The Ark of the Covenant

2023-03-01

An “ark” is a box or chest. It was made of shittim wood and covered with gold. It also had rings to carry it with staves, like the table of shewbread and the golden incense altar. These staves were not to be removed from it. “And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them. The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it” (Exodus 25:14-15). The mercy seat was the covering for the ark, of which we will have a separate discussion.

The tables of the covenant were placed in the ark. “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” (Exodus 25:21). “And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me” (Deuteronomy 10:5).

Also, we learn that the pot of manna was in there as well. It was set aside to be put in there before the tables or the ark were made. “And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations. As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept” (Exodus 16:33-34; cf. Hebrews 9:4).

Aaron’s rod that budded after Korah’s rebellion was also in there. “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 17:10; cf. Hebrews 9:4).

The sons of Kohath also handled the ark (Numbers 3:31). The ark and the other holy things had to be covered before they handled them so they would not die, as only the priests could normally see or bear the ark. “But thus do unto them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service and to his burden: But they shall not go in to see when the holy things are covered, lest they die” (Numbers 4:19-20).

Uzzah, who ignorantly took hold of the ark, died for his error, even though there we get no sense of ill will. “And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God” (2 Samuel 6:7). And another example, “And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, 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 represented a heavenly ark. “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail” (Revelation 11:19). We do not know what was in this one, but the revealing of this ark follows the raging of the nations when the Lord is about to return. The full context is in Revelation 11:15-19. As the Law condemned the human race, the contents of this ark also likely condemned the inhabitants of the earth for their rebellion.

Jeremiah the prophet tells us, “And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more” (Jeremiah 3:16). Being no longer under the Law, but in Jesus Christ, the Law has been planted within us, not without in a box. Perhaps that makes us the new ark of the covenant.