more abstruse part of
divinity, which treats concerning God and spirits, Opus currûs - The work of the chariot,
as they do the other part, that is more plain and familiar, Opus bereshith - The work of
the creation. - 2. Let us attend the motions of this chariot: The cherubim, and the glory
of God above them, stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house, Eze_10:19.
But observe with how many stops and pauses God departs, as loth to go, as if to see if
there be any that will intercede with him to return. None of the priests in the inner court,
between the temple and the altar, would court his stay; therefore he leaves their court,
and stands at the east gate, which led into the court of the people, to see if any of them
would yet at length stand in the gap. Note, God removes by degrees from a provoking
people; and, when he is ready to depart in displeasure, would return to them in mercy if
they were but a repenting praying people.
JAMISON, "The “wings” denote alacrity, the “hands” efficacy and aptness, in
executing the functions assigned to them.
CALVIN, “I will now pass rapidly over what I explained more copiously in the first
chapter, lest I should burden you with vain repetition. I said that hands appeared
under the wings, that the Prophet might understand the great vigor of angels for
action: but in the meantime it marked the agreement of their agitation with the
obedience which they offer to God. For doubtless wings in angels represent
direction, by which God testifies that the angels have no proper or independent,
motion, but are governed by his secret instinct: for wings signify something
terrestrial and human. And it is clear that when wings were given to angels, by this
symbol God’s secret government was pointed out, (Colossians 1:16,) for they are not
only called principalities, but powers. Since, therefore, God governs angels by his
own will, he therefore wishes them to be represented in the sanctuary as winged.
(Exodus 25:20, and Exodus 37:9.) Now, because there is no action without hands,
the Prophet says that human hands appeared under the wings: as if he had said,
that this alacrity was not without its effect, because it was joined with operation, for
45

46. we know that all functions are designated by this word in Scripture. It is then as if
he said, that the angels were winged, since they were animated by the secret virtue
of God, and had no motion in themselves; then that they were apt and fit for
exercising the functions committed to them, because they were endued with hands.
But he says that those hands lay hid under their wings, because angels do not take
up anything rashly, as men take up a matter vigorously, but without choice. He says,
then, that their hands were covered by the wings, because angels undertake nothing
rashly nor without consideration, but every operation of theirs depends on that
secret government of God of which I have spoken. It follows —
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:8 And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man’s
hand under their wings.
Ver. 8. And there appeared the form of a man’s hand under their wings.] Quasi
gladius intra vaginam, as a sword within the scabbard, ready to be drawn out for
execution. The hand, saith Aristotle, is the instrument of instruments. Nature hath
given us hands, saith Cicero, multarum artium ministras, &c., to act and do
business. Angels have neither hands nor wings, to speak properly, yet are said here
to have both, to show their activity and celerity in God’s service. Hands of a man
they are said to have, to show that they do all prudently and with reason; and these
hands are under their wings, saith one, to signify their hidden nature and operation.
A good man, like a good angel, saith another, (a) hath the wings of contemplation,
the hands of action, the wings of faith, the hands of charity, wings whereon he
raiseth his understanding, and hands wherewith he exciteth his will, &c.
WHEDON, “8. “And something like a human hand became visible on the cherubs
under their wings.” — Kautzsch. Ezekiel could not have known it, but in view of the
incarnation there is an added beauty in this picture of a man’s hand beneath these
symbolical representations of universal life. The hand that moves the world is the
hand that made it — the hand of “the man Christ Jesus.” (See note Ezekiel 1:26.)
PETT, “Verse 8
‘And there appeared in the cherubim the form of a man’s hand under their wings.’
46

47. This is to explain how the cherub was able to take the fire and hand it to the angel
(see also Ezekiel 1:8) by means of a man’s hands under his wings. The foreign
‘cherubim’ on which these cherubim were patterned did not have hands.
PULPIT, “Ezekiel 10:8, Ezekiel 10:9
The description of the theophany that follows, though essentially identical with that
in Ezekiel 1:1-28 is not a literal transcript of it. The prophet struggles, as before, to
relate what he has actually seen in the visions of God. The fact is stated as
explaining the mention of the "hand" in Ezekiel 1:7. That, as in Ezekiel 1:8, was one
of their members (see notes on Ezekiel 1:15-17). All that had seemed most startling
and awful to him on the banks of Chebar is now seen again—the four living
creatures, now named cherubim.the wheel by each, the unswerving motion of the
wheels in their onward course.
bi, “And there appeared in the cherubims the form of a man’s hand under their wings.
The hand and the wing
There are two proofs of our religious life. The first is our great thoughts of God; the
second is our great deeds for God. On the first we soar up to Him as on a wing; with the
second we labour for Him as with a hand. The Bible, the whole structure of our sacred
faith, appeals to the two aspects of life—divine and human. It has the wing and the hand;
it reaches out to heights we cannot attain; it is suffused in splendours and in mysteries
beyond our endurance. The Trinity and the Godhead, eternal duration, the origin of
things, the eternal love of God to man, His electing and atoning grace—how far off these
things seem. On the other hand, how it sinks down to sympathy, to fellowship, to
suffering, arching them over by visible and invisible majesty. Thus, while man mourns
over his lot, that “his strength is labour and sorrow,” he finds, as Ruskin has finely said,
that “labour and sorrow are his strength”; and God makes him fit for soaring by
sorrowing or by sympathetic doing.
I. See what a Divine work creation is. Here, in this human hand beneath the angel’s
wing, do we see the procedure of the Divine work. All God’s most beautiful things are
related to use. God does not unfold from His mind beauty alone. Infinite thought, ah!
but infinite manipulation too; this hand, the hand of the Infinite Artist, tinted every
flower and variegated every leaf into loveliness; this hand, the hand of the Infinite
Mechanician—I do not like the word, but let it go—gave respiration and lustre arid
plumage to the wing of every bird; this hand, the hand of the Infinite Architect, poised
every planet in space, and adapted its measure of force to every grain of sand. I would
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48. not preach a gospel of cold utilitarianism—that word usually represents the hand
without the wing; it is the depravity of logic which it represents, not the Divine reason
and fitness. On the contrary, many know nothing of use. Oh, what wasted lives we lead!
Alas! alas! our most beautiful things are as perishable foam bells, born and expiring on a
wave. Not so God.
II. Then you see what Divine providence is. Man is the one manifold. In the multiplicity
of Divine operations we see the human hand beneath the angel’s wing. “A little lower
than the angels,” God carries on His great operations. What is this humanity which
everywhere meets us alike, in things above and beneath? “Angels desiring to look” into
the things of men, and all nature striving upward into manhood. By men surely God
carries on some of the greatest affairs of His providence. From His exalted concealment,
God is constantly energising by the human hand. This in all ages has been. And is not
our redemption a hand, the human hand beneath the Divine wing, a hand stretched out,
“the likeness of a man’s hand beneath the cherubim.” What is the humanity of Jesus but
the human hand beneath the Divine wing? If all things on earth whisper man, and point
to man, and reflect man, and prophesy the reign and the ultimate Christian perfectibility
of man, oh, what a consolation is this! Thus, also, this thought, this idea, rebukes the
many false modern notions of God. See in this God’s own picture of His providence; and
never be it ours to divorce that human from the Divine in God’s being.
III. See, in the human hand beneath the wing of the angel, the relation of a life of action
to a life of contemplation. The great Gregory says, “The rule of the Christian life is first to
be joined to an active life in productiveness, and after, to a contemplative mind in rest.”
Thus, when the mind seeks rest in contemplation, it sees more, but it is less productive
in fruit to God; when it betakes itself to working, it sees less but bears more largely.
Hence, then, by the wings of the creatures we may behold the contemplations of the
saints, by which they soar aloft, and, quitting earthly scenes, poise themselves in the
regions of heaven; as it is written, “They shall mount up as on wings.” And by the hands
understand deeds, they administer even by bodily administration; but the hands under
the wings show how they surpass the deeds of their action by the excellence of
contemplation.
IV. Religion is the human hand beneath the angel’s wing. It is both. So I may say to you:
Has your religion a hand in it? Has your religion a wing in it? Has it a hand? It is
practical, human, sympathetic. Has it a wing? It is lofty, unselfish, inclusive, divine. Has
it a hand? How does it prove itself? By embracing, and this hand laying hold upon—by
works. Has it a wing? How does it prove itself? By prayer, by faith, by heaven. I do not
know if you have read and are acquainted with the essay of that eminent man, Richard
Owen, “On the Nature of Limbs”; if so, you did not fail to meditate on that frontispiece,
in which the science of anatomy rises into more than the play of poetry; where that
great, perhaps greatest of all anatomists, does not hesitate to show to us by a diagram,
the human skeleton hand, clothed upon, preening, developing into the wing of an angel.
But faith sees more than science: faith does, indeed, behold the hand rising into the
wing; indeed, sees in the hand only the undeveloped wing. Without a doubt it shall be so;
we are preparing for the hour when our wings shall burst from their prison and spring
into the light. (E. P. Hood.)
The hidden hands of Christlike ministry
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49. Oberlin, the French philanthropist, was once travelling in the depth of winter amongst
the mountains of Alsace. The cold was intense, the snow lay thickly upon the ground,
and ere the half of his journey was over he felt himself yielding to fatigue and sleep. He
knew if he gave way to sleep he would wake no more; but in spite of this knowledge,
desire for sleep overcame him, and he lost consciousness. When he came to again, a
waggoner in blue blouse was standing over him, urging him to take wine and food. By
and by his strength revived, he was able to walk to the waggon, and was soon driven to
the nearest village. His rescuer refused money, saying it was his duty to assist one in
distress. Oberlin begged to know his name, that he might remember him in his prayers.
“I see,” replied the waggoner, “you are a preacher. Tell me the name of the Good
Samaritan.” “I cannot,” answered Oberlin, “for it is not recorded.” “Ah, well,” said the
waggoner, “when you can tell me his name, I will then tell you mine.” And so he went
away. (The Signal.)
9 I looked, and I saw beside the cherubim four
wheels, one beside each of the cherubim; the
wheels sparkled like topaz.
CLARKE, "The color of a beryl stone - ‫תרשיש‬ ‫אבן‬ eben Tarshish, “the stone of
Tarshish.” The Vulgate translates it chrysolith; Symmachus, the jacinct; the Septuagint,
the carbuncle. In the parallel place, Eze_1:16, it is ‫תרשיש‬ ‫כעין‬ keeyn Tarshish, “like the
eye of Tarshish;” i.e., the color of tarshish, or the stone so called, which the Vulgate
translates visio maris, “like the sea,” i.e., azure. The beryl is a gem of a green color,
passing from one side into blue, on the other side into yellow. The chrysolith is also
green, what is called pistachio green; but the chrysolith of the ancients was our topaz,
which is of a fine wine yellow. The beryl, or chrysolith, is most likely what is here meant
by tarshish. One name among the ancients served for several kinds of gems that were
nearly of the same color. The moderns go more by chemical characters than by color.
GILL, "And when I looked, behold, the four wheels by the cherubim,.... The
churches by the ministers: of these "wheels", and why the churches are so called, and of
their number "four", and their situation "by" the cherubim; see Gill on Eze_1:15;
49

50. one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: a minister to
a church; every church has its own pastor, elder, or overseer, by it, and over it:
and the appearance of the wheels was as the colour of a beryl stone; a
precious stone of a sea green; See Gill on Eze_1:16. The Targum renders it in general, "a
precious stone"; the Septuagint version, "a carbuncle"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "a
chrysolite".
JAMISON, "wheels — (See on Eze_1:15, Eze_1:16). The things which, from Eze_
10:8 to the end of the chapter, are repeated from the first chapter are expressed more
decidedly, now that he gets a nearer view: the words “as it were,” and “as if,” so often
occurring in the first chapter, are therefore mostly omitted. The “wheels" express the
manifold changes and revolutions in the world; also that in the chariot of His providence
God transports the Church from one place to another and everywhere can preserve it; a
truth calculated to alarm the people in Jerusalem and to console the exiles [Polanus].
K&D 9-22, “The Glory of the Lord Forsakes the Temple
Eze_10:9. And I saw, and behold four wheels by the side of the cherubim, one wheel
by the side of every cherub, and the appearance of the wheels was like the look of a
chrysolith stone. Eze_10:10. And as for their appearance, they had all four one form, as
if one wheel were in the midst of the other. Eze_10:11. When they went, they went to
their four sides; they did not turn in going; for to the place to which the head was
directed, to that they went; they did not turn in their going. Eze_10:12. And their whole
body, and their back, and their hands, and their wings, and wheels, were full of eyes
round about: by all four their wheels. Eze_10:13. To the wheels, to them was called,
“whirl!” in my hearing. Eze_10:14. And every one had four faces; the face of the first
was the face of the cherub, the face of the second a man's face, and the third a lion's
face, and the fourth an eagle's face. Eze_10:15. And the cherubim ascended. This was
the being which I saw by the river Chebar. Eze_10:16. And when the cherubim went,
the wheels went by them; and when the cherubim raised their wings to ascend from the
earth, the wheels also did not turn from their side. Eze_10:17. When those stood, they
stood; and when those ascended, they ascended with them; for the spirit of the being
was in them. Eze_10:18.; And the glory of Jehovah went out from the threshold of the
house, and stood above the cherubim. Eze_10:19. And the cherubim raised their wings,
and ascended from the earth before my eyes on their going out, and the wheels beside
them; and they stopped at the entrance of the eastern gate of the house of Jehovah; and
the glory of the God of Israel was above them. Eze_10:20. This was the being which I
saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar, and I perceived that they were
cherubim. Eze_10:21. Every one had four faces, each and every one four wings, and
something like a man's hands under their wings. Eze_10:22. And as for the likeness of
their faces, they were the faces which I had seen by the river Chebar, their appearance
and they themselves. They went every one according to its face. - With the words “I
saw, and behold,” a new feature in the vision is introduced. The description of the
appearance of the cherubim in these verses coincides for the most part verbatim with
the account of the theophany in Ezekiel 1. It differs from this, however, not only in the
altered arrangement of the several features, and in the introduction of certain points
50

51. which serve to complete the former account; but still more in the insertion of a number
of narrative sentence, which show that we have not merely a repetition of the first
chapter here. On the contrary, Ezekiel is now describing the moving of the appearance of
the glory of Jehovah from the inner court or porch of the temple to the outer entrance of
the eastern gate of the outer court; in other words, the departure of the gracious
presence of the Lord from the temple: and in order to point out more distinctly the
importance and meaning of this event, he depicts once more the leading features of the
theophany itself. The narrative sentences are found in Eze_10:13, Eze_10:15, Eze_10:18,
and Eze_10:19. In Eze_10:13 we have the exclamation addressed to the wheels by the
side of the cherubim to set themselves in motion; in Eze_10:15, the statement that the
cherubim ascended; and in Eze_10:18 and Eze_10:19, the account of the departure of
the glory of the Lord from the inner portion of the temple. To this we may add the
repeated remark, that the appearance was the same as that which the prophet had seen
by the river Chebar (Eze_10:15, Eze_10:20, Eze_10:22). To bring clearly out to view
both the independence of these divine manifestations and their significance to Israel,
Ezekiel repeats the leading features of the former description; but while doing this, he
either makes them subordinate to the thoughts expressed in the narrative sentences, or
places them first as introductory to these, or lets them follow as explanatory. Thus, for
example, the description of the wheels, and of the manner in which they moved (Eze_
10:9-12), serves both to introduce and explain the call to the wheels to set themselves in
motion. The description of the wheels in Eze_10:9-11 harmonizes with Eze_1:16 and
Eze_1:17, with this exception, however, that certain points are given with greater
exactness here; such, for example, as the statement that the movements of the wheels
were so regulated, that in whichever direction the front one turned, the other did the
same. ‫ֹאשׁ‬ ‫ר‬ ָ‫,ה‬ the head, is not the head-wheel, or the wheel which was always the first to
move, but the front one, which originated the motion, drawing the others after it and
determining their direction. For Eze_10:12 and the fact that the wheels were covered
with eyes, see Eze_1:18. In Eze_10:12 we have the important addition, that the whole of
the body and back, as well as the hands and wings, of the cherubim were full of eyes.
There is all the less reason to question this addition, or remove it (as Hitzig does) by an
arbitrary erasure, inasmuch as the statement itself is apparently in perfect harmony with
the whole procedure; and the significance possessed by the eyes in relation to the wheels
was not only appropriate in the case of the cherubim, but necessarily to be assumed in
such a connection. The fact that the suffixes in ‫ם‬ ָ‫ר‬ָ‫שׂ‬ ְ‫,בּ‬ ‫ם‬ ֶ‫ה‬ ֵ‫ַבּ‬‫גּ‬, etc., refer to the cherubim,
is obvious enough, if we consider that the wheels to which immediate reference is made
were by the side of the cherubim (Eze_10:9), and that the cherubim formed the principal
feature in the whole of the vision.
Eze_10:13 does not point back to Eze_10:2, and bring the description of the wheel-
work to a close, as Hitzig supposes. This assumption, by which the meaning of the whole
description has been obscured, is based upon the untenable rendering, “and the wheels
they named before my ears whirl” (J. D. Mich., Ros., etc.). Hävernick has already
pointed out the objection to this, namely, that with such a rendering ‫ַי‬‫נ‬ְ‫ז‬ ָ‫א‬ ְ‫בּ‬ forms an
unmeaning addition; whereas it is precisely this addition which shows that ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ָ‫ק‬ is used
here in the sense of addressing, calling, and not of naming. One called to the wheels
‫ַל‬‫גּ‬ ְ‫ַל‬‫גּ‬ ַ‫,ה‬ whirl; i.e., they were to verify their name galgal, viz., to revolve or whirl, to set
themselves in motion by revolving. This is the explanation given by Theodoret:
ἀνακυκλεῖσθαι καὶ ἀνακινεῖσθαι προσετάχθησαν. These words therefore gave the signal
for their departure, and accordingly the rising up of the cherubim is related in Eze_
51

52. 10:15. Eze_10:14 prepares the way for their ascent by mentioning the four faces of each
cherub; and this is still further expanded in Eze_10:16 and Eze_10:17, by the statement
that the wheels moved according to the movements of the cherubim. ‫ד‬ ָ‫ח‬ ֶ‫א‬ ְ‫ל‬ without an
article is used distributively (every one), as in Eze_1:6 and Eze_1:10. The fact that in the
description which follows only one face of each of the four cherubs is given, is not at
variance with Eze_1:10, according to which every one of the cherubs had the four faces
named. It was not Ezekiel's intention to mention all the faces of each cherub here, as he
had done before; but he regarded it as sufficient in the case of each cherub to mention
simply the one face, which was turned toward him. The only striking feature which still
remains is the statement that the face of the one, i.e., of the first, was the face of the
cherub instead of the face of an ox (cf. Eze_1:10), since the faces of the man, the lion,
and the eagle were also cherubs' faces. We may, no doubt, get rid of the difficulty by
altering the text, but this will not solve it; for it would still remain inexplicable how
‫רוּב‬ ְ‫כּ‬ ַ‫ה‬ could have grown out of ‫ר‬ ‫שׁ‬ by a copyist's error; and still more, how such an
error, which might have been so easily seen and corrected, could have been not only
perpetuated, but generally adopted. Moreover, we have the article in ‫רוּב‬ ְ‫כּ‬ ַ‫,ה‬ which
would also be inexplicable if the word had originated in an oversight, and which gives us
precisely the index required to the correct solution of the difficulty, showing as it does
that it was not merely a cherub's face, but the face of the cherub, so that the allusion is to
one particular cherub, who was either well known from what had gone before, or
occupied a more prominent position than the rest. Such a cherub is the one mentioned
in Eze_10:7, who had taken the coals from the fire between the wheels, and stood
nearest to Ezekiel. There did not appear to be any necessity to describe his face more
exactly, as it could be easily seen from a comparison with Eze_1:10. - In Eze_10:15, the
fact that the cherubim arose to depart from their place is followed by the remark that the
cherubic figure was the being (‫ָה‬‫יּ‬ ַ‫ח‬ ַ‫,ה‬ singular, as in Eze_1:22) which Ezekiel saw by the
Chaboras, because it was a matter of importance that the identity of the two theophanies
should be established as a help to the correct understanding of their real signification.
But before the departure of the theophany from the temple is related, there follows in
Eze_10:16 and Eze_10:17 a repetition of the circumstantial description of the
harmonious movements of the wheels and the cherubim (cf. Eze_1:19-21); and then, in
Eze_10:18, the statement which had such practical significance, that the glory of the
Lord departed from the threshold of the temple, and resumed the throne above the
cherubim; and lastly, the account in Eze_10:19, that the glory of the God of Israel, seated
upon this throne, took up its position at the entrance of the eastern gate of the temple.
The entrance of this gate is not the gate of the temple, but the outer side of the eastern
gate of the outer court, which formed the principal entrance to the whole of the temple-
space. The expression “God of Israel” instead of “Jehovah” is significant, and is used to
intimate that God, as the covenant God, withdrew His gracious presence from the people
of Israel by this departure from the temple; not, indeed, from the whole of the covenant
nation, but from the rebellious Israel which dwelt in Jerusalem and Judah; for the same
glory of God which left the temple in the vision before the eyes of Ezekiel had appeared
to the prophet by the river Chebar, and by calling him to be the prophet for Israel, had
shown Himself to be the God who kept His covenant, and proved that, by the judgment
upon the corrupt generation, He simply desired to exterminate its ungodly nature, and
create for Himself a new and holy people. This is the meaning of the remark which is
repeated in Eze_10:20-22, that the apparition which left the temple was the same being
as Ezekiel had seen by the Chaboras, and that he recognised the beings under the throne
52

53. as cherubim.
CALVIN, “Here the Prophet, as in the first chapter, says that wheels were added to
each living creature. I have previously explained what the wheels mean. I will now
only allude to them; concerning the living creatures I shall by and bye treat more
fully. But the wheels are images of all the changes which are discerned in the world.
No more suitable figure can be chosen; for nothing is stationary in the world, but
revolutions, as we commonly call them, are continually happening. Since, therefore,
they are so changeable, nay even tumultuous at times, profane men cannot
understand how the world is governed by the fixed counsel of God; but they
fabricate for themselves a blind fortune: hence God in concession to our weakness
has represented to us, under the form of wheels, all changes of things, all accidents,
as they are called, and all events; as if he were to say, that all things in the world are
revolving and changing, not only that all elements are agitated upwards and
downwards, but human events especially. Meanwhile he has corrected the error,
while he has conceded something to the rudeness of men. For we see manifold
conversions which appear to us under the form of a wheel: but meanwhile we
indulge in too much license, when we imagine a blind fortune. Hence the Prophet
saw wheels near the cherubim; that is, he saw those changes by which men’s minds
are disturbed, as if all things happened rashly in the world. But he saw that the
wheels did not revolve by their own force, but are annexed to the angels, since all
events depend on a first cause, namely, on that secret ordinance and inspiration of
God, by which the angels are moved, and whence also they have their vigor. In this
explanation nothing is forced, because it is not doubtful that the living creatures, as
we shall soon see, signify angela Let us go on then to the context —
COFFMAN, “"And I looked, and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one
wheel beside one cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub; and the
appearance of the whole was like a beryl stone. And as for their appearance, they
four had one likeness, as if a wheel had been within a wheel. When they went, they
went in their four directions: they turned not as they went, but to the place whither
the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went. And their whole
body, and their backs, and their hands, and the wings, and the wheels, were full of
eyes round about, even the wheels that they four had. As for the wheels, they were
called in my hearing the whirling wheels. And every one had four faces: the first
face was the face of the cherub, and the second was that of a man, and the third the
53

54. face of a lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle."
FURTHER DESCRIPTION OF THE VISION
Ezekiel 10:9-12 is nearly identical with Ezekiel 1:15-18; and this writer cannot
visualize any consistent apparatus that fits the vision. Wheels that are whirling, but
do not turn as they go, and that go in four directions somehow fail to form any clear
picture. The complex, complicated vision is here changed in the particular of so
many eyes so widely distributed, and "the face of the cherub," is apparently
substituted for the "face of an ox" in Ezekiel 1. Perhaps we are not supposed to be
able thoroughly to understand it. Dummelow is the only author we have studied
who offered an adequate explanation of why the face of "the cherub" is not referred
to as the "face of an ox." "The whole vision was about to move Eastward; and from
where Ezekiel stood, the face of the cherub on the east side was that of an ox (as in
chapter 1); but it is here called "the face of the cherub, because that was the
direction in which the vision would move, and so might be called `the cherub.'"[11]
If the vision should have been poised to move in any other direction, the man, the
lion, or the eagle would have been the "face of the cherub," depending on the
direction indicated, whether North, West, or South. It was the eastward projection
here that made the "ox face" the "face of the cherub."
All of the eyes depicted here is a reference to the all-knowing, all-seeing God. Cooke
tells us that the pagans also illustrated this characteristic of their gods by making
idols covered with eyes.[12]
Another example of this is found in Zechariah 3:9, where one reads of the Stone that
had seven eyes, which stands for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The actions of the great Vision in this second appearance of it to Ezekiel, "Enable us
here to witness the beginning of the gradual withdrawal and departure of the glory
of the Lord from the city. God was not leaving it permanently, some day he would
54

55. return."[13]
Yes, this was true; (see Ezekiel 43); but only in a typical sense. God's glory would
never again dwell in "a temple made with hands." God's glory would indeed dwell
with Israel forever; but it would be within the holy temple, namely, the Church, the
New Israel of God, and not in any sense whatever with the old racial Israel that so
long had denied and rebelled against God Himself. That return of God's glory to the
"temple of God" occurred on the Day of Pentecost, the birthday of God's church.
As Matthew Henry said, "It was sad to see that God was forsaking his sanctuary,
where his honor and glory had so long dwelt; but it was pleasant to see that God
was not forsaking the earth, as the idolaters had proclaimed (Ezekiel 9:9)."[14]
Where was God's glory, or the manifestation of his Presence, located during that
time between the destruction of Jerusalem until the Day of Pentecost? Its
appearance in Babylon in Ezekiel 1 indicates very strongly that God's presence was
with the "righteous remnant," with those "Israelites indeed," who waited for the
kingdom of God (John 1:47). There does not appear to have been a very large
number of those "true Israelites." The apostles of Christ, Nathaniel, Elizabeth and
Zecharias, Mary and Joseph, some of the brothers of Jesus, Zacchaeus, Simeon,
Anna and others were some whom we can identify.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:9 And when I looked, behold the four wheels by the cherubims,
one wheel by one cherub, and another wheel by another cherub: and the
appearance of the wheels [was] as the colour of a beryl stone.
Ver. 9. And when I looked, behold the four wheels.] This chapter compared with the
first, do, like glasses set one against another, cast a mutual light.
As the colour of a beryl stone.] Lapidis berylli thalassis. See Ezekiel 1:16. Wheels
are voluble, and the sea tumultuous; so are all things and places in this present life:
55

56. lay hold on life eternal.
PETT, “Verse 9
‘And I looked and behold, four wheels beside the cherubim, one wheel beside one
cherub, and another wheel beside another cherub, and the appearance of the wheels
was as the colour of a stone of Tarshish. And as for their appearance, they four had
one likeness, as if a wheel had been within a wheel.’
This verse and the verses that follow are very similar to Ezekiel 1:15-18 except that
now the living creatures are called cherubim. It may well be that Ezekiel had not
connected the living creatures with the cherubim until he saw them connected with
the temple. Alternately he may not have wished to make the connection to his
hearers lest they thought Yahweh had already deserted His house. Once again the
wheels are seen as individually connected with each of the cherubim. In Ezekiel
10:13 it is emphasised that they are called ‘the whirlers’. This may well be intended
to signify something like whirlwinds, like ‘a wheel within a wheel’. They were like a
‘stone of Tarshish’. These would be exceedingly brilliant and beautiful. Thus they
were like whirling wheels of brilliant light and power.
Tarshish was famous for its silver (Jeremiah 10:9) and from it came valuable metals
(Ezekiel 27:12; 1 Kings 10:22). Thus its inhabitants dug deep in the earth and found
many wonderful things (Job 28:5-6). In view of the fact that ships sailed to and from
Tarshish from and to Ezion-geber (1 Kings 10:22; 2 Chronicles 20:36), and that this
is connected with Ophir (1 Kings 22:48), it might suggest a place in Africa, or even
India. But Jonah set out for Tarshish from Joppa (Jonah 1:3; Jonah 4:2) which may
well have been Spain. Thus Tarshish (‘refinery’?) was a name given to a number of
places from which precious things came.
10 As for their appearance, the four of them
56

57. looked alike; each was like a wheel intersecting a
wheel.
CLARKE, "A wheel had been in the midst of a wheel - It is difficult to
comprehend this description. It is generally supposed to mean one wheel within
another, cutting each other at right angles. This, in my opinion, will not account for the
motions attributed to these wheels; nor can I see how, on this supposition, they could
have any motion; for if one was moved on its axis, the other must be dragged contrary to
its axis. I have conjectured it rather to mean a wheel within a wheel, or a wheel with two
rims, working on the same axis. See on Eze_1:16-18 (note). It is however no matter of
faith; and the reader may judge as he thinks proper. For other matters relative to this
chariot, wheels, cherubim, wings, etc., I must refer to the notes on the first chapter. And
perhaps from the whole of this vision and its difficulties, he will see the propriety of the
council of rabbins ordering Rabbi Ananias three hundred barrels of oil to light his lamp
during the time it would be necessary for him to employ in explaining this one vision.
GILL, "And as for their appearances, they four had one likeness,.... They were
exactly like one another; they were all composed of the same matter, had all the colour of
a beryl stone, were all in the same form of a wheel; and in matter, form, and shape,
entirely tallied and agreed one with another, as true Gospel churches do: See Gill on
Eze_1:16;
as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel: not included in one another, but
were formed in a cross or transverse way; See Gill on Eze_1:16.
JAMISON, "four had one likeness — In the wonderful variety of God’s works
there is the greatest harmony: -
“In human works, though labored on with pain,
One thousand movements scarce one purpose gain;
In God’s one single doth its end produce,
Yet serves to second, too, some other use.”
(See on Eze_1:16).
wheel ... in ... a wheel — cutting one another at fight angles, so that the whole
might move in any of the four directions or quarters of the world. God’s doings, however
involved they seem to us, cohere, so that lower causes subserve the higher.
57

58. CALVIN, “We have also explained this part. He says that all had the same aspect,
not because God always governs events in an equable manner, for experience
opposes this. But he means that the appearance was the same, because the variety
which causes darkness to our eyes, does not remove the perpetual and well-arranged
tenor of the works of God. Hence there is one appearance to the four wheels,
because all God’s works agree among themselves; and although their wonderful
variety draws our eyes this way and that, yet he knows how to direct to his own
purposes things which appear so dissipated. There is again a kind of concession,
when he says, that wheel was in the midst of wheel For we see things so mutually
involved, that no distinction occurs to us when we consider God’s works by our own
carnal sense. If we wish, therefore, to judge concerning God’s works, wheel will be
in the midst of wheel; that is, there will be wonderful perplexity, and this will hold
us so bound together, that our minds cannot extricate themselves. This, therefore, is
the concession, that. wheel was in the midst of wheel; but the common error is
corrected directly afterwards, when the Prophet adds that the wheels were full of
eyes It follows then —
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:10 And [as for] their appearances, they four had one likeness,
as if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.
Ver. 10. As if a wheel had been in the midst of a wheel.] So intricate and perplexed
often times are God’s ways and works, that the wisest men know not what to make
of them. [Zechariah 14:6] In that day the light shall neither be clear nor dark, but
between both, tanquam ηως κροκοπεπλος.
11 As they moved, they would go in any one of the
four directions the cherubim faced; the wheels did
not turn about[b] as the cherubim went. The
cherubim went in whatever direction the head
58

59. faced, without turning as they went.
BARNES, "The head - Either “the leading wheel which the others followed,” or
more probably, the head of a cherub (one for all), the description passing from the
wheels to the cherubim Eze_10:12.
GILL, "When they went, they went upon their four sides,.... Which four sides
they had, by being made in the transverse way before mentioned; just as the New
Jerusalem church state is said to be foursquare, Rev_21:16; and this may denote the
uniformity of Gospel churches in every state and condition, prosperous and adverse; and
the constancy of their walk, conduct, and conversation:
they turned not as they went: neither to the right hand or the left, but went on in the
path of faith and duty, keeping close to the word of God, and keeping up a conversation,
discipline, and worship, according to it:
but to the place where the head looked they, followed it; meaning either the
rulers, guides, and governors of churches, pastors and elders; whose faith and
conversation are followed by the members: or rather Christ himself, the head of the
church, who is to be followed whithersoever he goes or directs: unless by the head is
meant the same as the spirit, Eze_1:20; the Spirit of God, by whom the true members of
Gospel churches are led, and after whom they walk. The Targum is,
"the place to which the first turned (or looked), after it they went;''
that is, the first of the wheels; and so may signify that the primitive churches are the
pattern after which all the churches in after ages are to go;
they turned not as they went; this is repeated partly for the confirmation of it; and
partly to excite attention to it, as being worthy of observation; See Gill on Eze_1:17.
JAMISON, "(See on Eze_1:17).
turned not — without accomplishing their course (Isa_55:11) [Grotius]. Rather,
“they moved straight on without turning” (so Eze_1:9). Having a face towards each of
the four quarters, they needed not to turn around when changing their direction.
whither ... head looked — that is, “whither the head” of the animal cherub-form,
belonging to and directing each wheel, “looked,” thither the wheel “followed.” The
wheels were not guided by some external adventitious impetus, but by some secret
divine impulse of the cherubim themselves.
59

60. CALVIN, “Now, as I have remarked, after the Prophet has granted that there are
certain events of things as it were twisted and bending, and that God acts through
windings, he then shows that God does nothing rashly: and that the events which we
think tumultuous and confused have a certain direction, and that too the best. For
this reason he says, first that the wheels had set out, they did not return, since each
followed its own head Interpreters do not agree on these words. For as to the
turning of the head, some translate it “ the first,” and thus mean that in whatever
way the first cherub goes, the others follow him. But I rather think that the wheels
are compared with the cherubs themselves, and the singular noun head is here put
for heads: for we before saw that wheels were annexed to each cherub, Therefore
each wheel has its own head, that is, has a living creature by which it is ruled. Hence
the sense of the Prophet is, that the ‘wheels turned on this side or on that, by any
outward or sudden impulse, but were governed by the cherubim themselves, which
will explain this portion more clearly.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:11 When they went, they went upon their four sides; they
turned not as they went, but to the place whither the head looked they followed it;
they turned not as they went.
Ver. 11. Upon their four sides.] That is, to their several quarters assigned them by
God, who doth things methodically, and in order.
But to the place whither the head looked.] (a) That is, God, who guided the whole
chariot by a universal and equal inspiration. [Ezekiel 1:12; Ezekiel 1:20-21]
PETT, “Verse 11
‘When they went they went on their four sides. They turned not as they went. But to
the place where the head looked, they followed it. They turned not as they went.’
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61. The fours sides would be north, south, east and west, and when they moved they
moved directly forward without being diverted. Thus they had freedom of travel
and a certain inevitability about their progress. Nothing could frustrate their
purpose. This latter is emphasised by being mentioned twice.
And they went where the head (or chief) looked. This may refer to ‘the cherub’, the
anointed one, as chief among them, or to the heads of each of the cherubim
(compare Ezekiel 10:14 and Ezekiel 10:16), depending on whether we see the ‘they’
as being the wheels (Ezekiel 10:10) or the cherubim (Ezekiel 10:12). Or it may even
refer to the head of Yahweh on His throne. He had only to look and they went where
He looked.
PULPIT, “Ezekiel 10:11
Whither the head, etc. The word has been taken, as in Job 29:25, for the "chief" or
"principal" wheel, that which for the time determined the course of the others. With
all the complex structure of the cherubic chariot, all was simple in its action. The
spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels, and that gave unity (Ezekiel 1:20).
12 Their entire bodies, including their backs, their
hands and their wings, were completely full of
eyes, as were their four wheels.
GILL, "And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and their
wings,.... This is to be understood not of the wheels, to whom body or flesh, backs,
hands, and wings, do not belong, but of the cherubim; and the sense is, that as the
61

62. wheels were alike, and had one and the same form and appearance, so had the
cherubim; they were exactly alike in their body, backs, hands, and wings; denoting the
agreement between Gospel ministers, in their doctrine, work, and conversation:
and the wheels were full of eyes round about; that is, the rings or circles of the
wheels, as in Eze_1:18; signifying that churches consisted of enlightened persons, who
had a sight of their sin and danger, and looked to Christ for salvation, and walked
circumspectly, and watched over one another:
even the wheels that they four had: the wheels that belonged to the four living
creatures or cherubim.
JAMISON, "body — literally, “flesh,” because a body consists of flesh.
wheels ... full of eyes — The description (Eze_1:18) attributes eyes to the “wheels”
alone; here there is added, on closer observation, that the cherubim themselves had
them. The “eyes” imply that God, by His wisdom, beautifully reconciles seeming
contrarieties (compare 2Ch_16:9; Pro_15:3; Zec_4:10).
CALVIN, “He adds, that the wheels were full of eyes. Hence we gather, that
although by the events of things God may seem to sport and to have various erratic
circuits, yet all things are governed by his inestimable wisdom: for this reason the
wheels are said to be full of eyes The Prophet uses the word flesh inappropriately
for the very body of the wheels. But we know that the language which he used in
exile was not very elegant, and hence it is by no means wonderful if it is rather
rough and savors of asperity. Yet the sense is not doubtful, since the whole body of
the wheels in their back and their hands was all full of eyes: he next adds, the wheels
themselves, not to mark anything different, but afterwards when he speaks of the
flesh, the back and the hands, he names the wheels simply: as if he had said that
they were full of eyes in every part. Now we see how things contrary in appearance
may be best reconciled. For the events of things are as unstable as if any one kept
turning’ a wheel: then they become complicated, as if wheel was within wheel: but in
the meantime God so tempers all things among themselves which seem to us
confused, that it may appear that he perceives best what is necessary to be done, and
that the events of things are full of eyes. But whence does this arise? This clearness
depends on the angelic inspiration, for the wheels are not turned in different
directions of their own accord, but each follows its own leader and head. It is also
said, in appearance like the stone Tharsis, (beryl.) Jerome thought the Cilician sea
was intended, and so translated it sky-colored: but because we know that this name
beryl occurs among the precious stones, I therefore retain the simple sense. Now it
follows —
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63. TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:12 And their whole body, and their backs, and their hands, and
their wings, and the wheels, [were] full of eyes round about, [even] the wheels that
they four had.
Ver. 12. And the whole body,] viz., Of the cherubims. {as Ezekiel 1:19-21} The
wheels are said to be full of eyes. God, who overruleth all, is ολοφθαλμος, All eye.
His providence is like a well drawn picture, which vieweth all that are in the room.
(a)
WHEDON, “12. The prophet now sees, what escaped him at the first appearance of
these creatures (Ezekiel 1:5-13), that they, as well as the wheels, were full of eyes.
Though the movements of the living creatures and the wheels were like lightning
there was nothing capricious or blind about these. An infinite knowledge guided
their activity. (Compare Revelation 4:6.) As has been said, the prophet receives here
a new impression of the all-seeing eye of Jehovah. Everywhere as he stands face to
face with the forces of nature he can say — must say, within himself — “Thou God
seest me!”
PETT, “Verse 12-13
‘And their whole body, and their backs and their hands, and their wings, and the
wheels, were full of eyes round about, the wheels that they four had. And as for the
wheels, they were called in my hearing “the Whirlers”.’
In Ezekiel 1:18 it was the edges of the wheels that were full of eyes. Here Ezekiel sees
them more closely and the whole of these beings are full of eyes, their bodies, their
backs, their hands and their wings, including the wheels. They see all and are aware
of all. They are possibly ‘the Watchers’ of Daniel (Daniel 4:17). And the whirling
wheels stress the continual activity and power. They are ‘the Whirlers’.
63

64. Alternately RSV translates, ‘and their rims, and their spokes and the wheels were
full of eyes round about’ but agrees in the margin that the Hebrew also reads ‘and
their whole body’ (which LXX omits but reads ‘their backs and their hands and
their wings’). This was to square with Ezekiel 1:18. But there is an expansion
whichever way we look at it and therefore the former is preferable. In the end the
wheels and the cherubim are as one (Ezekiel 10:17).
PULPIT, “Ezekiel 10:12
And their whole body. Here there is distinctly a new feature. In Ezekiel 1:18 the
"rings" of the wheels were "full of eyes." Here the eyes are everywhere. It is not
hard to interpret this part of the vision. The prophet receives a new impression of
the all-seeing eye of Jehovah. Everywhere, as he stands face to face with the forces
of nature, he can say, must say, within himself, "Thou God seest me" (Genesis
16:13). There is an eye that looks upon him where he least expects it. The same
thought appears in the stone with seven eyes in Zechariah 3:9. St. John reproduces
it in the same form as Ezekiel, with the exception of the wheels, which form no part
of his vision, in Revelation 4:6.bi, “Full of eyes round about.
Divine vigilance
God has been called “All eye.” This is the terrible pain of living, that there is no privacy,
no solitude, no possibility of a man getting absolutely with himself and by himself.
Wherever we are we are in public. We can, indeed, exclude the vulgar public, the
common herd, the thoughtless multitude; a plain deal door can shut out that kind of
world: but what can shut out the beings who do the will of Heaven, and who are full of
eyes, their very chariot wheels being luminous with eyes, everything round about them
looking at us critically, penetratingly, judicially? We live unwisely when we suppose that
we are not being superintended, observed, criticised, and judged. “Thou God seest me”;
“The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.” We need not regard
this aspect of Divine providence as alarming. The aspect will be to us what we are to it.
Faithful servants are encouraged by the remembrance of the fact that the taskmaster’s
eye is upon them; unfaithful servants will regard the action of that eye as a judgment.
Thus God is to us what we are to God. If we are humble, He is gracious; if we are
froward, He is haughty; if we are sinful, He is angry; if we are prayerful, He is
condescending and sympathetic. Let the wicked man tremble when he hears that the
whole horizon is starred with gleaming eyes that are looking him through and through;
but let the good man rejoice that all heaven is one eye looking upon him with
complacency, watching all his action that it may come to joy, reward, rest, and higher
power of service in the generations yet to dawn. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The eyes of Providence
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65. “Full of eyes round about.” Here is a difference from that in Eze_1:18. It is said there the
rings were full of eyes; here, that all, even wheels and cherubims, were full of eyes, and
He that sat on the throne, even the Lord, He is full of eyes.
1. The motions of causes and creatures here below are not casual or disorderly. The
wheels and cherubims are full of eyes, they see and know their way, the work they
have to do, the place they are to go unto; the eye of Providence is in every creature
and every motion. When things fall out contrary, or beside our expectations, you say
they are mischances; but you are mistaken: in sea or land affairs, in martial,
magisterial, or ministerial, yea domestic affairs, whatever falls out is an act of
Providence; surprising or sinking of ships, disappointment of counsels, defeating of
armies, escape of prisoners, interception of letters, firing of towns, drownings, self-
murderings, divisions of brethren, clandestine marriages, abortions, divorces, the
eyes of Providence are in them all, and heaven’s intentions are accomplished in
them.
2. There is much glory and beauty in the works of Divine providence. All the wheels
and cherubims are full of eyes; the wheels have eyes round about, not in one place,
but in every place; the cherubims, their bodies, backs, hands, and wings are full of
eyes; and (Rev_4:8) they are full of eyes within, they are inwardly and outwardly
glorious, beautiful. Man’s eyes add not so much beauty and glory to his face, as these
eyes do to the works of God in the world. The peacock’s train, which is full of eyes,
how beautiful and glorious is it! yet far short of the beauty and glory which is in
God’s government of the world. When the queen of Sheba saw so much wisdom in a
man, so much glory and beauty in the order of his house, she admired, and had no
spirit left in her (1Ki_10:4-5). And could we see the wisdom which is in God, the
glory and beauty which is in His ordering the wheels, we would be so far from
complaining of any wheel’s motion that we would admire every wheel, the order and
motion of it; but oh, how blind are we, who hardly have an eye to see any of these
eyes! When a man is on a high hill, there are many hedges, ditches, and separations
of one piece of land from another; there are low shrubs and higher trees, here a hill
and there a river; yet all contribute something to make a beautiful and glorious
prospect to the eye: and so it is in the works of providence. If we were lifted up by the
Spirit to view the wheels and their motions, we should find that all these things that
seem grievous to us, our wars, divisions, taxes, burdens, and such like, do contribute
much towards a glorious prospect. (W. Greenhill, M. A.)
13 I heard the wheels being called “the whirling
wheels.”
65

66. BARNES, "According to the marginal rendering the present verse refers back to Eze_
10:2, Eze_10:6, and tells us that the name “galgal, a rolling thing” (compare Isa_17:13),
was given to the wheels in the seer’s hearing. But taking Eze_10:14 as a description, and
reading Eze_10:15 immediately after Eze_10:13, the meaning is clear. In the hearing Of
the seer a voice calls upon the wheels, and, obedient to the call, the cherubim are lifted
up and the wheels roll on. The word “galgal” would be better rendered “chariot” instead
of “wheel;” “chariot” representing very well the collection of “wheels.”
CLARKE, "As for the wheels, it was cried unto them - O wheel - Never was
there a more unfortunate and unmeaning translation. The word ‫הגלגל‬ haggalgal, may
signify, simply, the roller, or a chariot, or roll on, or the swift roller. And he clepide ilke
wheelis volible, or turninge about. Old MS. Bible. Any of these will do: “and as to the
wheels,” ‫לאופנים‬ laophannim, “they were called in my hearing” ‫הגלגל‬ haggalgal, “the
chariot.” The gentleman who took for his text “O wheel!” and made God’s decree of
eternal predestination out of it, must have borrowed some of Rabbi Ananias’s three
hundred barrels of oil! But such working of God’s word cannot be too severely
reprehended.
As these wheels are supposed to represent Divine Providence, bringing about the
designs of the Most thigh, how like is the above ‫הגלגל‬ haggalgal, taken as a verb, “roll
on,” to those words of Virgil in his Pollio: -
Talia saela, suis dixerunt, currite, fusis,
Concordes stabili fatorum numine Parcae.
“The Fates, when they this happy web have spun,
Shall bless the sacred clue, and bid it swiftly run.”
GILL, "As for the wheels, it was cried to them in my hearing,.... Or they were
called, as the prophet heard in the vision, by the following name:
O wheel, or, "the wheel": for though there are several particular churches, yet they
make up but one general assembly and Church of the firstborn, written in heaven; and
will be all together in their perfect state, signified by the round form of the wheel; See
Gill on Eze_1:15.
JAMISON, "O wheel — rather, “they were called, whirling,” that is, they were most
rapid in their revolutions [Maurer]; or, better, “It was cried unto them, The whirling”
[Fairbairn]. Galgal here used for “wheel,” is different from ophan, the simple word for
66

67. “wheel.” Galgal is the whole wheelwork machinery with its whirlwind-like rotation.
Their being so addressed is in order to call them immediately to put themselves in rapid
motion.
CALVIN, “By this verse the Prophet better confirms what I have said, that the
events of things are full of eyes, since they depend on the secret commands of God.
Because therefore nothing happens unless by God’s command, hence it happens in
the multiform changes of things that there is an equable tenor with reference to
God. He says therefore that God cried, or the angel, O wheel. We know that wheels
are properly without sense: but here the Prophet signifies that God’s voice is heard
by all creatures, so that not even the slightest motion happens without that secret
instinct. When the air is serene and calm, we do not think that God’s voice reigns
there, but we imagine some natural cause: so also when the sky is clouded, when it
rains, when storms rise, when other changes happen, in some way or other we
exclude God from these actions. But the Prophet, on the contrary, says, that he
heard the voice of God when he cried O wheel (220) But God did not exclaim by way
of derision, but wished to testify that there was a certain hidden inclination by
which all creatures obey his command To this end therefore God exclaims, O wheel,
that we should not think that events are rashly moved, or that any agitation arises
without control, or that the elements are so gross that they do not obey God, since
his voice gives efficacy and vigor to all.
“Wheel within wheel indrawn,
Itself instinct with spirit.” — Par. Lost, 6:751.
COKE, “Ezekiel 10:13. As for the wheels, &c.— And he cried unto them in my
hearing, Run. The command is given to the four wheels in the singular number,
because the motion of the four was one and the same. See Houbigant. The wheels
were animated, therefore addressed; because capable of obeying the great
charioteer, chap, Ezekiel 1:20.
——Wheel within wheel undrawn, Itself instinct with spirit. PARADISE LOST, vi.
751.
67

68. TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:13 As for the wheels, it was cried unto them in my hearing, O
wheel.
Ver. 13. It was cried unto them.] By him who sat upon the throne calling for their
obedience, as indeed all things here, yea, even the senseless creatures, are God’s
servants. [Psalms 119:91]
O wheel.] O round world - q.d., Hear the voice of thy Maker and Master; or, Oh
how unstable and changeable art thou!
WHEDON, “13. “As for the wheels, they were called in my hearing, the whirling
wheels” (R.V.). The last word — galgal — is very difficult to translate. Dean
Plumptre translates it by “chariot,” saying that the prophet “recognized that as the
right name of the whole mysterious and complex form. It was nothing less than the
chariot throne of the King of the universe” (Pulpit Commentary). But, while this is
an easy way out of the difficulty, unfortunately this word never has this meaning in
any other passage. It is almost the word wheel, with an emphasis upon the fact that
the wheel is whirling. Perhaps the most sensible rendering which would retain the
literal meaning would be, “They were called in my hearing, ‘whorl,’ or
‘whirlwind.’” (Compare Kautzsch.) The reference is to their lightning-like rapidity
of movement. (Compare Ezekiel 1:14.)
PULPIT, “As for the wheels, etc.; better, with the Revised Version, they were called
in my hearing, the whirling wheels; or better still, to keep the collective force of the
singular galgal, the chariot. He recognized that as the right name of the whole
mysterious and complex form. It, was nothing less than the chariot throne of the
King of the universe. There is no sufficient reason for taking the noun, with the
Authorized Version, as a vocative.
BI, “O wheel.
The wheel of providence
I take this figure to refer to Divine providence—the actual dealings of the Creator with
His creatures; so various, so complicated, and yet so harmonious after all.
68

69. I. The changes in God’s providence. The chariot that we see here is not of the old rude
type, not a mere sledge drawn roughly and heavily along the ground; but something
more ingenious and more elaborate. It has its wheels—that beautiful kind of mechanism,
which none of the most recent improvements in locomotion have been able to
supersede; the wheel, with its many spokes and perfect circle, ever revolving and
revolving. Many of us can recollect the time when, as children, our minds first caught the
idea of the motion of a wheel; the higher part becoming the lower, the spokes that were
upward becoming reversed and pointing downward, whilst from beneath other spokes
were ever rising to the top; and so, nothing continuing at one stage—nothing to be seen
but change, change, perpetual change. And now, no longer children, we see it all in
providence; and, seeing it, look up and cry, “O wheel!”
1. We see it in social life.
(1) Look into the house. “One generation is passing away, and another
generation coming.” “Instead of the fathers are the children.”
(2) Look on the Exchange. Old long-established houses are sinking, are
disappearing, and younger firms are taking their place.
(3) Look into the Churches. Where are the old preachers that used to move all
hearts? and who are these younger men that have risen to so much influence?
2. We see it in national experience. See what our Father is doing in the earth, what
changes—what mighty changes—He is working on every hand. This is no new aspect
of His dealings. There was a time when on the spokes of the wheel were written the
names of Babylon and Persia, of Greece and Rome. And then the wheel turned
round: and each in succession rose to the summit—and was humbled to the dust.
Has it not been the same story ever since? and is it not the same story now? It
matters not what political opinions you may hold. As you watch the rise and fall of
nations, parties, and opinions on the wheel of Divine providence, you are
constrained to cry, “O wheel!”
3. We see it in the history of the professing Church. Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos,
Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea—these are the names of seven famous
Churches: Churches to which Christ Himself dictated sacred letters, and which stood
high and conspicuous in the religious history of the world. Where are they now? The
wheel has turned! They are sunk down into the mire, and lie buried there! So too
with the Churches to which Paul wrote. Where are Corinth, Galatia, Philippi,
Colosse, Thessalonica? The mosque rises where once stood the Christian sanctuary,
and the Crescent has displaced the Cross. But you say, The Church of Rome still
stands. It does! But is this the Church to which Paul wrote? So you may go through
the professing Churches of every name—at home and abroad—near or far, and you
will find nothing uniform or stationary: only change upon change—increase and
decrease—advance and decline until you stand amazed and bewildered, and can only
cry, “O wheel!”
II. Progress in the midst of all these changes. The wheel the prophet saw was not like the
wheel we may see in fireworks,—one which revolves round the axle, leaving the axle
motionless; it was the wheel of a chariot—one which carries the axle with it, and bears
the chariot on with each revolution. And there is something in this view very cheering in
the truth it suggests: that in the midst of so many changes of God’s providence a real
progress is taking place. Bear in mind—the progress of the chariot is independent of the
69

70. position of the separate spokes. Some of them may be rising, some falling; but each
moment the chariot goes on. Nay, some of them may be actually moving backwards—but
still the chariot goes forwards. Just so, all the changes in God’s providence—even those
that look like changes in the wrong direction—are helping on the progress after all.
1. In what sense is this to be understood? In what forward movement are these
changes bearing a part? I answer, in the accomplishment of the purposes of God. The
world is to be converted to God. “All the ends of the earth shall remember,” “I, if I be
lifted up,” etc. The Church is to be complete in members, purity, and bliss. We read
of “a multitude that none can number, of all nations and kindreds and people and
tongues.” We read of saints “without spot or blemish,” and these are “presented
faultless,” etc. The Redeemer is to have a large and abundant reward. “He shall see of
the travail,” etc.
2. In what way can this progress come to pass? How can changes so disastrous help
forward the accomplishment of purposes so delightful? We have to do with One who
is “wonderful in counsel and excellent in working.” There may be lions in the path—
but He slays the lions, “and out of the eater comes forth meat, and out of the strong,
sweetness.” There may be passions in man’s heart worse than beasts of prey,—but He
so controls their working that in the end “the wrath of man shall praise Him.” “Is
there anything too hard for the Lord?” (F. Tucker, B. A.)
The mysteries of providence
I. The extent and universality of its operations. The wide reach of God’s providential
government comprehends what is easy to be understood as well as what is mysterious.
The light and the darkness are often placed together, though in reality they are both alike
to Him. With God there is nothing incomprehensible:—the terms great and little, easy
and difficult, with Him are words of the same meaning. When we read the account of
these wheels, of their rings and their motions, and the living creatures that accompanied
them, we are confounded. Yet it is easy to conceive of the Son of Man governing the
celestial inhabitants according to the will of His Father, regulating their movements by
the agency of His Spirit, and employing them as instruments in accomplishing His
gracious purposes.
II. The complexity of its movements.
1. Is it not intended to mortify our pride? There is no religion without humility.
2. Does it not serve to exercise our faith and patience?
3. Is it not designed to check in us a lawless spirit of curiosity?
III. The perpetuity of its revolutions. The changes that are taking place in the history of
nations, churches, families, and individuals are all tending to the completion of His
designs. Are they not intended to teach us how uncertain and unsatisfactory are all
created things?
IV. The harmony of their concurrence.
1. They are all directed to one object.
2. They are all acting upon one plan. Here there is nothing casual or fortuitous. The
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71. past has made way for the present, and the present is preparing for the future.
3. They are all animated by one influence.
V. It is unimpeded in its progress. We mean not to say that there are no hindrances in
the way of the Divine purposes being accomplished; for ignorance, prejudice, and sin
present most formidable barriers; but as the wheels in the vision are described as going
forward, impelled by a Divine influence, it certainly teaches us that God’s will is
irresistible, and intimates the certain triumph of truth in the world. (Essex
Remembrancer.)
Ezekiel’s vision of the wheel
The cry, “O wheel,” the articulated cry of the universal human spirit, meant, “O Divine
mystery! the intellect cannot comprehend thee, yet the heart’s aspiration is towards
thee.”
1. This exclamation indicates our proper attitude in presence of these mysteries as
one of awe, and not of definition. Modern scientific investigation tends to reveal to
us, more and more humiliatingly, the narrowness and impotence of our faculty. The
very growth of knowledge makes manifest the limitations and the illusiveness of
knowledge. And the danger is that of a universal scepticism; that men should say, “I
cannot know anything as it is, and therefore I will believe nothing, obey nothing, but
the instincts of my own nature.” It is only the spirit of reverence that can save us. Let
us not spend our intellectual energies and dissipate our spiritual forces in the pursuit
of that which ever eludes us. Let our language be, “Though we cannot comprehend,
we will adore.” And so let our reverence teach us obedience and love, and our piety
be of the life and not of the intellect. Let us not divorce religion from life, and make it
a series of dead abstractions instead of a living spirit. It is the pursuit of a good that
is known, and not speculation, however dogmatic, upon that which is unknowable,
that constitutes practical religion. It is “in loving our brother whom we have seen”
that we attain to the love of God, “whom we have not seen.”
2. In all this imagery the prophet is describing a vision of God, and by the emblem of
the wheels he describes so much as is understood of the Divine nature. There is
breath in the wheels. It is a living deity. There are eyes around the peripheries. This
points to infinite knowledge and intelligence as overruling the world. The wheels are
four-faced; the faces representing the different orders of creation, showing the
relation of the Divine Spirit to all the various kingdoms of life. The movements are
swift and in all directions, there being a double motion of the wheels, which are
inserted in pairs at right angles to each other. This suggests the idea of
omnipresence. The mischief is, that so many minds stay in the symbol and suffer it to
block out the spiritual idea, instead of serving as a stepping stone to it The wheel
becomes the deity instead of the symbol of deity; the object of idolatry, instead of
simply a spiritual hieroglypbic to aid our conceptions of the Divine.
3. The wheel which the prophet saw in his vision stands not only for a representation
of the Divine nature, as he conceived it, but also as an illustration of the Divine
method in the universe.
(1) It is curious, in the light of the prophet’s representation, that the scientific
theory of the origin of the universe which at present holds the field is the doctrine
71

72. of “vortices,” which teaches that the atoms of the impalpable ether first became
compacted into solid matter through a spinning motion in some way imparted to
them, or generated amongst themselves. All the planets were originally whirling
rings of molten or meteoric matter thrown off from their central sun, such as
may still be seen in the rings of the planet Saturn. The mightiest forces of nature
with which we are acquainted on our earth travel in circles more or less perfect:
the cyclone, the whirlwind, the whirlpool, the ocean currents. There is perpetual
circulation, or, to use the prophet’s term, “wheeling” or “whirling” everywhere. It
is in the body, in the course traversed by the blood. It is in the cells of minutest
plants, where the protoplasmic fluid travels in circles or circuits with a
movement that is called for this reason “cyclosis.” It is in the meteorological
conditions of the earth. The fierce heat of the sun in equatorial regions causes the
water of the ocean to evaporate in vast bodies of invisible vapour, which, rising to
the upper regions of the air, are drawn into currents which bear them to the
colder northern regions of our planet, where they distil in snow and rains upon
the mountains; form rivulets and rivers which flow back into the sea, and are
borne once more by the trend of the pelagic currents to the regions whence they
arose. The movements of the tides imply a constant circulation. This portion of
the globe on which we dwell has experienced remarkable rotations of climate. It
has known, for long ages together, both tropical heat and arctic cold; and it is
supposed that the slow oscillations of the earth’s polar axis may bring round
similar changes again. And so, in the movements of History, the same law
prevails—the whirling wheel is still the type. The very words we use to describe
the course of providential occurrences is a proof of this. We talk of cycles—of
revolutions—of evolution. In all these words the central idea is that of circular
motion. There is everywhere revolution and return. There are cycles of thought
which complete themselves, and then the human mind seems to revert to its
starting point. Old exploded errors are continually cropping up again, and the
world’s teachers have to be perpetually doing their work anew. We all know how
fashions recur: not only fashions in dress but fashions in thinking. We laugh at
witchcraft and toy with spiritualism. The pages of history are filled with the
stories of the rise and fall and decay of nations that emerged from comparative
barbarism to a splendid civilisation and universal conquest, and then fell back
into a condition of comparative barbarism once more.
(2) In the prophet’s vision there were “wheels within wheels.” This points to
another law of the universe, the complex relations of forces. You have seen an
orrery, a most complicated piece of mechanism, whereby the orbits of the
heavenly bodies are illustrated. It is just a system of “wheels within wheels.”
Nothing can be explained by itself. The ancients used to divide off the various
sciences as though each were a self-contained and independent department of
study. But now the sciences are so interlaced and mutually dependent that you
cannot effectively study any of them alone. “To understand botany aright you
must also possess a knowledge of chemistry. You cannot understand zoology
apart from geology. Psychology, the science of mind, is rapidly becoming a
department of physiology. The same force which we call electricity is, according
to varying conditions, at one time heat, at another time motion, at another time
light, at another time latent energy,—“wheels within wheels.” We talk about
simple thoughts. There is no thought that is not the product of, and that does not
ramify into, a thousand other thoughts. We talk of the “simple Gospel,” but what
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73. wheels within wheels of mystery, what a vast range of insoluble questions does it
suggest! It is a simple Gospel only to the unthinking.
4. I find further suggested by this emblem, the Divine law of progress. The
revolution of the wheels results in transition over space. There is the motion, not
only upon their own several axes, but through the air and over the ground, according
to the will of the informing spirit. They are the type, not only of motion, but of
locomotion, Winter after winter the leaves fall, and vegetation dies down, and
everywhere is apparent decay and death. But nature is only recovering herself for
another effort, and in the spring every tree shoots forth into a more vigorous growth.
Nature dies to live again. Out of the decomposition of last year’s foliage what new
and beauteous forms of floral life have sprung! And their decay in turn will nourish
other forms of life. “Every atom of the soil is in the universal wheel of things.” Shall
this be true of nature alone? Shall not man rise through seeming dissolution to his
true completion? As one of our modern mystics says, “We call autumn the fall of the
year, and winter the dead past of the year, but they are as really included in the
circuit of the year as spring and summer. Let us learn to contemplate the fall and the
death of man, together with his new birth and resurrection, his ascension and
glorification, as comprehended in the wheel of God.”
5. The prophet is careful to tell us that, complex as were the wheels, they were not
mere dead mechanism. “The spirit of life was in the wheels.” The immanency of the
Divine life in all things was to him a noble and a helpful conception. And the latest
teachings of science and philosophy, God’s modern priests and prophets, are that all
this mighty universe, all the things that we see and hear and perceive, are the
phenomena, the manifestations, of a hidden but all-pervading life that, through our
sensations, is thus in direct, constant, and vital contact with our consciousness.
There is no such thing as dead matter. It is we who are dead, not to perceive the life
that is in all.
6. Think of Ezekiel’s monsters and griffins, and his impossible machinery careering
through the air, as embodying the thought of God; and then contrast these
representations with those of Him who said, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the
Father”; who translated Divine abstractions into living and loving deeds; who healed
the sick, and said, “That is God”; who taught the ignorant, and said, “That is God”;
who forgave injuries, and said, “That is God”; who laid down His life, and said, “That
is God”; who pointed to no grotesque symbols and spoke in no mystical jargon, but
of the ever-serving, the ever-sacrificing, the ever-present, the ever-loving Father—
God. (J. Halsey.)
Wheels
I. The wheel, as a rule, moves round one central bar of wood or iron, which we call an
axis or axle. It teaches us a lesson in this respect. Our lives should have one strong
principle, about which they should move just as the wheel does round its axle, and never
turn aside in the least.
2. The wheel often bears the burdens of others, and thus hellos the world to go on.
This is true of many kinds of wheels; but I will only speak now of those which you see
every day under all kinds of conveyances on railways and in our streets. How
patiently they turn round and round, often along dirty roads, in order to carry the
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74. heavy burdens laid upon them! I want you children to be like the wheels, always
ready to render a kind service to others: “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and thus
fulfil the law of Christ.”
3. There is many a wheel that is satisfied with working out of sight. For instance, the
wheels of the clock or watch go on doing their work although most attention is paid
to the hands which they turn rather than to themselves. There are many in the world
who could learn a great deal from wheels that work patiently out of sight. They are
willing to be flywheels, which everybody can see and admire; but not to be little
wheels, which do their work unnoticed by anyone—except by the Great Engineer,
who knows them well, and what important work they are doing. There are others
who are satisfied with the thought that this Divine Engineer is pleased with them
because they do just the work He wishes them to do; and know that He is “no
respecter of persons.”
4. The wheel only asks of us a little oil to encourage it to go on. The other day I heard
the wheels of a perambulator crying piteously for just two drops of oil; but the
nursemaid was as deaf as a pest, and did not hear them, and the poor wheels went on
squeaking. There are some good, kind people who will do all they can for the sake of
others; but occasionally they want a little oil by way of encouragement; a kind word
or smile, that is all. (D. Davies.)
The vision of the wheels
None of all the prophets have set out the providence of God in His wisdom, power,
sovereignty, and superintendency more than this prophet Ezekiel, nor by more elegant
emblems. In the whole verse you have four parts.
I. The crier. Which though not expressed, yet is necessarily to be understood. “It was
cried”; by whom? By Him that sat upon the throne (verse 1), that is the Lord.
II. You have the cry itself. “O wheel!”
III. The object of the cry. To whom it was made; it was to the wheels. “As for the wheels,
it was cried to them.”
IV. Here is the witness in whose presence the cry was uttered, and that was the prophet.
“It was cried in my hearing.” In speaking of these wheels, it will be necessary to look into
the whole vision. In which vision you may see an excellent subordination of causes one
to another, and all to the supreme cause, in the carrying on the government in the
providential kingdom of Christ.
1. You have the supreme cause set out by the appearance of a man upon a throne
above the firmament (Eze_1:26). Above the firmament was the likeness of a throne,
and upon the throne was the likeness of a man above upon it. The likeness of a man.
Who is this but the Lord Christ in the Person of the Mediator? But Christ was not as
yet come in the flesh, why then is He here represented in the likeness of a man?
(1) It was to prefigure His incarnation.
(2) It was to show that the government of the world was put into His hand as
Mediator, and that He possessed the throne of the world not as God only, but
according to His human nature. By Him all things consist (Col_1:17). And hence
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75. it is that God the Father calls Him, My King (Psa_2:6).
2. Though Christ rules absolutely, yet He doth not rule immediately; He governs the
world by the agency of the Eternal Spirit. As Christ rules for God, so the Spirit rules
for Christ. He is the great Administrator of the government throughout the
mediatory kingdom. He sets all a-going (Eze_1:12). Whither the Spirit was to go,
they went; and again (verse 20), whithersoever the Spirit was to go, they went;
thither was their Spirit to go. All the angels of God are under the command of the
Spirit. And so it is with the wheels, they all move as the Spirit of God moves them.
What great things did the judges in Israel of old! Why, all was by the Spirit of God.
So it is said of Othniel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went out to war,
and the Lord delivered his enemies into his hand (Jdg_3:10). So it is said (Jdg_
11:29), The Spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he fought against the
children of Ammon; and the Lord delivered them into his hands. So it is said of
Samson: The Spirit of the Lord moved him (Jdg_13:25). Princes, armies, navies are
all nothing without the Spirit of God act them. If God dispirits, the men of might
cannot find their hands. The sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them (Lev_26:36).
And if God spirits men, one shall chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to
flight (Deu_32:30). The wheels go which way soever the Spirit goes. If you see the
wheel go over kingdoms, and break down thrones and sceptres, marvel not at the
matter, for the Spirit of God is in the wheels.
3. Here is another subordination of causes; and that is the living creatures. In chap.
1:5 you read of four living creatures, every one of which had four faces (Eze_1:6). He
doth not say who or what these living creatures are in that vision; but in this tenth
chapter he tells you they are the angels (Eze_1:20). The living creatures that I saw,
under the God of Israel, I knew that they were the cherubims; everyone had four
faces apiece (Eze_1:21). The former vision was at Chebar, this was in the temple. God
discovers Himself more in the temple than at Chebar (Psa_29:9). And if you look
into chap. 1:10, there is a description of their faces. As for the likeness of their faces,
they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, and the face of an ox, and the
face of an eagle. The very same faces with the four beasts mentioned (Rev_4:7).
These four faces show four excellent endowments. Wisdom and prudence, typed out
by the face of a man. Courage and boldness, by the face of a lion. Diligence and
industry, by the face of an ox. Expedition and dispatch, by the face of an eagle. These
were the likeness of the four faces of each cherubim, all which is to instruct us in the
wise forecast by which the Providence of God doth dispose of all these lower events
that come to pass in the world. The angels are the great ministers of Christ in the
government of the world, called four here (chap. 1:5), four living creatures; not
because Christ uses that number, and no more, but the number relates to the object,
namely, the world, which is constantly divided into four parts, east, west, north, and
south; and these are called the four quarters of the earth (Rev_20:8). And the four
quarters of heaven (Jer_49:36). As there are four parts of the world, so the angels
are said to be four; to show that they have a care of the whole earth (Rev_7:1). But
otherwise God doth not use only four angels in the conducting the affairs of the
world, but many, yea multitudes (2Ki_6:17). Christ hath His angels in all quarters; as
the devil and his angels compass the whole world for evil, so Christ hath His angels
who compass it for good. They are in every corner and company; especially in every
church and assembly. The inward part of the temple was to be adorned with
cherubims, to note the special attendance of the angels in the assemblies of the saints
(1Co_11:10). If Satan and fallen angels have a power to influence the affairs of the
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76. world for evil, then surely good angels have as much power as they to influence them
for good, otherwise devils should gain by their fall more than ever they had by their
standing. Great is the influence of angels in the governments of the world; therefore
the wheels are said to follow the motions of the cherubims (Eze_10:16).
4. Here is a further subordination; and that is of the affairs of the world to the
angels. Christ, who rules all, sends His Spirit, the Spirit acts the angels, the angels
rule the world, and therefore you have in the next place a vision of wheels. By these
wheels the world is resembled, and all the affairs of it (Eze_1:19). When the living
creatures went, the wheels went by them; and when the living creatures were lifted
up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. And ver.
2. When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood. Now they which
are called here the living creatures are in Eze_10:16 called the cherubims, and the
reason of all is in the next words, for the Spirit of the living creature is in them, i.e. in
the wheels, as it is twice mentioned (Eze_1:20-21). So that here you have a short
view of the whole subordination of causes one to another, and of all to the supreme
cause, in ordering all the affairs of this lower world. God the Father puts the
government of all into the hands of Christ. Christ substitutes the Spirit to be His
Prorex, and sends Him into the world to manage all things. The Spirit acts the
angels, and they all minister to Him. The angels act the wheels, and they all are
governed by them. I must open this part of the vision a little more distinctly
concerning the wheels—
1. As to the nature of them.
2. As to what is ascribed to them.
1. As for the nature of these wheels, they are visional, and presented by way of
emblem. The prophet tells you (chap. 1:1) the heavens were opened, and I saw
visions of God. These wheels were a part of those visions, and therefore not material
wheels, but yet as really represented to the eye of the prophet in similitude, and as
strongly impressed upon his mind in the image of them as if they had been material.
By the wheels we are to understand this visible world, because of the turnings and
changes of all things in it. It is usual with the Spirit of God to resemble the world to
things that are in their nature most mutable.
(1) The wheel is a thing fitted for motion. From its figure it is apt to turn and
move any way; that spoke that is now lowermost is anon highest, and that which
is got to the top soon comes to the bottom again; here is no such matter as a
permanent state of things. What are the kingdoms and empires of the world, but
so many wheels turning up and down? Those four great monarchies, the
Babylonian, the Persian, the Grecian, and the Roman, where are they? What is
become of them? how did they wheel from one to another, and at last wheeled
out of being? So it is with cities,—what is become of Sodom, and the cities of the
plain? Nay, what is become of Jerusalem? She that was once the beauty of the
whole earth, and yet now laid waste, and not one stone left upon another. Nay,
the Church, which hath a firmer foundation than heaven and earth, yet she is a
wheel too: hurried here and there, never long in any condition; sometimes
prosperous, sometimes persecuted. Now she enjoys rest and peace; anon, O thou
afflicted, and tossed with tempest! One while she is in Egypt, another while in the
wilderness; sometimes in Canaan, and sometimes in Babylon. The lot of the
Church under the Gospel is the same. It is the same with particular persons and
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77. families; how doth the wheel turn there? Solomon tells you, one generation
passes away, and another comes, but he tells you of none that stays. Man’s exit is
so near to his entrance, that what comes between is inconsiderable. His birth is a
change, his death is a change, and so is his whole life: there are changes in his
health; well today, sick tomorrow. Changes in his height and honour; now on the
top of the wheel, anon at the bottom. You have an instance of this in Haman.
(2) Wheels make a great noise, their motion is obstreperous; so the prophet
describes them (Nah_3:2). The noise of the rattling of the wheels, and of the
jumping chariots. So it is in the motions of the world. Great wars make a great
noise; therefore you read of the noise of the trumpet, and the noise of war (Exo_
32:17). Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise (Isa_9:5). Great
sorrows and great rejoicings make a great noise (Ezr_3:13). You read of the noise
of joy, and the noise of weeping. Great changes in government make a great noise
(Jer_49:21). The earth is moved at the noise of their fall.
(3) The wheel is an instrument of great variety of services; it is many ways useful.
The chariot is drawn upon wheels; great burdens are carried upon the wheel.
Now, from these things it will not be difficult for you to apprehend what is meant
by the wheels in this vision; namely, all created beings in this lower world; and all
instruments which God makes use of in the government of it; all the elements,
fire, water, earth, and air: they are so many wheels. But we are to understand
them chiefly of rational agents: kings and princes, magistrates and ministers,
armies and navies, rich and poor, learned and unlearned. Thus much for the
nature of the wheels, which is the first thing to be opened.
2. As to what is ascribed to them. Now, concerning these wheels, there are several
things ascribed to them that are of very great moment.
(1) It is said the wheels are full of eyes (Eze_10:12). “The wheels were full of eyes
round about.” This implieth the Omniscience of Christ, and His exact notice of all
matters in the world; though many things may be hid from us, yet there is
nothing hid from Him. If we could suppose anything done by man that is
unknown to God, why then, in that particular thing the knowledge of man would
be superior to God; he would know something more than God knows, which is
impossible; for the eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the
good (Pro_15:3). There are secrets of government, secrets of state, secrets of the
heart, secret contrivances, secret aims and intentions; but none of them are
secrets to God. Known unto God are all His works from the beginning of the
world. Thus the wheels are full of eyes.
(2) This sets out the care of Christ: the things of the world are not carried on by a
blind force; all events are wisely disposed of by the governing care of Providence,
which hath a special influence in the managing of all. Things may seem to us to
run upon wheels, to go at random, or to fail out by chance, but there is no such
thing as chance to that God that foresees and orders all events. He worketh all
things according to the counsel of His own will. Those motions and commotions
in the world that to us seem most irregular and confused are all ordered by God.
(3) These wheels are said to go upon their four sides (Eze_10:11 of this 10th
chap.). I told you before that the four wheels answer to the four parts of the
world; and when it is said they went on the four sides, the meaning is that, look
what quarter of the world was appointed to them, thither they went and there
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78. they moved. And then it shows their motion was constant and settled, answering
to the immutable purpose of Him with whom there is no shadow of change. God
is not as man, who is fickle and doth not know his own mind, turning from one
side to another; today for pulling down what yesterday he set up. There is no
altering the course of Providence; no art, no power, no policy can turn Him out of
the way, His Providence is settled in its motion.
(4) There is no going back (Eze_10:11). They turned not as they went, but to the
place whither the head looked they followed it; they turned not as they went. We
may be sure there are no retrograde motions in the course of Providence. How
can there, seeing the wheels are full of eyes round about? He to whom all future
events are in present view can see no cause to repent. There can be no blots in the
copy of Providence, because it is written by the straight line of His unerring
counsel. If God go forth against a person, or against a nation or people, none can
stand in His way to turn Him back (Isa_43:13). If God will pull down, who can
support? If God will take away (be it honours, or crowns, or kingdoms, or life
itself), who can hinder Him? Can policy turn Him back? No. Take counsel
together, and it shall come to nought (Isa_8:10).
(5) The wheels are said to he lifted up from the earth, and to be high and
dreadful (Eze_1:18-19). This is to teach us that God’s wisdom is infinite and
unsearchable, and His Providences full of mystery. Sometimes they move in an
ordinary way, then the wheels move upon the earth. Sometimes God goes out of
the usual road, and acts in extraordinary ways, that reason can’t reach, then the
wheels are said to be “high, and lifted up from the earth.” How little could Joseph
see what God was doing when he was in the pit at Dothan, less in the dungeon in
Egypt, when he is laid in chains for a reward of his chastity? Oh, how high are the
wheels above the earth! nay, sometimes they are so high that they are dreadful
(Eze_10:18). They were so to Jeremiah (Eze_12:1). Wherefore doth the way of
the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?
They were so to Job (chap. 19:7). Behold I cry out of wrong, but am not heard; I
cry aloud, but there is no judgment. He hath kindled His wrath against me, and
He counts me as one of His enemies (verse 11). When the Church is in trouble,
and all the earth sits still, and is at, rest. When you see Christians kingdoms
broken with wars and tumults, and heathen nations in peace and quiet. His
providences are ever righteous, but sometimes very mysterious.
(6) There is a wheel in the midst of a wheel (Eze_1:16, and Eze_1:10 of this
chap.). Their appearance and their work was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of
a wheel. This implies a transverse motion, like the circles in a globe, that cut and
cross each other. It is to show us how cross and contrary the motions of
Providence are to our apprehensions and designs. He brings about His purposes
by contrary means. Haman lays a plot against the Jews, to cut off all the people of
God in one day; and the king himself was in the plot too; letters were written, the
thing agreed on. The wheel seems to run very smoothly; but mark the next
words, it was turned to the contrary; and in the day that the enemy thought to
have power over the Jews, that the Jews had power over them that hated them.
Here’s a wheel in the midst of a wheel. Who can understand the intricacies of
Providence? The working of this inward wheel is seen many ways. When God
shall make such impressions upon the spirits of men as shall have their effect in
their utter ruin, is not this from the wheel within?
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79. (7) The wheels are sometimes at a stop, they stand stiff. So you read (verse 18 of
this 10th chap.). When the cherubims stood, the wheels stood. This sometimes is
really so. God suspends the ordinary operation of the creatures. The lions’
mouths are shut so long as Daniel is in the den. The fire hath no power upon the
three martyrs. God can stop the motions of all second causes as He pleases. The
sun stands still upon Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of Ajalon, if God will
have it so. The sea divides, and the waters stand as a wall to fence out a passage
for Israel. God can put a stand to the greatest wheels. Israel in Egypt cries for
deliverance, God promises the thing, and sends Moses to effect it; but instead of
being delivered, their bondage is increased, and their task doubled. The wheels
seem to stand.
(8) The wheels are said to have all one likeness (Eze_1:16; Eze_10:10). They four
had one likeness. Likeness in colour and appearance. Their appearance was like
the colour of a beryl (Eze_1:16). Likeness in situation, none higher than other:
likeness in dimension, none greater or lesser than other. This teacheth us that
there are the same dispensations of Providence in all times and all places, alike
changes and vicissitudes everywhere (Ecc_9:2). All times have their turns, and
all places their changes, as well one as another. That which befalls one nation
befalls another; in all parts of the world the wheels are the same, all move to
accomplish the purposes of God; alike in end, all move to promote the glory of
God.
(9) The wheels are upon the earth (Eze_1:15). “As I beheld the living creatures,
behold one wheel upon the earth by the living creatures.” He mentions but one
wheel, because he that saw one saw all, by reason of their likeness. But how could
the wheel be seen on the earth, when the prophet saw the vision in heaven? As
the wheels were not material wheels, but visional; so this earth was not the
material earth, but earth in a vision; and so it was not the earth beneath, but an
earth above. The wheels are said to be seen on the earth, and not in heaven, to
intimate to us the difference between this state and that. This is a state of
changes, but that state is unchangeable; the wheels are on earth, there are none
in heaven. As there are no changes in God, I am the Lord, I change not (Mal_
3:6); so there are no changes in the glory that results from His presence. All
things in that state are durable and permanent. In heaven, where all graces are
perfect, there all our comforts are constant. But here, where all our duties are
mixed with infirmities, no wonder if all our comforts have their alloys. It is the
wisdom of God to proportion our outward condition to our inward disposition,
which is mixed and chequered. The wheels are seen upon the earth.
(10) The wheels are acted by the living creatures (Eze_1:19; Eze_10:16; Eze_
01:17). The living creatures in the first chapter are the cherubims in this, and
they are the angels that are intended by both. And that which is the design of the
Holy Ghost in these expressions is to confirm this truth, that all inferior causes
are acted and governed by causes superior. No creature moves below without a
guide above. When the cherubims went, the wheels went. The angels have a great
hand in the government of the world. And therefore if we will have any more
distinct account of the motions of the wheels, we must then observe the motions
of the angels. And concerning them, here are three things to be remarked—
1. Their going.
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80. 2. Their being lifted up.
3. Their returning.
1. Their going. It is said they went; and this going of theirs hath two circumstances
not to be passed by.
(1) They went straight forward.
(2) They ran.
(1) They went straight forward. “They went”; there was no cessation. “They went
forward”; there was no interruption. “They went straight forward,” without
diversion. Had they looked back, that had denoted unwillingness. Had they
turned aside, that had spoken out frowardness. Had they given over before they
had completed their course, that had argued weariness. And this carriage of the
angels is instructive in three duties. To be diligent in the Lord’s work. It is the
rule God gives us (Ecc_9:10). You have motives to this both from without and
within; both from below and from above. From without. How industrious are
wicked men in the service of sin, making provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts
thereof. And shall they take more pains to damn their souls than we do to save
ours? You have motives from within. How active is indwelling sin in the heart;
what vigorous efforts doth it make to set up its dominion within, to gratify every
lust, to spoil every duty, to root out the habits of grace, to quench all the motions
of the spirit. You have motives from beneath. How restless are the infernal spirits
against your souls; and should not this awaken us out of our sinful slumbers, and
quicken us to duty? the apostle proposes it for that end (1Pe_5:8). You have
motives from above. The good angels of God, oh, how active are they in all their
ministrations; therefore called flames of fire (Psa_104:4), because of their agility
and fervency in fulfilling the commands of God.
(2) Another duty this carriage of the angels teaches us is to mind our way and
have our eye to the mark. “They turned not when they went.” They looked not
this way or that, but straight forward, to accomplish that which was their
appointed work. As the apostle said (Php_3:14), I press toward the mark. Of all
things be sure to mind this, to have an eye to special duty; this is going straight
forward. This carriage of the angels instructs us to persevere in the ways of God,
without being weary. The cherubims went straight forward, and turned not when
they went; and shall not the wheels do so too? Shall we begin in the spirit and
end in the flesh? (Gal_5:7).
(3) There is another circumstance in their motion, and that is the speed of it;
they ran (Eze_1:14). The living creatures ran . . . as the appearance of a flash of
lightning, which notes their great speed and swiftness in doing the will of God;
and therefore they are described with wings (Eze_1:6). Every one had four wings.
In Dan_9:21 it is said, Gabriel came flying to him swiftly. And this shows us what
our duty is, namely, To labour that the will of God may be done on earth by us, as
it is done in heaven by angels. So was David (Psa_119:60). Hasty purposes are
usually clogged with show performances. So the Apostle Paul. Immediately I
conferred not with flesh and blood. A ready obedience is a good proof of the
power and virtue of grace in the heart, and renders the duty highly acceptable to
God.
2. They are lifted up. The living creatures were lifted up from the earth (Eze_1:19;
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81. Eze_10:17). The expression may be taken either in an active or a passive sense. Take
it actively, the living creatures lift up themselves from the earth, and the wheels lifted
up themselves also, and then it imports their looking up to heaven for direction and
assistance. So do the angels, and so do the wheels, to teach us that there is no moving
right in the work of God, without direction and assistance from God; therefore says
David, To Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul (Psa_25:1). Wisdom to guide the
undertaking, help to perfect the performance, and success to crown the service. If the
expression be taken in a passive sense, then this lifting up imports a Divine power
influencing the creatures in a more than ordinary manner, to fit them for some
eminent service. It is said of Jehoshaphat, that his heart was lifted up in the ways of
the Lord (2Ch_17:6), i.e. he was carried above all discouragements and difficulties;
and made strong and valiant for God and His work. This teaches us that God doth
sometimes spirit second causes in an unwonted manner, and elevates them above
themselves. So it was with David’s worthies; of one of whom it is said, he lifted up his
spear against eight hundred whom he slew at one time (2Sa_23:8). There is a
notable promise referring to this in Zec_11:8. He that is feeble among them shall be
as David, and the house of David as the angel of the Lord. Let the Spirit of the Lord
but lift up some Zerubbabel to set on foot temple work, and nothing shall hinder;
what though there be a Samaritan faction at home, and that backed with a foreign
confederacy with the Persian court? What great things did the apostles do in the
infancy of the Gospel! Lord, even the devils are subject to us through Thy name
(Luk_10:17).
3. There is the return of the living creatures. So it is said (Eze_1:14). The living
creatures ran and returned; but this seems to contradict the ninth and twelfth verses,
for there it is said, They turned not when they went. But this receives an easy
solution. They turned not from going and doing the work appointed them; but when
that work was done, then they returned. They turned not from executing their
commission, but then they returned to receive new instructions. And hence they are
called watchers (Dan_4:13). Behold a watcher, and an holy one, and (verse 17), This
matter is by the decree of the watchers. They watch for God’s orders to execute them
for the Church’s good; and this teaches us two things.
(1) That God will have an account of all the work He hath given us to do. As the
angels return, so do the wheels. Every one of us must give an account of himself
to God (Rom_14:12). There are none of us but have somewhat or other to
account to God for.
(2) We are taught hereby never to be weary of the work God sets us to do: one
duty should fit us for another (Gal_6:9). Thus by the wheels being acted by the
cherubims we learn what a perfect harmony there is among all second causes in
their dependence upon and subjection to the wise and holy God.
4. Here is another thing ascribed to these wheels, and that is, the influencing virtue
of the same spirit which acted the living creatures (Eze_1:20). The spirit of the living
creature was in the wheels. By the spirit here is meant the Divine Spirit, the eternal
Spirit of God: the same Spirit that acts the living creatures, acts the wheels also;
which in chap. 10:17 is called the Spirit of Life; and this is that Spirit which guided all
their motions; therefore it is said (Eze_1:12), Whither the Spirit was to go, they went.
There is not an angel in heaven, nor a wheel upon earth, but are all acted and
governed by the same Spirit. As the Spirit was concerned in the framing of the
wheels; so He is in the motions of them: as He was in the creating of all things; so He
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82. is in all their operations. Lastly, these wheels are under the direction of a voice: as
there are eyes round about them to guide them in their way, so there is a voice above
them to command their motions. As for the wheels, it was cried to them, O wheel!
This cry is the voice of Him that sits upon the throne (verse 1). And though it be
particularly directed to Jerusalem, yet in a more general sense it is intended to the
whole world, to all kingdoms, cities, churches, to all people. But why is the cry made
to one wheel, when here is mention of more? It was cried to the wheels, O wheel! It is
to show us that all inferior causes, and instruments, are but as one in the hand of the
Lord. But though all creatures are included in these wheels, yet rational agents are
principally intended; and if so, then to you is this word cried; and perhaps it is
therefore made in the singular number, that everyone may look on it as his duty to
hearken to the voice of God in the cry. As in giving out the decalogue, it is so directed
that everyone may think himself concerned. Great desires, great joys, great grief, and
great love are frequently thus expressed; and so this “O!” is a servant to the
affections.
1. It is an “O” of discipline, by which we are instructed to admire and adore the
wonders of Providence. The voice is from the throne, but it is to direct us at the
footstool; therefore it is said, It was cried in my hearing, O wheel! (Rom_11:33).
2. It is an “O” of rebuke; and it is to every particular wheel, of what degree soever.
Are magistrates wheels? this O wheel is cried to them. Why do ye stand still? Why
have you acted no more for God? ye are heirs of restraint (Jdg_18:7). Are ministers
wheels? the cry from the throne is to you. O wheel! why do you not take heed to your
ministry to fulfil it? Why do ye not move with more zeal for God, like the living
creatures, that ran as the appearance of a flash of lightning? Why do ye not cry aloud
against the sins of the times? Are parents and masters wheels? then I hear a cry to
you; why do ye not mind the duty of your places? why move ye not more exemplarily
in your families? Finally, every man is a “wheel” that is to be in constant motion for
God; according to the place wherein God hath set him; and therefore the cry from
the throne is to all of all sorts, rich and poor, young and old, high and low, male and
female; to all, without exception of any. “O wheel!” why move ye not! why seek ye not
after God?
3. It is an “O” of threatening. And this follows the former where no repentance
intervenes to prevent it. Counsel goes first, but if that be slighted, reproof comes;
and if that makes no impression, threatening takes place, then it is O wheel! O
church! O city! O kingdom! Judgment is near at hand, wrath is coming upon thee.
And this seems to be the sense of it here. Jerusalem had highly provoked the Lord,
not only in setting at nought His counsels.
4. It is an “O” of lamentation, a language full of sorrow and compassion, and so
shows the pity of Christ to a self-undoing world and people. “O wheel!” What hath
sin brought upon thee? O people, O notion, how deplorable is your case become!
5. It is an “O” of calling, and carries a command in it, which is to be understood,
though not expressed. O wheel! repent and turn yourselves from your idols, and turn
away your faces from all your abominations (Eze_14:6).
1. Doth He that sits in the throne govern the “wheels”? is it He that cries to them and
commands them? then let us not fear the Church’s enemies, how many or how great
soever they may be. One God is more than all opposers.
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83. (1) He is more in number (2Ch_32:7-8).
(2) He is more in power (Job_9:13).
2. If He who sits above upon the throne doth command and govern the “wheels,”
then our duty is to commend them to His care. Therefore, in all our addresses to
God, let us make conscience of praying for the “wheels.”
(1) For the great “wheels” of the nation. Pray for our royal sovereign the king,
whom. God hath made to be the father of our country.
(2) Pray for the two houses, the great council of the nation, those upper and
lower “wheels”; that they may be full of eyes round about, to know the things
which belong to our peace. The highest “wheels” will go wrong if God hides
understanding from them.
(3) Pray for the lesser “wheels,” namely, inferior magistrates, that they may all in
their places act for God, suppress wickedness, encourage virtue, countenance
religion, and so move right on, and not bear the sword in vain.
(4) Pray for the spiritual wheels, the ministers of the Gospel, that they may be
zealous for the truth, bold for God in a time when sin is daring. And seeing that
every person, every individual is a “wheel” in the vision, therefore we ought to
pray for all the Wheels, that they may not stand still, but move right on, following
the guidance of Him that sits above upon the throne. This would make the
“wheels” move wisely, like the “wheels;” that are full of eyes. The Spirit of God is
a Spirit of wisdom, and wisdom is profitable to direct. This would make them
move right on, and not turn as they go. The righteous shall hold on his way (Job_
17:9). Lastly, it would make them move swiftly, and be in the ways of God, like
the chariots of Aminadab.
3. Doth He that sits above upon the throne govern the “wheels”? Then let not us do
anything to hinder Him in His work.
4. If He that sits above upon the throne guides the “wheels,” then commit all into
His hands; subscribe to His wisdom, and be resigned to His will; for He doth all
things well and wisely: He is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in working. Many
pretend to bow to His commanding will, who yet cannot subscribe to His effecting
will. Suppose things do not go in the world as you would have them, yet they go as
God orders them: the wheels go right on, God doth not need to set His sun by your
dial. Trust Him with the government of the world, for He is head over all things to
the Church. (Matthew Mead.)
14 Each of the cherubim had four faces: One face
was that of a cherub, the second the face of a
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84. human being, the third the face of a lion, and the
fourth the face of an eagle.
BARNES, "The first face ... - The face of the first was the face of the cherub, and
the face of the second was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion and the
fourth the face of an eagle. Of the four faces of each cherub, the seer names only one -
the face looking in the direction in which that cherub leads the motion of the chariot.
The face of the cherub which presented itself to the seer was that of “an ox.” When he
looking northward first saw the chariot the “ox-face” was on the left side Eze_1:10. This
would make the ox-face look eastward, and it is not unlikely that the man might
approach the chariot from the southeastern part of the inner court.
CLARKE, "The first - was the face of a cherub - In Eze_1:10, this is called the
“face of an ox;” here, the “face of a cherub:” hence, a cherub was in the likeness of an ox,
at least, as to its head. ‫כרוב‬ kerub never occurs as a verb; and its meaning cannot be
precisely ascertained. Parkhurst thinks the ‫כ‬ caph to be here the note of similitude; and
then translates ‫כ‬ ke, “like,” ‫רב‬ rab or ‫רוב‬ rob, “the mighty one;” and, in consequence,
makes the cherubim an emblem of the Holy Trinity. See his lengthy Dissertation under
‫כרב‬ in his Hebrew and English Lexicon.
GILL, "And everyone had four faces,.... That is, everyone of the wheels, for of these
the words are continued; and which agrees with Eze_1:15; See Gill on Eze_1:15,
the first face was the face of a cherub; this being in the room of the ox's face, Eze_
1:10, shows that the face of an ox and a cherub are the same; and that the living
creatures have the general name of cherubim, from the face of an ox; and are so called
from ‫,כרב‬ which in the Syriac and Chaldee languages signifies to "plough", that creature
being made use of in such service:
and the second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion,
and the fourth the face of an eagle; how these are applicable to Gospel churches,
and the true members of them; see Gill on Eze_1:15.
JAMISON, "cherub — but in Eze_1:10 it is an ox. The chief of the four cherubic
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85. forms was not the ox, but man. Therefore “cherub” cannot be synonymous with “ox.”
Probably Ezekiel, standing in front of one of the cherubim (namely, that which handed
the coals to the man in linen), saw of him, not merely the ox-form, but the whole
fourfold form, and therefore calls him simply “cherub”; whereas of the other three,
having only a side view, he specifies the form of each which met his eye [Fairbairn]. As
to the likelihood of the lower animals sharing in “the restoration of all things,” see Isa_
11:6; Isa_65:25; Rom_8:20, Rom_8:21; this accords with the animal forms combined
with the human to typify redeemed man.
CALVIN, “Now Ezekiel descends to the animals themselves, which he now
pronounces to be cherubim, yet under another form than that in the sanctuary. We
said in the first chapter why he saw four cherubim since only two surrounded the
ark of the covenant. This variation may seem absurd, for God was accustomed to
accommodate his visions to the forms of the law, that he might hold the people in the
simplicity of the law. But the reason which I brought forward in the first chapter is
by no means to be rejected, because in truth so great was the grossness and rudeness
of the people, that it was necessary to bend aside from the first and genuine
institution. God had been content with two cherubim, and in that number doubtless
he represented all angels; but he was surrounded on the right hand and on the left
that he might show the people that he could never be wanting in power to bring
them help. Now the Jews were so stupified that they shut up God in heaven, because
scarcely any recognition of his providence then remained, as we have already seen.
Since, therefore, the Jews thus excluded God from the government of the world, he
was obliged to use a new form, different from that of the law, that they might really
perceive that God’s government extended over the four quarters of the world. And
there is no doubt that by the four living creatures God reminded them that nothing
took place in the world without his control. But when the world is described, its four
quarters or regions are put.
Now, therefore, we understand why the Prophet saw not two cherubim only but
four: the same reason for difference in the form of the cherubim is also added. For
the cherubim were like winged boys: but the Prophet says, that each of the living
creatures was furnished with four heads. This was doubtless an assistance towards
rousing’ the people from their torpor, because the Jews could not otherwise
understand the meaning and the force of the angelic inspiration by which God
governs the whole world: hence after four living creatures had been presented
before the Prophet, four heads were also given to each living creature, namely, the
head of an ox, of a man, of a lion, and of an eagle We said in the first chapter, that
by these heads all living creatures were represented to us: for although trees, and
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86. the sea, and rivers, and herbs, and the air, and stars, and sun, are parts of the
universe, yet in living beings there is some nearer approach to God, and some
clearer display of his energy: for there is motion in a man, in an ox, in an eagle, and
in a lion. These animals comprehend within themselves all parts of the universe by
that figure of speech by which a part represents the whole. Meanwhile since angels
are living creatures we must observe in what sense God attributes to angels
themselves the head of a lion, an eagle, and a man: for this seems but little in
accordance with their nature. But he could not better express the inseparable
connection which exists in the motion of angels and all creatures. We have said, that
angels are not called the powers (221) of God in vain: now when a lion either roars
or exercises its strength, it seems to move by its own strength, so also it may be said
of other animals. But God here says, that the living creatures are in some sense parts
of the angels though not of the same substance, for this is not to be understood of
similarity of nature but. of effect. We are to understand, therefore, that while men
move about and discharge their duties, they apply themselves in different directions
to the objects of their pursuit, and so also do wild beasts; yet there are angelic
motions underneath, so that neither men nor animals move themselves, but their
whole vigor depends on a secret inspiration.
A difficult question remains, namely, why Ezekiel says here that the first head was
that of a cherub, while in the first chapter he said it was that of an ox. (Ezekiel
10:10.) Some escape the difficulty by saying that it appeared at a distance like an ox,
but a nearer inspection showed it to be a cherub, But this is too forced, so that I
have no doubt that there is some difference in the vision; nor does what he
afterwards adds, that this was the living creature which he saw at the river Chebar,
oppose this; for he calls anything which is like another, and has the same object, the
same thing. Paul says their fathers in the desert ate the same spiritual food, and
drank the same spiritual drink. (1 Corinthians 10:3.) But we know how different
was the symbol manna, and the water flowing from the rock, from the sacred
Supper which Christ left for us; but as I have already said, since there is an affinity
between the sacred symbols, they are to be referred to the same scope. Thus Paul
says, the same drink and the same food, and Ezekiel says, it was the same living
creature. Meanwhile, there is nothing out of place in our saying that the vision is
slightly changed, For when God opened himself at first, the Prophet was on profane
ground, now the vision is added more in the form of the sanctuary, because he was
seized by the Spirit, that he might see the abominations by which the Jews had
stained the temple, as already stated. When therefore the face of an ox was
presented to the Prophet, near the river Chebar, that he might now understand that
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87. they were angels, or living’ cherubs, and that the four heads may not distract him,
the face of a cherub is presented to him; so that, being admonished by this sign, he
may determine that each living creature is nothing else than an angel or cherub,
although it differs from the received form, of which God had proposed to Moses an
example on the mount.
We now understand why God turned aside from the course prescribed in his law,
when he offered this vision to his Prophet; because, in truth, the people had so
degenerated from all sense of piety, that they could not be taught by the simple plan
or rule of the law, but had need of gross remembrancers. This is one explanation.
Then again four living creatures are employed, that God may signify that his energy
is diffused through the whole universe. Then, again, four heads are assigned to each
living creature, that we may know that no part of the world is free from his
providence, and from that secret inspiration which is efficacious through angels.
Then as to the last clause, where the face of an ox appeared to the Prophet before,
now he beholds that of a cherub, that he may understand that these living creatures
are nothing else than angels; but the reason why God endues his angels with a new
form, is because the slothfulness of the people was so great, that they did not
recognize what they ought to have been familiar with, for it was not God’s fault that
they had not imbibed the doctrine of piety from their earliest childhood. Now it
follows —
COKE, “Ezekiel 10:14. Face of a cherub— Or, Face of an ox. Houbigant reads the
sentences in the next verse thus: These are the same living creatures which I saw by
the river Chebar; and the cherubims, &c. Ezekiel 10:16. And when they went, the
wheels, &c.
Ezekiel 10:20. And I knew that they were the cherubims— This expression seems
evidently to denote that these cherubims were the same with those in the temple, and
that Ezekiel knew them to be such. There can be no doubt that the word ‫תחת‬ tachat,
rendered under, is properly rendered. The whole representation manifestly
confirms this version. Concerning the etymology of the word, we refer to Dr.
Sharpe's Discourse on Cherubim, p. 397 while I have great pleasure in confirming
what has been advanced on chap. 1 respecting the cherubim, by the opinion of a
very learned and able writer, Mr. Roques; who, speaking of the vision of Ezekiel,
observes, that for the right interpretation of it, the following rules are to be laid
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88. down. The first rule is this: "An explanation which accounts for all the parts
contained in the vision, is much more probable than those which explain only one
part of the vision." The second is this: "An explanation which is conformable to the
present circumstances of the prophet, and of the people to whom he speaks, as well
as to the nature of the things which he is called upon to say to them, is incomparably
more probable than those explanations, which go in quest of past or future events,
which have no connection with the immediate circumstances of the prophet, nor
with the end of his mission." These rules, which appear incontestable, being laid
down, we observe, that their opinion who think that God here draws out a plan of
the government of his providence applied to the present state of the Jews, accounts
for all that Ezekiel saw, and that in a manner which refers to the end of the
prophet's mission, and all that he had to say to this rebellious people. Why wish God
to represent to his prophet the future state of the Christian church, which was not to
be founded till after a series of time, rather than the state of the Jewish church, and
the chastisements which hung over the heads of that hardened people? The people
having revolted from God, and persevering obstinately in that revolt,
notwithstanding the menaces of the prophet, it was proper to shew to Ezekiel, in
order that he might declare it to the rebellious, that providence had its eyes open to
all that had been done, all that had hitherto happened, and that it had seized upon
the rod to smite. The people imagined but too much, according to the errors of
infidelity, that God saw every thing with indifference, and had given the world up to
chance. It was necessary, therefore, to divest them of these fatal prejudices, and to
teach them that the Supreme Being did not behold with the same eye, order and
disorder, contempt of his laws and submission to his will; and that all the
revolutions of states are directed by a superior intelligence, which cannot be
imposed upon. The Jewish people imagined but too much, that the prophets
exaggerated when they threatened them with the severest chastisements. They
repeated with emphasis and complacency the promises of God made to the
patriarchs; that their posterity should not only be more numerous than the stars of
heaven, and the sand which covers the sea-shore; but that it should subsist for ever
and ever. God had declared to Abraham, I will establish my covenant between me
and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant,
to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee; Genesis 17:7. It was proper,
therefore, to shew this stiff-necked people, that the threatenings of God, and his
promises, were not contradictory. That the people, as a nation, conformable to the
promises given by God to the patriarchs, should not be destroyed; but that,
notwithstanding, severe national judgments should be inflicted upon them, to
correct them for their propensity to idolatry, and their scandalous irregularities.
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89. These suppositions, which are reasonable, being granted, we shall have no difficulty
to perceive the sense of this celebrated vision. We shall not follow the order
observed by Ezekiel in the description of what he saw; he raises himself from the
nearest to the most distant objects, going back from effects to their general cause.
We will begin with the First Cause, which gives motion to the whole, traces out the
plan, and procures the execution, according to the rules of his ineffable wisdom, and
agreeable to the nature of those creatures which are the object of his agency. Next
we will proceed to consider the effects of this universal providence, and the
intelligent secondary causes which he frequently employs in the administration of
the government of the universe.
Ezekiel saw a firmament which was above the heads of the animals; there was the
resemblance of a throne, like a sapphire stone, and over the resemblance of the
throne there was as it were the resemblance of a man. This vast transparent
firmament represents to us the heaven, the peculiar residence of the Lord of the
World, and where he has established the throne of his empire. This appearance of a
man, was the emblem of Providence, or God, considered as taking care of all the
creatures whom he hath made. Man is the symbol of intelligence. The mind of man,
with respect to his knowledge and wisdom, is a weak sketch of that Mind which
knows all things, and whose wisdom is unbounded. And yet of all sublunary beings
there is none that approaches so near to the divine nature as man. Under this
emblem also it is that God, considered as seeing all things, and directing all, would
be represented. This resemblance of man was seated upon a throne, to shew that
God governs all things as Lord, and that without agitation, and without labour.
The shining metal, and the fire which surrounded him who sat on the throne, were
the symbols of his glory and his judgments, which are poured upon the wicked as a
fire, and which nothing can withstand; agreeable to Isaiah, chap. Ezekiel 33:14.
The Jews acknowledged that there was a Providence which governed the whole
universe with infinite wisdom. The Psalmist gives us a description of it equally just
and pathetic, in Psalms 104:27; Psalms 104:35. Christians no less than Jews admit
this important truth; and the Gospel establishes it no less strongly than the law. See
Matthew 6:26; Matthew 30-10:29 . To raise the mind of the prophet up to the first
89

90. Mover of those events which strike and astonish us in all the revolutions that
happen with respect to individuals, families, and states, God shews him four wheels
above the firmament, over which the emblem of Providence was placed on a throne.
These wheels are a symbol of those perpetual revolutions which are observed in the
earth, and which by turns lift up and abase individuals and nations. They are of a
prodigious height; to shew that man cannot fathom or know all that is great,
wonderful, and astonishing in the ways of Providence. See Job 8-11:7 . Isaiah 9-55:8 .
Romans 34-11:33 . These wheels move themselves every way, and are full of eyes in
the vast circle of their felloes. This shews that all which God does, he effects without
pain, and that the eye of his wisdom ordereth all events in his permissive,
appointing, or suffering will. The wheels did not move of themselves, but they
followed the impulse of the four living creatures: when the living creatures went,
they went, &c. This shews that in the government of the world all the creatures are
subject to Providence, and that God subordinates the creatures one to another. He
directs what those holy intelligences ought to do, who serve him as ministers, and
are here represented by the four animals. And these intelligences, enlightened and
supported by the supreme wisdom, contribute, as far as is suitable, to all that
happens to mankind. The angels, whom Ezekiel saw, were in number four; with
reference to the four cardinal points of the world; to shew that their ministry
extends every where, and that there is no part of the universe which the providence
of God does not govern either in an immediate manner, or by the means of his
ministers. The extraordinary shape of these angels, which appeared to the prophet
in vision, is symbolical; for it is not to be supposed, that those heavenly ministers are
really thus formed. The four faces, wings, and arms of a man, denote the sublime
qualities of these immediate ministers of the Deity; qualities entirely essential to fill
up the extent of their duty. The face of a man denotes their intelligence, of a lion
their intrepid courage, of an ox their patience and perseverance in labour; and of an
eagle their great penetration, their sublime sight into heavenly things, and their
readiness to rise up towards all that is great and divine. The wings being stretched
out, signify that they are always ready to set forward and run with rapidity
wherever the commands of their great Master call them. The wings bent down, are a
symbol of that profound respect in which these heavenly ministers stand before the
Lord of the Universe. Under the wings there were men's arms, to shew that zeal
produces application and labour. Labour without zeal can never be supported; and
zeal without application, is only a hypocritical ardour which amounts to nothing
with that Supreme Master, who requires sincere homage from those who serve him.
If God chose to make known to Ezekiel that his providence extends to all things, and
that even in this life it often takes up the rod to chastise nations and individuals; he
would also shew beforehand, that he wished not the destruction of the Jewish
people, whom he was about to visit in his anger, but only its correction and
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91. amendment. This is signified by the precious metal, which the prophet found
unmelted in the midst of the fiery cloud. This cloud of fire, urged on by a whirlwind,
and involving on all sides the metal, represented the judgments of God, which were
about to fall upon this rebellious people, not to destroy them as a nation, but to
humble and purify them. Nothing is more proper than afflictions to bring men
through grace back to their duty. As fire purifies metals, so the paternal
chastisements of God purify the soul and heart, if the man be not entirely
incorrigible. The people upon whom God was about to pour the vials of his anger,
were not worthy of his lenity. But that great God who is firm in his promises,
remembers the covenant of peace which he had made with the patriarchs. This
covenant is made sensible to the prophet under the image of the rainbows, which
was round about him who appeared upon the throne. Every one knows that this
splendid phaenomenon, which seems to join heaven and earth together, was given to
Noah and his posterity, as a symbol of the covenant which God then made with
mankind, and by which he declared to them, that the earth should undergo a deluge
no more. And thus the pagans considered the Iris as the messenger of the deities. See
Virg. AEn. lib. 5: ver. 604. But whereas the rainbow to the Jews was a symbol of
peace, the Iris of the Pagans was a messenger of trouble. On the sight of this bow,
the symbol of grace, Ezekiel was to be encouraged, and persuaded that his people
were not threatened with an utter destruction. The event fully justified all that the
prophet had contemplated with surprize in this enigmatical picture. The Chaldeans,
the rod of the Lord's just severity, ravaged Judea: the people were carried away
captive: they groaned for seventy years in a foreign land: but they were protected in
a miraculous manner against the bloody designs of a cruel Haman: and, at length,
favoured with various decrees of the kings of Persia, they had permission, not only
to return to their own country, but also to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple, as we
shall see hereafter in our notes on chap. 37:
REFLECTIONS.—1st, We have here a glorious appearance of the Divine Majesty,
like that which the prophet saw, chap. 1.
A throne of dazzling brightness is set in the firmament above the cherubim, and
God's attendant ministers stand ranged on the right side of the house, as expressive
of their abhorrence of the image of jealousy which stood on the left.
1. God departs from his holy place, from the cherub, where the Shechinah, the
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92. symbol of the divine presence, rested, and stood over the threshold of the house, as
ready to depart; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of
the brightness of the Lord's glory, see 1 Kings 8:11. The temple was in darkness, an
emblem of the blindness of the Jews; and the court of the Gentiles illuminated, God
having resolved to send to these the light of his Gospel. And the sound of the
cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, loud as the voice of mighty
thunderings; intimating their departure thence, or signifying the glorious voice of
Gospel-grace, which by the preaching of the apostles should sound forth to the most
distant nations.
2. The city of Jerusalem is doomed to be burnt with fire, signified by the command
to the man clad in linen, &c. to go in between the wheels under the cherub, and take
thence burning coals, and scatter them on the city; and he immediately went in,
when one of the cherubs took off the coals, chap. Ezekiel 1:13 and put them in his
hand, and he went forth straight to execute his commission; which intimates, (1.)
That the wrath of God against sin is most holy: it is fire from between the
cherubims, (2.) The Lord Jesus hath all judgment committed to him; and at his
second coming to judge the world, shall burn up the earth, as then Jerusalem, with
fire. (3.) The great quarrel of God against Jerusalem was especially their
persecution of those ministers whom the cherubim represented.
2nd, The particulars here recorded of this glorious vision were before observed,
chap. 1 and with very little variation, except that the face of an ox, there, is here
called, the face of a cherub, which seems to intimate that they were the same.
They who interpret the cherubim of the angels, and the wheels of the Divine
Providence, observe,
1. That this world, like these wheels, is in a state of constant revolution; and though
the dispensations of providence appear sometimes intricate, as wheel within wheel,
they all exactly correspond, and tend to one great end, the glory of God.
2. Nothing can interrupt the counsels and will of God: whatever difficulties are in
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93. the way, the wheels go forward, and every obstruction is borne down, or removed.
3. The angels are the ministering spirits, whose service God is pleased to employ in
his providential government of the world.
The design of repeating this transcendently magnificent appearance here, seems to
be in order to upbraid their wickedness and folly, who provoked this glorious God
to depart from them, as he was now about to do. He departs from the threshold,
ascends his cherubic chariot, and upwards they mount, removing first to the outer
gate of the Lord's house, then to a mountain on the east, chap. Ezekiel 11:23 and at
last he utterly abandons the land. Thus God at first caused his word to be preached
to the Jews; and when they rejected his Gospel, he departed from them, and sent his
ministers far off to the Gentiles.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:14 And every one had four faces: the first face [was] the face of
a cherub, and the second face [was] the face of a man, and the third the face of a
lion, and the fourth the face of an eagle.
Ver. 14. The face of a cherub,] i.e., Humana quidem, sed splendidissima, saith
Junius: Facies pueri alati, saith another. There are those who tell us, that in the
Syriac tongue, the word cherub is taken from a word which signifieth drawing the
plough, which is the bullock’s proper labour. We must believe therefore, say they,
that cherub signifieth properly the figure of a bullock, under which hieroglyphically
was represented an angel. The laborious preacher’s face shall once shine as an
angel’s.
WHEDON, “ 14. This is a description corresponding exactly to that given in Ezekiel
1:10, except that here, instead of “the face of an ox,” we have the face of a cherub.
Many explanations of this have been attempted, but none seem satisfactory. Some
suppose that Ezekiel calls the face of the ox the face of “the cherub” (Hebrews) —
referring to the one which had given the coal of fire to the man in linen; others think
that he refers thus to it because the movement of the chariot was in the direction
which it faced; others imagine that he intends to express here the idea that the
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94. typical cherub form was that of an ox, while still others venture to hint that the
prophet had changed the face of an ox into the face of the cherub, because the
former notion had proven distasteful to his companions in exile. The last two
suppositions are contradicted by many direct statements in both visions; the other
hypotheses do not seem very convincing, and unless a future examination of ancient
manuscripts shall show a corruption of the text it may be best frankly to
acknowledge that we do not know why the prophet makes this change. Professor
Toy omits the verse from his revised text.
PETT, “Verse 14
‘And every one had four faces, the first face was the face of the cherub, and the
second face was the face of a man, and the third the face of a lion, and the fourth the
face of an eagle.’
Here it is the face of ‘the cherub’ that is prominent, and that looks ahead. The ox of
Ezekiel 1:10 has dropped out. This was partly because in Ezekiel 1:10 the living
creatures were not seen as connected with the cherubim. But at this stage in events
the faces of the cherubim change for a more important reason, because they are
acting against domesticised creation (the ox) in Yahweh’s departure from the temple
of Yahweh. He will be going among the wild beasts of Assyria and Babylon. So now
Ezekiel realises that the man’s face that looks forward is not that of a man but of
‘the cherub’ (the cherubim had faces similar to men). Yet he also recognises that
mankind must continue to be included as the prime ones of creation. And all beasts
are included in the lion and the eagle. We must not expect full consistency in this
continuing vision, it is conveying ideas rather than physical realities.
The order of the faces is against the cherub being replaced by the ox as a scribal
error. It was the movement of Yahweh from His temple and the new recognition of
the living creatures as cherubim that occasioned the change, and the forward
looking, controlling face had to be that of the cherub.
PULPIT, “The first face was the face of a cherub, etc.; better, with the Revised
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95. Version, of the cherub. This takes the place of "the face of an ox" in Ezekiel 1:10,
and it is first in order instead of being, as there, the third. It is as though, in this
second vision, he recognizes that this was emphatically the cherubic form. Possibly
the article indicates that this was the form that had given the "coals of fire" in
Ezekiel 1:7. Each form, we must remember, had the four faces, but the prophet
names the face which each presented to him as he gazed.
BI, “Every one had four faces; the first face was the face of a cherub.
The Christian ministry
The text seems to have a decided reference to the angelic hosts,—those ministers of God
who do His pleasure. To resemble these should be the great desire of every Christian,
that God’s will may be done on earth even as it is done in heaven. But especially should
this be the case with the Christian minister: his office greatly resembles that of the holy
intelligences above; he is a messenger of God to mankind, an angel of the Church, and
therefore well does it become him to study the character and emulate the holiness of
cherubim and seraphim in heaven.
I. The first face was that of a cherub. The symbol—
1. Of exalted dignity. Dwelling around the throne of Deity. His especial ambassadors,
etc. No office can be more exalted than that of the Christian ministry. It is that to
which Jehovah appointed His own Son. One writer quaintly remarks, “God had only
one Son, and He made a preacher of Him.” “Workers together with God,” etc.
2. Of elevated devotion. They are represented as holding great intimacy and close
fellowship with God. How indispensable that the ministers of Christ live near to the
Lord, hold close communion with the skies.
3. Of distinguished holiness. Ye that bear the vessels of the Lord, etc., as the priests
of old. Not only partakers of the ordinary graces of the Spirit, but adorned with the
mature fruits of holiness to the glory of God.
II. The second symbol is that of a man. With the sanctity of the cherub is to be united
the sympathy of sanctified humanity. As men, Christian ministers are—
1. To be influenced by their relationship to Jesus as Head of the Church. They should
have His meekness, humility, lowliness, desire to labour, readiness to suffer, etc.
2. To feel for their fellow sinners peculiar compassion. They are their brethren, of
one blood, spirit, and destiny.
3. To know their own insufficiency and entire dependence on God’s blessing. This
treasure in earthen vessels, etc. Paul planteth, etc.
III. The third emblem was the face of a lion. By this we are to understand the strength
and magnanimity which are necessary to the ministerial office. The Christian minister
must be strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus. He must be strong to resist evil, to
stand firm in the conflict, and to conduct himself as a man of God.
IV. The fourth symbol is that of the eagle. By this—
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96. 1. The true character of the minister’s work is portrayed. He has to do with spiritual
things. He teaches not philosophy, science, economy, legislation, but the truths of
the kingdom of God, the knowledge of the way of salvation.
2. The symbol of the eagle may be designed also to be expressive of their ardour and
zeal The minister of Jesus is to be instant, earnest, energetic, zealously affected in
every good thing.
3. His soul is to yearn with intense anxiety over perishing sinners. Application—
1. Let the solemn character of the office ever be cherished, and a lively sense of its
importance be maintained from day to day.
2. Let the glorious results of faithfulness in the Saviour’s service animate to
constancy and perseverance. (J. Burns, D. D.)
The combination of faculties in spiritual life
In the power of this life it does not matter where we are, or under what conditions we are
found, we find a sufficiency of grace. Mr. Ruskin, in his Love’s Meinie, describes the
Phalerope, a strange bird living out of the way of human beings, in the Polar regions of
Greenland, Norway and Lapland, which he calls “The Arctic Fairy.” It is a central type of
all bird power, but with elf gifts added: it flies like a lark, trips on water lily leaves like a
fairy, swims like a duck, and roves like a seagull, having been seen sixty miles from land;
and finally, though living chiefly in Lapland and Iceland, it has been seen serenely
swimming and catching flies in the hot water of the geysers, in which a man could not
bear his hand. As the above bird has a combination of faculties, so the gift of Eternal Life
as personified in Christ bestows faculties of grace which enable us to stand in the clear
light of God’s holy throne, which empower us to bear trial’s fiery ordeal, which equip us
for conflict with the great adversary, which endow us with endurance in treading life’s
rough way, which energise with strength in the work of the Gospel, which environ us
with peace and joy in time of persecution, and which ennoble our whole being, for we are
lifted into the realm of God’s dear Son. (Footsteps of Truth.)
15 Then the cherubim rose upward. These were
the living creatures I had seen by the Kebar
River.
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97. GILL, "And the cherubim were lifted up,.... From the earth; See Gill on Eze_1:19;
this is the living creature that I saw by the river Chebar: a river in Chaldea,
where the prophet was when he had the vision of the living creatures recorded in the
"first" chapter; and hence it is out of doubt that the living creatures and the cherubim
are the same.
JAMISON, "The repeated declaration of the identity of the vision with that at the
Chebar is to arouse attention to it (Eze_10:22; Eze_3:23).
the living creature — used collectively, as in Eze_10:17, Eze_10:20; Eze_1:20.
CALVIN, “We shall afterwards explain in the proper place why he says the
cherubim ascended. The first and principal scope of this vision was that God would
no longer dwell in the temple, because he had determined to depart thence on
account of the impious and wicked profanations by which the temple had been
contaminated. Now for this reason he says, the cherubim ascended; but he adds,
that was the living creature, which he had seen near the river Chebar He adds this
for clearing up the vision, because if it had been offered only once, the Jews might
doubt its tendency, and its obscurity would take away their taste for it, and render
the prophetic teaching quite insipid. But since the vision is repeated, God confirms
and sanctions what otherwise had not been sufficiently stamped upon the hearts of
the people; for experience also teaches us this, that we increase in faith and make
further progress according as God speaks with us again and again. For even if we
seem to ourselves to follow up what we have learnt from the Scriptures, yet if the
same sentence is repeated, we become still more familiar with it. Then again, if we
read the same sentiment in two or three Prophets, God brings forward more
witnesses, that so the truth may be better established; since we know our great
propensity to doubt, we are always fluctuating, and although the word of God has in
it sufficient energy to confirm us, we are still unsettled, unless our minds are
propped up by various supports. God therefore wished to place the same thing twice
before the eyes of his Prophet, that the former vision might make more impression
not only on the Prophet himself, but also upon all the Jews. For we said that
although there was some difference, yet there is no discordance in the Prophet’s
saying that the living creature was one and the same.
COFFMAN, “"And the cherubim mounted up: this is the living creature that I saw
by the river Chebar. And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them;
and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels
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98. also turned not from beside them. When they stood, these stood, and when they
mounted up, these mounted up with them: for the spirit of the living creature was in
them. And the glory of Jehovah went forth from over the threshold of the house,
and stood over the cherubim. And the cherubim lifted up their wings, and mounted
up from the earth in my sight when they went forth: and they stood at the door of
the east gate of Jehovah's house; and the glory of the God of Israel was over them
above."
THE DEPARTURE OF GOD'S GLORY
"Cherubim ... this is the living creature ..." (Ezekiel 10:15). Note how the cherubim
(plural), along with all of the other details of the vision, nevertheless refer only to
One, namely, the enthroned One, who is God.
"The living creature that I saw by the river Chebar ..." (Ezekiel 10:15). "It was a
matter of importance that the identities of these two theophanies should have been
established, in order to show their real meaning."[15] Bluntly stated, those
appearances meant simply that God's glorious presence was forsaking the old racial
Israel, and forever afterward concentrating upon the "righteous remnant," at that
time identified with the captives in Babylon.
Only when we come to Ezekiel 10:15, here, does Ezekiel identify the "living
creatures" of Ezekiel 1:5ff as "cherubim."[16] It is not surely known exactly why
this was not made known earlier. See article at end of this chapter regarding the
creatures called "cherubim,"
"The cherubim lifted up from the earth ..." (Ezekiel 10:18). As Plumptre noted,
"From that hour, the temple would be what Shiloh had been, a God-deserted
place."[17]
As for the notion that the second temple received the same honor as the first as the
resting place of the Glory and the Spirit of God, Jesus Christ took care of that
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99. falsehood forever when he denominated the temple as "a den of thieves and
robbers," which it most assuredly was. Furthermore the sons of Satan who had
charge of that Second Temple were the principal agents in the contrived execution
of the Son of God.
In Ezekiel 10:18, "The glory of Jehovah now moves from the threshold of the temple
and stands upon the Cherubim, ready to leave."[18] Indeed, God's presence had
forsaken the temple, but it would not depart from the area until the event recorded
in the next chapter (Ezekiel 11:22-23). The episode recorded in Ezekiel 11:1-21 have
the effect of delaying the account of the final departure.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:15 And the cherubims were lifted up. This [is] the living
creature that I saw by the river of Chebar.
Ver. 15. Were lifted up.] Or, They lift up themsdves - scil., to follow and attend their
departing Lord.
That I saw by the river of Chebar.] And now saw again, for further confirmation.
PETT, “Verses 15-17
‘And the cherubim mounted up. This is the living creature that I saw by the River
Chebar. And when the cherubim went, the wheels went beside them, and when the
cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the wheels also turned
not from beside them. When they stood, these stood, and when they mounted up
these mounted up with them, for the spirit of the living creature was in them.’
The description of the cherubim mounting up (see Ezekiel 10:19) immediately leads
into an explanation of the fact that they are identifiable with ‘the living creature’ of
chapter 1, and that their connection with the wheels is inseparable. Both always
move together, acting in unison. And this was because the spirit of the living
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100. creature was in them. The use of ‘living creature’ is here specific, that is why the
previous identification was made. Thus the emphasis is on the fact that the whirling
wheels share the life of the cherubim.
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.
BARNES, "are a repetition of the general description of the nature and connection of
the various parts of the vision, and this is the more appropriate as showing why they
were regarded as “one living creature” Eze_10:15. The attributes here assigned to them
show that they were pervaded by one will - “the spirit of the living creature” (others, as
in the margin, “the spirit of life”) “was in them.”
GILL, "And when the cherubim went, the wheels went by them,.... Ministers
being guides to the churches in doctrine, worship, devotion, and conversation; See Gill
on Eze_1:19;
and when the cherubim lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth,
the same wheels also turned not from beside them; ministers and churches go
together; if the one remove, the other do also; they cannot long subsist without each
other; and, generally speaking, as are the light, knowledge, zeal, affection, and devotion
of the one, such are those of the other; See Gill on Eze_1:19.
JAMISON, "(See on Eze_10:11; see on Eze_1:19).
lifted up ... wings — to depart, following “the glory of the Lord” which was on the
point of departing (Eze_10:18).
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101. CALVIN, “The Prophet here confirms what he had said before, namely, that there
was no intrinsic motion in the wheels, but that they were drawn by a secret instinct
wherever the cherubim moved themselves. Hence we gather that the events of things
are not accidental, nor excited in various directions by any blind impulse, but
directed by the hidden energy of God, and that too by means of angels. First he says,
when the cherubim set out, the wheels set out at the same time: then when the
cherubim raised their wings upwards, the wheels followed the same course, and did
not return; that is, were not drawn aside from that agreement of which he had
spoken before; but how the wheels were not reversed, we shall explain more clearly
to-morrow.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:16 And when the cherubims went, the wheels went by them:
and when the cherubims lifted up their wings to mount up from the earth, the same
wheels also turned not from beside them.
Ver. 16. And when the cherubims went.] Angels have a great stroke in ordering the
affairs of the world, as hath already been noted. {See Trapp on "Ezekiel 1:6"} Quod
vero eandem rem saepe repeto, lectori molestum esse non debet, saith Lavater, in his
preface to this prophet.
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.
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102. GILL, "When they stood, these stood,.... When the one were inactive, lifeless, and
without motion, making no progress in knowledge, experience, and practice, the other
were so likewise; See Gill on Eze_1:21;
and when they were lifted up, these lifted up themselves also; like people, like
priest, whether in things commendable or not, Hos_4:9;
for the spirit of the living creature was in them; the same spirit that was in the
cherubim was in the wheels; and the same Spirit of God, who is a "spirit of life" (c), as
the words may be rendered, is in the churches, as in the ministers; generally speaking, if
the one are lively, the other are also, and both move as they are acted by the Spirit; and
also their motion from place to place, which is spoken of in Eze_10:18, is directed by the
Spirit; see Act_16:6.
JAMISON, "(Eze_1:12, Eze_1:20, Eze_1:21).
stood — God never stands still (Joh_5:17), therefore neither do the angels; but to
human perceptions He seems to do so.
CALVIN, “As he just said that the wheels were obedient to the movement of the
living creatures, so he now says that they ceased with them. But in this place it seems
as if some incongruity might arise: for it is not correct to say that angels ever rest.
We know that their quickness and promptness in executing God’s commands is
celebrated. (Psalms 103:20.) Then since angels are the powers of God, it follows that
they never cease from their office of working. For God never can rest; he sustains
the world by his energy, he governs everything however minute, so that not even a
sparrow falls to the ground without his decree. (Matthew 10:29.) And there is that
known and celebrated sentence of Christ, My Father and I work hitherto. (John
5:17.) Since, therefore, God never rests from his works, how then can that resting be
explained of which the Prophet says, when the angels stood, the wheels also stood? I
reply: it must be taken in a human sense; for although God works continually by
means of angels, yet he seems sometimes to rest between. For he does not govern his
works in any equable manner, as for instance, the heavens are sometimes calm, and
at others agitated, so that a great variety appears in God’s works, from which we
may imagine that he is sometimes in vehement motion, and at others at perfect
repose. This, therefore, is the cessation of which the Prophet now speaks when he
says, the living creatures stood, and at the same time the wheels with them
Experience also confirms this; for God sometimes seems to mingle heaven and earth,
and rouses us by unaccustomed work, while at others the course of his works seems
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103. to flow like a placid river. So that it is not absurd to say that the wheels stood with
the living creatures, and proceeded and were elevated with them He adds, the spirit
of the living creature was in the wheels, I explained this point, in the first chapter,
but here it may be shortly explained, that the spirit is here taken for secret vigor or
instinct. The wheels are not properly animated, because we said that the events of
things are represented to us by this word, and whatever seems to happen in the
world; but their incomprehensible vigor and agitation proceeds from God’s
command, so that all creatures are animated by angelic motion: not that there is a
conversion of the angel into an ox or a man, but because God exerts and diffuses his
energy in a secret manner, so that no creature is content with his own peculiar vigor,
but is animated by angels themselves. Now it follows —
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:17 When they stood, [these] stood; and when they were lifted
up, [these] lifted up themselves [also]: for the spirit of the living creature [was] in
them.
Ver. 17. When they stood.] See Ezekiel 1:21.
The spirit of the living creatures.] Or, Of life. God governeth all events; he moveth
the angels, they the wheels. No clock hath so certain motions as the vicissitudes of all
things are overruled by God.
BI, “When they stood, these stood; and when they were lifted up, these lifted up
themselves also.
Feet and wings
Flying creatures have wings for the air and feet for the ground. This touch of nature is
put on God’s cherubim. The prophet intends no special religious lesson here, but the fact
he cites may be used to convey such.
I. The subject of Christian experience, what it is and how to be maintained. We have
faculties of locomotion, feeding, sense, perception, etc., by which we act our parts on
foot, as it were. We have attributes of faith perception, love appropriation, spiritual
imagination, in which we become aerial creatures, resting suspensively in things above
the world. This uplifting produces the transcendent mystery of experience in Christian
conversion. We rise by trust in God—admitting the full revelation of His truth and
friendship. Can the soul thus lifted stay in that serene element? It has gravitations which
pull it all the while downward, and settle it on its feet, as the flying creatures fold their
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104. wings when they settle. Let us trace some of the instances and ways in which it ceases to
live by faith. When a man of enterprise thinks of independence, how easily, how
insensibly he ceases to hang on Providence as he did. His prayers lose their fervour. God
is far less dear and less consciously present; and how long will he have the consciousness
of His presence at all? The moment any disciple touches ground with but the tip of his
foot, and begins to rest on earthly props, a mortal weakness takes him, and he goes
down. Only a calm and loving return to his trust will recover him, and God is faithful
enough to be trusted at all times. Let there be this rest by faith, and he will carry himself
more steadily in studies, toils, or engagements. Sometimes obscurations may occur, but
he has only to believe the more strongly and wait till they be cleared.
II. Many persons miss ever going above a service on foot, by not conceiving at all the
more ethereal range of experience into which true faith would lift them. Sometimes they
become reformers or philanthropists. They mean business in their religion, caring little
for the fervours that are not fervours of work, The combining and roiling up of great
masses of opinion are the means by which they expect to carry their projects. Censure
and storm and fiery denunciation are close at hand. They, many times, do not conceive
that they are disciples because of their repentances, or their prayers, or sensing of God
by their faith, or any other grace that separates them from the world. They have much to
say of love, but they visibly hate more strongly than they love. They never go above to
descend upon the reform by inspirations there kindled; they keep on their feet, and war
with the evils on the same level with them. Sometimes they attempt self-culture in the
name of religion. They could mend defects, chasten faults, put themselves in the
charities they have learned from Christ, perhaps, to admire; but the work is a far more
hopeless one than they imagine, if there is no uplifting help from gracious inspirations.
Oh, if they would go up to Christ, or to God in a true faith culture, faults would fall off, as
blasted flowers from a tree, by the life principle therein. Sometimes they suppose they
are religious because of a certain patronage they give to the Church and the Word. Not
being in the gift of spiritual discernment, their tastes will be the better; and as there are
always a great many reasons why a thing should not be done to any single reason why it
should, they assume to be specially qualified critics. They contribute these critical
powers, while others, less gifted, may contribute their prayers! Such negatives do not
belong to the range of the Spirit, but to the nether world of fashion or opinion or custom.
The critics have feet, but no wings. If they could give themselves over in trust to the
Saviour, instead of giving their opinions and tastes, their contributions would be of
worthier significance. (H. Bushnell, D. D.)
18 Then the glory of the Lord departed from over
the threshold of the temple and stopped above the
cherubim.
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105. GILL, "Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the
house,.... Whither he had removed from the cherub or the cherubim, between the
mercy seat, Eze_10:4; taking another step towards a general departure from the temple
and city, of which this was another signal and warning:
and stood over the cherubim: not on the mercy seat from whence he came, for
hither he returned not; but over the cherubim or living creatures seen in the vision,
which were under the throne in the firmament of heaven; an emblem, as we have seen,
of Gospel ministers: and this may denote the exaltation of Christ, who is the glory of the
Lord, the brightness of his Father's glory, above sheen; his protection of them, and
presence with them; for, let him move where he will, he will not depart from his faithful
ministers; he will be with them to the end of the world.
JAMISON, "The departure of the symbol of God’s presence from the temple
preparatory to the destruction of the city. Foretold in Deu_31:17. Woe be to those from
whom God departs (Hos_9:12)! Compare 1Sa_28:15, 1Sa_28:16; 1Sa_4:21 : “I-chabod,
Thy glory is departed.” Successive steps are marked in His departure; so slowly and
reluctantly does the merciful God leave His house. First He leaves the sanctuary (Eze_
9:3); He elevates His throne above the threshold of the house (Eze_10:1); leaving the
cherubim He sits on the throne (Eze_10:4); He and the cherubim, after standing for a
time at the door of the east gate (where was the exit to the lower court of the people),
leave the house altogether (Eze_10:18, Eze_10:19), not to return till Eze_43:2.
CALVIN, “Here Prophet teaches us what is the principal point in the vision,
namely, that God had deserted the temple: for we, know with what confidence the
Jews boasted that they should be safe continually under the protection of God. In
consequence of the promise, that God’s temple should be the place of his rest
wherein he would dwell, (Psalms 132:14,) they did not think it possible that God
would ever leave them: so they sinned without restraint; and while they drove him
far away from them by their crimes, yet they wished to have him in some way bound
to them. This folly is derided by Isaiah — Heaven is my seat, and earth is my foot.
stool: what house therefore will ye build for me? (Isaiah 66:1.) God had commanded
his temple to be built, and wished to have his earthly dwelling, place there: but he
says that his wish had been rendered nugatory: and how? why when he promised
that he would dwell in the temple, he wished his name to be purely and reverently
invoked there.
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106. But the Jews had polluted the temple in every way. Hence they thought that God
was shut up there in vain: because his liberality did not tend to his partaking of the
captivity of the Jews, but to his having them in obedience to himself. Therefore
Isaiah deservedly says, that the temple became unfit for the use of God when it was
profaned. So also we see in Jeremiah: Do not trust in lying words, the temple of
Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah, the temple of Jehovah. (Jeremiah 7:4.) That
repetition is used because they were so elated by their obstinacy. The Jews resisted
the Prophets, and as often as any threat was uttered against them, they immediately
fled to that asylum, the temple of the Lord.
For this reason therefore the Prophet now relates, that the glory of God had
deserted the sanctuary: for otherwise what we have seen would have been out of
place: he was sent to scatter burning through the whole city: in this way the temple
would have been burnt, and God would have been consumed by peculiar fire: here I
speak after the common form, because when the ark of the covenant is called the
God of hosts, (2 Samuel 6:2,) how could it happen that the fire should destroy the
ark, together with all parts of the temple? But God himself meets them and shows
them that the temple was deprived of its glory when it was destroyed by the enemy.
Afterwards the temple was overthrown And in the Psalms its lamentable ruin is
described, how cruelly and proudly, and with what barbarous mockery the enemy
insulted it, (Psalms 74:0, and Psalms 79:0 :) this was very disgraceful, and disturbed
their weak minds. Hence it was necessary to persuade the faithful that God no
longer dwelt in the temple, but that it remained only an empty spectacle, because he
had taken away his glory since the place was corrupted by so many defilements.
Now therefore we understand the design of the Prophet, when he says that the glory
of Jehovah had departed from the threshold of the house, and stood above the
cherubim But he had already said that the cherubim had raised their wings, which
he again confirms. Whence it follows, that God with his angels, when the temple was
left, deserted the Jews, so that for the future they would boast themselves in vain to
be safe under his protection. Therefore he says that the cherubim raised their wings,
and ascended from the earth before his eyes Nor is this clause superfluous, since it
was difficult to persuade the Jews of what he said about his deserting them. There
was a celebrated oracle, “here will I dwell, since I have chosen it.” (Psalms 132:14.)
When they grasped at that, they thought that the sun would sooner fall from heaven
than God would leave that temple.
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107. But the Prophet says that he saw it clearly, that no doubt might remain. If any one
should here ask, how that promise which I have mentioned agrees with that
departure which the Prophet here relates? the answer is easy, if we only understand
that God does not always work by human means, nor yet according to our carnal
perception. God often seems to act so abruptly that his beginning is without an end:
in fine, God seems sometimes to sport and to draw back his hand, so that the event
does not answer to the joyful beginnings. Since therefore, according to our carnal
senses, God’s works appear to be frustrated, it is necessary to use such language:
otherwise we should never understand how God departed from the sanctuary, when
he had chosen it in perpetuity. But he so departed, that the place still remained
sacred, and the temple stood before God though it had been overthrown in the eyes
of men. The visible appearance of the temple was taken away, but meanwhile, since
the temple was founded on the promise of God, it stood among its ruins, as I have
said. For this reason Daniel, although solitude and devastation ought to avert his
eyes and senses from Judea, prayed in that direction, as if the temple had remained
entire. And why so? He looked at the promise. (Daniel 6:10.) And for this reason the
Prophet said, after the return from the captivity, that the glory of the second temple
surpassed that of the first, as the Prophet Haggai says. (Haggai 2:9.) And we know
with what copiousness and magnificence Isaiah discourses concerning the splendor
of the second temple and its inestimable glory. (Isaiah 60:7.) We shall see also a
similar doctrine at the end of this book. Since therefore the temple stood before
God, because it was founded on his promise, this temporary desertion could not
abolish what I have said concerning God’s perpetual station.
same thing also must be said concerning the kingdom: that kingdom ought to stand
while the sun and moon shone in heaven, (Psalms 89:37,) this is true: and yet there
was a sad interruption during many years. For we know what a serious disgrace the
last king suffered: then had all dignity fallen to ruin, so that nothing could be seen
but the horrible vengeance of God. And yet that promise always had its own effect;
as long as the sun and moon shall stand, they shall be my faithful witnesses of the
perpetuity of the kingdom. Now then we understand in what sense God left his
temple, and yet did not in anywise break his promise. But he says, the glory of the
God of Israel stood at the eastern gate, but above it, so that it was raised up from the
earth. The meaning of that speech was, that the Jews might know that God was no
longer to be sought in that dwelling of wood and stone, because he had not only left
his seat, but had ascended upwards, that they should have no more intercourse with
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108. him. Now it follows —
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the
threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.
Ver. 18. Then the glory of the Lord departed.] This the stubborn Jews would never
be drawn to believe possible, till it befell them; hence they hear of it so often, but to
little good purpose as to them.
PETT, “Verse 18-19
‘And the glory of Yahweh went away from over the threshold of the house and stood
over the cherubim, and the cherubim lifted up their wings and mounted up from the
earth in my sight when they went away, and the wheels beside them, and they stood
at the door of the east gate of the house of Yahweh, and the glory of the God of
Israel was over them above.’
The glory of Yahweh now leaves the threshold of the house and takes His place on
the level plate of awesome ice over the cherubim, and the cherubim then take off
and bear Him to the east gate (for Yahweh as the One Who sits above the cherubim
over their outstretched wings see 1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Samuel 6:2; 2 Kings 19:15; 1
Chronicles 13:6; 1 Chronicles 28:18; Psalms 18:10; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1). This
east gate was the main entrance into the temple courtyards from the outside world.
It was the way in, and also the way out. The Lord in His glory and the cherubim
then hovered above this gate. The movements of Yahweh are central to the passage.
First from the holy of holies to the threshold, then from the threshold to the east
gate, and finally in Ezekiel 11:23 to the mountain on the east side of the city.
Jerusalem was no longer His holy city.
Note that Ezekiel bears witness to having seen this particular event happen,
revealing that it is significant (compare Ezekiel 10:2). The glory of Yahweh is
deserting His house. He had constantly warned of this possibility in one way or
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109. another (Hosea 5:6; Hosea 9:12; Deuteronomy 31:17; compare 1 Samuel 4:21; 1
Samuel 28:15) and now it was happening.
PULPIT, “Then the glory of the Lord, etc. The chariot throne was, as it were, ready
for its kingly Rider. The "glory"-cloud, or Shechinah. takes its place over them, and
the departure begins. From that hour the temple was, in Ezekiel's thoughts, to be,
till the time of restoration contemplated in ch. 40-48; what Shiloh had been, a God-
deserted place. We arc reminded of the voice which Josephus tells us was heard
before the final destruction of the second temple, exclaiming, "Let us depart hence,"
as the priests were making ready for the Pentecostal feast ('Bell. Jud.,' 6.5. 3).
BI 18-19, “Then the glory of the Lord departed.
Departing glory
1. How unwilling the Lord is to depart, and leave that people He hath dwelt amongst,
and been engaged unto!
2. There is no visible church but may fall, and cease to be. God is not tied to any
place, to any people; but if they corrupt His worship He may withdraw: He did
depart from Jerusalem, from the temple, and they were unchurched.
3. When the Lord goes from a people, then the protection and benefits they have by
the angels go away. When the sun is gone from us, we have short days and long
nights, little light but much darkness; and when God departs, you have much night
and little day left, your comforts fade suddenly, and miseries come upon you swiftly.
When God and His angels go from a church, the dragon and his angels get in; when
men’s inventions prevail, they are subject to all woes and miseries (Hos_9:12).
4. God would have men the notice of His departure. The cherubims stood at the door
of the east gate, and there the glory stood over them; that gate was so seated in
Mount Zion that they might see the entrance by it from most parts of the city, and
here the glory now stood; it was come forth from the temple, and now exposed to
public view, that they might inquire what was the matter, use all means to recover
the glory which was going. (W. Greenhill, M. A.)
God’s gradual withdrawal
Observe with how many steps and pauses God departs, as loth to go, as if to see if there
be any that will intercede with Him to return. None of the priests in the inner court
between the temple and the altar would court His stay; therefore He leaves their court
and stands at the east gate, which led into the court of the people, to see if any of them
would yet at length stand in the gap. God removes by degrees from a provoking people;
and, when He is ready to depart in displeasure, would return to them in mercy if they
were but a repenting, praying people. (M. Henry.)
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110. 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.
BARNES, "The cherubim (or chariot) had stood first on the threshold of the temple-
door, and there received the glory of the Lord. They then lifted their wings, rose, and left
the temple by “the east gate” of the outer court at “the entrance” of which they now for a
time stood. It was by the east gate of the outer court that the glory of the Lord returned
to the new temple Eze_43:4.
And every one stood - Or, “and” they “stood.” The Cheruibim and wheels are
viewed as “one living creature.”
GILL, "And the cherubim lifted up their wings,.... As birds do, when they are
about to remove and fly away; these being upon the motion, ready to depart, as well as
the glory of the Lord:
and mounted up from the earth in my sight: the land of Judea, where the Gospel
was first preached; but this being slighted and despised, the apostles and first ministers
of the Gospel took their flight from thence, and turned to the Gentiles:
when they went out, the wheels also were beside them: wherever they went in
the Gentile world, their ministry was successful, souls were converted, and churches
formed; when the glory of the God of Israel departed from the temple, and from the city
of Jerusalem, and from the land of Judea, the Gospel ministry and the Gospel church
state were removed likewise, and carried and fixed elsewhere:
and everyone stood at the door of the east gate of the Lord's house; that is, the
glory of the God of Israel, and the cherubim, and the wheels, they stood together in one
110

111. place, the eastern gate of the temple, one of the outward gates: the gate of the court of
the Israelites, or outward court, which looked to the east; which shows that they were
just going, and leaving the house or temple desolate, no more to return to it; see Mat_
23:38; the next remove was into the city, and then to a mountain on the east side of it;
see Eze_11:23; it was in the eastern part of the world that the Gospel was first preached,
after it was carried from Judea:
and the glory of the God of Israel was over them above; both over the cherubim
and the wheels; great gifts were bestowed upon the ministers, and great grace was upon
the churches; and the presence of God was with both, and a glory on them, and on that
glory a defence.
ELLICOTT, “(19) Mounted up from the earth.—In Ezekiel 10:3 the cherubim stood
by “the right side of the house,” and in Ezekiel 10:18 “the glory of the Lord” left the
threshold, and resumed its place above the waiting cherubim; now the whole mount
up from the earth, and go “to the east gate of the Lord’s house”—that is, to the main
entrance of the outermost court. The words “every one are not in the original, and
should be omitted. “They stood,” or “it stood,” would be better, the vision being
regarded as a whole.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:19 And the cherubims lifted up their wings, and mounted up
from the earth in my sight: when they went out, the wheels also [were] beside them,
and [every one] stood at the door of the east gate of the LORD’S house; and the
glory of the God of Israel [was] over them above.
Ver. 19. Over the east gate.] The gate of the court where the people met, and prayed
with their faces westward; here now stood the cherubims, and here stood the glory
over them, that all the city might see that God was going from them, and seek by all
good means to retain him with them.
WHEDON, “ 19. They went out — Jehovah returns to his chariot (Ezekiel 10:18)
and moves solemnly out of the temple. The prophet notices that the cherubim and
wheels still move in absolute harmony. The interaction of the animate and the
inanimate is perfect.
Every one stood — Literally, it stood; the chariot paused as for the last time it left
111

112. the sanctuary. It was Jehovah’s farewell to his ancient and beloved temple. The
silence of that impressive moment was a prophecy of the lament uttered six
centuries later: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!” (Matthew 23:37.)
The God of Israel — Here again the tender national name for Jehovah is given. The
use of this name by the prophet is always significant (Ezekiel 8:4; Ezekiel 9:3;
Ezekiel 10:19-20; Ezekiel 11:22; Ezekiel 40:2; Ezekiel 44:2). This is none other than
Israel’s God, and (Ezekiel 10:20) he will remain the God of Israel still, even though
his people forsake him and he himself is forced to leave his sanctuary, which has
been turned into an idol temple. Yea, and it will be as the God of Israel that he will
come to comfort and deliver the faithful remnant in Babylon. He does not cease to
be Israel’s God, though the time has come when he must be recognized as also the
God of the whole earth.
PULPIT, “The departure has the east gate of the Lord's house for its starting point.
By that gate, in the later vision of the restored temple, the glory of the Lord was to
return (Ezekiel 43:4). For "every one" read "it," sc. the galgal, or complex structure
of the chariot. The Hebrew verb is in the singular, but, as the italics show, there is
no word answering to "every one."
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.
BARNES, "In this departure of the glory of the Lord from the temple, the seer
recognizes for the first time the full meaning of the vision which he had seen on the
banks of Chebar Ezek. 1. What he had seen there (did indeed imply that Yahweh had
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113. forsaken His house; but now this is made clear. The Glory has left the holy of holies, has
appeared in the court, has been enthroned on the Living Four, and with them has
departed from the temple. It is now clear that these Four (in form similar to, yet
differing from, the cherubim of the temple) are indeed the cherubim, in the midst of
whom the Lord dwelleth.
CLARKE, "And I knew that they were the cherubims - This formation of the
plural is quite improper. In general, Hebrew nouns of the masculine gender end in ‫ים‬
im, in the plural; the s, therefore, should never be added to such. Cherub is singular;
cherubim is plural. The s should be uniformly expunged.
I have already referred to the end of this chapter for farther information relative to
this glorious chariot of Jehovah; but I must say that I have met with nothing on the
subject that entirely satisfies myself. In the preceding notes I have endeavored to make
the literal meaning as plain as possible; and have occasionally given some intimations
relative to the general design of this sublime vision. My readers are already apprised that
I do not like conjectures on Divine things; many points, that had originally no other
origin, are now incorporated with creeds of which it is deemed sinful to doubt. Because
some learned and pious men have written to prove that this symbolical compound figure
is a representation of the Holy Trinity; therefore, the sentiment now passes current. Now
this is not proved; and I suppose never can be proved. The continuator of the Historical
Discourses of Saurin has made some sensible remarks on the subject of this vision; and
these I shall lay here before the intelligent reader. They deserve attention.
This intelligent writer observes: “For the right interpretation of this vision, the
following rules should be laid down: -
“The first rule is this: - An explanation, which accounts for all the parts contained in
the vision, is much more probable than those which explain only one part.
“The second is this: - An explanation which is conformable to the present
circumstances of the prophet, and of the people to whom he is sent, as well as to the
nature of the things which he is called upon to say to them, is incomparably more
probable than those explanations which go in quest of past or future events, which have
no connection with the immediate circumstances of the prophet, nor with the end of his
mission. These rules, which appear incontestable, being laid down, we observe, that
their opinion who think that God here draws out a plan of the government of his
providence, applied to the present state of the Jews, accounts for all that Ezekiel saw;
and that in a manner which refers to the end of the prophet’s mission, and all that he
had to say to this rebellious people. Why wish God to represent to his prophet the future
state of the Christian Church, which was not to be founded till after a series of time,
rather than the state of the Jewish Church, and the chastisements which hung over the
heads of that hardened people? The people having revolted from God, and persevering
obstinately in that revolt, notwithstanding the menaces of the prophet, it was proper to
show to Ezekiel, in order that he might declare it to the rebellious, that Providence had
its eyes open to all that had been done, all that had hitherto happened, and that it had
seized upon the rod to smite. The people imagined, but too much according to the errors
of infidelity, that God saw every thing with indifference and had given the world up to
chance. It was necessary, therefore, to divest them of these fatal prejudices; and to teach
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114. them that the Supreme Being did not behold with the same eye order and disorder,
contempt of his laws and submission to his will; and that all the revolutions of states are
directed by a superior intelligence, which cannot be imposed upon. The Jewish people
imagined but too much that the prophets exaggerated when they threatened them with
the severest chastisements. They repeated with emphasis and complacency the promises
of God made to the patriarchs; that their posterity should not only be more numerous
than the stars of heaven, and the sand which covers the sea-shore; but that it should
subsist for ever and ever. God had declared to Abraham, ‘I will establish my covenant
between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generations, for an everlasting
covenant, to be a God unto thee and thy seed after thee,’ Gen_17:7. It was proper,
therefore, to show this stiff-necked people that the threatenings of God and his promises
were not contradictory. That the people, conformable to the promises given by God to
the patriarchs, should not be destroyed; but that, notwithstanding, they should be
severely chastised, to correct them for their propensity to idolatry, and their scandalous
irregularities.
“These suppositions, which are reasonable, being granted, we shall have no difficulty
to perceive the sense of this celebrated vision. We shall not follow the order observed by
Ezekiel, in the description of what he saw; he raises himself from the nearest to the most
distant objects, going back from effects to their general cause. We will begin with the
First Cause which gives motion to all that happens, traces out the plan, and procures the
execution, according to the rules of his ineffable wisdom, and agreeably to the nature of
those creatures which are the object of his agency. Next, we will proceed to consider the
effects of this universal Providence, and the intelligent secondary causes which he
frequently employs in the administration of the government of the universe.
“‘Ezekiel saw a firmament which was above the heads of the animals; there was the
resemblance of a throne like a sapphire stone; and over the resemblance of the throne,
there was, as it were, the resemblance of a man.’ This vast transparent firmament
represents to us the heaven, the peculiar residence of the Lord of the earth; and where
he hath established the throne of his empire. This ‘appearance of a man’ was the emblem
of Providence or God; considered as taking care of all the creatures whom he hath made.
Man is the symbol of intelligence. The mind of man, with respect to his knowledge and
wisdom, is a weak sketch of that mind which knows all things, and whose wisdom is
unbounded. And yet, of all sublunary beings, there is none that approaches so near to
the Divine nature as man. Under this emblem also it is that God, considered as seeing all
things and directing all, would be represented. This resemblance of man was seated
upon a throne to show that God governs all things as Lord and that without agitation
and without labor.
“The shining metal, and the fire which surrounded him who sat on the throne, were
the symbol of his glory and his judgments, which are poured upon the wicked as a fire
which nothing can withstand; agreeably to Isaiah, Isa_33:14.
“The Jews acknowledged that there was a Providence which governs the whole
universe with infinite wisdom. The psalmist gives us a description of it, equally just and
pathetic, in Psa_104:27, etc. Christians, no less than Jews, admit this important truth;
and the Gospel establishes it no less strongly than the law. See Mat_6:26; Mat_10:29,
Mat_10:30. To raise the mind of the prophet up to the first Mover of those events which
strike and admonish us in all the revolutions which happen to individuals, families, and
states, God shows him four wheels above the firmament, over which the emblem of
Providence was placed on a throne. These wheels are a symbol of those perpetual
revolutions, which are observed in the earth; and which, by turns, lift up and abase
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115. individuals and nations. They are of a prodigious height, to show that man cannot
fathom or know all that is great, wonderful, and astonishing, in the ways of Providence.
See Job_11:7, Job_11:8; Rom_11:33, Rom_11:34; Isa_55:8, Isa_55:9. These wheels
move themselves every way, and are full of eyes in the vast circle of their felloes. This
shows, that all which God does he effects without pain; and that the eye of his wisdom
ordereth all events. The wheels did not move of themselves; but they followed the
impulse of the four living creatures; ‘when the living creatures went, they went.’ This
shows that, in the government of the world, all the living creatures are subject to
Providence; and that God subordinates the creatures one to another. He directs what
those holy intelligences ought to do, who serve him as ministers, and are here
represented by the four animals. And these intelligences, enlightened and supported by
the Supreme Wisdom, contribute, as far as is suitable, to all that happens to mankind.
The angels whom Ezekiel saw were in number four, in reference to the four cardinal
points of the world; to show that their ministry extends every where, and that there is no
part of the universe which the Providence of God does not govern in an immediate
manner, or by the means of his ministers. The extraordinary shape of these angels,
which appeared to the prophet in vision, is symbolical; for it is not to be supposed that
those heavenly ministers are really thus formed. The ‘four faces, wings, and arms of a
man,’ denote the sublime qualities of these immediate ministers of the Deity; qualities
entirely essential to fill up the extent of their duty. The face of a man denotes their
intelligence; of a lion, their intrepid courage; of an ox, their patience and perseverance in
labor; and of an eagle, their great penetration, their sublime sight into heavenly things,
and their readiness to rise up into all that is great and Divine. The ‘wings being stretched
out,’ signifies that they are always ready to set forward, and run with rapidity wherever
the commands of their great Master call them. The ‘wings bent down,’ are a symbol of
that profound respect in which these heavenly ministers stand before the Lord of the
universe. Under the wings there were men’s arms, to show that zeal produces
application and labor. Labour, without zeal, can never be supported; and zeal, without
application, is only a hypocritical ardour, which amounts to nothing with that supreme
Master who requires sincere homage from those who serve him. If God chose to make
known to Ezekiel that his providence extends to all things, and that even in this life it
often takes up the rod to chastise nations and individuals, he would also show
beforehand that he wished not the destruction of the Jewish people, whom he was about
to visit in his anger, but only its correction and amendment. This is signified by the
‘precious metal,’ which the prophet found unmelted in the midst of the fiery cloud. This
cloud of fire, urged on by a whirlwind, and involving on all sides the metal, represented
the judgments of God which were about to fall upon this rebellious nation, not to
destroy, but to humble and purify it. Nothing is more proper than afflictions to bring
men back to their duty. As fire purifies metals, so the paternal chastisements of God
have a tendency to purify the soul and heart, if the man be not entirely incorrigible. The
people upon whom God was about to pour the vials of his anger, were not worthy of his
lenity. But that great God, who is firm in his promises, remembers the covenant of peace
he had made with the patriarchs. This covenant is made sensible to the prophet under
the image of a rainbow, which was round about him who appeared upon the throne.
Every one knows, that this splendid phenomenon, which seems to join heaven and earth
together, was given to Noah and his posterity as a symbol of the covenant which God
then made with mankind, and by which he declared to them that the earth should
undergo a deluge no more. Thus, the Pagans considered the Iris as the messenger of the
gods. See Virgil, Aen. lib. 4 ver. 694. But whereas the rainbow to the Jews was a symbol
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116. of peace, the Iris of the Pagans was a messenger of trouble. On the sight of this bow, the
symbol of grace, Ezekiel was to be encouraged; and persuaded that his people were not
threatened with an utter destruction. The event fully justified all that the prophet had
contemplated, with surprise, in this enigmatical picture. The Chaldeans, the rod of the
Lord’s just severity, ravaged Judea; the people were carried away captive; they groaned
for seventy years in a foreign land; but they were protected in a miraculous manner
against the bloody designs of the cruel Haman; and at length, favored with various
decrees of the kings of Persia, they had permission, not only to return to their own
country but also to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple.’ See Dr. Dodd’s notes on this
place.
GILL, "This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel, by the
river of Chebar,.... This is repeated from Eze_10:15; not only for the confirmation of
it; but with an addition, to show that the appearance of the man upon the throne, Eze_
1:26, is no other than the God of Israel; and inasmuch as Christ is there meant, for the
Father never appeared in a human form, it follows that Christ is the God of Israel, under
whose power, protection, and influence, the cherubim, his ministers, are; and so this is a
proof of the true and proper deity of Christ:
and I knew that they were the cherubim; not by having seen the cherubim on the
mercy seat, and comparing these forms with them, which none but a high priest could
ever see; for, though Ezekiel was a priest, it does not appear that he was a high priest;
but by the forms of them he had seen carved on the doors and walls of the temple, 1Ki_
6:29.
JAMISON, "I knew ... cherubim — By the second sight of the cherubim, he
learned to identify them with the angelic forms situated above the ark of the covenant in
the temple, which as a priest, he “knew” about from the high priest.
CALVIN, “He repeats what we have seen before, namely, that one vision was
offered twice, because God wished to mark distinctly what otherwise had been
doubtful. The Prophet indeed was sufficiently persuaded that God had appeared to
him, but the confirmation of it was not in vain, because he would have to sustain
great conflicts. Meanwhile it must be observed, that the vision was confirmed a
second time, not for the private advantage of a single person, but that this drawing
attention to it might profit the whole people, or at any rate render those without
excuse who so despised the favor of God, so manifest and so clearly laid open to
them. He says, therefore, this was the living creature which he had seen under the
God of Israel In the first chapter he related that there was a throne in the open
firmament of heaven, where he sat who was like a man in external form, and yet was
not a man. There we saw that the true and only God was alluded to, and yet that
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117. this description could not apply to the Father, but necessarily belonged to the Son.
These two things then are to be borne in mind: and the Prophet here takes away all
doubt when he names the God of Israel like a man, which could not apply to the
person of the Father. That likeness then ought, to be agreed upon among the pious.
Controversy, therefore, on this point ought not be engaged in; for Sabellius, who
took away the distinction of persons, was sufficiently refuted by his own
extravagance. Since, therefore, the Father never put on the form or likeness of man,
and it is nowhere read in the Scriptures that. he is compared to a man, we must
explain this of Christ. And now Ezekiel bears witness that he is the God of Israel.
We see, therefore, how foolishly the triflers of our day babble who desire to disturb
the Churches by making Christ a sort of deity transfused from the substance of the
Father. They confess, indeed, that he is God, but this confession is a mere pretense,
(223) since they say that the God of Israel means God the Father, and that the title
cannot apply to either the Son or the Spirit. The Spirit, therefore, is mistaken when
he says by the Prophet’s mouth, the God of Israel appeared in human form This
place, therefore, is remarkable for refuting that delusion by which foolish men
fatigue themselves and others: while they allow Christ to be God, yet they deprive
him of his true deity, because they say that it is derived from the Father.
He says also, that he knew them to be cherubim Now although he knew that God
had appeared to him before, yet he had no certain knowledge concerning the living
creatures, for with regard to them he remained in suspense; but now after God has
familiarly explained to him the vision in the temple, he says, that he was taught that
they were cherubim So what we said yesterday is confirmed, that the face of the ox
was changed into that of a cherub, so that the Prophet understood that angels were
pointed out under the form of cherubim, even those which surrounded the ark of
the covenant. Let us proceed —
COFFMAN, “"This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the
river Chebar; and I knew that they were cherubim. Every one had four faces, and
every one had four wings. And as for the likeness of their faces, they were the faces
which I saw by the river Chebar, their appearances and themselves; they went every
one straight forward."
The purpose of Ezekiel in this reiteration of what has already been revealed surely
indicates the importance of this identity of the two visions, an importance which we
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118. have already stressed.
CHERUBIM
"And I knew that they were cherubim ..." (Ezekiel 10:20). We are indebted to Anton
T. Pearson for most of the information cited here.[19] Cherubim are emblematic,
composite figures representing glorified human life, or angelic life, spiritualized and
exalted to have a part in the service of God Himself. In the sacred Scriptures, they
are seen as performing a number of functions: (1) Here, they are bearers of the
sapphire throne of God. (2) They guard the tree of life (Genesis 3:24). (3) They are
honored with a place above the Mercy Seat in the ancient Tabernacle (Exodus
25:18-20; 37:7-9). (4) They are personified as wind or cloud. (5) They form the
chariot of Deity (2 Samuel 22:11; Psalms 104:3; 1 Chronicles 28:18). They worship
God perpetually (Revelation 4:6; 5:6; and Revelation 6:1). In our opinion, there is
no way to be absolutely certain about the nature and work of these creatures, which
seem to this writer to have many characteristics which lift them above any
connection with humanity.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:20 This [is] the living creature that I saw under the God of
Israel by the river of Chebar; and I knew that they [were] the cherubims.
Ver. 20. And I knew that they were the cherubims.] Now at last I knew. Divine light
is darted into the soul by degrees, and at different times.
WHEDON, “Verses 20-22
20-22. I knew that they were the cherubim — If we try to dissect this vision we are
in great danger of taking all the life out of it. It must not be forgotten that the cloud
and the lightning, the wheels and cherubim, were only “the pictorial clothing of the
supreme truth that in his vision, Ezekiel’s soul met the Infinite and Eternal face to
face and heard the secret of Jehovah’s counsel from his own mouth” (W. Robertson
Smith); yet, we may be able to catch, if only in dim outline, the meaning of each part
of this complex picture. Not until Ezekiel had several times seen this vision did he
realize that the “living creatures” who were the glory-bearers of Jehovah were the
cherubim. They were so unlike the cherubim of the temple with which he was
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119. acquainted that he never realized their essential identity until he saw the vision in
the temple itself, and perceived that these living creatures took the place above the
mercy scat which the carved cherubim formerly occupied, just as the flying wheels
and the throne took the place always sacred to the unseen glory (the Shekinah). It is
surprising that expositors, notwithstanding the marked difference between Ezekiel’s
cherubim and those of the tabernacle and temple, have yet attempted to make them
as nearly identical in form as possible. Even M. Pinches supposes there must have
been “a peculiar cherubic form” which Ezekiel recognized in the living creatures,
“though kept secret from all others,” and even yet an “unfathomable mystery!”
(Smith’s Dictionary of the Bible, 1893.) But whatever Ezekiel’s words imply here,
they could not declare exact similarity of form (Exodus 25:20; 1 Kings 8:7). Indeed
the chief object in repeating the vision must have been to bring out the new truth
revealed by this new view of these strange symbolic creatures as cherubim. Muller’s
idea (Ezekiel Studien, 1895) that Ezekiel substituted the cherubim in this vision for
“living creatures” and made certain other changes because of the criticism of those
to whom he had told the first vision, is as deficient in a just appreciation of the
prophet’s character as in spiritual discernment. Ezekiel 10:22 is in itself sufficient
refutation of this hypothesis. Every Hebrew would have been surprised at the
identification by a priest, such as Ezekiel, of these animal forms with the temple
cherubim, and would begin to search at once for the points of comparison and
contrast, and for spiritual lessons hidden therein.
On the other hand, it is equally clear that these “living creatures” of Ezekiel were
not copies of the so-called “winged bulls” of Assyria. Those stone guardians of the
temple, with their single human face and long beard and miter ornamented with
horns, were strikingly different from these fiery four-faced “living ones” covered
with eyes. It has recently been doubted whether the name Kerubi is ever used of
these “guardians of the palace” (Davis, Genesis and Semitic Tradition). But if,
indeed, those complex animal forms bore the same name as these living creatures of
Ezekiel this would only more quickly lead everyone who listened on the banks of the
old Babylonian canal to the recital of this strange vision, to compare and contrast
these very different forms in order to learn the lessons, which might thus be taught,
of providence and deity. What those spiritual lessons were we may be able now only
to grasp very partially. One may well regret that the author of the Hebrews, when
he spoke of the “cherubim of glory,” was forced to add, “of which we cannot now
speak particularly” (Hebrews 9:3-5). How much controversy and confusion of
tongues it would have saved if he had given just then one of the parentheses of
which he was so fond! The similarity between the Babylonian and all forms of the
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120. Hebrew cherubim is evident. All of these “mighty ones” were symbolical forms
manifesting the Invisible. They were divine watchers and “guardians,” mediators
between God and man, representatives of the divine will, protectors of the divine
law, and upholders of the divine throne.
But the differences grow on one. The Babylonian genii which protected the temples
and palaces had an independent power for good or evil and needed to be propitiated
by gifts and prayers. A recently deciphered text gives the piercing cry which daily
ascended from those Babylonian homes: —
Propitious be the favorable Shidu that is before thee.
May the Lamassu that goeth behind thee be propitious.
— King, Illustrated Archaeology, 1894.
The horror of this worship is well expressed by the psalmist: —
They sacrificed their sons
And their daughters unto Shidim, And shed innocent blood.
— Psalms 106:37; see also Deuteronomy 32:17.
How different from the Hebrew cherubim! They were wholly dominated by the
One. There was no caprice or personal feeling possible. In Eden, in the tabernacle,
in the temple, on the Chebar, everywhere and always, Jehovah dwells “between the
cherubim,” and his will and his spirit moves them. But while the Bible cherubim
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121. agree in this — and thus differ vitally from the Babylonian — there is a vast growth
to be traced in the Hebrew conception represented by these symbolic forms. The
cherubim in Eden are guardians of the tree of life, and their revolving sword or
“disk of fire” (Lenormant) is especially emphasized. They are pre-eminently
representatives of the divine justice and power. The cherubim of the tabernacle and
the temple have no sword. They watch over the mercy seat and the written law, and
point the way with beckoning wings to the new Eden — the gates of which are now
open — and to the Tree of Life of which, through God’s mercy, even the sinful man
can now eat. All the cherubic heraldry wrought into the tapestry of the tabernacle
and adorning the walls of the temple was a heraldry of grace.
But Ezekiel’s vision shows a great advance upon any previous revelation. Before this
the cherubim were only seen in the temple. They were guardians of the covenant of
grace which God had made with the Israelites.
Only Israelites could enter the temple. It was only the sins of the Jewish nation
which the high priest confessed, and for which he received pardon as he knelt close
to the mercy seat, shadowed by the glorious wings of the cherubim. Where the
cherubim are God’s holy place must be; but Ezekiel sees the cherubim outside the
temple and outside the limits by which heretofore he and his nation had always
bounded the “holy city” and the “holy land.” God’s holy place and the holy
guardians of his law and covenant are not confined any more within the walls of
Jerusalem. The throne which the Jews always thought of as above the cherubim in
the temple is now seen on the Chebar. Jehovah now “fills the whole earth with his
glory,” and all nature “with the floating edges of his robe” (Jeremiah 7:4), and the
symbolic cherubim are no longer of the exclusive Jewish type! They have taken on a
manifold form. They are neither Jewish nor Egyptian nor Babylonian. They
combine all elements. The single-faced cherub of the Jerusalem temple has become
the four-sided, four-winged, four-faced cherub of God’s universal sanctuary. It
looks toward every point of the compass, toward every nation of men.* The images
of gold in the local holy of holies has given way to living beings full of spiritual fires.
The cloud of incense hiding the unseen Presence has given place to “the likeness of a
man upon the throne.” The Palestinian and Jewish conception of God and his
providence has gone down before the new and lofty thought that the one God
belongs to the whole earth and the whole earth to him, and that all forms of life —
even the gods and genii of the heathen and the guardians of death — are but
manifestations or servants of the One supreme. (See notes chap. 1.) Never have the
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122. omnipotence, the omnipresence, and the omniscience of the Deity been more vividly
and forcibly pictured. Whirlwind, cloud, and lightning, and all the most subtle and
untamable forces of nature are his ministers. The powers of heaven and earth and
the underworld bow submissively before his throne. Life and death, men and
demons, are his servants. It was a lesson Ezekiel’s captive and stricken comrades
needed to learn. They, no doubt, almost universally thought of Jehovah as the God
of Jerusalem and of Canaan, and when they were carried away from these holy
places — away from the temple, the altar, and the cherubim — and all the
customary worship and ritual were left far behind them in the distance, many of
them began to feel themselves justified in honoring the gods of the land wherein
they dwelt. Especially were they tempted to do this when it appeared that even the
sanctity of the distant temple was not to be maintained, but even the holy of holies
had been profaned by the feet of the invading heathen. Then it was that this seer of
God, in this splendid picture, painted before their eyes the mighty all-conquering
truth, that “the Lord is here,” and every spot where he reveals himself is holy
ground; and that he is “Lord” in Babylon as truly as in Jerusalem. This is the
central thought of the vision and of the entire prophecy. Israel may sin, the temple
may be destroyed, Jerusalem may fall, “the kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take council… against Jehovah,” but his sovereignty remains untouched.
He is still “God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, a mighty and a terrible,”
who “doth execute the judgment… and loveth the stranger” (Deuteronomy 10:17);
as powerful and as gracious on the plains of Chaldea as in the mountains about the
holy city.
[*This explains the repetition again and again of this fourfold symbolism. The use of
the numeral four in ancient times in this symbolic sense cannot be doubted. (See our
Introduction to Ezekiel, “Symbolism.”)] This seems to have been the lesson which
God taught Ezekiel and he in turn taught to his countrymen from this “vision of
God.” Thus the nature and office of the cherubim are clearly seen. They are the
guardians of the divine majesty, mediatorial revelations of the glory of the One,
concentrating in themselves all the forces of immaterial nature and all the
quintessence of universal life. Animate and inanimate nature, man, and all the
powers and principalities of heaven and Hades are but revelations of the divine
Presence, fitly enthroning the supreme revelation of the invisible God in the “man
upon the throne.”
The influence of this vision upon later writers is almost unparalleled. The early
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123. fathers, particularly, were sure that the four cherubim were symbolical of the
nature and work of Christ: the man representing his Incarnation; the lion, the
emblem of Judah, his eternal Kingship; the ox, his atoning sacrifice; the eagle, his
heavenly spirit and essential divinity. So also many of the earliest fathers believed
that these “living creatures” prefigured the four evangelists: St. Matthew having
written the gospel of his humanity; St. Mark, the eagle gospel; St. Luke, the priestly
or sacrificial narrative; and St. John, the royal gospel, showing his glorious
generation from the Father — though later writers almost universally assign the
eagle to St. John, and the lion to St. Mark.
PETT, “Verses 20-22
‘This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the River Chebar,
and I knew that they were cherubim. Every one had four faces apiece, and every one
four wings. And the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings, and as for
the likeness of their faces, they were the faces which I saw by the River Chebar,
their appearances and themselves. They went every one straight forward.’
Ezekiel now confirms again that the living creatures he had seen by the River
Chebar and the cherubim here are one and the same. Each had four faces and four
wings, with the hands of a man beneath their wings, with the same facial likenesses
as at the River Chebar, a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. Where then has the face of
the cherub (Ezekiel 10:14) gone? We must remember that we are in vision where
things can keep changing rapidly. The face of the cherub was there at the crucial
time when Yahweh was departing His house. It was not as representatives of
creation but as the holy cherubim that they were responsible for this move. This
brings out the awesomeness, the earth shattering nature of the change which took
place. It was a change determined in heaven. Once that was fulfilled the cherubim
could return to their normal function as representatives of creation and normal life
could go on where they were going.
‘They went every one straight forward.’ The description finishes with the indication
that their forward progress continued. Nothing could stop it. It was inexorable.
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124. PULPIT, “Once more the prophet asserts, with fresh emphasis, the identity of the
two visions which it had been given him to see. Now, as it were, he understands why
the first vision was seen as coming from the north. He does not tell us whether the
journey of which he saw the beginning was to end. For the present there was a halt,
as we learn from Ezekiel 11:23, "over the midst of the city." Even when the vision
ended, it had not gone further than the Mount of Olives. We may conjecture,
however, that he thought of its goal as that more sacred region of the heavens in
which it had at first manifested itself (see note on Ezekiel 1:4). It was, at any rate, no
longer in the temple. The banks of Chebar or any other place might become, as
Bethel had been to Jacob (Genesis 28:17), as "the house of God" and "the gate of
heaven."
21 Each had four faces and four wings, and under
their wings was what looked like human hands.
GILL, "Every one had four faces apiece,.... Every one of the four living creatures,
or cherubim, had four faces; which were the face of a man, of a lion, of an ox, and of an
eagle, Eze_1:10;
and everyone four wings: the Septuagint version reads eight wings; and the Syriac
version "six"; so many in all indeed they had; see Gill on Eze_1:23;
and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings; See Gill on Eze_
10:8.
JAMISON, "The repetition is in order that the people about to live without the
temple might have, instead, the knowledge of the temple mysteries, thus preparing them
for a future restoration of the covenant. So perverse were they that they would say,
“Ezekiel fancies he saw what has no existence.” He, therefore, repeats it over and over
again.
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125. CALVIN, “The Prophet appears to dwell on points by no means doubtful: he has
already spoken of the four heads, then why does he repeat it? Because he was
dealing with a dull and perverse people: they were also slow in receiving the
Prophet’s doctrine: and they added this vice worse than all the rest, namely, a
constant and open endeavor to detract from the authority of all the Prophets. For
this reason the Prophet says, that there were four heads and four wings to each
living creature, lest the Jews should scoffingly deride it as an empty specter and
delusion of the Prophet, because he thought he saw what had no existence. For this
reason he inculcates more frequently what. was sufficiently clear by itself had the
Jews been docile and obedient. It follows —
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:21 Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings;
and the likeness of the hands of a man [was] under their wings.
Ver. 21. Every one had four faces apiece.] Ad taedium usque eandem rem repetit, ut
nihil excusationis haberent. These careless and cross-grained Jews are told the same
things thus over and over, to leave them without all excuse, if they would not be
wrought upon by all.
BI, “The likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings.
Wing and hand
In two places in Ezekiel we are told there were hands under the wings: human hands;
hands like ours. If this world is ever brought to God, it will be by appreciation of the fact
that supernatural and human agencies are to go together; that which soars, and that
which practically works; that which ascends the heavens, and that which reaches forth to
earth: the joining of the terrestrial and the celestial, “the hand and the wing.”
1. We see this union in the construction of the Bible. The wing of inspiration is in
every chapter. What realms of the ransomed earth did Isaiah fly over! Over what
battlefields for righteousness; what coronations; what dominations of gladness; what
rainbows around the throne did St. John hover! But in every book of the Bible you
just as certainly see the human hand that wrote it. Moses, the lawyer, showing the
hand in the Ten Commandments, the foundation of all good legislation; Amos, the
herdsman, showing the hand in similes drawn from fields and flocks: the fishermen
Apostles, showing the hand when writing about Gospel nets; Luke, the physician,
showing the hand by giving especial attention to diseases cured; Paul showing the
scholarly hand by quoting from heathen poets, and making arguments about the
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126. Resurrection that stand as firmly as on the day he wrote them; and St. John shows
the hand by taking his imagery from the appearance of the bright waters spread
round the island of Patmos at the hour of sunset, when he speaks of the sea of glass
mingled with fire; scores of hands writing the parables, the miracles, the promises,
the hosannas, the raptures, the consolations, the woes of ages.
2. Behold this combination of my text in all successful Christian work. We stand or
kneel offering prayer. Now, if anything has wings, it is prayer. Prayer flies not only
across continents, but across centuries. If prayer had only feet, it might run here and
there and do wonders. But it has wings, and they are as radiant of plume, and as
swift to rise, or swoop, or dart, or circle, as the cherubim’s wings which swept
through Ezekiel’s visions. But, oh, the prayer must have the hand under the wing, or
it may amount to nothing. Stop singing, “Fly abroad, thou mighty Gospel,” unless
you are willing to give something of your own means to make it fly. Have you been
praying for the salvation of a young man’s soul? That is right; but also extend the
hand of invitation to come to a religious meeting. From the very structure of the
hand we might make up our mind as to some of the things it was made for: to hold
fast, to lift, to push, to pull, to help, and to rescue. And endowed with two hands, we
might take the broad hint that for others as well as for ourselves we were to hold fast,
to lift, to push, to pull, to help, to rescue.
3. This idea is combined in Christ. When He rose from Mount Olivet He took wing.
All up and down His life you see the uplifting Divinity. But He was also very human.
It was the hand under the wing that touched the woes of the world, and took hold of
the sympathies of the centuries.
4. There is a kind of religion in our day that my text rebukes. There are men and
women spending their time in delectation over their saved state, going about from
prayer meeting to prayer meeting, and from church to church, telling how happy
they are. But show them a subscription paper, or ask them to go and visit the sick, or
tell them to reclaim a wanderer, or speak out for some unpopular Christian
enterprise, and they have bronchitis, or stitch in the side, or sudden attack of grippe.
Their religion is all wing and no hand. They can fly heavenward, but they cannot
reach out earthward. There was much sense in that which the robust boatman said
when three were in a boat off the coast in a sudden storm that threatened to sink the
boat, and one suggested that they all kneel down in the boat to pray, and the robust
man took hold of the oar and began to pull, saying: “Let you, the strong, stout fellow,
lay hold of the other oar, and let the weak one who banner pull give himself up to
prayer.” Pray by all means; but at the same time pull with all your might for the
world’s rescue.
5. There is also in my subject the suggestion of rewarded work for God and
righteousness. When the wing went the hand went. When the wing ascended the
hand ascended; and for every useful and Christian hand there will be elevation
celestial and eternal. Expect no human gratitude, for it will not come. That was a
wise thing Fenelon wrote to his friend: “I am very glad, my dear, good friend, that
you are pleased with one of my letters which has been shown to you. You are right in
saying and believing that I ask little of men in general. I try to do much for them and
to expect nothing in return. I find a decided advantage in these terms. On these
terms I defy them to disappoint me.” But the day cometh when your work, which
perhaps no one has noticed, or rewarded, or honoured, will rise to heavenly
recognition. While I have been telling you that the hand was under the wing of the
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127. cherubim, I want you to realise that the wing was over the hand. Perhaps reward
may not come to you at once. But I promise you victory further on and higher up; if
not in this world, then in the next. Roll on that everlasting rest for all the toiling and
misunderstood and suffering and weary children of God, and know right well that to
join your hand, at last emancipated from the struggle, will be the soft hand, the
gentle hand, the triumphant hand of Him who wipeth away all tears from all faces.
That will be the Palace of the King of which the poet sang in somewhat Scotch
dialect:—
“It’s a bonnie, bonnie warl’ that we’re livin’ in the noo,
And sunny is the lan’ we often traivel thro’;
But in vain we look for something to which oor hearts can cling,
For its beauty is as naething to the Palace o’ the King.
We see oor friends await us ower yonder at His gate:
Then let us a’ be ready, for ye ken it’s gettin’ late;
Let oor lamps be brichtly burnin’; let’s raise our voice an’ sing:
Soon we’ll meet, to part nae mair, i’ the Palace o’ the King.”
(T. De Witt Talmage.).
22 Their faces had the same appearance as those I
had seen by the Kebar River. Each one went
straight ahead.
GILL, "And the likeness of their faces was the same faces,.... Or their faces
were like the same,
which I saw by the river of Chebar; which prove that the living creatures and the
cherubim must be the same:
their appearance and themselves; were exactly the same there was no difference in
their faces or in their bodies:
they went everyone straight forward; their motion as well as their form were alike;
they kept one even course, looking right on, and their eyes right before them.
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128. JAMISON, "straight forward — intent upon the object they aimed at, not
deviating from the way nor losing sight of the end (Luk_9:52)
CALVIN, “He pursues the same sentiment, that nothing was obscure or perplexed
in this vision, since all things were mutually suitable. For the remembrance of the
vision which he had received remained in the Prophet’s mind: but now when he is
hurried into the temple, he recognizes the same God and the same forms as those to
which he had been accustomed. We see then how he meets their perverseness, who
had otherwise boasted that he had offered them only his own fictions without any
truth in them. Hence he restrains this petulance, and shows that God had certainly
appeared to him, and that too a second time. Since he now says that each living
creature went, forward in the direction of its face, it is not doubtful that this refers
to their actions. Hence he points out that angels did not wander in their course as a
person usually does who looks this way and that, or deserts the path, or turns to the
right hand or the left. The Prophet therefore says, that the living creatures
proceeded so that each was intent on its own end or scope: because if the motion of
the angels had been turbulent, they had not been the servants of God. Finally, the
Prophet signifies that the angels were not only alert and prepared for obedience, but
were at the same time arranged and formed after a fixed rule, so that they did not in
the slightest degree turn aside from. the command and direction of God (228) It now
follows —
The learned Commentary on Ezekiel and Explanations of his Visions, by Hieron.
Pradus and Joan. Bapt. Villalpandus, two Jesuits, published at Rome in 1596 and
1604, by the permission of their superiors, illustrates this tenth chapter very
copiously, and displays great diligence, erudition, and accuracy. Another valuable
exegetical exposition of this chapter is given by OEcolampadius in his Comment. in
omn. libr. Prophet., edit. 1558; he occupies eighteen folio pages with an elaborate
comment under the title “ Expositio mysterii quod hac visione adumbratur ,” in
which he sees Christus dominus glorioe and gratia est firmamentum justitioe Christi
The discussion of the Cherubim is very complete, though it may be well to consult
the article in Kitto’s Biblical Cyclopedia on the word “Cherub.” Rosenmuller, in his
valuable Scholia, makes constant use of the Arable and Syriac versions, quotes fully
from the Greek. of Theodoret, and diligently compares the Hebrew Codices of
Kennicott and De Rossi, as well as the Greek texts of the Roman Codex, the
Complutensian, and the Alexandrine. With such adminicula the reader of these
Lectures on Ezekiel will have sufficient data for forming a correct judgment on the
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129. merits of Calvin’s interpretation.
TRAPP, “Ezekiel 10:22 And the likeness of their faces [was] the same faces which I
saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one
straight forward.
Ver. 22. They went every one straightforward.] Let us, by their example, learn to
advance forward to the high prize of the heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
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