Ezekiel 10:13
Ver. 13. 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". Ezekiel 10:14Ver. 14. 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 brk, 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". Ezekiel 10:15Ver. 15. 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. Ezekiel 10:16Ver. 16. 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". Ezekiel 10:17Ver. 17. 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, Ho 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 Ac 16:6.{c} hyxh xwr pneuma bwhv, Sept. "spiritus vitae", V. L. Starckius. Ezekiel 10:18Ver. 18. 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. Ezekiel 10:19Ver. 19. 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 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 Mt 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. Ezekiel 10:20Ver. 20. 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. Ezekiel 10:21Ver. 21. 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". Ezekiel 10:22Ver. 22. 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.
John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.