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Cherub, Cherubim (Angelic Attendants of God’s Throne)
Meaning
The cherub is a winged heavenly angel created by God for His purposes. They wait on God personally and carry out special functions as commanded by the Lord. The name cherub means “gatekeeper” or “intercessor.” And the Bible tells us their primary functions are to serve as attendants around the throne of God as well as guarding access to the presence of God. They also declare the majesty and glory of God and His holiness. Their role of watching over the presence of God is so important that copies of gold cherubim were placed on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant by God’s instructions to Moses. The “Mercy Seat” was the top portion of the Ark of the Covenant. This is a specific location where God met with the High Priest once a year to cover the sins of the people of Israel during Old Testament times.
The cherubim also serve the purpose of declaring and glorifying the holiness and majesty of God. Throughout the Bible we see this as one of their primary responsibilities. Located around the throne of God, they sing God’s praises. They also serve as a visible reminder of God’s majesty and glory. The Cherubim (plural of Cherub) were also used by God to guard the entrance back into the Garden of Eden. And the prophet Ezekiel gives us a detailed description of winged creatures flying around the throne of God. Ezekiel describes them as having four faces and four wings and shining like burnished bronze. The description Ezekiel gives is so magnificent it almost defies description. He tells us they had the face of a man in front; the face of a lion on the right side, the face of an ox on the left side, and the face of an eagle behind.
“Then the Lord God said, ‘Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever’ therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.” (Book of Genesis 3:22-24)
“And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.” (Book of Exodus 25:18-22)
“Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: they had the likeness of a man. Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled like the color of burnished bronze. The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, each had the face of a man; each of the four had the face of a lion on the right side, each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and each of the four had the face of an eagle. Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and two covered their bodies. And each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went. As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. And the living creatures ran back and forth, in appearance like a flash of lightning.” (Book of Ezekiel 1:5-14)