Exodus 25: 10-22: “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. 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. 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. And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold. 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. And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee. 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. And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat. 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. 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. 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. 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.”
It was vitally important for Israel to have a container where they kept their most sacred information. This was not something like the heathen had that they could take with them as some kind of talisman but the most sacred object to be kept in secret and remind them that the Lord God is pure and holy. An ark is just a container. Noah used and ark to keep the animals safe from the flood and Moses was told to use an ark to keep Israel’s most sacred information safe. The ark was to be covered with gold because gold was the most precious metal they had at that time and it was a gift that is fit for a king. The ark was made to be carried on the shoulders of the Temple servants. The Lord has always used people to do His work even though He doesn’t need us. (compare Luke 19: 40, “And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”) The ark was covered with the mercy seat because God deals with sinners in mercy, He doesn’t give us what we deserve but gives us time to believe and have everlasting life. There were magnificent cherubim on the top of the ark as a reminder of the Lord’s majesty and power. All this to contain the tablets, and other items, of the Law, which demonstrated the Lord’s grace and faithfulness.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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