1715. The Cherubim

The Cherubim

"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" (Exo_25:20).

We have come to our final consideration, that of the Cherubim. Four things are before us.

1. The Cherubims were ministers of judgment. The first story of the Cherubim is given us in Gen_3:24, God had driven man forth from the Garden, then, "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" (Gen_3:24).

Our God is a holy God, and whenever there is sin, there is judgment.

The Cherubims are angels of righteousness, and therefore they perform the function of judgment.

"All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," therefore all are under the wrath of God.

If a man thinks that he, in his sins and rebellion against God, can somehow or other break through and get into the glory, let him not forget the cherubims–they guard the Way of Life.

2. The Cherubims are ministers of approval. To us there is no scene in the Word of God more striking than that of the Cherubims with their wings overlapping, and with their faces turned toward each other, looking toward the Mercy Seat.

The Cherubims over the Mercy Seat, were symbols of the true Cherubim, just as the gold of the Mercy Seat was a symbol of the true Christ.

The ministers of God's judgment, the protectors of His righteousness, seemed to be saying as they looked toward the blood-sprinkled Mercy Seat, "God is satisfied with Christ and His sacrifice."

Christ, in His death, held up the honor and the glory of the Father, sustained the majesty of the Law. Christ was made sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

It was here, between the approving Cherubims, that God said, "There will I meet My people" (Exo_25:22).

3. The Cherubims are ministers of inquiry. In 2 Chronicles 3, we have the story of the Cherubims in their relation to the Temple of Solomon. Here they are much larger in size. "And the wings of the Cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one Cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other Cherub. * * The wings of these Cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on their feet, and their faces were inward."

It seems to us that the Cherubims were saying, "Is all within, right with God?"

We know the story that Ezekiel tells and how the Cherubims finally left the Temple by the east gate, and went away.

4. The Cherubims are ministers of praise. In the Book of Revelation we see the Cherubims again. They are called here the four living ones, and they rest not day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty, who was and who is and who is to come" (Rev_4:8, A. S. V.).

The Cherubims of Ezekiel, and of Revelation 4 and Revelation 5 represent our Lord Jesus Christ in His fourfold characteristics.

Some day, we shall know more of these marvelous beings of light. To-day, we praise God that they stood over the Mercy Seat in approval of the Christ of God, and of the Blood of His Cross.

May God pity the men who denounce the Deity of our Lord and decry His Blood. We would rather take our place with the Cherubims, and cry, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty."

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR