The Ark of the Covenant or Ark of Testimony was the holiest object in the possession of the ancient Israelites, who had it for 1,000 years till it mysteriously disappeared.
It’s so important as representative of God’s presence and power that there are references to it throughout the Old and New Testaments and Ministers Johnny Touchstone and Travis Walker say the Ark remains relevant in the lives of Christians today.
Covered in pure gold and made of acacia wood 51 inches long, 31 inches wide and 31 inches deep, it held the two stone tablets of the 10 Commandments, the high priest Aaron’s rod and a pot of manna. On top were two cherubim between whom God had spoken with Moses and the elaborately designed lid was called “the mercy seat.”
Among the references are Exodus 25:10-11 and 17-22, Deuteronomy 31:25-26, Leviticus 16, First Samuel 4:3-7, First Chronicles 15:28-29, Hebrews 9:1-5 and Revelation 11:19.
“The Israelites put it in a place in the Temple called the Holy of Holies where the priest went in to sprinkle the blood of animals on the mercy seat, first for himself and then for the people,” said the Rev. Touchstone, pastor of Vine Baptist Church. “It was a physical symbol so they would always be aware of God’s provision and protection.
“It disappeared during the Babylonian captivity and we don’t know what happened to it.”
Touchstone had been preaching in mid-November from First Samuel about the necessity of obedience. “God wants his people to be faithful and obedient to him,” he said.
“He is a jealous God who wants us to remember all he has done for us and all he is doing.”
Touchstone said the Ark “was all about reminding the people of who God was.
“He calls us sheep, but I don’t think he thinks we’re dumb,” he said. “He just knows we’re sinners, so we need to keep in mind that we have a God of order and detail.
“He told them exactly how to build that ark. He wants our complete obedience. That’s why Jesus was the perfect sacrifice.
“He came in the form of a man and was completely obedient to his father all the way to the point of death on the Cross.”
Touchstone said the Bible is clear about what to do and not do in one’s daily life. “When the Holy Spirit tells us to share something with someone, we need to go do that,” he said.
Walker, minister of Billy Hext Road Church of Christ, said the jar of manna “represented what God had provided for the Israelites when they were leaving Egypt and in their time in the wilderness.
“Aaron’s rod had budded and produced flowers,” he said. “The presence of God was represented by the cherubim on top of the Ark whose wings touched in the middle.”
Walker said the atonements that God had the high priests make on the mercy seat symbolize the forgiveness that’s still available to repentant Christians.
“God is merciful and just,” he said. “He provides the law that we are to follow and when we fall short there is a place for mercy and forgiveness.
“There are a lot of theories about what happened to the Ark. Moses was born around 1,500 B.C. and Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in 586 B.C., so the Ark may have been destroyed or carried off. What we know is that it disappeared.”
Walker said it “is beautiful how the sacrifices at the Ark foreshadowed Jesus, our high priest, who was the perfect sacrifice for sin.”
Citing Hebrews 10:1-10, he said, “Jesus makes atonement before God for us.”
