Misinterpretations often depict the cherubim as cute, winged babies akin to modern cherubs, ignoring their biblical role as formidable angelic sentinels barring access to holiness as in Genesis 3:24; others erroneously claim their faces look only at each other, suggesting disinterest in the mercy seat, whereas the text specifies the faces point toward it to highlight focused divine attention on atonement; additionally, some view the Ark merely as ornate furniture or a magical relic rather than the throne symbolizing God's covenantal presence and foreshadowing Christ's propitiation.
Exodus 25:20
King James Version (1769)
20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
Exodus 25:20 describes the precise posture of the cherubim sculpted on the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, with their wings stretched upward to overshadow it protectively and their faces turned toward one another yet both directed intently at the mercy seat itself, symbolizing the reverent guardianship of God's holy presence over the place of atonement where He would commune with Israel, underscoring themes of divine accessibility through sacrifice, heavenly witness to redemption, and the sacred veil between God's glory and humanity.