The Ark of His Presence – Is It An Altar, A Weapon, A Throne, A Temple, A Footstool, A Box?
Sukkot begins at sundown sunday night click link for post
https://www.minimannamoments.com/sheltering-presence-god/
which will give some extra information as Israel celebrates the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths which prophetically represents His presence dwelling with His people for ever when Messiah comes and He tabernacles with men.
Last week was
and central to the Yom Kippur observance in scripture is the Ark of the Covenant/Ark of the Testimony that was placed within the Holy of Holies, both in the wilderness Tabernacle and in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Everything begins with the altar of sacrifice and prophetically foretells the offering of the final sacrifice of Messiah on the altar of the cross.
The day of Yom Kippur/Day of Atonement, was the one day of the year the high priest/Kohen Gadol would enter through those 2 golden doors going beyond the veil into the smaller area (15 x 15 feet/ 4.57×4.57 meters.) called ‘the Holy of Holies’/Kodesh haKodashim and contained ‘the ark of the covenant’.
When the doors were closed they were covered by a linen curtain embroidered with cherubim and palm trees. 
Picture showing size of cherubim in Solomons Temple.
He took with him the blood of the sacrifice for the sins of the children of Israel.
He would sprinkle it on the ark of the covenant between the wings of the golden cherubim right on the part called the mercy seat.
The mercy seat is described as the footstool of God’s Throne in 1Chronicles 28:2. Then King David rose to his feet and said: ‘Hear me, my brethren and you my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our God; and I made preparations for the building.’ (RSV)
The footstool of the throne was the place where the Lord met with the High Priest. This covering of the Ark shows us the relationship between God and Messiah Yeshua/Jesus .
He was clothed only in a simple white linen robe made specially made for the day and wore no shoes on his feet; which were none of the usual items required for him to wear.
A white linen robe was what Yeshua/Jesus was wearing when Mary saw Him in the garden and as He is now our High Priest having placed His Blood on the Mercy Seat that begins to make more sense!
It is important to remember that there was no light source in the Holy of Holies and the High Priest had to wait for God’s presence to illuminate the room.
God’s presence in the form of His Shekinah Glory manifested between the cherubs wings, just above the top of the Mercy Seat. The etymology of the dwelling or presence of God is the Hebrew word Sh’cheenah or as we pronounce it Shekinah. Shkn .
In Rev. 22:5. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.
The Glory of the Lord or Chabod is also known as the Shekhinah.
There is a Hebrew term of relatively clear meaning for the Glory of the Lord, that being Chabod. Chabod has variants such as Ichabod meaning that the glory is departed, sometimes written I-chabod or I-kabod. Therefore, Chabod actually occurs in scripture and has relatively clear meaning for the Glory of the Lord.
Some scholars allege that the word ‘Shekhinah’ is actually a Chaldean or Babylonian term meaning ‘resting-place.’
Paleo Hebrew
Some perceive that the term Shekhinah refers to the Holy Spirit, a feminine aspect of God or even a separate female deity.
The Glory of the Lord is not the Holy Spirit and some might wish to consider that the most conspicuous mention of any form or visual manifestation of the Holy Spirit consists of its appearance as a dove.
Luke 3:21 And it came to pass, all the people having been baptized, and Jesus having been baptized and praying, that the heaven was opened, 22and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form as a dove upon him; and a voice came out of heaven, *Thou* art my beloved Son, in thee I have found my delight
It is important to be aware that the term ‘glory‘, necessarily means light – that is to say – something that is luminous. This is a key and crucial point, that the Chabod or Glory of the Lord is light.
The Glory of the Lord frequently accompanies God’s presence and is something very similar to – but not exactly like plasma. Plasma could be described as a cloud of luminosity. Apparently, God can appear without the Chabod. While Plasma visually has cloud-like characteristics, the clouds frequently noted as being clouds and the Glory of the Lord are very separate things although at times the Plasma-like material is noted as being a cloud.
Deuteronomy 4:24 For the Lord thy God is a devouring fire, a jealous God. (JPS)
The Chabod is also similar to but not exactly the same as the aurorae that sometimes appear at the polar regions of the Earth. While these luminous phenomena do have some cloud-like characteristics, they are obviously not the same as actual clouds of moisture that did frequently, but not always, accompany the presence of the Chabod.
The Hebrew word rendered into English as ‘cloud‘, actually means ‘a covering’ derived from the aspect of clouds of water vapor covering the sky. In fact, most specific mentions of the Glory of the Lord pertain to the appearances of fire. Flames do occupy a physical space and are visually similar to luminous clouds.
Scripture records there is a Green rainbow around throne it may resemble an aurorae which is as close as we can imagine.
God’s presence in the form of His Shekinah glory manifested between the cherubs wings just above the top of the Mercy seat. The etymology of the dwelling or presence of God is the Hebrew word Sh’cheenah or as we pronounce it Shekinah.
שכינה
The term Shekinah was many times used interchangeably with the word God. In the Jewish mind it always spoke of the fact that He dwelt in or rested upon those who merited His favor, whether an individual, a community, or the entire Jewish people.
Scholars also see the similarities between Shekinah (God’s Presence), The Holy Spirit of God (Heb. Ruach Elohim; Gr. Pneuma Hagion), and the Hebrew Bat Kol (The Daughter of the Voice, or God’s Voice).
It is interesting to examine the tradition of the Bat Kol which was the voice of God that proclaimed His will and intention, His judgments and His promises, His warnings and His commands to various people, communities, and sometimes to all of Israel. Jewish tradition always spoke of the Bat Kol. When the Torah was given at Sinai the Bible says,
Deut 4:12 “And the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words, but saw no form; you only heard a voice.”
The Bat Kal mysteriously sounded at extraordinary times and this was mentioned in Jewish tradition. For example, there is one account that indicates that at the very instant when God took away the soul of Moses with a kiss, the bat Kal rang out over the Israelite camp with the lament, “Moses is dead! Moses is dead!” It also is recognized to have given warnings or passed judgement upon evildoers as recorded in the book of Daniel: 4:28-32″ While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven:’
The Bat Kol is represented in Jewish tradition by the symbol of the dove.
There is a saying among the teachers and Torah scholars that when God was not pleased with Israel’s behavior, the cherubs Wings pointed away from each other and the high priest would let the people know that God was displeased with the behavior.
The high priest placed the blood on to the Mercy seat directly under the presence of God and Israel’s sins were atoned for for another year.
The High Priest had to be pure and sin free or he would not survive the encounter with the glory of the Father’s presence.
The blood that he placed on the Mercy seat had come from the sacrifice however this sacrifice is no longer required as Yeshua/Jesus is the better sacrifice once and for all time. Hebrews 9:23
In the same way the rebuilding of the temple is also unnecessary, as those who believe in Yeshua/Jesus understand that He was and is the fulfillment of the promised Messiah. However, it will be built in fulfillment of the prophecies in both Daniel and Revelation.
This is an extensive subject and this post barely scratches the surface but it is timely with the autumn appointed festivals of the Lord.
Taking a look at the Ark will hopefully give a greater understanding of its meaning and prophetic significance
The Ark was made following instructions given to Moses. Ex. 26 and 37.
Then the LORD said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah,
In Exodus 31:1-6 and chapters 36 to 39, Bezalel (Hebrew: בְּצַלְאֵל, Bəṣalʼēl, also transcribed as Betzalel), was the chief artisan of the Tabernacle and was in charge of building the Ark of the Covenant, assisted by Aholiab.
Ark in Hebrew also means box. This was not the first box that God had instructed a man to make.
Noah’s Ark was a box made of wood and covered in pitch.
The Ark of the covenant given to Moses was a box of wood covered in gold.
In Genesis 7:1 God says ‘come into the box/ark’, giving the understanding that He is already in the box and simultaneously He is with Noah. And He/God shut the door; (not Noah)! Gen 7:16.
There was only one door through which to escape the coming judgment! and as Yeshua said, ‘I am the Door‘!
The Lord shut them in.
He is still calling us to come to where He is and be in His presence and also to allow His presence to be within us.
Both boxes had to have a specific covering within and without. There is an interesting inference concerning the description of the pitch in Genesis 6:14. He said make a box of Gopher wood for yourself (not for everyone)! You will make compartments for family and animals. And will cover it within and without with pitch.
While the word is generally translated pitch, the word atonement is more appropriate although both are correct and obviously the translators used Pitch.
There are two words in Hebrew that are often translated ark.
Aron is used for the ark of the covenant means chest as in a treasure chest.
Aron is made from wood from the Acacia\ gopher\Shittim tree.
Ark of the covenant is an acacia wood chest since it was also used for storage for the golden pot of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the tablets of the 10 Commandments. Note the similarity between Aaron and ARON of which Aaron became High Priest.
Another word for Ark is TEVAH and it is used for two objects:
Noah’s Ark and Moses Papyrus basket.
Noah’s Ark is tevat gofer literally a box of gopher wood.
Which was 450’ x 75’ x 45’ and took approximately 75 years to build.
Moses basket / a papyrus box, and while tevah means box, that was a huge difference in the size of the two; but it was still a box. Both Noah (& family) and Moses were boxed in.
Notice the coat of Tar or PITCH so it stayed waterproof until Pharoah’s daughter found it!
The Greek word kibotos means box but it is usually translated ark in English coming from the first translations from Latin. The Latin word is arca for both boxes.
Here is a thought provoking proposition concerning the covering of Noah’s box in Genesis/Beresheet. Always keeping in mind that there are no vowels a E I O U in the Torah scrolls only consonants.
Apparently the Hebrew does not actually say the exact words, ‘Cover it inside and out with pitch‘ but uses the K F R of the root of the word for pitch. So it reads KFR it within and without in KFR. Kefir/ kopher
גובה הצליל .
The point is, if it is referring to pitch, the substance, then all the interior it would be sticky! The reason to cover the outside with pitch is so it will stay dry and to keep the water out of the ark’s interior. How would having a coat of pitch inside prevent the water from flooding in, the full force of the water from the outside would push and separate the wood from the pitch. So there had to be an alternative reason/meaning behind this directive.
Another look at the root KFR shows that it is also a bush called camphor or henna that bears bunches of fragrant sweet smelling fruit and flowers. Maybe it was used for keeping the box/arks interior smelling fresh? Remember there were no windows, so no fresh air/ ventilation – but to be put on the outside too is not very likely.
There are however two more meanings for KFR, kafar means deny and kipper means made atonement. (As in Yom Kippur!) The two seem opposed in meaning, yet they would both make sense if applied to the understanding that the ark was constructed with God’s direction as a container for the survival of life on earth during the flood.
If we think about it, Noah is told by God that he is going to wipe out all life on the earth, with this understanding of KFR he could have been inferring ‘I want you to put your self outside of all that is around you, Deny KFR that they exist. So he is denying all those on the outside (KFR without,) for the people were denying Noah and were dismissive, derisive, with their unbelieving actions. On the inside (KFR within), to make the ark /box worthy of salvation. How? By dedicating it through an act of atonement, Kipper on the outside, coating of pitch. So all within are an atonement to the Lord = A KFR on the inside?
One final meaning of KFR is KOFER = ransom. Is it possible to think of the entering into the ark/box as a ransom for the saving/ salvation of the lives for those who made it through the flood? There was no covenant prior to the flood. Jesus /Yeshua was a ransom for many.
Ezekiel 37:1
The box of covenant and that He did indeed promise Noah and I shall establish my covenant with you; and the box was directed by God to hold the physical tablets of the covenant given to Moses.
It was made of planks of acacia wood, not plywood so it would have been very heavy. The size was 5 feet long 3 feet high and 3 feet wide.
The stone tablets were heavy as they had the whole Torah written on them.
It was covered in gold leaf, had a solid gold lid and solid gold cherubim on that lid. Then when it traveled it was covered with badgers skins; it would have waited over 1500 pounds.
It had two wood poles and was carried by four men? This would have been almost impossible. It makes one lean towards the Hebrew thought from the rabbis that the weight of the Ark was borne by God Himself; for it is said that the ark carried them NOT the other way around.
Noah was destined to bring deliverance and freedom going through God’s judgment by employing a box/ark of salvation; where His presence protected them to keep them secure and safe.
Moses was destined to bring deliverance and freedom to the children of Israel pronouncing judgment on Egypt and fulfilling the promised covenant added to Noah’s covenant and He instructed Moses to construct the Ark in which His presence could be with them.
After the children of Israel had journeyed to Mount Sinai God told Moses on the mountain that He would pitch His tent among them on their journeys:
Exod. 25:8-9 “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you, that is, the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furnishings, just so you shall make it.” When God revealed the pattern of the tabernacle and the WAY to approach Him He also declared exactly where He would meet Moses: Exod 25:22
Moses started life in a box/ark, to keep him secure and safe, which saved his life out of the waters of the Nile and pharaohs judgment against the Hebrews male babies.
A closer look at the ark of the covenant a box of gold.
The Ark was a 2 ½ x 1½ cubit, (3 3/4 feet x 2 1/4 feet or 1.14 x 0.68 metres), a rectangular wooden chest of acacia wood, overlaid with pure gold, inside and out. Its’ lid being the Mercy Seat, with the Cherubim of glory facing one another; their wings outstretched. It had a gold molding or crown around the top; (a different word in Hebrew than the rim of the table and incense altar).
There are so many images that have differing shapes those included are to highlight certain aspects., e.g. above showing detail of crown.
Ps 99:1 The LORD reigns; let the peoples tremble! He dwells between the cherubim; let the earth be moved!
Exod. 25:17-22 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two Cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the Cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.’
The cover or lid for the Ark of the Covenant was made of solid gold and it was called the mercy-seat, atonement cover, ark-cover. Kapparah is the Hebrew word for this. This word is from the same root as the word for atonement; at this point, the parallel between atonement and this kapparah, as well as the generic concept of covering, is exceedingly important. In fact, in Hebrew the word Kapparah or covering and the idea of atonement are more-or-less synonymous.
The way that the kapparah works is that it literally covers The Law to avert judgment for those whose sins are to be forgiven. Through the mercy-seat some obtain mercy. The kapparah is the provision for mercy. The propitiation afforded through the kapparah relied in part upon sacrifice. In other words, the kapparah shields the transgressor from The Law housed inside the Ark. The penalty for transgressing any part of The Decalogue was death. Nearly everyone that ever lived was guilty of transgressing The Decalogue so it is highly probable that simply viewing the stone tables without proper remediation would automatically result in instant death. The mechanics of the kapparah appear many times in passages such as Psalm 32:1-2.
The mercy seat or covering pointed us towards the sacrifice of Messiah Yeshua/Jesus, and the covering of our sins with His blood.
Acacia wood is a beautiful, dense wood that comes from very fragrant and drought-resistant acacia trees that are indigenous to Africa and Arabia. In Israel, the range of the specie diminishes beyond the Negev. It is known in Hebrew as the shittah or shittum tree. Its wood is a finely grained orange wood that darkens with age and it is unaffected by insects. It is the source of natural-gum Arabic and also provides tannin.
The Mercy Seat was the lid or cover of solid gold the same size as the top of the Ark (2 1/2 cubits long x 1 1/2 cubits wide). At each end of the Mercy Seat, and of one piece with it, were two hammered gold cherubim facing one another. Their outstretched wings overshadowed the gold lid and their faces constantly looked down upon it. They were symbols of the presence and holiness of the Lord and are His chosen instruments of judgment toward any sinful approach toward the presence of the Lord and as they look upon the blood the wrath of God is appeased and they are at peace.
They represent the judgment of God.
– Their position indicates that God’s judgment upon Israel was averted because of the blood-sprinkled mercy seat
Jewish Tradition
According to the writings of the ancient sages the words of Ezekiel, “The had the hands of a man under their wings” (Ezek 1:8), refer to the hand of God which is extended beneath the wings of the Chayyoth (Cherubim) to receive penitents from the power of judgement” [Pes. 119a]
– The Cherubim are revealed by Ezekiel in chapter 1:5-10 as 4 living creatures, each one having 4 different faces, the face of a man, lion, ox, and eagle.
Man- This face spoke of mind, reason, affections, and all the things that encompass a human being.
Lion- The lion was always recognized as strong, fierce, and majestic. It was the royalist of animals.
Pro 30:30 Pro 20:2.
Ox- The ox was recognized as the animal who patiently labored for his owner. He was strong, able to bear a burden, and knew its owner.
Pro 14:4 Ps 144:14 Is 1:3
Eagle- The divine bird that flew above the storms, while below there was only sorrows, dangers, and distress. A swift bird strong and powerful, never becoming weary.
Pro 30:18-19.
Is 40:31 Ps 103:5.
Ex 19:4 `
Ezek 17:3 Hos 8:1.
The Cherubim were also the same fierce creatures who guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden after Adam and Eve had sinned. They wielded a flaming sword that turned in all four directions to protect the Tree of Life (Gen. 3:24).
So the outstretched wings of the cherubim were to provide a throne for the God where He would mediate His rule on the earth as a representation of the real throne in heaven:
1 Sam 4:4 So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim. (NIV)
When God had spoken to Moses out of the midst of the cloud upon Sinai, He also told him that He would come down to speak with him in the midst of His people. It was from the area above the Mercy Seat that He did:
Num 7:89
The Mercy Seat was where the blood was sprinkled. between the judgment angels who were looking down and when they would see the blood the wrath of God was stayed. Lev 16:11-15
And Aaron shall bring the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and make atonement for himself and for his house, and shall kill the bull as the sin offering which is for himself. (Red Heifer) – He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the mercy seat on the east side; and before the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. “Then he shall kill the (scape) goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, bring its blood inside the veil, do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and before the mercy seat.
Because of the mercy seat the tabernacle was called “the tent of meeting”. Because here God met with man:
In the New Testament this Mercy Seat or atonement cover is spoken of twice. Heb 9:2-5 Rom 3:23-26
The Greek word for Mercy Seat is ‘hilasterion’. It is used here in Romans 3:25 where Paul says (literally) that God presented Christ as a propitiation or ‘mercy seat’. This means that Jesus Christ is the mercy seat.
The Mercy Seat did not derive its worth from the purity of its gold but from the fact that it was the place where the blood of sacrifice was sprinkled in the presence of Yahweh.
The word for “mercy seat” is the same root for the word “atonement”. It means to cover, cancel, appease, or cleanse.
The Greek equivalent is the word “propitiation”.
Lk 18:13 “And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, `God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
The word “seat” speaks of a resting place so the mercy seat was the “place of mercy or propitiation”.
The Ark was overlaid with pure gold and had a gold crown.
Because only once a year on Yom Kippur could man enter beyond the veil; there had to be a veil separating man from the holy of holies.
This was mentioned first before all the other furniture in the tabernacle. The ark was right in the center of the camp and the glory cloud was seen above the mercy seat and above the back portion of the tabernacle.
The ark rested on the dirt floor of the Holy of Holies with its four gold rings that the gold poles were inserted through and left permanently in position.
Exod 25:10-22
The Ark of the Covenant was where Gods justice and judgement toward sin was satisfied.
Ex 25:22
Josh 3:6,13
1 Sam 5:7
1 Chr 6:41
2 Chr 35:3
Ps 78:60-61
What was inside it?
The 2 unbroken tables of stone, (The 10 Commandments).
It is important to note that the ark contained the two tablets of the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments). Remember that God had made a covenant with Israel, but the people had broken it. In grace God renewed it and ordered that its enduring record, (the unbroken tablets) should be deposited in the holy ark. The Book of the Covenant, which dealt at length with other aspects of law and procedure, was deposited alongside the ark. But the 10 commandments were stored within the ark itself.
Exod 25:16 “And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.”
It is highly probable that the stone tables were housed inside the Ark simply to protect people from the penalty of death that automatically occurs and results from viewing the Decalogue.
The Ten Commandments more correctly called The Decalogue or The Law that God gave to Moses.
It is extremely enlightening to examine the root of the word Decalogue, which are traced from Greek and the prefix deca means ten. The suffix logue is from the root word logos ,meaning word. Therefore, Decalogue means the Ten Words. The Ark was made at Horeb near Mount Horeb and the name Horeb means “the desert or mountain of the dried-up ground.” Generally, the region is called Horeb and the mountain is called Mount Horeb. The mountain was located in the land of Midian, a portion of present-day Arabia.
Consider the essence of the Decalogue, it is apparent that the Ten Words could be considered the face of the document of The Law. In fact, lawyers frequently refer to the substance or text of their documents by the term face. The Law or Decalogue inscribed into the face of the stone tables automatically brings death without atonement! It is maybe relevant, and certainly not a coincidence, that no one can look upon God’s face and live!
Ex. 33:17
Two other items were also contained within the ark. One was a golden pot/jar containing an omer (24 liters) of manna (Heb. 9:4) as a memorial of God’s provision:
Exod 16:32-33 “ThenMoses said, This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: ‘Fill an omer with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ And Moses said toAaron Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.”
It was also a type Christ who was the living bread which came down from heaven:
John 6:50-51 “This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”
The third item which would be added was Aaron’s rod that sprouted buds and blossoms and bore ripe almonds in a single night, authenticating God’s choice of Aaron for the priesthood. (Num 17; Heb. 9:4).
Num 17:7-8 “And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds.”
Here is a A Type of Christ
The mercy seat protected man from the judgment of God represented by the judgment angels, the Cherubim. Because of the blood that was sprinkled on the mercy seat, man’s sin and guilt were washed away and the curse of the law has no effect. The mercy seat foreshadows the Messiah.
He is our mercy seat.
He forever stands between a holy God and sinful man. Just as the sins of the whole nation were atoned for by the sprinkling of the blood on the mercy seat, so also Messiah, by the shedding of His own blood atoned for the sins of the entire world.
1 Jn 2:2; Lk 22:20; Eph 2:13; 1 Pet 1:18-19; Heb 9:11-12, 28; Dan 7:9-10,13,14; Rev 5:1-13; Ps 99:1.
The ark of the Covenant was a picture of Messiah.
The Acacia wood speaks of the indestructible humanity of Jesus. He was 100% man. God Himself became flesh and suffered the agonies of the human experience. He was tempted, He was weary, He thirsted, He had to learn the Scriptures and learn obedience and to hear God’s voice and be led by the Spirit as a man. Not only does the Acacia wood tell us that He was 100% man but the pure gold that over-laid the wood teaches us that He was 100% God.
Jesus said “unless you believe that I AM you will die in your sins.” He used the same words (Heb. Eheyay asher aheyay) as when the Lord spoke to Moses at the burning bush. The Jewish Messiah was none other than Jehovah Himself visiting His people and becoming their savior by dying for the sins of the world and that is the etymology of the name Jesus (Heb. Y’shua ‘Yaweh has become salvation’). Jesus/Yeshua condemned the religious leaders for not recognizing “the day of their visitation.”
The crown of gold around the top of the ark speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus overcame the onslaught of opposition that was set against Him His whole life by the religious leaders, the wealthy Jewish aristocracy, Rome itself, and even all the power of the enemy. He overcame even death itself and rose triumphantly and was given a crown, and glory, and honor, because He is the King. According to John it was Jesus/Yeshua who Isaiah saw seated on the throne of glory with the angels crying ‘holy, holy, holy.’
The unbroken tables of stone set forth Jesus/Yeshua, as the One who perfectly kept the Law and never broke God’s Commandments.
The Bible says that He “committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth.” Jesus/Yeshua felt the pressure of temptation at its full intensity yet He never sinned. Even the look in His eye and the tone of His voice reflected the very perfections of the holiness of God Himself.
Aaron’s rod that budded also speaks of Jesus. Something that had died and supernaturally came to life again. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life.”
The golden pot of manna speaks of Jesus as the bread of life who came down from heaven to bring food, the Word of God, to a world in darkness and dying of hunger.
It all points to Jesus.
Even the golden poles speak of the ever living and ever present Savior who is with us in all our journeying and will never leave us nor forsake us. If you were to examine the history of the ark there would be striking resemblances to the ministry of Messiah Jesus our Lord:
The ark went before the people – Yeshua/Jesus went before them:
John 10:4 “And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.
The ark was in the middle of God’s people – Jesus is in His people:
John 14:20 “At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
The people were to follow the ark – We are to follow Jesus:
Luke 5:27-28 After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he left all, rose up, and followed Him.
And to keep on following on, the ark was always first to lead them. It was death to those that were enemies of God. The ark brought blessings and curses.
Isa 53:2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
Isa 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
John 1:14 And the Word became 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.
Matt 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
1 Pet 2:22 “Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth”;
Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Jn 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.
Jn 6:32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Jn 1:14 And the Word became 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.
The ark was representative of the real ark in heaven.
The cross is the ultimate and cosmic altar of the ultimate and cosmic sacrifice the Lamb of God however the altar of sacrifice was only one part of the Temple.
The cross, this altar of sacrifice is not the end of salvation but the beginning.
It’s the altar of sacrifice that gives access and the ability to enter through the temple doors, to walk beyond the veil and to stand in the holy of holy’s.
The journey begins up the altar and if this is a eternal/ cosmic altar then it gives us access to begin our eternal journey.
As our high priest, Messiah gives us access to go where we could not go before, and to enter into that which we could not enter previously, enabling us to walk along the WAY, a path that we could not walk before.
As this is a cosmic eternal altar, it gives us power to enter the realm of the holy and to be seated in the heavenly places where we are to dwell in His presence – the realms of glory.
Now today The Presence Within the Holy of Holies Dwells Within the Believer in Jesus:
Jesus said I am the temple (Mishkan) of God. When the glory (Heb. Sh’chinah) would come down like a tornado or funnel right through the roof of the holy of holies and the Presence would manifest on the mercy seat between the cherubim after the blood was sprinkled, (the mishkan).
That Presence was what Yeshua/Jesus said dwelt within Him.
And in fact Paul said about the church, “Know ye not that you are the temple (Mishkan) of God?” We, as the body of Messiah, have the same Presence dwelling within us. God doesn’t dwell in buildings now but within His people.
1 Cor 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
The kingdom of the heavens is within you and we are the sanctuary of God’s presence on earth – the holy of holies is within us and as we follow Yeshua/Jesus the Ark of our covenant He promises – I am in you and you are in Me -filled with the shekinah of His Ruach Hakodesh we are carriers of His presence – the lights of the world.
The Tablets of the law are written on our hearts. He is the Manna, the bread of life upon which we feed and live.
Aarons staff is The staff of life it’s the shepherds crook from Ps. 23.
The staff also makes the presence of the Shepherd real to the sheep. The staff, a long stick with a crook in one end (like a walking stick), was used by shepherds to protect and tend their flock. There was a crook at one end of the rod, and it was with this the shepherd took hold of one of the hind legs of the sheep to pull it back.
Bread is the staff of life means, food is necessary to survive.
That a staff signifies power, is because it is a support; for it supports the hand and arm, and through them the whole body; with which we are to reach the lost sheep looking for the ones to draw them into His fold.
So we are containers of all that is needed to be a disciple we are equipped as an ark of His covenant with us.
Finally, the Ark would serve as the observable sign of Yahweh’s (the Hebrew name of God) presence to the Israelites until it went missing after the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. The Israelites believed Yahweh to be their king, and by building it, gave them the ability to transport their monarchy were ever they went.
If Yahweh was their king/god, then He was their commander, which also made the Ark a military weapon.
(What is interesting about this is that the manufacture of not just the Ark but weapons also, took place at Mt Sinai.)
Therefore, the Israelites needed a symbol that they could look to and it put fear into the minds of their enemies.
As to its whereabouts today…There are prophesies and much speculation to that question but one thing is for certain when Father is ready for it to be found there will be an apocalypse! For it will be revealed at the perfect time for now lets be the chosen carriers of His glory every day and allow His light to shine in and through us. His blood will for ever be on the mercy seat declaring covenant fulfilled.
Don’t leave this page without knowing for absolute certain you are an ark.
An ARON –
a treasure chest of His Presence!
