Bible Commentaries
Ezekiel 10

Verse 1

Eze 10:1. The objects named in this verse are used figuratively and refer to the glory that is to be attributed to the Lord.

Verse 2

Eze 10:2. He is a pronoun standing for the Personage described in verse 1; the man to whom he spoke was the one with the inkhorn. We have previously learned (Eze 9:2) that this ruan repersented the priestly services of the house of God. The regular order of those services had been discontinued since the invasion of Judah by the Babylonians, but. there were other things needed to be done and this man would be the appropriate one to do them. The wheels and cherub will be explained later in this chapter. Coals of fire is figurative and refers to the fiery wrath of God, because the literal fire in the Mosaic service was on the brazen altar and not in the inner court (verse 3). Scatter them over the city indicated that God’s wrath was to be poured out over the place in general.

Verse 3

Eze 10:3. There is a popular saying, "Wherever there is smoke there is fire.” The saying may well be reversed and. with a slight change in the wording, make it say, "Wherever there Is fire there may be a cloud (of smoke).’’ Verse 2 reveals the fire of God's wrath and this verse speaks of the cloud that arose from that fire. It was so extensive that it filled the inner court.

Verse 4

Eze 10:4. The cloud of this verse was different from the preceding one. This was described as springing from the cherub (not the fire) and was the glory of the Lord. This cloud, also, filled the area of the court

Verse 5

Eze 10:5. Voice of the Almighty God indicates that He had some connection with the institutions being represented in the imagery. (See Dan 4:17.)

Verse 6

Eze 10:6. Upon being commanded to get the fire, the man with the ink-horn entered the place containing the wheels.

Verse 7

Eze 10:7. The cherub participated in the activities by placing the fire in the hands of the man clothed with linen and who had the inkhorn. That indicated that the work of the man was approved by the institutions rep-resented by the cherubs and wheels.

Verse 8

Eze 10:8. The appearance of a man's 'hand- indicated the institutions in the imagery possessed the skill of human beings.

Verse 9

Eze 10:9. These wheels do not introduce any new subject matter as we sbali learn in course of this chapter. Color of a beryl stone is merely a comparison to the brilliancy and manysided faces for reflection of that stone.

Verse 10

Eze 10:10. These four wheels refer to the "four world empires" and the creatures of Eze 1:5, and the wheel in the midst of a wheel is explained in verse 16 of that chapter. The following verses of this chapter will also deal witii those empires, and many of the same symbols will be used that were used in the former chapter. There may be some variation in a part of them, but that is because more than one trait can be said of different creatures and things, and a writer may select one, now another, for his comparison, and all of them would be true. Let the reader please see the comments on verse 10 of the first chapter.

Verse 11

Eze 10:11, This apparently impossible movement refers to tbe universal spread of tbe world empires. A thing that would be physically impossible may be supposed in a symbol, if it will truly represent a possibility in some spiritual or other intelligent institution. If an object had a head on each of Its four sides, then the body of that object could follow the head in any of tbe directions without turning about.

Verse 12

Eze 10:12. Naming the several parts of these creatures or institutions was for the purpose of emphasizing the completeness of the quality soon to be mentioned. Full of eyes round about indicates that quality to have been Intelligence.

Verse 13

Eze 10:13. The key in this verse is in the words 0 man, and the meaning is that the wheels were called upon to give attention.

Verse 14

Eze 10:14. The description of each of tbe four creatures in this verse differs in only one item from the corresponding picture in chapter 1: 10. That has an ox while this has the cherub, but there is no difficulty involved, for both traits were possessed by these institutions being represented, Having the face of a cherub would indicate they were invested with something heavenly (1: 24; Dan 4:17), man indicates intelligence and also that the institutions included humanity, lion means boldness and eagle indicates exaltation and fleetness.

Verse 15

Eze 10:15. This verse settles the identity of the creature with that described in chapter 1. and represents the “four world empires" named in the first chapter.

Verse 16

Eze 10:16. The performances of the cherubims and wheels in this chapter are in the same line as those of the living creatures and wheels in chapter one. The figure is a representation of the four world empires. The co-operation between these objects is for the purpose of emphasis.

Verse 17

Eze 10:17. They and these are pronouns standing for the cherubims and wheels. The original word for spirit means life, and the clause means the cherubims and wheels had the same life as the living creatures that the prophet saw by the river Chebar,

Verse 18

Eze 10:18. Departed, is not used in the sense of desertion, but tbe glory fixed itself upon the creatures.

Verse 19

Eze 10:19. The effect of the glory upon the cherubims is stated here. It caused them to mount from, the earth or be exalted. Such a thought corresponds with the idea that God was Interested in the four world empires. (See Dan 4:17.) Every one stood indicates an attitude of reverence for the demonstration.

Verse 20

Eze 10:20, This is virtually the same statement as Eze 10:15.

Verse 21

Eze 10:21. This verse also is a repetition of previous statements, and the central thought in the four faces is the world-wide extent of the empires. Hands of a man indicates that the creatures were composed of human beings.

Verse 22

Eze 10:22. The concluding verse is a summing up of the imagery that has been considered throughout the first and present chapters of the book