Eze 10:12 | KingComments | STEP | The description of the cherubim in largely corresponds to that in Ezekiel 1 (see comments there). We see here also with the cherubim under their wings something that has the form of a man’s hand ( ). In the exercise of their government, the cherubim are oriented toward men; they act in a manner befitting men. The wings give rise to the idea that judgments come from above. The four wheels show that God’s government is exercised on earth ( ). Each of the four cherubim has a wheel beside them. The wheels shine like a Tarshish stone (see comments on Ezekiel 1:16). The wheels all look the same, “all four of them had the same likeness” ( ). This indicates that there is complete unity in God’s government, that God always acts in a perfectly consistent manner. That it appears as if one wheel is within another wheel means that all of God’s acts of government are perfectly interlocked. With Him, events never stand alone; they are never separate. The one is always related to the other. The way He is going in His governmental ways is irreversible ( ). His goal is determined. He is moving toward His goal, even though in doing so He often goes down roads that we cannot understand. Just as the wheels do not turn as they go, so He never has to return to a road He has gone. He never goes a wrong way, He never makes a mistake. That may be a great comfort to us when we do not understand certain things in our lives, why they have gone the way they have gone. In Ezekiel 1 we saw that the rims of the cherubim are full of eyes. Here we see that their whole body, “their backs, their hands, their wings and the wheels” are “full of eyes all around” ( ). This shows us in an even more emphatic way that God is the Omniscient One Who acts with perfect insight. “Their back” refers to the past. God has forgotten nothing of the past. He has perfect knowledge and understanding of the past. His actions in the present are consistent with that. Those actions are past tomorrow, but their effects are not. They work on, they are active (“their hands”) in the present. The hands contribute to the realization of the future, the achievement of the goal that God has in mind and that He always has in mind. This is symbolized by “their wings and the wheels”. The four wheels of the cherubim take Him where He wants to go. The wings indicate that He controls everything on earth from heaven. The wheels also have a name, “the whirling wheels” ( ; cf. ; ; ). “Whirling” refers to the speed of the movement, and “wheel” refers to the organic unity of the throne chariot. Next, the faces of the cherubim are described ( ), which is also what happens in Ezekiel 1. Each cherub, like the description in Ezekiel 1, has four faces. Three faces are similar to those in Ezekiel 1. However, the first face mentioned here, “the face of a cherub”, differs from the description in Ezekiel 1, where instead we have the face of a bull or an ox. This means that the face of a cherub looks like the face of a bull or an ox ( ). The living beings from Ezekiel 1 that Ezekiel saw by the river Chebar are cherubim ( ). The prophet sees this at the moment when the cherubim exalt themselves. He sees again the unity between the cherubim and their wings and wheels ( ; ). This unity involves both their movement and their standing still ( ). This is because the spirit of the living beings is also in the wheels. What the living beings determine, the wheels do.

‏ Ezekiel 10:12

The Cherubim

The description of the cherubim in Eze 10:8-14 largely corresponds to that in Ezekiel 1 (see comments there). We see here also with the cherubim under their wings something that has the form of a man’s hand (Eze 10:8). In the exercise of their government, the cherubim are oriented toward men; they act in a manner befitting men. The wings give rise to the idea that judgments come from above. The four wheels show that God’s government is exercised on earth (Eze 10:9). Each of the four cherubim has a wheel beside them. The wheels shine like a Tarshish stone (see comments on Ezekiel 1:16).

The wheels all look the same, “all four of them had the same likeness” (Eze 10:10). This indicates that there is complete unity in God’s government, that God always acts in a perfectly consistent manner. That it appears as if one wheel is within another wheel means that all of God’s acts of government are perfectly interlocked. With Him, events never stand alone; they are never separate. The one is always related to the other.

The way He is going in His governmental ways is irreversible (Eze 10:11). His goal is determined. He is moving toward His goal, even though in doing so He often goes down roads that we cannot understand. Just as the wheels do not turn as they go, so He never has to return to a road He has gone. He never goes a wrong way, He never makes a mistake. That may be a great comfort to us when we do not understand certain things in our lives, why they have gone the way they have gone.

In Ezekiel 1 we saw that the rims of the cherubim are full of eyes. Here we see that their whole body, “their backs, their hands, their wings and the wheels” are “full of eyes all around” (Eze 10:12). This shows us in an even more emphatic way that God is the Omniscient One Who acts with perfect insight.

“Their back” refers to the past. God has forgotten nothing of the past. He has perfect knowledge and understanding of the past. His actions in the present are consistent with that. Those actions are past tomorrow, but their effects are not. They work on, they are active (“their hands”) in the present. The hands contribute to the realization of the future, the achievement of the goal that God has in mind and that He always has in mind. This is symbolized by “their wings and the wheels”. The four wheels of the cherubim take Him where He wants to go. The wings indicate that He controls everything on earth from heaven.

The wheels also have a name, “the whirling wheels” (Eze 10:13; cf. Eze 23:24 ; Eze 26:10; Isa 5:28; Jer 47:3). “Whirling” refers to the speed of the movement, and “wheel” refers to the organic unity of the throne chariot.

Next, the faces of the cherubim are described (Eze 10:14), which is also what happens in Ezekiel 1. Each cherub, like the description in Ezekiel 1, has four faces. Three faces are similar to those in Ezekiel 1. However, the first face mentioned here, “the face of a cherub”, differs from the description in Ezekiel 1, where instead we have the face of a bull or an ox. This means that the face of a cherub looks like the face of a bull or an ox (Eze 10:22).

The living beings from Ezekiel 1 that Ezekiel saw by the river Chebar are cherubim (Eze 10:15). The prophet sees this at the moment when the cherubim exalt themselves. He sees again the unity between the cherubim and their wings and wheels (Eze 10:16-17; Eze 1:19-21). This unity involves both their movement and their standing still (Eze 10:17). This is because the spirit of the living beings is also in the wheels. What the living beings determine, the wheels do.