Cherubims

Genesis 3:24, "So he drave out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life."

Exodus 25:18 20, "And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be."

Ezekiel 10:20 22, "This is the living creature that I saw under the God of Israel by the river Chebar; and I knew they were the cherubims. Every one had four faces apiece, and every one four wings; and the likeness of the hands of a man was under their wings. And the likeness of their faces was the same faces which I saw by the river of Chebar, their appearances and themselves: they went every one straight forward."

When Ezekiel identified the "cherubims" as being the "living creatures," he also connected them by biblical description to the seraphims of Isaiah's vision (chapter 6) and the "four beasts" that John described in Revelation chapter 4. One thing the cherubims, living creatures, seraphims, and four beasts all had in common was they carried the messages of God and declared the holiness and glory of God. They were in fact God's messengers. Through the ages different ones have as messengers carried the messages of God. Angels have carried messages, such as the angels that appeared to Mary and Joseph and Zacharias and to the apostle John. The word "angel" literally means "messenger." In addition, during the Old Testament days God sent his messages by means of prophets. These prophets (messengers) had messages from God to deliver to the people and they faithfully delivered them. In this New Testament day we have had prophets, apostles, evangelists, and pastors and teachers who carried the messages of God to the people.

When God drove man from the garden of Eden, he placed at the east of Eden Cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to keep the way of the tree of life. These cherubims as God's messengers no doubt declared the justice of God and man's unfitness because of sin and inability to return to partake of the tree of life. The flaming sword of God's justice also turned every way to prevent man's return.

The two cherubims in the holy place had their wings stretched forth from one end of the Holy place to the other end and their faces turned inward to view the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat. Typically, the ark of the covenant was a figure of Jesus Christ. The ark contained the two tables of stone which had inscribed the covenant of ten commandments, a measure of manna, which was typical of God's word, and Aaron's rod that budded, which was typical of life from the dead or a resurrection. Thus in type we see Jesus Christ keep the commandments of God to a jot and tittle, live by every word that proceeded from the mouth of God, die on the cross for our sins and on the third day rise again.

It is on the basis of Christ's work that we have mercy of God. The two cherubims then would typically represent God's messengers both in the old and New Testament looking on and declaring God's mercy through Christ's finished work.

The cherubims, living creatures, and four beasts are all described as having four faces. One face is the face of a lion, the next was a face of an ox, the third a face of a man, and the fourth a face of an eagle. While on the one hand this describes the character of God's messengers, it also describes the message of God's messengers. First, the character of God's messengers is such that they must be "bold" as a "lion." They are called on to be courageous and bold in the face of great opposition and persecution. Second they are to be "laborers" as an "ox." The scripture compares them to oxen thusly, "Thou shalt not mussel the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn." Next they are but "men" having all the frailties and imperfections of men. They are subject to the same temptations as the flocks they shepherd. They are not to be worshiped or exalted as God nor or they to be treated as dogs. Fourth, they are to soar as "eagles" rising up above the plain of this life while they meditate upon the things of God and God's word and while they preach the unsearchable riches of Christ.

The message of God's messengers also answers to the four faces in the four gospels. Matthew shows Christ as the "lion" (king) of his kingdom. The main theme of Matthew is the "kingdom of God" and Christ as the king. The book of Mark shows forth Christ in his labors as an "ox" laboring in the field. The key word in Mark is the word, "and," showing continuous activity. The book of Luke shows Christ as a "man." It has the details of Christ's birth and his early life. More details of Christ as a man are given in Luke than in the other gospels. Finally, the book of John gives us an "eagles" eye view of Christ as it begins with his deity before the world begins. It causes us to soar as we view him as the God that is (the great I AM).

When the cherubims, living creatures, seraphims, and four beasts gave glory and honor to God those to whom the message came also gave glory to God. In Isaiah 6, the seraphims cried "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." This message along with what Isaiah saw and experienced caused him to see himself as a condemned sinful man, but then the seraphim laid a live coal from off the altar upon Isaiah's lips saying "this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged."

This is typical of the gospel ministry declaring Christ's work at the cross redeeming us from our sins, thus making our hearts glad and causing us to praise God. Revelation 4:9 11, "And when those beasts give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created."