Cherubs Sweet or Scary

Most people when asked to describe cherub angels will say something like a child angel or a baby. I think most people think of cherubs as babies because of artists paintings of these angels. However this is just not true. Artists in the renaissance and rococo era like Brumidi, Constantino, and Raphael painted cherubs like babies and little children to represent the romantic idea of heavenly beings who were kind and gentle. When Marcantonio Franceschini painted “the banishment from paradise” he painted the cherub God sent to drive Adam and Eve out of the garden of Eden as a young girl. Images like these have changed forever how people have thought about angels and cherubs. Unfortunately this is about as far from true as any description could be. Cherubim are the first angels mentioned in the Old Testament. After God made Adam he told him he could eat freely from any tree in the garden of Eden except for the tree of the knowledge. God told Adam in Genesis 2:17 that in the day that he ate of the tree of knowledge he would die. When Adam and Eve ate from the tree of knowledge God drove them out of the garden of Eden. God did not want them to eat the fruit from the tree of life which would allow them to live forever in their sin. So God placed Cherubim at the east end of the garden of Eden to prevent Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of life. The cherubim he placed to protect the tree of knowledge where not babies or child like! They where great winged creatures who where not only intimidating but very capable of protecting the tree, the garden of Eden , or anything else God wanted them to protect. Later when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt he was instructed by God to build the Ark of the Covenant. The instructions where very detailed. He was told by God the type of wood to use, the dimensions, the patterns, and even who was allowed to touch the Ark. Moses was instructed to place two Cherubim statues on the top of the Ark of the Covenant. Their wings stretched around the box protecting the Ark and its contents. When Solomon built the temple to God he used Cherubim on the doors, walls, and made large cherub statues in the interior. He made two Cherub ten feet tall both with ten foot wings on each side. What an intimidating site that must have been to walk in to a room with these huge Cherubim with such an incredible wing span looking at you. Cherub angels are not children or babies! Cherubs are the protectors of Gods property, not like guardian angels but more like security guards. Next time you buy a cherub angel statue or figurine remember that these special angels are the protector of Gods properties. I like to have them around my house to protect and hopefully make my home a heavenly place. Clyde Young has been a licensed nurse for twenty-one years and currently works as a nurse in Idaho and is the web master forSugarCity Gifts, an online gift store specializing in angel figurines and angel statues and Healthandwellnesssolutionsonline.com An online alternative health site teaching an acupressure technique for the relief of migraine headaches.