When the glory of Yahweh appears to Ezekiel by the Chebar river, it appears as a teeming cloud of cherubim surrounding a throne on which a molten figure is seated (Ezekiel 1:22-28).

The glory is a model of the cosmos; or, better, the cosmos is modeled on the glory. The clue is in the description of the sound of the cherub wings, which are like “the voice of many waters” (v. 21). In ancient cosmology, the land emerges from the waters to tower above the waters. To get to the holy mountain, you have to pass through the surging sea. Here in Ezekiel, one could approach the throne within the cloud only by passing through the sea of cherubim. Cherubim surrounding throne = sea surrounding land.

And that casts some light back on the design of Israel’s sanctuaries. Picking up on Edenic motifs, the tabernacle and temple were guarded by cherubim. If you wanted to enter the presence of Yahweh, you had to get past the angels with their flaming swords. The cherubim again stand in the position of the cosmic waters, through which priests must pass to stand before Yahweh, enthroned on the peak of the most holy mountain.