Back to Course

Ezekiel and Daniel: Babylonian Crisis

  1. Lesson One
    Ezekiel's Prophetic Word (Ezekiel 1–24)
    19 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  2. Lesson Two
    Ezekiel: Israel's Shame and Restoration (Ezekiel 25–39)
    22 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  3. Lesson Three
    Ezekiel's Distinctive Message (Ezekiel 40–48)
    24 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  4. Lesson Four
    Daniel: Dreams and Prophecies (Daniel 1–3, 9–12)
    18 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  5. Lesson Five
    Daniel: Kings and Kingdoms (Daniel 4–8)
    18 Activities
  6. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    1 Activity
    |
    1 Assessment

Participants 19

Show more
Lesson Progress
0% Complete

Hybrid creatures were common in Mesopotamian mythology. This protective lamassu had the body of a bull, the wings of an eagle and the head of a king. These creatures were the likely precursor to the cherub—winged angelic guardians known in Canaanite contexts.

We know of “cherubim” (plural of “cherub”) in the Bible first as guardians of the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24), God’s first “sanctuary” among humans. Then we read of two gold cherubim placed above the ark of the covenant and throughout the tabernacle (Exodus 25:18-22), the first structural sanctuary God established. Cherubim are elsewhere in the Old Testament associated with the winds on which YHWH rides (e.g., 2 Samuel 22:11; Psalm 18:10). 

In Ezekiel 1, we are reintroduced to the cherubim in their native context of Babylon, along the Chebar canal. Here the spinning chariot wheels would have been familiar since the time of the Assyrians, pictured here. What is surprising in Ezekiel’s vision is that the cherubim and wheels provide a throne for Israel’s God away from his Temple. God is present (and reigning!) among the exiles in Babylon.