Isaiah 37:16

O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest between the cherubims, thou art the God, even thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth: thou hast made heaven and earth.

O Lord of hosts, God of Israel, that dwellest - the Shechinah, or fiery symbol of God's presence, dwelling in the temple with His people, is from Shachan, to dwell (Exodus 25:22; Psalms 80:1; Psalms 99:1).

(Between) the cherubim - derived by transposition from either a Hebrew root, 'raakab,' to ride; or rather, `baarak (H1288),' to bless. They were formed out of the same mass of pure gold as the mercyseat itself, (Exodus 25:19, margin.) The phrase, "dwellest" between the cherubim," arose from their position at each end of the mercy-seat, while the Shechinah, and the awful name, Yahweh (H3068), in written letters, were in the intervening space. They are so inseparably associated with the manifestation of God's glory, that whether the Lord is at rest or in motion, they always are mentioned with Him (Numbers 7:89; Psalms 18:10).

(1) They are first mentioned, Genesis 3:24, 'on the edge of' (as 'on the east,' may be translated) Eden. The Hebrew for "placed" is properly to 'place in a tabernacle,' which implies that this was a local tabernacle in which the symbols of God's presence were manifested suitably to the altered circumstances in which man, after the fall, came before God. It was here that Cain and Abel, and the patriarchs down to the flood, presented their offerings and it is called "the presence of the Lord" (Genesis 4:16). When those symbols were removed, at the close of that early patriarchal dispensation, small models of them were made for domestic use, called in Chaldee, Seraphim or Teraphim.

(2) The cherubim in the Mosaic tabernacle and Solomon's temple were the same in form as those at the outskirts of Eden: compound figures, combining the distinguishing properties of several creatures: the ox, chief among the tame and useful animals; the lion, chief among the wild ones; the eagle, chief among birds; and man, the head of all (the original headship of man over the animal kingdom, about to be restored in Jesus Christ, Psalms 8:4, is also implied in this combination). They are throughout Scripture represented as distinct from God; they could not be likenesses of Him, which He forbade in any shape.

(3) They are introduced in the third or Gospel dispensation (Revelation 4:6), as [ zooa (G2226)] living creatures (not "beasts," as the English version), not angels, but beings closely connected with the redeemed Church. So also in Ezekiel 1:1 and Ezekiel 10:1.

Thus, throughout the three dispensations, they seem to be symbols of those who in every age should officially stay and proclaim the manifold wisdom of God. They represent also the ruling powers by which God acts in the natural and the moral world.

Thou (art) the God, (even) thou alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth - `thou art He who alone art God of all the kingdoms;' whereas Sennacherib had classed Yahweh with the pagan gods. Hezekiah asserts the nothingness of the latter and the sole lordship of the former.