Bird's-eye view
In these concluding verses of the chapter, the prophet Ezekiel is given a moment of divine clarification. Having witnessed the terrifying and glorious machinery of God's mobile throne, he now puts a name to the living creatures he first saw in chapter one. They are cherubim. This is not new information for God, but it is a confirmation for the prophet, solidifying his understanding of what he is seeing. This identification is crucial because cherubim are, throughout Scripture, the high-level guardians of God's holiness and presence. Their appearance here, powering the throne of God as it departs the Temple, is a formal act of covenant lawsuit. The guards of the King are leaving the palace because the King Himself is leaving. The passage reiterates their formidable appearance, their four faces and wings, and their unswerving, straightforward movement. This is the awesome and inexorable nature of divine judgment; it is not chaotic or haphazard but proceeds with absolute purpose and direction from the throne of the universe.
The core of this short section is identification and confirmation. Ezekiel connects this vision with the one he saw previously by the river Chebar, establishing continuity. God is not showing him something entirely new, but is deepening his understanding of the same reality. The living creatures are the cherubim, the very beings who guarded the way to the tree of life in Genesis and whose likenesses were stitched into the Tabernacle veil and overlaid on the Ark of the Covenant. Their departure from the Temple is therefore an undoing of Eden, a removal of God's holy presence from the midst of His people because of their flagrant covenant rebellion. The final statement that they "each one went straight ahead" underscores the resolute nature of this divine abandonment. There is no looking back, no hesitation. Judgment is coming, and it is coming in a perfectly straight line.
Outline
- 1. The Prophet's Identification (Ezekiel 10:20)
- a. The Living Creatures Identified as Cherubim (v. 20a)
- b. The Connection to the Previous Vision (v. 20b)
- 2. The Cherubim's Description Reiterated (Ezekiel 10:21-22)
- a. Their Formidable Anatomy (v. 21)
- b. The Unchanging Nature of the Vision (v. 22a)
- c. Their Unswerving Movement (v. 22b)
Context In Ezekiel
This passage comes toward the end of a major visionary sequence that began in chapter 8. Ezekiel, an exile in Babylon, is transported in a vision back to Jerusalem to witness the idolatrous abominations occurring within the Temple itself. In chapter 9, he sees the executioners of God's judgment commanded to slaughter the idolaters, beginning at the sanctuary. Chapter 10 then reveals the source of this judgment: the very throne of God. Coals of fire, symbolizing cleansing judgment, are taken from between the wheels of the cherubim and scattered over the city. The entire chapter is dominated by the description of the glory of the Lord preparing to depart from the Temple. These verses (20-22) serve as a concluding summary and confirmation of the identity of the angelic beings who attend God's throne. This whole section provides the theological justification for the destruction of Jerusalem that would occur in 586 B.C. God is not being capricious; He is executing righteous judgment, and He is doing so by formally and visibly withdrawing His protective presence from the place that bore His name.
Key Issues
- The Identity and Function of Cherubim
- The Significance of Repetition in Prophetic Visions
- The Unswerving Nature of Divine Judgment
- The Connection Between God's Presence and Covenant Faithfulness
The King's Honor Guard
When we moderns hear the word "cherub," our minds have been conditioned by centuries of Renaissance art to picture a chubby, winged infant, suitable for a Valentine's Day card. This is a catastrophic failure of the imagination. We must get the fat babies out of our heads. The cherubim of Scripture are something else entirely. They are terrifying. They are the guardians of holy ground, the elite special forces of the heavenly realm. When Adam and Eve were exiled from Eden, it was the cherubim, with a flaming sword, who were stationed to guard the way back to the tree of life (Gen. 3:24). Their images were woven into the veil of the Tabernacle, barring the way into the Holy of Holies. Two massive golden cherubim overshadowed the mercy seat on the Ark of the Covenant, the very footstool of God's throne on earth.
These are not cute beings; they are formidable. They are a composite of the highest forms of creaturely life: man (intelligence), lion (dominion), ox (strength), and eagle (transcendence). They represent all of creation in loyal service to the Creator. So when Ezekiel identifies these living creatures as cherubim, he is making a crucial theological point. The very beings who guard God's holiness are the ones powering His throne as it leaves the Temple. The departure of God's glory is a judicial act, carried out by His authorized covenant officers. The honor guard is not being dismissed; they are escorting the King out of the defiled city. Their presence signifies that this is not a retreat, but a strategic and righteous withdrawal, a prelude to a just invasion.
Verse by Verse Commentary
20 These are the living creatures that I saw beneath the God of Israel by the river Chebar; so I knew that they were cherubim.
Ezekiel here makes a definitive connection. The wild, indescribable beings he saw in his inaugural vision in chapter one are the same ones he sees now. The location by the river Chebar was in the land of exile, a place of uncleanness. But God's throne is not tied to a particular geography. He is the God of Israel even in Babylon. Now, seeing them again in the context of the Temple, Ezekiel, a priest, makes the identification. He puts it together. The guardians of the Ark, the figures on the veil, these are the living beings who constitute the mobile throne of God. His priestly knowledge, informed by Scripture and the Temple liturgy, is now illuminated by direct revelation. The phrase so I knew is the click of understanding. This is not a guess; it is Spirit-given certainty. He is not just seeing a strange vision; he is witnessing a profound theological event involving the highest order of angelic servants.
21 Each one had four faces and each one four wings, and beneath their wings was the likeness of human hands.
The description is reiterated to emphasize its significance. The number four in Scripture is often the number of the earth, of creation (four corners of the earth, four winds). These creatures, with their four faces and four wings, represent the fullness of the created order, brought into submission and service to God. The four faces, traditionally understood as the lion, ox, eagle, and man, represent the pinnacle of the wild animals, domesticated animals, flying creatures, and humanity itself. All creation is summed up in them, and all creation serves the God who sits on the throne. The detail about the likeness of human hands is crucial. This is not mindless, brute force. Their service is personal, skillful, and intelligent. They act with intention, carrying out the commands of God with the agency represented by hands. This combination of animal strength and human intelligence makes them the perfect agents of God's will.
22 As for the likeness of their faces, they were the same faces whose appearance I had seen by the river Chebar. Each one went straight ahead.
The prophet emphasizes the consistency of the vision. Nothing has changed. The God who revealed Himself in glory in the land of exile is the same God who is now executing judgment on His own house in Jerusalem. The vision is not a shifting, unreliable dream. It is a steady and consistent revelation of the reality of the heavenly court. And the final clause is the punchline for this entire section: Each one went straight ahead. This is the third time this phrase appears in Ezekiel's visions (cf. Ezek. 1:9, 12). Their movement is not tentative, crooked, or hesitant. They do not deviate. They do not turn back. When the throne of God moves, it moves with an inexorable and unswerving purpose. In this context, that purpose is judgment. The glory is leaving the Temple, and nothing can stop it or turn it aside. The path of judgment is a straight line, drawn from the holiness of God to the sin of His people. There are no detours on this road.
Application
The first thing we must do is banish from our minds any sentimental notions about the spiritual world. The cherubim are not pudgy babies with harps; they are warriors and guardians of the divine holiness. God's presence is not a tame or cozy thing. He is a consuming fire, and we should approach Him with reverence and awe. The cherubim remind us that holiness is guarded, and sin has consequences.
Second, we see the tragedy of covenant unfaithfulness. The Temple was the greatest treasure Israel possessed. It was the place where heaven and earth met. But their persistent, high-handed idolatry turned it into a spiritual brothel, and so God left. He will not be mocked. Churches and Christian institutions today should take this to heart. The presence of a cross on the building or a doctrinal statement in the archives means nothing if the hearts of the people are far from God. When a church commits itself to wickedness, to heresy, to worldliness, the glory of God will depart. It may not be with wheels and wings, but the departure is just as real, and the spiritual desolation that follows is just as certain.
Finally, we must see the unswerving nature of God's purpose. The cherubim went "straight ahead." This is a picture of God's absolute sovereignty. His plans are not derailed by human sin or rebellion. In this case, the straight line was one of judgment on Old Covenant Israel. But this same unswerving purpose is at work in the gospel. The Lord Jesus set His face like a flint to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51). He went "straight ahead" to the cross to accomplish our salvation. And now, His kingdom advances in the world in the same way. It does not meander or get lost. It goes straight ahead, accomplishing all His good pleasure. The gates of Hell will not prevail against it. The throne of God is on the move, and we are either on board, moving with it, or we will be found standing in its unswerving path.