Purifying fire

Chapter 10 is fascinating reading. There’s so much here it will take more than one week to read and study. Ezekiel saw the same, or a similar, vision as the one described in chapter 1. Except, we now have much more context regarding God’s interactions with Israel in these scenes. We’ve learned about pagan worship that desecrated the land and God’s temple. We’ve read more than one scene that reassured readers God would redeem a remnant for Himself. We’ve seen God’s hand at work and His relationship with Ezekiel.

In the previous chapter, God’s glory moved from its place above the cherubim to the threshold of the temple. In that chapter, the temple was defiled with the corpses of corrupt leaders, now dead and unclean, desecrating the temple. Is it any surprise God’s glory departed? A holy God will not dwell among corruption and pagan worship.

The man clothed in linen reported back that he had done as commanded and marked those who grieved the desecration of all that is holy.

“I looked, and I saw the likeness of a throne of lapis lazuli above the vault that was over the heads of the cherubim.

The Lord said to the man clothed in linen, ‘Go in among the wheels beneath the cherubim. Fill your hands with burning coals from among the cherubim and scatter them over the city.’ And as I watched, he went in” (Ezekiel 10:1-2).

• Ezekiel saw again the throne of sapphire and expanse from the vision described in chapter 1.¹
• The scribe/priest clothed in linen went among the wheels of the cherubim.
• This implies the four living creatures in chapter 1 might be cherubim—those who guard God’s holy and sacred presence.¹
• They scattered burning coals—the need for confession and cleansing—over the city.
• Or perhaps the coals were to purify and sacrifice the city once again to God.
• I wonder if the remnant saw, repented, and drew closer to God as a result.

*Why do you think the man clothed in linen scattered burning coals over the city?

*How has God used fire in your life to lead you to confession, cleansing, and a pure and holy walk with God?

 “Now the cherubim were standing on the south side of the temple when the man went in, and a cloud filled the inner court” (Ezekiel 10:3).

• The cherubim stood [guard] near the temple.
• We learned earlier that cherubim guard God’s holy and sacred place.
• They protect God’s glory from being defiled by the wickedness and defilement in the city.
• As the man clothed in linen entered the temple, a cloud filled the inner court.
• A cloud represented God’s divine presence.
• A Priest figure or divine being entered God’s holy presence.
• Up to this time, God’s glory inhabited the holy of Holies, the most inner court.
• Imagine that. God granted Ezekiel a vision of the Son of God, Jesus the Messiah.

*Why do you think the Man’s Priestly role is emphasized in this chapter?

*How do you imagine Ezekiel reacted to this vision?

“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. The sound of the wings of the cherubim could be heard as far away as the outer court, like the voice of God Almighty when he speaks” (Ezekiel 10:4-5).

• Again, Ezekiel described the movement of God’s glory from above the cherubim to the threshold of the temple—perhaps a sign it will soon depart?
• I wonder if chapter 10 is a detailed description, from a different perspective, of the same scene described in chapter 9. We also see in chapter 10 another glimpse of the vision Ezekiel saw in chapter 1.
• Along with the presence of God (in a cloud), the glory of the Lord filled the court.

*Why did the wings of the cherubim move?

*Why did Ezekiel compare the sound cherubim’s wings to the voice of God Almighty when He speaks?

*What is significant about God’s glory in this passage?

“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. 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. (Under the wings of the cherubim could be seen what looked like human hands.) (Ezekiel 10:6-8).

• The man clothed in linen functioned here as a priest.
• Fire purifies.
• He received fire from one of the cherubim.
• These holy beings—created to guard God’s sacred space—offered purifying fire to a priest.

*Why did the cherubim offer and the priest receive the fire?

*What did God command the priest to do with this fire?

*Why did Ezekiel add a parenthetical note that under the wings of the cherubim were hands like a man?

*Might the angel of the Lord / Son of Man / Son of God / Jesus guard the Father’s holy place along with the cherubim?

Last week we read the scene when Isaiah encountered a seraphim.

God granted Isaiah a vision of the exalted Lord, His throne, and seraphim.

“And they [the seraphim] were calling to one another: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory’” (Isaiah 6:3).

It’s important to note, in the context of what happened in Ezekiel chapter 10, that the seraphim remind us that God’s glory fills the whole earth.

Isaiah continued to describe his holy experience.

“’Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’” (Isaiah 6:5-8).

• God showed Isaiah a vision of His holy Person, and Isaiah lived to tell about it.
• Isaiah confessed he was a man of unclean lips.
• The seraphim specifically cleansed Isaiah’s mouth—that which he confessed.
• Jesus reminded people the lips are the source of more than unclean words.

“What comes out of a person is what defiles them. For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person” (Mark 7:20-23).

• Once cleansed and redeemed, the Lord sent Isaiah to proclaim His message.

Who was left in the city when the Lord told the man clothed in linen to scatter burning coals over the city? It isn’t clear if this took place before or after the slaying in chapter nine that left only those with the mark remaining alive, God’s remnant.

Whatever the remnant witnessed, what a message they would have to proclaim to the nations.

Whatever we have seen and heard God do for us, we have a story to proclaim to someone.

*Why do we remember that God’s glory fills the whole earth?

*What story do you have to tell others about what God has done in your life?

 

1 Tracie Heskett. Blog posts. 2024.

http://www.tracieheskett.com/a-glimpse-of-glory/

 

http://www.tracieheskett.com/the-visions-purpose/