What are the cherubim?
Ezekiel 1:13-14; Ezekiel 1:25-26
Ezekiel 1 is one of the most fantastic and mind-bending chapters in the Bible… by “fantastic,” I mean it’s like some kind of fantasy. It stretches language to the breaking point and in some ways, beyond. It becomes clear when reading that chapter that it is impossible to capture in words everything that the prophet Ezekiel saw by the Chebar River. The centerpiece of the vision was the glory of God, or more accurately, what Ezekiel called “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” (Ezekiel 1:28). In other words, even the vision itself was representational of God’s glory… how much more his written description of that glory.
I hope to write more about the glory of God in Ezekiel 1 another time, but I want to write first about the cherubim… for before Ezekiel describes the elevated throne on which sat (I believe) the pre-incarnate Christ, he describes some creatures that seem utterly to defy description. They are called living creatures in chapter 1 but are also identified as “cherubim” in 10:15. So, according to 10:15, the living creatures mentioned eight times in Ezekiel 1 (see verses 5, 13, 15, 19, 20, 21, 22) are actually cherubim.
These awesome creatures are servants of God… indescribable, powerful, holy, humble, listening, and ready to obey in an instant like a flash of lightning.
There are four of them, each touching each other. These living creatures are said to have a basic human likeness but also four faces, four wings, straight legs, calves’ feet, and human hands under their wings. Their four faces were that of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle… facing in four directions. Their overall appearance was brilliant, like burning coals of fire or like torches. Fire moved back and forth constantly among them (13). Since this fire is later collected and thrown down on the wicked city of Jerusalem, I think it represents their holiness. God is called a consuming fire, and these cherubim are characterized by a similar fire… perfect holiness. Hebrews 1:7 says of God’s angels, “He makes his angels winds, his servants flames of fire.” Lightning is constantly flashing from the midst of these four cherubim. This was their appearance.
Their motion was similarly almost indescribable. They all moved straight ahead wherever the spirit of the living creatures would take them. Beside each of them were wheels, high and awesome, sparkling like chrysolite, with eyes all around the rims. Wheels were intersecting wheels, and the spirit of the creatures was in the wheels, and they would move as the creatures moved without changing direction. They moved quickly, like lightning, wherever the Spirit would take them.
The overall picture of these amazing creatures is one of power, holiness, glory, motion, and speed. They are ready to move with stunning speed wherever God wants them to go in service to him.
Far above their heads was an expanse, a boundary, a border, sparkling like ice, and high above that expanse was a throne, and above that throne was one seated on it who looked like a man—glowing as if on fire. Whenever I see described in the Old Testament a vision of a throne with a human figure on it (as also in Isaiah 6), I believe it to be the pre-incarnate Christ.
What struck me in this vision was how reverently the cherubim stood still with lowered wings waiting for the enthroned Lord to give them their orders to move. Quiet, humble, listening, ready to serve… and aware of the infinite gap between themselves and their Lord and King. And as they stood waiting, the voice of the Lord spoke to them.
These awesome creatures are servants of God… indescribable, powerful, holy, humble, listening, and ready to obey in an instant like a flash of lightning.
O Lord, may your will be done on earth as these cherubim do it continually in heaven!
