Anyone who doubts the power of visual symbols hasn’t been watching the news lately. For the protests that have erupted in the streets of our biggest cities haven’t just called for reforms to (or even abolition of) our police departments. No, many are calling for the removal of Confederate statuary from our public spaces, even though most of them are well over 100 years old. And Mississippi lawmakers are once again being urged to change the state flag.

For that’s the problem with visual images – because they can’t talk, they can mean different things to different people. Some look at a statue of General R.E. Lee, for example, and see a man of bravery, fortitude, humility, patience and longsuffering. Others see only a traitor and a slaveholder who fought for a reprehensible cause. And by the way, what does the hand atop our steeple mean? Does it indicate the pride of the people who erected it, or the humility of worshippers pointing others to Christ? Each viewer will inevitably draw his or her own conclusion.

So, how are we supposed to understand all the images and symbols with which Solomon decorated the Temple of God? What, for example, were these huge statues of cherubim, these unimaginably mighty beings, doing in the Holy of Holies (I Kings 6:23-28), the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, the place where God Himself was said to dwell with His people (Exodus 25:22)? Come to think of it, why did God tell Moses to have two images of cherubim placed on top of the Ark itself (Exodus 25:18-20)?

Well, in the first place, almost no one who was alive in the days of the Tabernacle or the Temple knew any more about what those cherubim looked like than we do. Only the priests were ever allowed to go into the Temple (Numbers 16:40), but even they couldn’t go into the inner sanctuary, where the Ark was kept. No, only the High Priest was ever allowed to go into the Holy of Holies, and then only once a year, and then only after filling the whole Tabernacle or Temple with the smoke of so much incense that he couldn’t really see clearly (Leviticus 16:11-14). No, the Ark and the images of the Cherubim weren’t meant to be adored or even seen by anyone.

Of course, we can use other references in the Scripture to determine what those images were supposed to mean. It is, after all, obvious that from ancient kings to modern presidents, a leader’s power is clearly reflected by his entourage – the greater the force that surrounds him, the greater his might. Just so, Ezekiel saw the glory of the Lord standing over the cherubim who accompanied him wherever he went (Ezekiel 1:26-28; 10:18-19). And so, far from being images to be worshipped, these statues pointed to a God Who is so powerful that He has the mightiest possible companions.

But just in case people would be tempted to get the wrong idea, God told Moses to hide all those images behind a veil, so that the rest of us would have to be content with understanding their meaning. Moreover, God told all of us not to use any images in worship (Exodus 20:4-6). And given the acrimony that surrounds so many of our modern symbols, maybe we should all take that Second Commandment a little more seriously.

I Kings 6:23-28 (NASB)

23 Also in the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high.
24 And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub and five cubits the other wing of the cherub; from the end of one wing to the end of the other wing were ten cubits.
25 And the other cherub was ten cubits; both the cherubim were of the same measure and the same form.
26 The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was the other cherub.
27 And he placed the cherubim in the midst of the inner house, and the wings of the cherubim were spread out, so that the wing of the one was touching the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall. So their wings were touching each other in the center of the house.
28 He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.