After delivering His people from slavery in Egypt, the LORD led them through the wilderness by a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire. This manifestation of God’s presence was a constant reminder of His protection and provision. The glory of the LORD then settled among them in the tabernacle, and later the temple, as a declaration of His abiding faithfulness and care. When the Philistines captured the ark of the covenant in the days of Samuel, God’s presence effectively went with it. Eli the priest was so devastated by the news that he fell backwards in his chair and died. His daughter-in-law then gave birth to a son and named him “Ichabod,” which means, “The glory has departed from Israel!” (1 Samuel 4:21). “Ichabod” could also be written as the sad title over Ezekiel 10-11, where the glory of the LORD slowly abandons the Jerusalem temple. As the prophet’s vision continues from the preceding chapters, he is still standing in the temple’s inner court, looking at the ark of the covenant, when suddenly a sapphire-like throne appears above the two carved cherubim (angels). It is from here that God speaks to the priestly figure dressed in linen. In chapter 9, he was a mediator of God’s salvation, but in chapter 10 he is assigned a different task. At the LORD’s command, he takes burning coals from before the heavenly throne and scatters them over the city. Like the city of Sodom (Genesis 19:24), Jerusalem will be torched with divine wrath (v 1-2). As the man carries out his orders, Ezekiel is once again given a vision of the mobile throne of God (v 6-17). The lengthy description may seem redundant to us, for it’s exactly the same vision that he saw in Babylon, which he already described in chapter 1. But the point is to emphasize the magnitude of the loss when God’s glory departs. This is a heartrending scene! Because of Israel’s idolatry and sin, their glorious God was packing up and leaving home. God’s departure from His temple and from Jerusalem happens in stages. First, He moves from the Most Holy Place to the threshold of the sanctuary (v 3-5). Then He moves out to the east gate of the temple complex (v 18-19). Finally, the glory of the Lord will depart from the city and go out to the mountain on Jerusalem’s east side (11:22-23). Yet even in this account, God’s love for His people is evident. The departure does not happen quickly. At each stage, God lingers before moving further away, giving His people every opportunity to repent. Indeed He is a God of great mercy, slow to anger and abounding in love! For further meditation: