‘And it came about that when he commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim,” he went in and stood beside a wheel, and the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim, and took of it, and put it into the hands of the one who was clothed with linen, who took it and went out.'
Here again we have typical ancient Near Eastern repetition, where a previous statement is emphasised and expanded. It occurs regularly throughout the Old Testament and has often confused modern readers into assuming twofold sources, but the purpose of it was to assist the hearer to remember the important points of the narrative or to emphasis the particular point. They could not look back to what had been previously stated and were helped by being reminded of it.
Again we are reminded that Yahweh commanded the man clothed with linen to take fire from within the whirling wheels (‘the whirlers') between the cherubim. So the man obediently went in and stood beside one of the wheels, which was whirling round and full of eyes (Ezekiel 10:12), a symbol of divine activity and omniscience.
‘The cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim to the fire that was between the cherubim.' This may mean the cherub connected with that wheel, or as suggested in Ezekiel 10:2 the anointed Cherub, but either way it reveals that even the angel was limited in how close he could come to the throne. The cherubim guarded the holiness of God.
And ‘the cherub' then reached in and took fire and placed it in the hands of the man, ‘who took it and went out'. Nothing further is heard of the man clothed with linen. He disappears from the picture. The time of their scattering over the city was not yet here. We are just left to assume that he carried out his grim task for Ezekiel is wholly taken up with the glory before him. The concentration in this passage is on Yahweh deserting His temple.