Foundation Text

Exodus 25:18-22

Hebrew Key Terms

  • כְּרוּבִים (kərûḇîm) - cherubim (plural of כְּרוּב, kərûḇ)
  • זָהָב (zāhāḇ) - gold
  • מִקְשָׁה (miqšâ) - hammered work, beaten work
  • כַּפֹּרֶת (kappōreṯ) - mercy seat, atonement cover (from כָּפַר, kāp̄ar, "to atone, cover")
  • כָּנָף (kānāp̄) - wing
  • סָכַךְ (sāḵaḵ) - to cover, overshadow, screen
  • פָּנִים (pānîm) - face, faces
  • נֹעַד (nōʿaḏ) - to meet, appoint (Niphal: "I will meet with you")
  • דִּבֵּר (dibbēr) - to speak (Piel: intensive)
  • בֵּין (bên) - between, from between
  • עֵדוּת (ʿēḏûṯ) - testimony (the tablets of the law in the ark)

Context: Exodus 25-31 records God's detailed instructions to Moses for constructing the tabernacle and its furnishings. The ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:10-22) is described first, emphasizing its centrality. The ark contains the tablets of the law (25:16), representing God's covenant with Israel. Covering the ark is the כַּפֹּרֶת (kappōreṯ, "mercy seat" or "atonement cover"), a solid gold lid. Verses 18-22 describe the two cherubim positioned at each end of the mercy seat, facing each other, wings overshadowing the mercy seat, looking toward it. God promises to meet with Moses "from between the cherubim" (מִבֵּין שְׁנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים, mibbên šənê hakkəruḇîm) and speak His commands from there.

Connections

Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme (primary), carried by Redemptive-Historical Progression — access to, and life in, God's presence, here localized at the mercy seat where God meets Israel "between the cherubim." Typology (secondary — Symbolic, divinely-instituted/designed, Forward-Looking): the mercy seat (kappōret / ἱλαστήριον) between the cherubim is a divinely commanded sanctuary object (Exodus 25:18) whose typical force rests on Christ as the atoning sacrifice (Romans 3:25) — the cherubim frame the place of atonement rather than themselves being typed. Note the seating: the strong type here is the mercy seat, not the cherubim as objects.

Christological Connection: Exodus 25:18-22's cherubim on the mercy seat prefigure Christ and believer's access to God:

  1. The Mercy Seat = Christ Our Propitiation: The Hebrew כַּפֹּרֶת (kappōreṯ, "mercy seat, atonement cover") comes from the root כָּפַר (kāp̄ar, "to atone, cover, make atonement"). The LXX translates this as ἱλαστήριον (hilastērion, "place of propitiation, atonement"). Paul uses the exact same term for Christ in Romans 3:25: "God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice [ἱλαστήριον, hilastērion] through faith in His blood." The typology is explicit: the OT mercy seat where atoning blood was sprinkled prefigures Christ, whose blood atones for sin. The mercy seat is not merely analogous to Christ—it is a divinely designed type pointing to Him.
  2. Blood on the Mercy Seat → Christ's Blood: On the Day of Atonement, the high priest sprinkled blood on the mercy seat between the cherubim (Leviticus 16:14-15). This blood atoned for Israel's sins, allowing God's presence to dwell among a sinful people without consuming them. Hebrews 9:11-14 declares that Christ, the great high priest, "did not enter by the blood of goats and calves, but He entered the Most Holy Place once for all by His own blood, thus securing eternal redemption." The blood sprinkled on the earthly mercy seat was temporary and repeated annually; Christ's blood is eternal and once-for-all.
  3. Between the Cherubim = Throne of Grace: God promised to meet Moses "from between the cherubim" (מִבֵּין שְׁנֵי הַכְּרֻבִים, mibbên šənê hakkəruḇîm, 25:22). This space—above the mercy seat where blood is sprinkled, framed by cherubim—is where God's presence dwells. Hebrews 4:16 invites believers to "approach the throne of grace with confidence"—the antitype of the mercy seat. The cherubim that once symbolized restricted access now represent the place believers approach with confidence through Christ's blood. The throne of grace is the escalated, heavenly reality of which the earthly mercy seat was the shadow.
  4. Cherubim Overshadowing = Access Granted: The cherubim's wings "overshadow" (סֹכְכִים, sōḵᵊḵîm) the mercy seat in a protective, covering posture. In Genesis 3:24, cherubim barred access to the tree of life. Here, cherubim frame the place where God meets humanity through atonement. The shift is profound: from guarding against access to framing the place of access. Why? Because blood has been shed. The cherubim's overshadowing suggests protection and provision—they guard the sacred place of atonement, ensuring it remains holy. In Christ, the way the cherubim once barred is opened, and the place they once protected becomes accessible to all believers.
  5. Hammered from One Piece = Unity of Christ's Person and Work: The cherubim and mercy seat are formed from "one piece" of gold (מִקְשָׁה, miqšâ, "hammered work"—Exodus 25:18, 37:7). This unity symbolizes the inseparability of Christ's person (God-man) and work (atonement). The cherubim (representing ideal creaturehood) and the mercy seat (representing atonement) are one unified reality in Christ. He is both the perfect human dwelling in God's presence and the atoning sacrifice that grants access.
  6. The Escalation:
    • Genesis 3:24: Cherubim guard the way to the tree of life—access barred
    • Exodus 25:18-22: Cherubim frame the mercy seat where blood atones and God meets humanity—limited access through priesthood
    • Leviticus 16: High priest enters between the cherubim once per year with blood—temporary, repeated atonement
    • 1 Kings 6-8: Cherubim in Solomon's temple (much larger, overshadowing the ark)—God's glory fills the temple
    • Ezekiel 10-11: Cherubim depart with God's glory—access lost due to sin
    • Christ: The true mercy seat; His blood atones once for all; veil torn; way opened
    • Hebrews 4:16; 10:19-22: Believers approach the throne of grace with confidence—full, permanent access
    • Revelation 21-22: Redeemed humanity sees God's face and dwells with God (22:3-4); no temple needed, for God and the Lamb are the temple; the cherubim, no longer needed, are absent

The cherubim's absence from Revelation 21-22 is a corroborating sign, not the bearer of the escalation — an absence supplies no "greater than." The escalation rests on the positive terminus Revelation 22:3-4 supplies: redeemed humanity sees God's face and serves at His throne, the sight denied even to Moses (Exodus 33:20).

Quote (Fairbairn): "And so, when the ultimate things of redemption come, their place is no more found… when the new heavens and the new earth supplant the old, then also the ideal gives way to the real. We see another paradise, with its river and tree of life, and a present God, and a presiding Saviour… but no sight is anywhere to be seen of the cherubim of glory. They have fulfilled the end of their temporary existence; and when no longer needed, they vanish like the guiding stars of night before the bright sunshine of eternal day." (The Typology of Scripture, Book Second, ch. 3.)

Pink reads the mercy seat as the place not only where God met with Israel but where Israel met with God — the meeting place of divine holiness and human need, of justice and mercy, of law and grace, all accomplished through atoning blood.

Application: Believers should marvel that we have access to what the high priest could enter only once per year—and then only with blood, with fear and trembling. We now "have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19). The cherubim that once barred the way now frame the throne we approach freely. What cost the high priest painstaking ritual and annual repetition, Christ accomplished once for all. We do not merely approach the earthly mercy seat—we approach the heavenly throne of grace itself.

Every time we pray, we are standing where Moses stood—"between the cherubim," in God's presence, sprinkled by better blood than bulls and goats, hearing God speak to us through His Word. This is the gospel: the cherubim no longer bar the way but frame the place of our confident access through Christ.

The trajectory: Cherubim guard the tree of life (Genesis 3:24) → Cherubim frame the mercy seat where blood atones (Exodus 25:18-22) → Cherubim in temple (1 Kings 6-8) → Cherubim depart (Ezekiel 10-11) → Christ opens the way (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19-20) → Believers approach the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16) → redeemed humanity dwells with God and sees His face, the cherubim absent (Revelation 22:3-4). Christ fulfills every stage.

Trajectory Table: 028 - Cherubim (Glorified Humanity)

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Trajectory Tables 1
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