Each cherub had two faces: the face of a human being toward the palm tree on one side and the face of a lion toward the palm tree on the other. They were carved all around the whole temple. – Ezekiel 41:19

Today’s Scripture Reading (June 3, 2014): Ezekiel 41

Rudyard Kipling wrote “If you can walk with the crowd and keep your virtue, or walk with Kings-nor lose the common touch; If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you; If all men count with you, but none too much; If you can fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run- Yours is the earth and everything that's in it, And-which is more-you'll be a man my son” (If: A Father’s Advice to His Son). The phrase – “walk with kings-nor lose the common touch” – is one that seems to have captured our imagination. And it has become the way that we judge people that we come in contact with. What we seem to want is to be in contact with people who have the power to change our world, and yet have never lost sight of what it is like to walk among the average people. The elitist who has lost touch with the common person we have no time for. But the person of power who identifies well with the bulk humanity, that is the person that we desire to follow wherever it is that they dare to lead.

Ezekiel once again has a vision of cherubim. This time they are engraved on the walls of the temple. And the cherubim have two faces. One is the face of man and the other is face of a lion. And these faces are not an accident. These angels of the temple are to minister to the plight of man – but to do that they need to understand - to know what it is to be weak and in need. They are the bearers of the gospel message to man. But identifying and understanding man is not enough – the angels also need to go boldly and with courage. They need to be able to identify with man, but not fear him.

So the angels come equipped with two faces – and two natures. That these cherubim are facing the palm trees indicates that while they identify with human kind and come with courage, they also come with sincere hearts and honest conversations, and with their eyes focussed on the final victory of God which was yet to come.

For the exiles, this was a message of hope – that the God of Israel and this temple still had the concerns of his people on his heart, and that he would still bring the victory to Israel. He was a God who understood what it was that they were going through and was already on his way with courage – and the power to change the way things were.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Ezekiel 42