Systematic Theology - Authority

The Cherubim

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Systematic Theology

Genre: Speech

Lesson: 14 of 19

Track: #14

Year:

Dictation Name: 14 The Cherubim

[Rushdoony] Let us worship God. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth, thus saith the high and lofty One who inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy. I dwell in the high and holy place with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit; to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite. If thou shalt seek the Lord Thy God Thou shalt find Him, If thou seek Him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. Let us pray.

Oh Lord our God who art the author of all things and in terms of whose will and purpose all things move. We thank Thee that by Thy sovereign grace Thou hast made us a part of Thine eternal purpose. Give us grace therefore so to walk day by day that our eyes may ever be fixed where Thy true purpose is to be found, in Christ our Lord. Bless us this day and always and grant that our hearts and minds be open to Thy word, and that by Thy Spirit we may be made strong in Thee. In Jesus name, Amen

Our scripture the morning is from Ezekiel 28:11-19, and our subject as we continue our studies in the doctrine of authority is The Cherubim. Ezekiel 28:11-19

“11 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,

12 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.

16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.

18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffic; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

19 All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more.

In the hands of fallen man things depreciate, not only things but words also. This is certainly true of the key word in our text, cherubim and cherub, cherubim is the plural of Cherub. The idea we have now days of cherubs or cherubim is of little baby-like angelic things flitting around on picture post cards and Christmas cards, totally without meaning; just beautiful little objects. Nothing could be further from the truth. Popular art as with angles and many other things has seriously distorted scripture. We meet with the Cherubim first of all in Genesis 3:24 where the Cherubim with flaming swords keep the fallen man out of the Garden of Eden. In I Samuel 4:14 we meet them again and God is said to be enthroned upon the Cherubim, an image we meet with again and again.

We are not told much about the real cherubim except that they are next to God, they are creatures beyond our ability to imagine, but we do know something from scripture about their significance for us. Moreover the interesting thing is that pagan antiquity was well aware of cherubim, and the cherubim were recognized as symbols of authority; so that the insignia, as well of the thrones of pagan kings had some kind of depiction of cherubim. From one country to another the depiction varied, but one thing was clear, although pagan antiquity did not know what cherubim looked like, they knew the Cherubim somehow represented authority, were symbols of authority and were next to God so that if there were authority on earth the Cherubim were used to symbolize them. Not only so, but when we have depictions of Canaanite gods seated upon their thrones they are flanked by cherubim. Thus cherubs or cherubim were always associated with the gods and with kings as a symbol of power and of authority. The scripture tells us they are real beings next to God, representing Him, symbolizing for us authority.

Cherubim were carved at either end of the mercy seat in the holy of holies; they represented the throne of God and the power of God, his government. We encounter references to them in Exodus 25:18-22 and Hebrews 9:5, in Ezekiel the tenth chapter. We find they were, according to Ezekiel 26 verse 31 and II Chronicles 3 verse 7, embroidered on the curtains and the veils of the tabernacle and on the walls of the temple.

The symbolic use of cherubim in antiquity tells us how pagans understood their meaning. They symbolize authority. Ezekiel’s words concerning the king of Tyre were thus understandable to the king of Tyre and to others, because at this point the pagans clearly understood what the Bible meant by Cherubim, what they set forth, what they symbolized. So that when this prophesy is made to the king of Tyre he knew what it meant, whether he believed it or not. We know that some of the profits did include the pagan nations in their prophesies and sent their prophesies to them saying “Thus saith the Lord” and “this is the judgment of God upon you.” Over the generation this prophesy concerning the king of Tyre has had very fanciful interpretations. Some have insisted it has reference to Satan; there is no authority for that. We do know what has been understood concerning this & what I have to say is nothing unusual or new, the meaning has been well understood over the generations. Patrick Fairbairn more than a century ago, great Scottish expositor, gave a careful and specific interpretation of it.

Just in passing the stones that are described that are not familiar to us, the sardius was probably the Ruby, it could have been the sard or carnelian, the Carbuncle was either modern jasper or green jade, and the stones of fire represented power, the God-like authority and our God is spoken of in Hebrews as a consuming fire. But now to the meaning of this, the key of Tyre is compared to Adam in the Garden of Eden. More than Adam he had great power in a developed, in a civilized context, surrounded by wealth. Tyre was Phoenicia, the Phoenicians were remarkable traders, their trading enterprises carried them all over the Mediterranean world and far afield. We do know that Phoenicians regularly traded in Ireland and also in Britain. As a result Tyre was a center of very great wealth and prosperity, so in a sense he had perfection, everything men in that day could dream of. His life we are told sealed up the sum of available wisdom, beauty, power and wealth. It represented the finest in the human ideal and in the human scene of his day. He sat, we are told, upon the Holy mountain of God; that is upon the pinnacle of power, a power from God by the providence of God. Moreover to have power, to have a rich and favored place in life is to inhabit God’s sanctuary according to scripture, it is to be like the Cherubim, near to God in His power and authority.

Now we’re not used to thinking this way. We have so long separated things material from things spiritual because of a false spirituality, we fail to see that in the Bible God presents this picture of wealth, of power, of prosperity and a general ease of living, as being greatly favored, as being close to the cherubim, or like unto the cherubim. So God says that wherever there is an authority that prospers, an authority that lives with ease and without problems, it is comparable to being near the cherubim, or with the king of Tyre, like unto the cherubim. The importance of this prophesy should now be obvious. Wherever great power is to be found we must see it as due to God’s providence. It can come as a blessing or as judgment on an era, but a concentration of wealth, of authority, and of a general prosperity in a civilization is to be seen as making it into a potential new Garden of Eden.

It is interesting that in the first half of the last century people sometimes spoke of America in the early years of this republic as a new Eden. Because they saw in terms of scripture, in terms of the kind of prophesy given in Ezekiel that God was bringing a combination of blessings to focus here in this country. So man was, as it were, in a Garden of Eden; or another term used, in the happy republic. Now Ezekiel’s language tells us a great deal about God’s intentions concerning Eden. God’s goal for history, it is a glorious, a prosperous world paradise under God and His word. The purpose of Godly authority is to develop such an order. Even before Patrick Fairbairn, Carl Friedrich Keil the German commentator said of this text, and I quote “the king of Tyre is called a cherub because as an anointed king he covered, or overshadowed, a sanctuary like a cherubim upon the Ark of the Covenant. What this sanctuary was is evident from the remark already made at verse two concerning the divine seat if the king. If the seat of God upon which the king of Tyre sits is to be understood as signifying the state of Tyre, then the sanctuary which he covered or overshadowed as a Cherub will also be the Tyrian state.” We’re not used to thinking this way because our thinking has not been Biblical. It has been overly spiritualized and it has been pietistic. The cherubim as we have seen symbolize God’s power and authority, and wherever in history prosperity and authority come into focus we have God’s cherubim, as it were, covering and providing power to that people. For those who use that power and prosperity apart from God judgment follows. Then there is the downfall of the people and of the rulers of the state as of Tyre. This should tell us something about what God intends for countries such as Britain and the United States and others who have been blessed, but have not seen themselves as having been covered by the Cherubim for God’s purposes, to establish His purpose upon earth. The meaning of cherub and cherubim is thus very important.

Now for a long time many scholars have held that the derivation of the word Cherub is uncertain. In recent years however one scholar at the Hebrew university of Jerusalem, Shalom Paul, has traced it apparently to the Acadian {?} word which means to pray and to bless, to pray and to bless, very interesting meaning. Our Lord declares as we saw a few weeks ago, that authority and power must be used as a ministry of service, he that would be greatest among you let him be servant of all. And now the very meaning of the Cherubim is that they not only symbolize power, but it is power which is to be like a prayer and a blessing. Paul in Hebrews 9:5 speaks of the Cherubim as overshadowing the mercy seat. They are thus closely tied to the throne of God, to His authority, and to His mercy. God is repeatedly described as “He who dwells between the Cherubim.” This sets for the majesty, the power, and the glory of God. As for example in Psalm 91 verse 1 where we are told “The Lord reigneth, let the people tremble, He sitteth between the Cherubim, let the earth be moved.” In Psalm 80 we have a Psalm which refers to the captivity of the Northern kingdom Israel, in the Exodus the three tribes Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh led in the march and in this Psalm the Lord is now summoned to lead Israel again as its good Shepherd. And He is described as the one who dwells between the cherubim both in majesty and in mercy. And the first three verses of that Psalm tell us “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth.2 Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh stir up thy strength, and come and save us. 3 Turn us again, O God, and cause thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”

God regards a wealthy and a prosperous country therefore as a partial fulfillment of the Garden of Eden; and therefore to be governed by His authority and fulfill His purposes. The rulers are compared both to Adam, covenant man, and to cherubim. Now prayers involve in their essence intercession. The purpose of authority is Godly rule and the intercession of mercy. Authority must bring judgment as did the Cherubim in Eden, and Ezekiel tells us also in Jerusalem. However authority must be also a blessing. The king of Tyre is told that he was brought forth to be a Cherub, one of the Cherubim. But he has become a false Cherubim, and he and his people will be destroyed.

Now there’s an interesting aspect to this prophesy, the king of Tyre was never a believer, never. And yet God addresses him and says “by my providence you have become great and prosperous, you and your people now are at a pinnacle of power. Your ships go to the far corners of the earth and bring the riches thereof, and you are a center of world commerce. I have made you a cherub, one of the cherubim; I have made you an Adam in the Garden of Eden. But you have not chose to use these things for my purposes, to further my mandate, my dominion mandate. You’ve interposed your own, you’ve developed your own program for yourself and the world, therefore you shall be judged. Now if God speaks so to the king of Tyre, a pagan, how much more so to the Western countries that were once Christian?

All authorities of course in every sphere have the same duty and calling; wherever we have authority we have the overshadowing of the cherubim, an endowment and a calling to exercise authority, and mercy, and power in the name of God. Ezekiel makes the comparison at one point in Ezekiel 31:18 between the trees of Eden, the Garden of Eden, and Pharaoh and Egypt. So that we see wherever there is power, wherever there is authority, God says “here, there’s an opportunity. You have been given the authority like unto cherubim to create. To exercise dominion under me, but you will not turn unto me.” All authorities in every sphere are accountable. All authorities in every sphere are created to be cherubim, like unto cherubim. This is amazing imagery. It is imagery that tells us a great deal about God’s purpose in creating Eden, God’s purpose for all of history, and God’s purpose for men and nations today. And those who simply pull in to create their little refuges as though they had no calling under the cherubim will be judged of God. If the king of Tyre was, how much the rulers of the Western nations, governs of states, county commissioners, and others? And each of us in our appointed place. Let us pray.

Oh Lord our God make us ever mindful that the cherubim overshadow this world, that we have been called to exercise authority under Thee. That we have been set in a world that is to be a garden of Eden, that we are to develop its potentialities and exercise dominion and subdue the earth and bring all things, including first of all ourselves, into captivity to Jesus Christ. Oh Lord our God make us mindful of our calling and before our day of judgment comes give us repentant hearts and grace and power to mend our ways. Grant us this we beseech Thee in Jesus name, amen.

Are there any questions now?

[Audience member] There’s almost a suggestion of kind of a parallel there with the book of Job with some of the things that, I don’t know I can’t quite make the connection, but there’s a suggestion there that God is given and I don’t quite know how the connection is made but it just suggested itself very strongly to me.

[Rushdoony] Well in Job of course very clearly God makes clear that He blesses people and expects things of them. And when Satan says “alright it’s easy for Job to do it” He says “no, there is more to Him than that, he exercises the blessings I give Him in faithfulness to me.” So there is that analogy. There’s another analogy John, if you win the election you will be called to be a Cherub there in the state capitol. [Laughter]

[John] I guess I’ll use that on my stationary [More laugher]

[Rushdoony] Yes?

[Audience member] Is that why you brought out the point that Cherubs aren’t really these beautiful creatures? [Lots of laughter]

[Rushdoony] Cherubs are supposed scare you. Any other questions or comments? Yes?

[Audience member] Well it is interesting that the artistic renderings do not convey any sense of awe or force and I think that’s very important and I think that is an interesting point.

[Rushdoony] Yes I think a great deal could be done to trace the history of that fact in Christian art. We can see how the emphasis came to be on things not only beautiful but within the human dimension, so that they would not be terrifying. So that Christian art became increasingly beautiful rather than awe inspiring. Then when there was something of a reaction to this about the time of the Renaissance, the only way to evoke a sense of what had happened was through an emphasis on horror. For example Grunewald’s paintings of Christ on the cross, which emphasize horror to the nth degree so that they convey, not so much the significance of the event, but the horror of crucifixion; and then in Baroque art to overall by opening up the vault of the church, as it were, to heaven by painting clouds and blue skies and angles; as the content left the emphasis on something that would be impressive and at the same time beautiful. And in our day of course religious art has become quite vulgar it’s become so prettified and utterly human. The theological dimension is left out. Chris is made to look appealing, the apostles are similarly made to look as those they were the kind of man you’d enjoy having in the pulpit and looking up to and respecting, so that the theological dimension has progressively disappeared from paintings.

[Audience member] But the films and popular fiction attribute all the power to the dark side, to the devil.

[Rushdoony] A good point yes, power today is seen as demonic. But not even Satan has power apart from God.

Any other questions or comments?

[Audience member] I wonder if that, you know in early America there was a very, very health mistrust of government power and if the point that Otto’s just raised now about power being demonic, have a demonic source, if the connection could be established between that and modern government you might have the key to again a health rebirth of…

[Rushdoony] Well there was a distrust of civil government, not of government per se. Yes, people took government in a Biblical sense then. But power today is seen as demonic and I think it is in part a Manichean strain in our culture because in Manichaeism you see reality as divided into two things, the good God and the bad God, or the good being and bad being. One is light and love and sweetness and the other is evil and it is power. So that for the Manichean temperament disarmament is a virtue, to be prepared to deal with your enemy militarily is seen as a sin. So the Manichean temper is going to treat any display of power as evil and it means then the evil appropriate power by default.

Any other questions or comments, yes?

[Audience member] {?} in a couple of weeks concerning my job and future employment with them and I’ve been tempted to bring in some scripture verses and I was wondering if that would be at all appropriate or if I should keep the hearing strictly personal performance and…

[Rushdoony] I think if you maintain a Biblical perspective but don’t use the Bible verse you’ll be better off because they will tend to discount you. But if you hit them with hard facts governed by a Biblical sense of justice you’ll do better I think.

Well lets bow our heads now in prayer as we conclude our service.

Oh Lord our God how great and marvelous is Thy word and Thy calling unto us. We thank Thee that Thou hast overshadowed this land with Thine Cherubim. Grant oh Lord that we exercise authority and power only from Thee, and in terms of Thy law word; that we may again be a strong and free people in Thee, a happy republic, a developing Garden of Eden. And now go in peace God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost bless you and keep you, guide and protect you this day and always. Amen.