Isaiah 6:2-7, Ezekiel 1:5-14, Genesis 3:24
Nothing Like the Popular Image
The word "cherub" in contemporary culture conjures a plump, winged baby with a bow and arrow — a figure from Renaissance painting utterly alien to the biblical text. The cherubim of Scripture are terrifying, magnificent beings closely associated with the very presence and glory of God.
Cherubim in Scripture
The first mention of cherubim is in Genesis 3:24: after the expulsion from Eden, "he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life." They are guardians of the holy — stationed at the boundary between the sacred and the profane, barring unauthorised access to God's presence.
In Exodus, the ark of the covenant was overshadowed by two golden cherubim with outstretched wings — the "mercy seat" between them was the place where God's presence dwelt (Exodus 25:18-22). God is described as one who is "enthroned above the cherubim" (Psalm 80:1, 99:1) — they form, in some sense, the throne of God.
Ezekiel's vision of the cherubim (Ezekiel 1, 10) is among the most extraordinary passages in Scripture: four living creatures, each with four faces (human, lion, ox, eagle), four wings, legs like gleaming bronze, moving at lightning speed, surrounded by fire and light. These are not gentle, domestic figures — they are awesome expressions of God's holiness and glory in action.
The Seraphim
The seraphim appear only in Isaiah 6:2-7 — but the passage is unforgettable. Isaiah's vision of the throne room includes six-winged beings above the throne, covering their faces and feet with four of their wings, flying with two, crying ceaselessly: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory."
Their name (sarap — "burning ones") suggests their fiery, consuming nature. The seraph who touches Isaiah's lips with a live coal from the altar, declaring his guilt taken away and his sin atoned for, performs a priestly act of purification enabling the prophet to stand in God's presence.
What They Reveal About God
Both cherubim and seraphim are stationed in the immediate vicinity of God's glory — which tells us something about what God is like. His holiness requires such attendants. His glory produces such responses. The appropriate posture before such a God is Isaiah's own: "Woe is me! For I am lost." And then, purified and commissioned, "Here I am. Send me."