The Ark of the Covenant

The Contents of the Ark

The jar of manna which never spoiled.

And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.Exodus 16:32

Aaron’s staff which had sprouted and borne fruit when Aaron’s priesthood had been challenged by the heads of the other tribes.

And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moses went into the tabernacle of witness; and, behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD unto all the children of Israel: and they looked, and took every man his rod. And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron’s rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away their murmurings from me, that they die not.Numbers 17:8-10

The actual tables of the ten commandments which Moses had brought down from the mountain, written on by the finger of God. “And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written.”

The Ark

And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it:Exodus 37:1

The Ark of the Testimony

And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it:Numbers 4:5

The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord

And for the altar of incense refined gold by weight; and gold for the pattern of the chariot of the cherubims, that spread out their wings, and covered the ark of the covenant of the LORD.1 Chronicles 28:18

The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of All the Earth

Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.Joshua 3:11

The Ark of the Lord

And he smote the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the LORD, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the LORD had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter.1 Samuel 6:19

The Ark of the Covenant was the physical symbol of God’s presence among the Israelites. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s presence among humanity.

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.Colossians 2:9

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.John 1:14

The mercy seat, or lid, of the Ark was where the high priest sprinkled the blood of the atonement once a year on the Day of Atonement. Jesus’ blood was shed as a covering for our sins and for our atonement.

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;Romans 3:25

The tables of the Ten Commandments inside the Ark were God’s expectations for His people that they could never fulfill. Jesus is the Word of God who fulfilled the Law of God.

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.Matthew 5:17

Just as the manna provided physical sustenance for the Israelites in the wilderness, Jesus provides spiritual nourishment for believers.

And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.John 6:35

Aaron’s staff was a sign of his God-given authority as high priest, Christ’s resurrection is a sign of His God-given authority as our great high priest.

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.Hebrews 4:14

The cherubim on top of the Ark can be seen as a symbol of Jesus’ glory. Just as the cherubim are in a position of worship on the mercy seat, Jesus is covered by the glory of God and the angels of Heaven are commanded to worship Him.

And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.Hebrews 1:6

Instead of acacia wood overlaid with gold, the Word became flesh and dwelled among us.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.John 1:14

Just as the ark was a chest or coffin-like structure, Jesus was laid in an unused garden tomb, which became a holy place.

Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid.John 19:41

The ark had two angels at each end of the mercy seat where the sacrifice would be made. After his resurrection, two angels were sitting where the body of Jesus had been laid, one at the head and one at the feet.

But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.John 20:11-12

Israel’s attempts to gain victory without the ark were met with defeat. Without Jesus, we can do nothing.

But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.Numbers 14:44-45

The ark of the covenant made it possible to cross the Jordan River and go into the promised land. Jesus is the liberator of our souls, giving us access to the Father when we were at an impasse.

And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.Joshua 3:13-17

The ark was front and center in the arrival into the promised land. Jesus will be front and center in the throne room of Heaven.

And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law.Joshua 8:33-34

And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.Revelation 5:11-13

Over time, the ark lost its significance as a promise of God’s presence and was misused as a good luck charm.

And the word of Samuel came to all Israel. Now Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside Eben-ezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek. And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined battle, Israel was smitten before the Philistines: and they slew of the army in the field about four thousand men. And when the people were come into the camp, the elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the LORD smitten us to day before the Philistines? Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies. So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, which dwelleth between the cherubims: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God. And when the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel shouted with a great shout, so that the earth rang again. And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews? And they understood that the ark of the LORD was come into the camp. And the Philistines were afraid, for they said, God is come into the camp. And they said, Woe unto us! for there hath not been such a thing heretofore. Woe unto us! who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the wilderness. Be strong, and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, as they have been to you: quit yourselves like men, and fight. And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.1 Samuel 4:1-11

The ark is not spoken of after the Babylonian exile and was not a part of the restored temple. The ark was a picture of God’s presence, but now a greater Picture would be revealed.

These pictures lose their value and relevance once Jesus comes.

Jesus is not a good luck charm. Be careful of placing significance on holy objects.

God has given us His Spirit and made us priests. We have God’s promise of His presence and full access to His presence.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:1 Peter 2:9