Daily Lesson for Tuesday 13th of May 2025

Cherubim, either as living beings (Ezekiel 10:8) or the gold symbols of them (Exodus 25:18), appear all through the Old Testament. They are often depicted as standing immediately next to God’s throne, radiating His glory to the universe. Cherubim also are embroidered into the curtain before the Holy of Holies (Exodus 26:1). In the book of Psalms, God’s supreme power over creation is poetically pictured as God being borne through the air by cherubim (Psalms 18:10). God commanded that the ark of the covenant be topped by two solid gold cherubim with their wings extended toward one another (Exodus 25:18-20).

Image © Steve Creitz at Goodsalt.com

Ezekiel is presented with an impressive display of God’s power. It is a confusing scene to begin with, matching the predicament that God’s people found themselves living with at the moment: the chosen people not in the land of promise but in Babylonian captivity. As Ezekiel ­studies the scene placed before him, he looks up and sees God’s throne above it all.

Notice the important similarities with other “throne” visions. The living creatures that Ezekiel witnesses have the same faces as the living creatures in John’s vision: a lion, an eagle, an ox, and a man.

The mysterious creatures with four faces are not specifically named in Ezekiel’s initial description; later, in another throne room scene (see Ezekiel 10:1-21), they are called “cherubim,” and we also find the burning coals from Isaiah’s vision of the seraphs. They share the faces of the living creatures mentioned in John’s vision.

Whenever we see God’s throne—whether in the typical ark of the covenant, which served as God’s meeting place with Moses (Exodus 25:22), or the breathtaking visions of the prophets—the cherubim are always there. They are intimately tied to the throne of God. All of God’s creatures were designed to reflect His glory—whether we are talking about the human race made in His image or the angelic beings who are posted immediately next to His glorious throne.

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Source: https://ssnet.org/blog/25b-07-like-burning-coals-of-fire/