Exo 25:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, ...
Exo 25:18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Exo 25:19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
Exo 25:20 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.
Exo 25:21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
Exo 25:22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
Exo 25:40 And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was showed thee in the mount.
Exo 37:7 And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat;
Exo 37:8 One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
Exo 37:9 And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.
If you study the matter, you will find that these golden cherubim on the Ark were normally located in what was called the holy of holies, the innermost apartment of the Hebrew Sanctuary. Because they covered the lid of the Ark, known as the mercy seat, these were known as "covering cherubim". Only the Jewish high priest was ever allowed to enter this room, and then only on one day of each year, the Day of Atonement. Search the scriptures and you will find that the high priest was never instructed to bow down to these statues of cherubim or to pray to the angels in heaven that they represented.
Cherubim were also woven into the tapestries of the traveling Sanctuary of Moses:
Exo 26:1 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.
Exo 26:31 And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:
Exo 36:8 And every wise hearted man among them that wrought the work of the tabernacle made ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work made he them.
Exo 36:35 And he made a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen: with cherubims made he it of cunning work.
Again, these images of cherubim in the tapestries were never bowed down to, and prayer to angels was not permitted and never occurred before them. Angel worship is prohibited. When John the Revelator bowed down to worship an angel, the angel quickly stopped him from doing so:
Rev 22:8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed me these things.
Rev 22:9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God.
So, none of the images of angels in the Sanctuary involved angel worship. God's permitting these images does not mean that God sanctions bowing before and praying in front of images.