In Genesis 3 the cherubim appear as God’s heavenly bodyguards, whose task it is to protect God’s holiness. When the man and the woman are exiled from the garden of Eden, cherubim are appointed to bar the way back into God’s presence, preventing any intrusion of sinful mankind into the realm of God’s holiness (Gen. 3:24). Yet, as with exclusion from Eden, the Lord’s purpose is not merely the destruction of the fallen people he has made. The tree of life is not uprooted but protected for a different, more blessed future.

Tracing Cherubim Throughout Scripture

Cherubim first appear in Genesis 3 when God places them east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life, and they go on to make appearances throughout the pages of Scripture. There were numerous representations of cherubim in the tabernacle and in the temple. Cherubim were given varied descriptions and mainly signified God’s presence, serving as a visible reminder of the majesty and glory of the Almighty God who reigns on his throne and abides with his people. Read commentary from Iain Duguid, Jay Sklar, Gary Millar, and Thomas Schreiner, who trace the appearances of cherubim through the Bible and help us understand who these figures are.

Cherubim in Genesis

He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
—Genesis 3:24

Adam and Eve’s sin has immediate and tragic consequences, as they are driven out of the garden. The entrance to the garden of Eden—and with it to the presence of God—is closed, guarded by cherubim, along with a flaming sword (Gen. 3:24). The cherubim are stationed on the east side of the garden because that is where the entrance is, as with the tabernacle. As composite creatures the cherubim sum up and unite the highest forms of all creation (cf. Ezek. 1:5; 10:15) and are the fearsome guardians assigned to guard (shamar) God’s holiness. They will not fail to protect the sanctity of the garden, as Adam has failed (Gen. 2:15). No longer will access into the presence of the Lord be easy and untroubled for humanity, as it once was. For now the doorway into the Most Holy Place has been firmly closed in their faces, and mankind is left to make its own way “east of the garden of Eden.”

Cherubim in Exodus

You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel. . . . Moreover, you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.
—Exodus 25:17–22, Exodus 26:1

The ark of the covenant and its lid are described in Exodus 25. On top of the lid are two cherubim, celestial figures made of hammered gold and of one piece with the lid (Ex. 25:18–19).1 In terms of function, cherubim serve as guardians (Gen. 3:24), a metaphorical chariot on which the Lord rides (1 Chron. 28:18; Ps. 18:10), or divine attendants at his throne (2 Sam. 6:2; Pss. 80:1; 99:1; cf. the heavenly attendants around the throne in 1 Kings 22:19; Isa. 6:1–2).2 The latter fits the context here well since the tabernacle functions as the Lord’s palace-tent, making it natural to see the Most Holy Place as the Lord’s throne room, where he sits enthroned over the ark and surrounded by his heavenly attendants. In terms of form, we learn from Exodus that the cherubim are winged creatures with faces, presumably standing on each end of the lid as they stretch their wings over it (Ex. 25:20). Ezekiel goes into greater detail describing cherubim (Ezek. 1:5–11; 10:20–22), but whether all cherubim look exactly the same is unclear, making it difficult to know how much of Ezekiel’s description to read back into Exodus. (In fact, the cherubim in Ezekiel have four faces [Ezek. 1:5–6], whereas those here apparently have only one.) Whatever their exact form here, they are to be stationed at each end of the ark, facing one another with heads toward the mercy seat, either bowed in reverence3, or looking on as guards,4 or both (Ex. 25:18–20). Moreover, just as the cloud on Sinai prevents direct sight of the Lord (Ex. 24:16–17), the cherubim’s wings spread forward over the atonement lid, screening the place where the Lord will manifest his presence (Ex. 25:20, 22).

The curtains are a combination of fine twined linen and colorful yarns (Ex. 26:1), materials elsewhere associated with royalty (cf. Ex. 25:4). Cherubim, the Lord’s heavenly attendants (cf. Ex. 25:18), are woven into them (Ex. 26:1). When the curtains are joined and spread over the frame, the view from inside would be remarkable. Any priest entering the Holy Place would be bathed in golden light as the lampstand’s seven lamps reflected off the golden table, the golden altar, and the golden frames along the northern and southern walls. Looking up, the priest would see the ornate tapestry, with cherubim “floating” above him. Similarly, as he looked forward, he would see cherubim floating before him on the veil in front of the Most Holy Place (Ex. 26:31). Clearly this is the palace-tent of the King of heaven.

On the other side of the veil is the Most Holy Place, approximately 15 feet (4.6 m) square. It contains the ark of the testimony with its atonement lid (vv. 33b–34) and serves as the Lord’s throne room within his royal palace-tent. The veil thus separates the rooms, its cherubim symbolically standing guard to prevent illicit entry.

Cherubim in 1 Kings

In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olivewood, each ten cubits high . . . . He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house. And the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one touched the one wall, and a wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; their other wings touched each other in the middle of the house.
—1 Kings 6:23, 27

In 1 Kings the dimensions and construction of the temple are detailed—starting with the external designs and moving inward to the inner sanctuary.

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