In Ezek 10, Ezekiel sees the vision of the living creature that he saw in Ezek 1.  In this vision, the Lord instructed the man clothed with linen to take coals of fire from between the cherubims and scatter them over the city.

Coals Of Fire, Ezek 10:1-7

When Ezekiel saw the living creature, he recognized the “sapphire stone, as the appearance of the likeness of a throne,” that he had seen in Ezek 1:26.  This throne sits above the firmament over the heads of the cherubim.  In Ezek 1:26, we also saw “the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.”  

In Ezek 10:2, this man spake unto the man clothed with linen, whom we had seen in Ezek 9:2.  He instructed the man clothed with linen to go between the wheels and fill his hand with coals of fire.  These are the coals of fire described in Ezek 1:13.  The man told him to scatter the coals over the city.  Scattering these coals of fire represented the fiery destruction of Jerusalem at the hand of the Chaldeans, 2 Chr 36:19.

The living creature was standing on the right side of the house, when the man went in, Ezek 10:3.  At the same time, the glory of the Lord stood over the threshold of the house, filling the house with the cloud, and the court with the brightness of his glory, Ezek 10:4 (similar to 1 Ki 8:10-11).  The sound of the cherubims’ wings was so loud, it was heard even in the outer court, Ezek 10:5.

So, the man stood beside the wheels, Ezek 10:6, and a cherub took the coals of fire and put them into the hands of the man, who then went out, Ezek 10:7.

The Living Creature, Ezek 10:8-22

When Ezekiel saw this living creature, he recognized it as the appearance that he had seen at the first, Ezek 10:15, 20-21.  He described some of the details again.  Here are some of the similarities he noticed from the first appearance:

• A man’s hand under their wings, Ezek 10:8; 1:8.
• Four wheels by the cherubims, the color of beryl, Ezek 10:9-11, 16-17; 1:15-21.
• Four faces, Ezek 10:14; 1:10.
• Four wings, Ezek 10:21, 1:6.

Ezekiel also gave us a few more details about this living creature.  In Ezek 1:18, their rings were full of eyes.  In Ezek 10:12, we see that their whole body, backs, hands, wings, and wheels were full of eyes.

The faces of the cherubims were the same faces that he had seen before, Ezek 10:22.  However, this time he used a different word to describe one of the faces on each cherubim.  Instead of an ox, Ezek 1:10, Ezekiel saw a cherub, Ezek 10:14.  

This substitution tells us that the face of a cherub is the face of an ox.  And this explains why Israel made a golden calf to worship in Ex 32 and Jeroboam made golden calves in 1 Ki 12:28.  They were worshipping devils, Deut 32:17.  You see, before his fall, the devil had been the anointed cherub that covered the throne, Ezek 28:14.  But more on this when we study Ezek 28.

Conclusion

After the man went out in Ezek 10:7, the glory of the Lord stood over the cherubims, Ezek 10:18, and the cherubims mounted up and moved to the door of the east gate of the Lord’s house.  Notice that the man in throne is the God of Israel.