Exodus 25:20
“The cherubim shall spread out their wings upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings, with their faces toward one another. The faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.”
What does Exodus 25:20 mean?
The mercy seat was the golden lid on top of the ark of the covenant, the most sacred object in Israel's worship space. God instructed the people to place two golden cherubim (powerful angelic beings) on this lid, facing each other with their wings stretched upward and meeting over the center. This design created a kind of throne where God's presence would dwell, with the cherubim as guardians and witnesses to God's holiness. Their posture of bending toward the mercy seat, rather than looking outward, symbolized that all attention and reverence was focused on God's grace and judgment. It's a beautiful image of creation itself bowing in awe before the divine.