We picture Cherubim as ornamentation, like the two made of beaten gold that adorned the two ends of the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant (see Exodus 25:18-22), or those that were embroidered into the curtains that hung in the Tabernacle (ref. Exodus 26:1 & 31) and the many that populated Solomon’s Temple (ref.1 Kings 6:23-38).
All those cherubim were static but remember, God placed living
cherubim at the East of Eden,
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 (ESV)
And in Psalm 18:10 (ESV), David sings of God riding a cherub,
He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
Cherubim are much more than artwork; they are alive and Ezekiel chapter one gives us a vivid description of these living heavenly creatures.
As for the likeness of their
faces, each had a human face. The four had the face of a lion on the right
side, the four had the face of an ox on the left side, and the four had the
face of an eagle. – Ezekiel 1:10 (ESV)
The four faces of each of the cherubim represent the four
excellencies of the created order:
the lion – the greatest of the wild beasts
the ox – the greatest of the domestic beasts
the eagle – the greatest of the birds
and man – the crown of creation
God riding a cherub is symbolic of His absolute sovereignty
over creation in all its variety of life; it shows that creation is subject to
His intervention and is at His disposal.
We also see a similar description of living cherubim in the Book
of Revelation.
the first living creature
like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature
with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.
– Revelation 4:7 (ESV)
In Revelation, the living cherubim are the bearers of the
judgments that follow the breaking of the first four seals (see Revelation 6).
Their symbolism goes even further in that each of the faces typifies
the nature of Jesus Christ. How? Let’s look at each face.
Jesus as Lion:
And one of the elders said to
me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the
Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven
seals.” – Revelation 5:5 (ESV)
On his robe and on his
thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. –
Revelation 19:16 (ESV)
As King, Jesus is like a lion, the king of the beasts. He is
our King.
Jesus as Ox:
A firstborn bull — he has
majesty, and his horns are the horns of a wild ox; with them he shall
gore the peoples, all of them, to the ends of the earth; they are the ten
thousands of Ephraim, and they are the thousands of Manasseh. –
Deuteronomy 33:17 (ESV)
Jesus is powerful, yet submitted to service and suffering.
He is the suffering Servant.
Jesus as Eagle:
that he worked in
Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right
hand in the heavenly places – Ephesians 1:20 (ESV)
Jesus has a free Spirit, lives in the heavenly realms, watches
over us from high above, is swift and powerful to rescue us and destroy His
enemy.
Jesus as Man:
And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the
only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. –
John 1:14 (ESV)
but emptied himself, by
taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And
being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:7-8
(ESV)
Jesus is the beginning and the end, the first and the last; our
heritage is only found in union with Him, the Lord from heaven, the Heavenly
Man who came to earth to rescue mankind.
Beloved, the living cherubim carry an enormous weight of
symbolism, much more than the capacity of this blog post.
Each of the four faces parallels the character and Person of
Jesus which can be seen in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And four,
being the number that represents universality (everywhere and everyone), must
not be overlooked, as the gospels are to be taken to the four corners of the
earth, proclaimed throughout the whole world.
Amen †
Shelley Johnson “Living Cherubim” ©2026 May 19, 2026
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