I hope you have been enjoying our deep dive look into the cherubim. Are you beginning to see their role in both earth and 3rd heaven? I hope so! We have discussed how the cherubim are protectors of God’s presence, and we’ve looked at where in 3rd heaven they dwell.
Today we are going to take a deeper look into what each face, or presence could represent. If you recall, cherubim have four faces: human, ox, eagle, and lion. The Hebrew word for faces is also translated as presence. The first time this word is used in the Bible comes from Genesis right after Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit:
“And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.” Genesis 3:8 (ESV)
That word for presence is the same word for faces in our passage in Ezekiel.
Let’s look now at these four faces or presences of the cherubim.
Face of a Man
Man: What makes man different from animals? It’s that we are created in the image of God.
“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27 (ESV)
When my children were small, we studied animals in science class. The writer of our science curriculum said something that has always stuck with me. They were talking about why animals look similar to each other, and even people have some of the same descriptions. As a rule we all have two eyes, two ears, and one mouth. The point the author was making is that there is a reason for these similarities, and it has nothing to do with the theory of evolution. There is a common creator. She compared it to a painter. If you know what the style of a particular painter such as Piccasso, then you can see something else by Piccasso and know he is the painter. It doesn’t even if you have not ever seen the painting before. Piccasso and other artists have a way of painting that is unlike other painters. Painting A and painting B have a similar feeling to them because they are created by the same person.
When God created man, he created him in the image of God. This sets people apart from other animals. I believe a big part of being created in the image of God is being a three part being, just like Him.
So, when the image of God is needed in a situation, the cherubim will have the appearance of man. Their presence will be that of a man because God wants his likeness to be present.
Face of an Ox
Ox: In the Bible ox are used in sacrifice. They are also used as working animals to serve man in his work.
Ox were used as peace offerings.
“And say to the people of Israel, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both a year old without blemish, for a burnt offering, and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the Lord, and a grain offering mixed with oil, for today the Lord will appear to you.’”” Leviticus 9:3-4 (ESV)
The ox was sacrificed last as a peace offering. After their sins were cleansed by the calf and lamb, the ox was sacrificed to allow God’s peace to dwell with the people of Israel.
When peace is needed, the cherubim will have their presence or face as an ox.
An ox is also used to serve man in the work God called them to do. They would be yoked to each other to work in the fields to plant and harvest. In Judges, we see a time when God tells someone to use an ox to tear down the false idols of his family. The ox was used to remove idolatry and set up an altar to the one true God- Jehovah.
“That night the Lord said to him, “Take your father’s bull, and the second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of the stronghold here, with stones laid in due order. Then take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you shall cut down.”” Judges 6:25-26 (ESV)
For clarification, in English we translate two Hebrew words into bull.
The word used for the bull used to tear down the altar is sor- the same word translated as ox.
The bull that is sacrificed is the word par, which is translated bull, and is what we picture as a bull.
So an ox was used as a show of power against Baal and Asherah by Jehovah. When the ox of the cherubim appear, God’s power and peace will fill the atmosphere.
Face of a Lion
Lion: When you think of a lion what do you think of? I think of words like majestic, strong, powerful, symbol of royalty. One word that does not come to mind is judgement. However, I think that the lion presence in the cherubim is to
execute God’s judgement:
We are going to take a look at one story in the Bible where a lion was used to judge a prophet who disobeyed the Lord. We find this encounter in 1 Kings 13. I am going to summarize most of the story for time’s sake.
A man of God was making offerings to the Lord and prophesying that there would be a king named Josiah who would sacrifice the priests of the high places who make offerings on this altar. When the king heard this he called for the prophet to be arrested. When the king said this, the Lord caused a disease to cover his hand. The king begged the man of God to ask the Lord to heal him and he did. The king invited the prophet to go home with him for a meal, but the Lord had already told the man of God not to eat bread or drink water or go back the way he came. So the prophet left and started back another way.
There was an old prophet who lived in Bethel. He came out and told the man of God to come to his house and eat and drink. At first the man of God told him he couldn’t go because of the message given to him by the Lord. The old prophet told him that an angel told him that the Lord wanted him to bring the man of God to his house so he could eat and drink. The man of God complied. We will pick up reading this story in verse 20 of 1 Kings 13.
“And as they sat at the table, the word of the Lord came to the prophet who had brought him back. And he cried to the man of God who came from Judah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because you have disobeyed the word of the Lord and have not kept the command that the Lord your God commanded you, but have come back and have eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” your body shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.’” And after he had eaten bread and drunk, he saddled the donkey for the prophet whom he had brought back. And as he went away a lion met him on the road and killed him. And his body was thrown in the road, and the donkey stood beside it; the lion also stood beside the body. And behold, men passed by and saw the body thrown in the road and the lion standing by the body. And they came and told it in the city where the old prophet lived. And when the prophet who had brought him back from the way heard of it, he said, “It is the man of God who disobeyed the word of the Lord; therefore the Lord has given him to the lion, which has torn him and killed him, according to the word that the Lord spoke to him.” And he said to his sons, “Saddle the donkey for me.” And they saddled it. And he went and found his body thrown in the road, and the donkey and the lion standing beside the body. The lion had not eaten the body or torn the donkey.” 1 Kings 13:20-28 (ESV)
This is one of several stories in the Bible where God uses a lion to carry out his judgement on people. This man of God had a direct message from the Lord, and chose to listen to the voice of man rather than God. He paid a high price for disobeying the voice of the Lord.
The lion presence of the cherubim executes God’s judgement in a strong and powerful manner. They ensure the commands of God are followed and enforce the consequences of defiance against those commands.
Face of an Eagle
Eagle: The eagle presence of the cherubim represents strength, renewal, and swiftness.
“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:29-31 (ESV)
The eagle is represented here as giving strength and renewal. Those who have no strength will be given strength, and those that are weary will be renewed, just like the eagle.
One of the benefits of the Lord is to be renewed like an eagle.
“who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:5 (ESV)
When talking about the Lord carrying out judgements against the enemies of God, he describes these judgement as coming swiftly like an eagle:
“For thus says the Lord: “Behold, one shall fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Moab;” Jeremiah 48:40 (ESV)
“Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.”” Jeremiah 49:22 (ESV)
The eagle presence of the cherubim moves swiftly to carry out the commands of the Lord. They show us what true renewal and strength look like because they are continually being renewed and strengthened by the Lord himself.
Isn’t this an interesting revelation in regards to the cherubim and their four faces or presence? I find it so intriguing!
We are going to wrap up this study next week as we explore John’s vision of the cherubim in the book of Revelation. Have a blessed week my friend!
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