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The Ark of the Covenant
Southern Christian Magazine
Jan. 31, 2009
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The Ark of the Covenant was the most sacred and treasured of the tabernacle furnishings. Not only was it the most sacred, it was the first piece of furniture made for the tabernacle. It was to contain the stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments. The length of the Ark was 2.5 Cubits, Width 1.5 Cubits, Height 1.5 Cubits. In feet and inches that translates to 3' 8" x 2' 0" x 2' 0", constructed of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold inside and out.
"They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height.
You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. --Exodus 25:10-11 ESV
The next step was to cast gold rings, four of them, attached at each corner, and poles to insert in the rings to carry the Ark.
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You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it.
You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.
And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them.
The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you. --Exodus 25:12-16 ESV
Why would God not want the poles removed from the rings? For some reason God did not want anyone to touch the Ark once the construction was finished. The Hebrews were to only touch the poles provided, to carry or move the Ark. But what reason could God have for forbidding anyone to physically touch the Ark? There has to be a reason.
Next was the construction of the Mercy Seat with a cherubim and each end.
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"You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.
And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat.
Make one cherub on the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends.
The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubim be.
And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you.
There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel. --Exodus 25:17-22 ESV
The Mercy Seat is where God would come to talk to Moses and give him the commandments for the people of Israel. According to the scripture above, God would hover just above the Mercy Seat between the cherubim and instruct Moses to what he required of the Israelites. This is where God and Moses would meet to discuss the future of Israel.
I could not even imagine what it would be like to acutally sit down in the physical presence of God, the Creator of everything, and have a one on one conversation with Him. This would have to be the most awesome thing that a human being could ever experience.
But what happened to this sacred treasure of the Jews? There is no record of it after Jerusalem's overthrow by the Babylonians. It seemed to have simply disappeared. Could someone have removed it to another place before the Babylonians conquered the city or did the Babylonians take it? This is a question that I would like to find the answer to.
At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.
And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it,
and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign
and carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the LORD, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the LORD had foretold.
--2 Kings 24:10-13 ESV |
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This is the last account of the Ark of the Covenant. From this point on the Ark's whereabouts becomes a mystery. There have been many speculations on the location, but none have proved valid. In short, no one knows where the Ark is and it certainly has never been recovered.
In the above verse it states, "The king of Babylon...carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king’s house....
Does all the treasures of the house of the LORD mean that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, took the Ark also? The Bible doesn't say. We can only speculate. If all the treasures of the house of the LORD does mean that Nebuchadnezzar took the Ark, then it is somewhere in Iraq. If not where could it possibly be?
The Ark is mentioned again in Revelation chapter 11, the verse reads, Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple.--Revelation 11:19 ESV
Could it be that God removed the Ark and took it to heaven for safe keeping? That's a possibilty or it could've been removed before the Babylonian seige of Jerusalem. Either way, it's location is still a mystery.
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Verse of the Day:
"“Blessed is he who permits the Word of God to judge him now, for the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than a twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of joint and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” --Hebrews 4:12 |
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