The Importance and Description of the Ark of the Covenant
Many people don’t understand the importance of the Ark of the Covenant. Below you can learn just how significant it is to your life, and how many lost their lives many years ago upon entering the tabernacle. You had to respect the Ark of the Covenant, the Ten Commandments which is the Law of God were kept in this place where God and man could come together. God literally hovered over the Ark when the priests approached it, and figuratively through the law that was kept inside. The law was the tablets in which the Ten Commandments were written (Deuteronomy 10:2). The commandments were key to the covenant in which the Ark was named. When Israel would abide by the Commandments, as they represented, the rest of the Law God gave to Moses.
10 And they shall make an Ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.
13 And thou shalt make staves of Shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
16 And thou shalt put into the Ark the Testimony which I shall give thee.
17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
18 And thou shalt make two Cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou, make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Ark of the Covenant was built by Israel under Moses’ leadership as God showed the plans of its construction. He was specific in what materials the constructors will use and how the Ark will be handled.
The Ark Of Testimony Or the Ark Of The Covenant
The Ark symbolizes many things including the visible presence and the power of God in our lives. However, the Ark of the Covenant was not known as Ark of the Covenant, and it was called Ark of Testimony or just an Ark until (Numbers 10:33) “So they set out from the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest.”
God’s Instruction Concerning The Ark
The very first instruction God gave about the tabernacle concerning the Ark is for the tabernacle to be built around the Ark. This implies that the Ark is the heart or center of the temple; today, we are God’s temple, and the heart is where He dwells. 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” You have easy access to God because He is in you. (1 John 4:4) “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” This is a promise from God, a fulfillment He will continue to keep.
Three Significance Of The Ark
In the heart of the Tabernacle
Thousands of years, people have gone in search to get the Ark of the Covenant. Because they feel it contains power and riches, but what they do not know is our God cannot live in a box. He is the Master of the universe, Emperor on Wings. He loves us so much that He wants to dwell with his people. Jesus Christ made it possible by connecting us to our heavenly Father. (John 14:6) “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Exodus 11:19-20 “I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
20) Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.”
God has removed the hard and wicked heart that we had when we were living in sins. Wrote his unchanging Law, set in stone, into that heart so that God’s Law could show our true condition. Allowing us to realize that we need a Savior. Because God is a righteous God, and His law of holiness, and justice stands sure, the stony heart is shattered.
It is refined through the listening, studying and meditating of the Word, which allows God and the Holy Spirit to continue to work on us (Romans 10:17) Until it is completely broken and finally, born again into a heart of spirit (the renewed mind) that can feel the precious Love of God.
The Blood of Jesus Christ begins to flow through the heart of man, bringing the Life of the Spirit of God back into us once more. This body may get its life through the blood, but our spirits get their life through the eternal life of the Spirit of God.
The Pot of Manna
The pot of manna, which is the bread from heaven, was the second thing that went into the Ark of the Covenant. The Israelites were given manna when they wandered in the Wilderness on their way to the Promised Land.
So what does the manna has to do in the temple? First, God provided daily for the Israelites with fresh manna every day in the Wilderness. Every day we face challenges, temptations, however, God has made provisions for us to overcome the daily challenges. The solution to the temptations is the Bread of Life, which is our Lord Jesus Christ. Just like the manna in the wilderness, the Bread of Life is a daily portion; we need to feed daily to get the fresh word to overcome the vices of the devil. Furthermore, the Bread of Life is far better than the manna which the Israelites ate in the wilderness.
John 6: 49-51
49) Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50) This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. 51) I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
The Law is given to us first; then, after we have received the law, and seen our sins. The next step is to see Jesus (the Bread of life) as our redemption from sin. We enjoy this daily Bread of life when we surrender our lives to Jesus (John 1:12).
Aaron’s Budded Rod
It is the third thing that went inside the Ark of the Covenant; (Numbers 17:8) explains what Aaron’s budded Rod looks like. “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.” The budded Rod symbolizes the new life in Christ that rises from the dead rod that we once were. As we spend our time studying God’s word, roots begin to grow in us slowly, and then we start to see changes in our behaviors with others, our thinking pattern, etc. Finally, just as Aaron’s rod blossom, we begin to blossom and produce the fruits of righteousness.
The Sacred Ark
No one was permitted to touch the Ark of the Covenant after it was placed into the Holy of the Holies in the tabernacle. Likewise, God has a standard today; He will not change what He has established as the manner in which man chooses to live. So many things have changed in the society today; many rules have been compromised just to fit in today’s norms. Nevertheless, God’s word will not change (Isaiah 55:11).
If you want the Ark of God you have to follow His procedures easy and light.( Matthew 11:29) “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”
(Hebrews 9:7) But only the High Priest could entered the inner room, and that was only once a year, and never without blood. Which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. Because the high priest could be killed by God in Holy of Holies. He had to properly prepare himself according to the Divine instructions, otherwise a rope was routinely tied around his ankle, if he dropped dead, his body could be dragged out.
We cannot receive the Ark until we follow God’s way. (John 1:12, John 6:51) “51) I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eats of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
ENCOURAGE YOURSELF: One of the amazing things about God’s procedures is, it is easy. You do not need a huge ceremony, or have to stand in front of a large congregation and confess your sins. God is everywhere; He sees and hears everything. You can accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior right in your home, and He will welcome you into His fold. There is total satisfaction in knowing you are a part of God’s fold. God would continue to be presence.