Ezekiel - John W. Hilber

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(cf. 1 Kgs 8:32).

      Theological Bridge to Application

      In tension with such a severe and complete description of judgment is the provision of protection for those who grieve over sin. God’s heart of mercy is evident. Even if no one receives the protective mark (Ezek 9:6), it is not because God was unwilling. At the same time, God’s mercy is conditioned on remorse (“those who grieve and lament” sin; Ezek 9:4). Of greatest concern to God is the condition of the human heart (Ps 51:17; Isa 57:15). This expectation in Ezekiel finds a particularly relevant parallel in the prophet Zephaniah, where it is the humble who have hope to survive impending judgment (Zeph 2:1–3) and so are numbered among the remnant (Zeph 3:12).

      Focus of Application

      The completeness of judgment in this vision is horrifying. Particularly disturbing in Ezek 9:6 is the suffering of children, whom we characteristically hold innocent. One factor in weighing the ethics of such judgment is understanding the realities of total warfare. In the ancient Near East, practically speaking, warfare often meant targeting complete civilian populations. This happens in modern warfare as well. The horrors of World War II came at the hands of both sides, each of which judged that total warfare, including the killing of non-combatants, was a practical necessity. In the ancient Near East, when God used a nation as an instrument of judgment against another nation (as in the impending Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem), it brought with it the necessary tragedies of war. The mention of “children” in Ezekiel’s language is the ancient way of referring to total warfare.

      We should not to confuse the historical outworking of temporal judgment on Jerusalem through the Babylonians with our theology of eternal salvation. Our doctrine of salvation is much more complicated in terms of the application of the atonement and questions of accountability in eternal perspective. There is no one-to-one correspondence between the physical death of individuals during the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and their eternal relationship with the Lord. The stress in this passage is the totality of judgment apart from God’s protection; and the condition for receiving God’s mercy, as stated in this text, is a humble and contrite heart (see also the discussion at Ezek 18:9, 19 and Focus of Application there). How this balances in the scales of justice is beyond our perview, hidden in the yet unseen reckoning of all things.

      Two other lessons on the nature of judgment also flow from Ezekiel’s experience. First, God holds leadership especially culpable, as revealed in this passage by the “first priority” in executing judgment (Ezek 9:6; cf. Jas 3:1). Few things are more damaging to the reputation of God, his kingdom, and his own people than the failure of leaders. This bears out in the testimony of Christians who have been deeply wounded by sinful behavior on the part of those to whom they have submitted and depended. The media frenzies over public exposure of prominent Christian leaders are legendary. Second, the nature of God’s judgment is commensurate with and often mirrors the specific sin in uncanny ways. Jacob deceived Isaac by means of an animal skin (Gen 27:16) and he himself was deceived through slaughter of an animal (Gen 37:31–33). David’s greatest sin was orchestrating the violent death of Uriah (2 Sam 11:14–15) and so the sword did not depart from his house (2 Sam 12:9–10). Ezekiel’s vision manifests the common biblical theme wherein people reap what they sow (Prov 22:8; Gal 6:7).

      God’s Parting Judgment

      Ezekiel 10:1–22

      Ezekiel’s Message

      The withdrawal of God’s presence results in reluctant yet destructive judgment.

      Key Themes

      • God’s judgment springs from the purity of his glory.

      • God’s knowledge of human affairs is complete and penetrating.

      • God’s gracious attributes render him reluctant to leave and judge.

      Context in Ezekiel

      Ezekiel 9:3 reported the first stage in the departure of God’s glory from the temple, as it moves from the cherubim over the ark in the Most Holy Place to the temple threshold. This first stage is repeated in Ezek 10:3 (the two scenes of Ezek 9 and 10 overlap), after a pause in Ezek 9:3b–11 to depict the anticipated judgment. The process of departure continues in Ezek 10:18–19 when the glory transfers to a cherub-born chariot, which carries God’s glory to the eastern gate of the temple complex before final departure (Ezek 11:22–23). Within this context, God reveals to Ezekiel further aspects of judgment associated with the departure of his presence. The intention of Ezekiel’s visionary experience is not to report a chronologically organized portrayal of the destruction of Jerusalem; rather, these are “scenes of judgment” that convey what is actually “behind the scenes” of the impending Babylonian siege and destruction of the city.

      Interpretive Highlights

      10:1 over the heads of the cherubim: The flow of the narrative is not easy to follow, because Ezek 10:1 introduces into the vision a depiction of God’s chariot-throne that is born by cherubim who differ from the cherubim over the ark of the covenant (Ezek 9:3; 10:4). That the cherubim spoken of in v. 1 are those of the chariot is clarified in v. 3, since they are stationed on the south side of the temple waiting for the glory of God to mount the chariot (Ezek 10:18). Details about these cherubim unfold as the vision focuses first on the judgment connected with their fiery presence (Ezek 10:2–8) and then on their transport of God’s glory further away from the temple (Ezek 10:9–22).

      10:2 burning coals . . . scatter them over the city: The phrase translated “burning coals” is identical to the words for coals from the altar (Lev 16:12) and also God’s weapons as a divine warrior (Ps 18:12–13). The coals of the altar have the capacity to atone for sin (Isa 6:6–7), but in Ezekiel’s vision they destroy. The image of fire over the city might compare Jerusalem’s destruction with that of Sodom (Gen 19:24; cf. Ps 11:6), an association drawn upon by Ezekiel elsewhere (Ezek 16:46–49).

      10:4–8 radiance of the glory . . . take fire: The vision of Ezek 1 climaxed in the description of God’s glorious radiance (Ezek 1:28). From this radiance, God called Ezekiel and also signaled his presence with his people in exile. The vision of Ezek 10 employs the theology of God’s glory to a different end, stressing that God’s radiant presence departs with destructive judgment (“voice . . . the Lord commanded”; vv. 5–6). So dangerous is the fire associated with God’s radiance that even the angelic “man of linen” dared not take it directly from such close proximity to the throne.70

      10:12 Their entire bodies . . . full of eyes: For general discussion of the cherubim, see comments on Ezek 1; but here in chapter 10, there are three important distinctions to note.71 First, Ezekiel now recognizes the identity of these same creatures from his initial vision as “cherubim” (Ezek 10:20–22). Overwhelmed at the outset of his first visionary experience, it was not until he recognized

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