Context No. 3938 of 4322 · Ezekiel

Ezekiel 41:13-20: in context

13So he measured the temple, one hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with its walls, one hundred cubits long; 14also the width of the face of the temple, and of the separate place toward the east, one hundred cubits. 15He measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at its back, and its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits from the inner temple, and the porches of the court, 16the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries around on their three stories, opposite the threshold, with wood ceilings all around, and from the ground up to the windows, (now the windows were covered), 17to the space above the door, even to the inner house, and outside, and by all the wall all around inside and outside, by measure. 18It was made with cherubim and palm trees. A palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces, 19so that there was the face of a man toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. It was made like this through all the house all around. 20Cherubim and palm trees were made from the ground to above the door. The wall of the temple was like this.

As the vision of the temple continues, we are told how its walls were adorned, carved throughout with cherubim and palm trees, a cherub and a palm tree alternating all around the house. Even in a passage of measurements, this detail catches the eye: the house of God was not merely functional but beautiful, its walls covered with careful, meaningful carvings.

There is significance in the imagery. The cherubim recall the guardians of God's holiness, the angelic beings around his throne; the palm trees are an ancient symbol of life, flourishing, and victory. Together they clothed God's dwelling in beauty that spoke of his holiness and of the life found in his presence. God cared that his house was beautiful, and the beauty carried meaning. There is a lesson here about the place of beauty in the worship of God. He is worthy not only of our obedience but of beauty offered to him, and the beauty of his dwelling was meant to lift the heart toward the holiness and life he gives.

Do I honor God with beauty as well as obedience, and does the beauty of worship lift my heart toward his holiness and the flourishing life found in his presence?

Sources

Ezekiel 41:18: "It was made with cherubim and palm trees. A palm tree was between cherub and cherub."
Ezekiel 41:20: "Cherubim and palm trees were made from the ground to above the door. The wall of the temple was like this."
Psalm 96:9: "Worship the LORD in holy array. Tremble before him, all the earth."