The temple building was covered with wooden panels. The walls were decorated with carvings of palm trees and cherubim.
The cherubim were like those Ezekiel saw in his earlier visions of judgment (see Ezekiel 1:5–12; 10:2–14). In those visions, the cherubim had four faces. However, the carved images in the temple had only two faces. One face was a lion, the greatest of the wild animals. The other was a human, the highest part of God’s created order.
Cherubim also decorated Solomon’s temple (1 Kings 6:32). Cherubim were traditional symbols of judgment. The palm trees were traditional symbols of blessing. Together, these images showed both God’s judgment and his blessing.