Day 243
Ezekiel 9
Ezekiel 10
Ezekiel 11
Ezekiel 12
The cherubim in Ezekiel’s vision each have four faces: a lion, an ox, a man (cherub), and an eagle. In Jewish tradition, they have accepted that these faces connect to the four leading tribes that camped around the tabernacle. Judah the lion, Ephraim the ox, Reuben the man, and Dan the eagle.
The four faces of cherubim are four different tribes, with four different strengths, and representing four different gospels. Yet in the vision, all four faces belong to the same living creatures that carry God’s throne. None of them is left out. None is more important. Together they form the living chariot of the Holy One. That is grace.
God does not ask us to become someone else’s face before He will include us. He takes the bold ones and the quiet servants, the thinkers and the far-seers, and puts them into the same story. The same glory sits overall four.
In Ezekiel’s day the people had turned their backs on that glory. But the chariot was still there, full of eyes, still moving by the Spirit’s direction, still able to carry the presence of God wherever He wanted to go. The same God who rode above those four faces later came Himself, with one face. The face of a man, so that every tribe, every strength, and every weakness could be brought closer to Him.
Why does the Holy One place four different faces on the same living creatures that carry His throne(lion and ox, man and eagle) and then come wearing only the face of a man, so that every tribe and every strength might finally be brought near?
Ezekiel was still in the vision from the Lord. God called out in a loud voice that the time of warnings was done. The judgment was about to be carried out. The six men (divine executioners/ angels) and the man in linen (scribe) were set for the task. This was a department of heaven team. The six came from the north (the same direction as Babylon). The destroyers stood by the bronze altar where the sacrifices used to be offered. The glory of God rose from above the cherubim (where it belonged) and headed for the threshold doorway of the temple. The glory of God was the visible presence of God, and He was slowly leaving the area.
The Lord told the man in linen to go through the city and “mark” the ones who still sighed and grieved about the idolatry and spiritual corruption around them. The word for “mark” in Hebrew is tav, which in ancient writing looked like an X or a cross. This is a beautiful foreshadowing. But judgment came with a brutal order. No mercy. No exceptions, except for those who were marked (and spared) by the scribe. (This was reminiscent of Passover and markings of the doorways). The angel executioners started their judgment in the sanctuary with the religious leaders standing in front of the Temple. 1 Peter 4:17 later echoed this: judgment begins with the household of God. Those who should have known better were first in line for judgment.
Ezekiel fell facedown before the Lord. As a faithful prophet, he pleaded for the people, “Will you destroy the whole remnant?” But God answered that the very lie that the people had told themselves, that He does not see them, was the reason for judgment.
The man in linen reported back that his mission was completed, and everyone to be saved was marked. He was then told to take coals from the wheels of the cherubim (the place of God’s presence) to scatter over the city. What had once been used to purify was now used to destroy. God’s presence was still glorious as it was leaving. He did not sneak out; He left in His full glory for all to see. The destruction of fire was not just by human hands; the angels helped and handed over the coals. They handed over the judgment. The cherubim were described again as full of eyes, in all directions, because nothing escapes God’s notice. Wherever the presence of God went, the whole mobile cherubim throne went with Him.
The glory left the threshold and mounted the cherubim chariot. It went to the east gate. God was one step closer to leaving. God went from above the cherubim in the Most Holy Place, to the threshold of the Temple, to the east gate of the Lord’s house, and finally to the mountain east of the city (Mount of Olives). More West, More Holy, and God was now moving to the east. East was the direction of departure, of exile, and of the glory itself moving in judgment.
Ezekiel was teleported again, still in the vision of judgment that started in chapter 8, to the east gate of the house of the Lord. He saw the leaders who felt safe from the wrath of God since they had not been exiled. The first deportation of exiles to Babylon had already happened. Ezekiel was moved around the Temple area to see the people who had lost their spiritual loyalty to God. The east gate was a public spot. The 25 leaders were gathered there. They felt that judgment was not going to happen soon. They had settled in and saw themselves as the “choice meat” in the pot, while judgment happened outside, feeling protected by the wall and Temple. God knew their thoughts and turned the cooking pot image around. The dead in the city became the “meat”; the leaders would not get to remain in the pot. God would give them over to foreigners; since they had copied the nations, they would get the nations’ treatment.
While Ezekiel was talking, right in the middle of the prophecy, one of the leaders, Pelatiah, died. His name meant “Yahweh delivers, or Yahweh has rescued”. The vision showed that even the “rescued” people and leaders were not safe from judgment. The Babylonian records show Judean communities (sometimes called Judah-town) living and functioning in exile, which fits the picture God gave of sustaining them, Jeremiah. There was a promise of judgment for the unrepentant, and hope for the remnant. But the big picture was one heart of unity, a new spirit, a heart of flesh instead of stone so they could obey. This echoes Ephesians 4.
Then the sad moment came. The presence of the Lord was lifted by the cherubim chariot from the temple area and went to the mountain on the east. This was a reluctant exit. Six years later, the city walls came down. The leaders were not safe “meat in a pot.” The real future was for those in exile who got new hearts. The rebellious refused to see that the end had come. Ezekiel was told to perform a sign of packing, for everyone to watch. He was to dig a hole with his bare hands through the mud/brick wall of his house and crawl out of it with his face covered. He was a sign of the second deportation to come. Covering the face pointed to King Zedekiah, because the real king, Jehoiachin, was already exiled to Babylon. God would make sure Zedekiah would never see the land (his eyes were gouged out), and he would die there. This fulfilled the prophecies from 2 Kings 25 and Jeremiah 39:4-7; 52:7-11.
Ezekiel was to eat and drink with anxiety and despair because of the terror of those under siege. This represented each meal feeling like their last. The purpose was to call the people to return to the Lord. In Ezekiel 12:21-28, there were two proverbs going around: “The days drag on, and every vision fails,” and “This is for the distant future.” The people treated the warnings like a forecast that would never happen. God said that both slogans were done. The time was now. The false prophets with their “peace” message would be exposed.
Today's Discussion question:
Why does the Holy One place four different faces on the same living creatures that carry His throne (lion and ox, man and eagle) and then, come wearing only the face of a man, so that every tribe and every strength might finally be brought near?
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