The Ark Ex. 25:10-25 Last week we looked at the Inner Veil that divided the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. The Inner Veil was the line over which no one but the High Priest was permitted to enter, and even he was only allowed entrance on the Day of Atonement. When we pull the Inner Veil to the one side to enter in we notice that the breadth and the depth and the height are all the same size, - 10 x 10 x 10 cubits (14 ½ ). Ten is the number that symbolises completeness. Look at Rev. 21:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12 And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16 And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. This was the dwelling-place of God, perfectly symmetrical, everything covered in gold. This was the Holy of Holies. There on the sand in front of you was the Ark of the Covenant. It was a wooden box, covered on the inside and on the outside with pure gold. On the Ark lay a large golden plate, - this was the Mercy Seat 2½ x 1½ cubits (3.64ft x 2.19ft). And on top of this golden plate were the golden cherubim. This was where the holiness of God dwelt in the midst of His people. There is so much significance belonging to the Ark of the Covenant, and there is so much here of importance that we don t want to miss out, nor to add on to! What can we learn? Well, once again, I don t think we should rush past the obvious, this is the Ark of the Covenant. THE SIMPLE MEANING * The Hebrew word for ark means simply box, chest, coffin,
D.G. 2 * It is the same word that is used for the coffin of Joseph (Gen. 50:26) and for the Temple collection box of King Joash (2 Kings 12:9-10). * So, everyone understood its meaning, - it was a container. * But we don t stop there, because by virtue of the fact that God had it placed in the Holy of Holies we must arrive at the conclusion that this Ark of the Covenant was an item of tremendous importance. * Indeed, its many titles are a witness to this, - * Sometimes it was referred to as the Ark of the Testimony, * Sometimes it is particularly identified with the name of Deity, the ark of God, or the ark of the Lord * It also had the beautiful title, used in I Sam 4:4 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, 5 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. * This was a special possession of the house of Israel. * No other nation on the face of the earth enjoyed what the people of God had. * The Ark had a very simple meaning, and yet it pointed to a very special relationship, for it pointed to the relationship that alone existed between God and the nation of Israel. * And whilst its many names convey the holy sense of God s presence it had a particular purpose, with the simple meaning that it was God s dwelling place in the midst of His people. THE SPECIAL MEMORIES * What was inside the Ark of the Covenant? * The Ark was associated with three special items that brought with them three special memories, - each with special significance. * Firstly, there was the law, the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai, - the actual copies! * Here inside the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies, God saw fit that His Word should be given a place of preeminence, - this was the written Word of God that had been given to Moses.
D.G. 3 * I Kgs. 8:9 and II Chron. 5:10 tell us there was nothing in the Ark save the two tablets of stone. * It wasn t merely a keep-sake, but the commandments of God on which He would judge His people, and by which His people could live uprightly before Him. * Of these sacred writings Moses and Aaron and Joshua and all the people could recognise and be assured that Thus saith the Lord, It is written. * This was the Bible of these early Old Testament people and look at the place of importance that God commanded it should hold. * They were to be in the central place of focus for the High Priest and the people of God. * As time slipped by their impact was lessened, and the Israelites began to accommodate idol worship and God s Word that He gave to Moses slipped into antiquity and became lost, * It wasn t until the days of king Josiah that they were found again. * and God s people suffer when God s Word is not kept in the place of importance. * God commanded that His Holy Word given to Moses would have a special place in the Ark of the Covenant. * Secondly, close to the Ark was the golden pot containing a portion of the manna. * The manna was the means by which God s people survived in the wilderness, - it was God s daily provision, God s Daily Bread for His people. * One morning when they came out of their tents the mist was just rising and there was something lying on the sand that they had never seen before, Mah nah (they asked, - What is it? ), it was bread from Heaven, - Jehovah Jireh. * It was the provision that God gave to His people to sustain them, and I can t help but think again of the Word. * Jeremiah was speaking the Word of God to the people of his day, Jer. 3:15 I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. * At the end of ch. 5 we read, 29 Shall I not visit for these things? saith the LORD: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this? 30 A horrible thing is committed in the land; 31 The prophets
D.G. 4 prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? * Isaiah also contended for the faith, 8: 20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. * In the Ark of the Covenant there was kept the Commandments of God, and the golden pot that contained the manna, * There was also another item close to the Ark, - it was the almond rod of Aaron, why was this so significant? a special memory. * In Num. 16 Korah, Dathan, and Abiram led a confederacy of 250 princes of the people against Aaron s claim to the priesthood and Moses claim to overall authority. * These people were neither called of God, equipped by God, nor motivated by God, whereas God had called Moses and Aaron to the positions that He had chosen them to fill. * So, the sum of it was that Korah & Co. didn t like God s appointments, - this was a rebellion as they camped in the wilderness of Paran (Num. 16). * Rather than a Theocracy they wanted a democracy, for these contended that the entire congregation was sanctified and therefore qualified to perform priestly functions. * God judged very definitely and very swiftly. * He punished them as He caused the earth to open and swallow the leaders and their property, - 14,700 of them! * Num. 17 is a chapter of grace, because God drew near to them again to make His will known. * Moses, from each of the twelve tribes take a staff, and write on the staff the name of the ruler of that tribe. * Bring them up before me and lay them out in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony. * And I m going to choose a staff/rod and it will blossom. The man to whom that staff belongs is the one I choose to lead, v.7 And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. 8 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. 9 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.
D.G. 5 10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again before the testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels * Again, we see God s Word in action through Aaron s rod, - and God considered it so special, so important, so significant that He commanded it should be kept in the Holy of Holies in the Ark of the Covenant. * In the Ark of THE COVENANT, - the covenant, the promise that God made to His people, and the relationship into which His people entered, Dt. 7: 6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth. 7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. * And in turn, God demanded of His people due recognition and obedience, - this was a covenant, - a promise, an undertaking of an oath between two parties, * The Ark of the Covenant points to the objects that were central to that agreement. But, it just doesn t finish there, because if it did it would just be a beautiful old story lost in antiquity. Here is where it finds its fulfilment, in the Lord Jesus Christ. THE SINLESS MAN * We had the Law and the Commandments given to Moses, and they were kept in the Ark, - that was the Word of God, God speaking to His people, * But we read about Jesus, John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. * John testified of Jesus, 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; * John also lifts up Jesus in a verse that sadly is missing from modern translations, I Jn. 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. * The Ark of the Covenant pointed to the Word, to Jesus.
D.G. 6 * And the manna, Jesus used the account of the manna to tell his hearers that it was food for the people in the wilderness, but it was no good for them today, * He went on to apply it to Himself, Jn. 6:35 I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger * The commandments and the manna can both point forward to Jesus, what about the rod? * Yes, it points forward too. God had chosen Moses and Aaron, - not Korah or any of the rest of them! but Moses and Aaron, for it was through Moses and Aaron that God would see His plan fulfilled. * In the same way, God chose Jesus and sent Him to be the sinless Man Who would carry the load of the burden of His peoples sin. * Jesus was chosen! no-one else, no-thing else, only Jesus satisfied the demands and plan of God. CONCLUSION. * The Ark of the Covenant, - the simple meaning, the special memories, the sinless Man. It all points to Jesus. * It was in the Holiest of Holies, kept for the High Priest only once a year, but now it has been opened up through Christ * Jesus became God s presence on earth to show the simple meaning that God loved so much He sent His only begotten Son to build the bridge and bring His people back to Himself. * He kept the special memories close to His heart because they were of special significance to His people and for the covenant into which he had so graciously entered into with them. * And it all finds its fulfilment in Christ, the sinless man. * We have just opened the lid, and looked into the box. I trust that what we have seen this evening God will use to His glory.