Daily Devotional

The Bible says that the cherubim inside the most holy place of the tabernacle were on top of the ark, facing toward the center with their faces down and their wings over it. When Solomon rebuilt the temple, he put in a set of cherubim with wingspans of five cubits (2 Chronicles 3:11, 12). Were there two sets of cherubim in the temple when Solomon finished rebuilding it?

When the Lord instructed Moses to make the first tabernacle, it was made small and simple so as to be portable enough to carry it through the wilderness desert and into the Promised Land. When Solomon built the permanent temple in Jerusalem, the cherubim in the holy of holies were made larger, with wings that stretched completely over the ark.

The Bible doesn’t mention a second set of cherubim like the ones atop the ark of the covenant. However, angels were depicted throughout the structure—woven into the veil (verse 14) and engraved in solid gold plating on the walls (v. 7) and temple doors (1 Kings 6:31–35)—all to represent the very real angels that continually surround God’s heavenly throne. The two angels that stand by the throne of God are the covering cherubs, and these special beings were symbolized in the earthly temple as the angels standing over the ark. These two cherubim are by no means the only angels in heaven.

Daniel 7:10 tells us about a “thousand thousands” ministering to God and 10,000 times 10,000 standing before Him. The prophet Daniel saw these ministering spirits surrounding the dwelling place of God. The golden cherubs in the temple were miniature models to help us picture the dwelling place of our God in heaven.