Exodus 25:20

20 and hold they forth the(ir) wings, and cover they God's answering place; and behold they themselves together, while their faces be turned in to the propitiatory, (and their wings shall be spread out, and they shall cover the lid; and they shall face each other, but their faces shall be turned down toward the propitiatory,)

Exodus 25:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 25:20

And the cherubim shall stretch forth their wings on high
From whence it appears they were in the form of winged creatures, as the seraphim in Isaiah's vision, and the living creatures in those of Ezekiel and John; and their wings did not hang down by them, or on the side of them, but were stretched out upwards towards the heaven above their heads; denoting the readiness, agility, and swiftness of the ministers of the word to do the work and will of Christ, as well as their expectation of all the supplies of gifts and grace from him to enable them to do it:

covering the mercy seat with their wings;
which reached each other; though, as Jarchi F17 says, between them and the mercy seat there was a hollow of ten hands' breadth; so high were they stretched upwards, though they met each other:

and their faces shall look one to another;
and which is expressive of the harmony, concord, and agreement of the true and faithful ministers of Christ one with another; who all agree in preaching Christ, and him crucified, and in the several momentous and important doctrines of the Gospel:

towards the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be;
as before observed, it may denote their directing souls to Christ as the only way of salvation, keeping always in all their ministrations this great truth in view, atonement and satisfaction by the blood and sacrifice of Christ, and salvation alone by him; which they make the rule of their ministry, and from which they never swerve, taking care not to deliver anything contrary to it, or which may serve to cast a veil over it.


FOOTNOTES:

F17 T. Bab. Succah, fol. 5. 2. Vid. Gloss. in ib.

Exodus 25:20 In-Context

18 Also thou shalt make on ever either side of God's answering place, two cherubims of gold, and beaten out with an hammer; (And thou shalt make for each end of the propitiatory, or the mercy seat, two gold cherubim, beaten out with a hammer;)
19 one cherub be on one side of God's answering place, and the tother in the tother side; cover they ever either side of the propitiatory, (one cherub shall be at one end of the lid, and the other cherub shall be at the other end of the lid; and the cherubim shall be made so that they form one piece with the propitiatory,)
20 and hold they forth the(ir) wings, and cover they God's answering place; and behold they themselves together, while their faces be turned in to the propitiatory, (and their wings shall be spread out, and they shall cover the lid; and they shall face each other, but their faces shall be turned down toward the propitiatory,)
21 with which the ark of the Lord shall be covered, in which ark thou shalt put the witnessing, that is, the (tablets of the) law, that I shall give to thee.
22 From thence I shall command, and I shall speak to thee above the propitiatory, that is, from the midst of [the] two cherubims, that shall be on the ark of witnessing, all things which I shall command by thee to the sons of Israel. (From there I shall command, and I shall speak to thee from above the propitiatory, that is, from the midst of the two cherubim, who shall be over the Ark of the Witnessing, all the things which I shall command by thee to the Israelites.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.