 |  |
No.10.
Genesis 3:
(2) The Cherubim.
pp. 68 - 70
We have already seen that the serpent of Gen. 3: 1 is placed in correspondence with
the cherubim of Gen. 3: 24, both being animal forms invested with supernatural powers
and associations. We shall discover that whereas the serpent procured Adam's loss of
Paradise and deprived him of both life and dominion, the Cherubim, together with the
flaming sword, are given as a pledge that Paradise shall be restored, dominion and life
preserved and finally enjoyed. To explore this theme with any fullness demands a
volume, and even the Apostle said when dealing with the cherubim "of which we cannot
now speak particularly". This series is expressly prepared for those who are
comparatively young in the faith, consequently much that could be said must be omitted,
and only those essential features that will make an immediate contribution must be
included.
The reader was asked in the preceding article to read Ezek. 28: 12-19. The
serpent's words of Gen. 3: 5 are echoed in the blasphemous aspiration of the prince of
Tyrus "thou hast said, I am a God" (Ezek. 28: 2), and will be found to have a bearing
on the purpose and place of the cherubim. The King of Tyrus (Ezek. 28: 12, 13) can
be no son of Adam. Of no man since the fall, can it be said that he sealed up the sum full
of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. This "king" had been in Eden, the garden of God
(Ezek. 28: 13), and if we keep strictly to the record, we have four, and four only of
whom this is true: Adam, Eve, the Serpent and the Lord.
Adam and Eve are obviously not intended here. Neither can the Lord be intended, for
"iniquity" was found in this mysterious "king" and moreover he was for all his greatness
a "created" being (Ezek. 28: 15). Only one of the four is left, namely "the serpent",
the nachash, the shining one, and what a "shining one" is suggested by the description of
Ezek. 28: 13! where nine precious stones, including the diamond, the sapphire and the
emerald are said to be his covering. This mysterious king of Tyrus is named and his high
office indicated.
"Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth: and I have set thee SO: thou wast upon
the holy mountain of God."
The word "anointed" gives us the O.T. title "The Messiah" and the N.T. title "The
Christ". Here we have a mighty being who was the Lord's anointed, who fell, and
became the adversary (Satan) of both God and of man whom God had made in His image
and likeness.
There is considerable difference of opinion regarding the meaning of the Hebrew
word cherub. The word never occurs as a verb, and so we are deprived of an important
means of discovering its meaning. Rab means whatever is great. "It is the formal name
of magnificence or majesty or dominion", says Marius de Calasio. The Hebrew particle
ki includes "likeness" and suggests the emblematic character of the cherubim, which