Ezekiel 10

Ezekiel 10:1-22

THE VISION OF THE THRONE Ezekiel 10:1-22IN taking up with you this fourth study in the Book of Ezekiel, I have selected as the theme of what I shall say,—“The Vision of the Throne.” We have already thought together on “Seeing Visions of God,” “Hearing the Voice of God,” and studying “The Vengeance of God.”You will note that we are omitting four chapters in this study. Our defense is in the fact that the Book of Ezekiel is a Book that does not change subjects often. The chapters over which we are passing are simply an additional series on the general subject of “Divine Judgment,” and are, in a measure, interpreted by our third study, or the consideration of the 5th chapter.The view of all these chapters is that of a sinful and rebellious people, and the judgments of God against them are repeated in many forms and phrases.It is in the interest, therefore, of marking progress that we pass over the intervening chapters in silence.This 10th chapter, however, while it also deals with the same general subject, presents certain new aspects of truth, and to these we desire to call especial attention.Once more we deal with figures with which we have already been made familiar, namely,—The Likeness of a Throne, The Coals of Fire, The Symbols of the Cherubim. THE OF A THRONE “Then I looked, and, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne” (Ezekiel 10:1).This likeness is spiritually suggestive. The Throne is the symbol of authority. Its likeness is eloquent concerning rulership.In the days of the Judges“The men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also; for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian. “And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you” (Judges 8:22-23). David, speaking of God, said, “He ruleth by His power for ever” (Psalms 66:7).Then again the Psalmist wrote, “The Lord hath prepared His throne in the heavens; and His Kingdom ruleth over all” (Psalms 103:19).Yet, once more, “Thy Throne, O God, is for ever and ever”.There are times when the scenes of earth are such as to call into question Divine rulership. Its sufferings, its sins, its tumults, its wars, its famines, its pestilences—these combine to create such questions; but the fact is that God rules; and if one follows history far enough he will find evidences therefor. That is not to say that God wills the sin, the suffering, the war, the tumult; but it is to say that God rules in spite of them, and in a real measure compels even these to do His bidding; else, how could the inspired writer declare that “All things work together for good to them that love God”?The devil is not the Divine will, and deviltry is not the Divine pleasure; but even the devils “fear and tremble”, for they see above them “the likeness of a throne”, and they interpret the infinitude of power that it expresses, and the righteous judgment it symbolizes.The sapphire in this likeness was also suggestive. The dictionary defines Sapphire as—“Any one of the hard, transparent, colored varieties of corundum, which, when cut, are used as gems: usually and specifically, the blue variety.”It was the second stone in the second row of the high priest’s breastplate (Exodus 28:18), and it was extremely precious (Job 28:16). It is also constituted the second foundation of the Eternal City (Revelation 21:19).Blue is the insignia of Heaven itself, and the throne is not an earthly, but a Heavenly one; not the throne of man, but the throne of God, with whom is all power.If there is one doctrine that needs emphasis in this day above any other, it is the Personality and the Power of God. Men are disposed to deny individuality to Him, and consequently they are given to scoffing the idea that He is supreme and sovereign, that His will is the law of the universe.

But if it be not so, then the universe is lawless; that’s all!However, the heavens do not so suggest. Their planets are supposed to be infinite in number, and yet, every one of them is obedient to law, and clearly indicate that back of them there is both the Law-Giver and the Law-Administrator.Earth itself, while it is in constant violation of law, is just as constantly compelled to recognize the existence of the same, and to answer to its demands, for the laws of both Heaven and earth are just, and true, and holy, and good.A.

J. F. Behrends wrote sanely enough when he said, “There never was a great nature without reverence for the Law of God. There never was a great nation without reverence for righteousness.”The lawlessness of the age is due to a single circumstance, namely, the infidelity of the age. Men who believe in God regard law and fear its infraction. Those who are certain that He has no existence are naturally lawless.

That is the infamy of evolutionary teaching;—bringing men to believe that there is no Throne of Justice above us; that there are no Heavenly demands upon conduct; and it brings men to bad behavior and makes of them scoffers and sinners alike.Webb, in his “Illustrations for Pulpit and Platform” tells the story of a Hungarian King who began to reflect upon his conduct and to fear that he was under Divine condemnation. He sent for the prince, his good-natured brother, to comfort him; and when the brother came the king cried, “I am a great sinner and afraid to meet God!” Job’s question, “What shall I do when God riseth up”? was pressing heavily upon his heart, and “When He visiteth, what shall I answer Him”? was the further part of the question that oppressed his spirit.

The prince laughed at him and tried to scoff him out of his fears; but, to test the prince’s sincerity, the king recalled the Hungarian custom of sounding a trumpet before the door of the man who was set for execution. So at night he sent a trumpeter to stand before the prince’s door and blow the blast of conviction. The prince hastily rose from his bed, rushed to the door to be met by the executioner who dragged him, pale and trembling, into the king’s presence. When he came there he was utterly undone, and cried, “Oh, why must I die? What have I done that the time of my execution has come, and in what respect have I offended before the king?” to which the king answered, “Does the sight of a human executioner seem so terrible to you, my brother? Why should I not then fear deeply, since I have grievously offended God, and must yet appear before His judgment seat?”This Throne speaks eloquently of the fact that it is a fearful thing for sinners to fall into the hands of a just God.Mark again another truth. This throne’s elevation is significant!“And, behold, in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubims there appeared over them as it were a sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne”. It was in the firmament; it was above; it was in the circle of the Heavens. God’s throne is over all! (Psalms 11:4; Jeremiah 52:32).G. Campbell Morgan, in “The True Estimate of Life” says: “God is absolute Monarch! His government is autocratic! He does not consult us as to what He shall do with us, where He shall send us, what He would have us to do.“Moreover, His government is an imperative government. He never permits us to make compromises with Him for a single moment.

He speaks the word of authority. He marks the path without ever consulting us, and having done so, our only relationship to that government is that of implicit, unquestioning, immediate obedience.”A few years ago some men of certain literary fame declared that God could no longer remain an autocrat, but would have to come off His throne and be a democrat with the rest of us. That would be a poor, little God.The thrones of democrats are not exalted above; the voice of the democrat is not with authority. Democracy, pushed to its last limit, becomes anarchy; and anarchy is the outright denial of God. Such a government seldom results in anything except confusion, suffering, injustice, slavery. On the other hand, the exercise of authority makes for justice, contentment and accomplishment.Florence Nightingale became famed the world round.

Florence Nightingale was made the matchless woman she was by her unquestioned obedience to the Lord.The angels in Heaven “do His pleasure”. That is why they are angels, and in Heaven His will is perfectly done. That is why Heaven is happy.We pray sometimes, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven”—a just recognition of the fact that righteous authority results blessedly for the obedient.Lawrence Tuttiett wrote the prayer in which true men should participate by faith:— “Come, quickly come, dread Judge of all; For, awful though Thine advent be, All shadows from the truth will fall, And falsehood die in sight of Thee; Come, quickly come; for doubt and fear Like clouds dissolve when Thou art near.

“Come, quickly come, great King of all; Reign all around us, and within; Let sin no more our souls enthrall, Let pain and sorrow die with sin: Come, quickly come; for Thou alone Canst make Thy scattered people one.

“Come, quickly come; true Life of all; The curse of death is on the ground; On every home his shadows fall, On every heart his mark is found: Come, quickly come; for grief and pain Can never cloud Thy glorious reign.

“Come, quickly come; sure Light of all; For gloomy night broods o’er our way; And fainting souls begin to fall, With weary watching for the day: Come, quickly come; for round Thy throne No eye is blind, no night is known.” But we pass from the Likeness of a Throne to—THE COALS OF FIRE “And He spake unto the Man clothed with linen, and said, Go in between the wheels, even under the cherub, and fill Thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city. And He went in in my sight” (Ezekiel 10:2). These cherubs marked the holy place. We remember the Temple appointments, and how the cherubs were in the Holy of Holies and the Mercy Seat the very spot of God’s presence and speech was between them. It was a place where the unholy would perish, and to which only “the Man clothed with linen” dared to go. That Man is the only Man who has passed the way of this world, kept His garments unspotted, who, though He “was tempted in all points like as we”, yet was and is without sin. He, then, could enter even there.The Heavenly atmosphere was adapted to His holy life, and the Mercy Seat itself was the expression of His infinite love. “What equal honors shall we bring To Thee, O Lord our God, the Lamb, When all the notes that angels sing Are far inferior to Thy Name?

“Worthy is He that once was slain, The Prince of Life that groaned and died, Worthy to rise, and live and reign At his almighty Father’s side.

“Honor immortal must be paid, Instead of scandal and of scorn; While glory shines around His head, He wears a crown without a thorn.

“Blessings forever on the Lamb, Who bore the curse for wretched men! Let angels sound His sacred Name, And every creature say ‘Amen’.” The coals He handled without hurt.“Fill Thine hand with coals of fire from between the cherubims, and scatter them over the city”.Joseph Parker in his “People’s Bible” says truly enough, “The coals do not burn Him; He handles them with impunity; and yet when He scatters them over the city the whole metropolis burns to destruction. The elements are one thing in the hand of their Creator, and another when thrown in an act of judgment upon creation. The Gospel is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death; fire either becomes a summer to warm, or a conflagration to destroy; fire is either servant or master—as servant, a friend; as master, a destroyer. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God”.These same coals consumed the city. That is the meaning—“scatter them over the city”.It was a prophecy of the day when the flames should lick Jerusalem to the ground. However, that was not to take place at once. Some years would intervene before the judgment fell.

God’s prophecies are certain, but their fulfilment is not instantaneous.The Flood was prophesied, but it was 120 years before it fell. Nineveh was set for destruction, but 40 days intervened—the opportunity for repentance—and when the Ninevites employed it, God withheld His hand. Once in a while God’s judgments are swift. When Belshazzar saw the handwriting on the wall, and Daniel was called to interpret it, the text reads, “In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain” (Daniel 5:30).When Ananias and Sapphira brought their false reports to the first Church at Jerusalem, and lied concerning having laid all upon the altar, judgment was instant.No sooner had Peter spoken, saying,“Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? “Whiles it remained, wast it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. “And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost” (Acts 5:3-5). and no sooner had Sapphira borne her false testimony, and Peter replied by saying,“Behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out, “Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost” (Acts 5:9-10). But it is not God’s common method. Even judgment He tempers with mercy.A. J. Gordon said of the promises of God what as a rule might be said with even greater truth concerning the predicted judgments,—“The promises of God are certain; but they do not mature in 90 days.”Some years went by before Jerusalem was burned; but the prophecy failed not.How greatly this generation needs to attend upon the suggestion.Peter says that “there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His Coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation”.After having answered this false argument, Peter continues,“Be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat” (2 Peter 3:4-5; 2 Peter 3:8-12). “That awful day will surely come, Th’ appointed hour makes haste, When I must stand before my Judge, And pass the solemn test. “Thou lovely Chief of all my joys, Thou Sovereign of my heart, How could I bear to hear Thy voice Pronounce the sound, “Depart!” “Jesus, I throw my arms around And hang upon Thy breast; Without a gracious smile from Thee, My spirit cannot rest. “O tell me that my worthless name Is graven on Thy hands! Show me some promise in Thy Book, Where my salvation stands!” THE SYMBOLS OF “Now the cherubims stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court. “Then the glory of the Lord went up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the Lord’s glory. “And the sound of the cherubims’ wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when He speaketh” (Ezekiel 10:3-5). Going back to your Biblical record, the first appearance of the cherubim is in connection with the expulsion of Adam, and they were set “to keep the way of the Tree of Life”. Even then there is a hint of their symbolism, for it was their’s to keep man from perishing eternally, by eating of the Tree of Life, while yet in sin.We remember that in the Tabernacle there were two cherubim of solid gold who rose out of the golden lid of the Mercy Seat, and facing each other with wings outstretched above, they seemed to be peering into the Mercy Seat itself, the very place of the Divine Presence, and especially the symbolic expression of the Divine mercy, for even the Law, contained in the Sacred Box, could not voice itself except through the Mercy Seat which was between the two cherubs.Therein is our lesson.They represent the astonishments of angels as they study the grace of God. And well might they be astonished!Dr. Geo. Lorimer, that matchless Tremont Temple pastor and orator, in his volume “The Galilean” says,“I can picture to myself that solemn day which was set apart by Israel for reconciliation, and I can see the high priest in his white garments of humility, having slain the victim, entering into the holiest of all to sprinkle the blood of expiation before the Mercy Seat, while the people, moaning over their sins, are prostrate without. A hush rests on the assembly, broken only by the waitings of the penitent, and the heart-sobs of the contrite.

What does it all mean? Why do the multitudes rise with so much joy when the priest reappears and extends his hands in benediction?

What have they received? In what are they advantaged? Let us ask yonder smiling Hebrew as he is returning to his tent. ‘Do you not understand it?’ he inquires, and adds: ‘This is the day of atonement; our sins have been put away through sacrifice, and the nation is once more at peace with God.’ ”It is this shed blood, sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat, that voices God’s grace and pardon, and God’s willingness to forgive sin.To this day that phrase is the astonishment of both angels and men.Some writer tells the story of that notorious Hottentot Chief, whose cruelty and barbarism had made him the terror of a great African district. He stole the cattle of others at will; he burned their corrals; he captured their women and children and carried them away to captivity; he slew whom he would.Robert Moffatt, that matchless messenger of the King of Glory, came into Africa on his great mission of love. He was warned against this savage monster and was told that if he went to him “he would make a drum-head of his skin and a drinking cup of his skull.” But Moffatt went just the same, and preached to this low, brutish man, the Gospel of Life. He heard it with astonishment; it took hold upon his heart; he ceased from his savage butchery, and became the gentlest and kindest of Christian men.When a Dutch farmer, whose uncle this Africana had killed, saw the converted Hottentot and studied his changed life and conduct, he exclaimed, “Oh, God; what cannot Thy grace do?

What a miracle of Thy saving power!”That is the astonishment of Cherubim—the type of the archangels. That is the mystery of the millenniums upon which they look with astonishment from which even their holy natures cannot escape, namely, the Grace of God, in putting away sin and pardoning the sinner.Yet again,—These cherubim suggest and, in a sense, supply glory to God.

You will remember that when first we met them here, they had the face of a man—intelligence; the face of an eagle—swiftness; alacrity in service; the face of a lion—matchless power; the face of an ox—patient endurance; and, after all, what are the characteristics of these highest of all God’s creation, except the dim reflections of God’s own constitution and character? If man is made in the Divine image, how much more the unfallen Heavenly host!Our God is a God of power. “All power belongeth unto Him”.Our God is a God of wisdom. “[He] is the Light of the world”.Our God is a God of swiftness. He speaks, and it is done!Our God is a God of patience and endurance,— else all men would long since have perished.My friend, Dr. J. R. Miller, tells the story of the infidel soldier of the Middle Ages, who hated the Bible and all sacred things.

One day he defied God to His face. Going out upon a field of battle he threw his glove to the ground as a challenge, and looking up into the heavens, he angrily cried,— “You, God; I defy You!

Come down now and fight with me a mortal combat. If Thou hast power, put forth that power of which Thy pretending priests boast so much! I dare You!”While he spoke, he saw a piece of paper float down through the air. It fell right at his feet. He picked it up, and lo, these words, “God is love”!That is why He is patient and enduring with the sins of men. He “is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” and live.But, mark you, there is another thing said here. The Prophet heard “the sound of the cherubims’ wings” (Ezekiel 10:5) “when they went” (Ezekiel 10:11).“Then the glory of the Lord departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims” (Ezekiel 10:18). Oh, what a significant figure, and to what a fearful fact it refers!The ante-diluvian sinned until God said, “My Spirit shall not always strive with man”, and the Flood came.Sodom and Gomorrah sinned until the fires of judgment fell.Israel sinned until the Temple itself was Divinely deserted.There are thousands of churches that have so far departed from the Faith, and so deeply descended into worldliness, that the Spirit Himself has quit their sanctuaries. Yea more, He has even “removed their candlestick out of its place” and wiped their temples from the face of the earth.What grief has God passed through before this, His enforced departure! Who can imagine?Christ, just before the destruction of Jerusalem, sat on the hill overlooking the same, and bursting into tears, cried,“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the Prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gather eth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:37-38). And God, who forsakes the city, who takes His Spirit from the Temple itself, may be forced by the unbelief and rebellion of man to give him over to his idols, to cease even the Divine endeavor for his redemption! But, if so, it is in sorrow, and the language of His leaving is, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked”, and His final appeal is, “Turn ye, turn ye, * * why wilt ye die”?May I conclude this sermon with a single question. My brother, my sister, are you grieving God’s Spirit today? Is it possible that this appeal is the end of opportunity for you? Are you willing to go on in waywardness at the risk of driving Him away?