“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.
We now enter the most sacred spot on earth. The Holiest was a square apartment of 15 feet in breadth, length, and height, ―a figure of the Heaven of heavens. The Holy of holies must be entered with bowed head and unsandalled feet for Jehovah on His throne is there. How awful the presence chamber of the LORD of Hosts. Here no human voice is heard, only the voice of God. Here no seat for man is found, Jehovah alone sits and that on the throne of glory and righteousness. Here no created light, as sun, nor artificial light, as the candle, illumines the apartment, the glory of God fills the Holiest with its own Divine radiance. Here too all is Divine and we breathe another atmosphere than that of this creation. There were but two men in all Israel permitted to enter the Holiest; these were Aaron, Israel’s first and greatest high priest, and Moses, Israel’s only mediator — both typical of Christ.
We enter into the immediate presence of God through the rent Veil — the death of Christ, yet strange to say, it is a new and living way (Heb. 10:2020By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; (Hebrews 10:20)). The sacrifice accepted by God is the alone ground of entrance into the presence and home of the Eternal. The Ritualism of Israel was a combination of shadows of which CHRIST is the glorious substance. The Ritualism of Christendom is an empty farce. Christianity in its realities stands out in sharp contrast to Christendom with its worse than meaningless ritualistic shadows. In Christ risen and glorified we see the force and substance of Ritualism at its best, as witnessed in its birthplace and native home — Judaism of old whether in Tabernacle or Temple.
Exactly facing the beautiful Veil with its wondrous story of Christ, stood the Ark―the most unique of all the holy vessels. Its lid or covering was the pure gold Mercy-seat or propitiatory (Rom. 3:2525Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:25)). Either word means to cover, hence the Mercy-seat exactly covered the Ark in length and breadth―neither more nor less. The Ark is the Person of Christ. The sacrifice is the ground, and the blood sprinkled Mercy-seat the place, where God can meet any one coming to Him in faith. But the Atonement itself carries with it the full value of the One who made it. The sacrifice is of infinite worth, for this is measured by the Person of our Lord. Christ and the Sacrifice are of equal value for He in His dual Person―Divine and Human― was the Sacrifice. This we believe is the profound lesson in the precise adjustment of the Mercy-seat to the Ark.
The Ark and the Mercy-seat combined formed the throne of God in Israel, but they may be separately treated, as indeed they are in the Mosaic description. Christ as the Ark forms a complete type of Divine truth by itself. There was no necessity in His nature why He should become a propitiatory for our sins, save in obedience to the will of God (Heb. 10:99Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. (Hebrews 10:9)), and the necessity of love. He voluntarily gave Himself up to accomplish our redemption (John 10:15, 17, 1815As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:15)
17Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:17‑18)).
The Ark was made of shittim-wood and gold. Its measurements are carefully prescribed by the Divine command; no alteration or attempted improvement could be allowed. The various things made, must be according in all respects to the heavenly pattern shown to Moses on the mount.; not the slightest deviation would be permitted. If man had been left to his own ingenuity or skill to construct a dwelling place for Jehovah on earth, then we never could have had those foreshadows of Christ, for “no man knoweth the Son but the Father” (Matt. 11:2727All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (Matthew 11:27)). The whole Mosaic ritual is an elaborate foreshadowing of Christ in His Person, Offices, and Services. No creature mind could have conceived such a character either as a whole or in part as typified in the Levitical system.
We may have some difficulty in assigning a reason for each of the measurements of the Ark, but the reader may rest assured that God meant certain lessons in these carefully prescribed numbers of cubits, and our inability to lay hold fully of these teachings should the more cast us in humble dependence upon the grace and help of the Holy Spirit―the sole Interpreter of the written Word.
Then the shittim-wood―said not to rot, and hence termed incorruptible―was entirely covered over with pure gold within and without, and then ornamented with a crown of gold round about. The dual Person of our Lord as the God-man and the moral glory of His Person (John 1:1414And the Word was made 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. (John 1:14)) are thus indicated. The Ark was a chest in which were deposited the, unbroken tables of the law received by the lawgiver on his second ascent to the mount. The law in all its holy and righteous requirements was broken by the people. But the law lay unbroken in the heart of Jesus, “Yea, Thy law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8). Thus the unbroken tables of the law in the center of the Ark were clearly typical of the law of God in the heart of the Lord.
Subsequently there were deposited in the sacred chest, a golden not of manna―the bread from heaven with which God miraculously fed His people in the wilderness (Exod 16:32-36) ―a perpetual reminder of Jehovah’s faithfulness in the desert. It is to this hidden manna that Rev. 2:1717He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it. (Revelation 2:17) refers. In the side of the Ark the Pentateuch written by Moses, was carefully deposited by the Levites, and jealously guarded (by the whole nation Deut. 31:24-2624And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished, 25That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, 26Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee. (Deuteronomy 31:24‑26)). Its very existence seems to have been forgotten till accidently discovered by Hilkiah the priest 800 years afterward (2 Chron. 34:14-2214And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah the priest found a book of the law of the Lord given by Moses. 15And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan. 16And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it. 17And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of the Lord, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen. 18Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. 19And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes. 20And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah a servant of the king's, saying, 21Go, inquire of the Lord for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord, to do after all that is written in this book. 22And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect. (2 Chronicles 34:14‑22)). The Ark also contained Aaron’s rod that budded (Num. 17.). In the holiest, but not deposited in the Ark, stood the golden censer (Heb. 9:44Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; (Hebrews 9:4)) used but once a year — On the day of Atonement (Lev. 16.).
The Ark is the first named of Sanctuary Vessels, and the first made ready to receive the testimony given by Jehovah to the lawgiver.
When the Ark was transferred from the Tabernacle to the Temple, there was nothing in it save the two tables of stone (1 Kings 8:99There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. (1 Kings 8:9)). The law was the measure of God’s righteous claim upon man and this demand cannot be dispensed with. However richly grace reigns, righteousness must be maintained, hence the moral foundation on which Israel stood before Jehovah, whether in the wilderness or in the land, whether under grace or glory, was RIGHTEOUSNESS. The Ark was the expression of Divine righteousness, the Mercy-seat sets forth Divine grace. In length and breadth the Ark and Mercy-seat were the same. The two exactly fitted each other and together constituted the Throne of Jehovah in the midst of Israel―the Ark His Throne, the Tabernacle His Dwelling-place. Not only did the Mercy seat exactly cover the golden chest, but where they net must have been hidden from view by the golden crown encircling it. It thus formed one complete whole, a grand combination of righteousness and grace in the Person of our Adorable Lord, now crowned with glory and honor.
Judgment upon sinful and transgressing Israel must have been the certain result had the Ark not been covered. The blood-sprinkled Mercy-seat covering the Ark guarded by the ministers of God’s executive government―the Cherubim―maintained and upheld the righteous character of God in justifying and receiving to Himself the vilest of the vile.
The vessels of the Tabernacle were inferior in size and number to those of the Temple, while the Ark was the only vessel common to both buildings. The second and third Temples had no Ark, and we are certain from Jer. 3:1616And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. (Jeremiah 3:16) that the millennial Temple will not have one, nor will it ever be thought of by redeemed and happy Israel, for that Which the Ark of God typified―the presence of Jehovah with His people―will be an accomplished fact. We have no record of the Ark being removed from Solomon’s Temple by the Babylonian Conqueror of Judah. Tradition asserts that Jeremiah who was in Jerusalem during the prolonged siege, or one of the priests concealed it. The fate of the Ark is a matter of the merest conjecture and profitless speculation.
The following are the terms used of the Ark: ―
The Holy Ark (2 Chron. 35: 3).
The Ark of Thy Strength (Ps. 132:8).
Termed also “His Strength” and “His Glory” (Ps. 78:61).
The rings and staves―four of the former, two of the latter―intimate that Jehovah took His part in the journeyings of His people. Were they on travel? —Jehovah would accompany them every foot of the way. The staves of shittim-wood and gold―Christ with His people till the end of the age (Matt. 28:2020Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:20)), is a precious truth. The staves “shall not be taken from it” (Exod. 25:1515The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it. (Exodus 25:15)), intimate the adaptability of Christ and His instant readiness to travel with His own, whether in land or sea, valley or mountain―Christ is with us. But when traveling days were over, when the wilderness had given place to the land, and glory and rest were reached through the infinite grace of Jehovah, the Ark was transferred to the Temple; the staves which told of pilgrim travel were withdrawn (1 Kings 8:88And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. (1 Kings 8:8)) —seen inside, never again outside. In heaven the remembrance of Christ with us in the journeys and experiences of the wilderness, will be one of the richest joys of the paradise of God.
The Ark with its golden crown round about, foreshadowed the Person of our Lord glorified on high, its rings and staves Christ’s travels with His people. We may here remark that the Tabernacle, as its name implied, was intended for wilderness travel and need. The Temple was an elaboration of the Tabernacle, and in its very nature expressed a settled condition in the land.
The History of the Ark
The Ark was the only sacred vessel which could be viewed apart from its place in the Tabernacle, and, in point of fact, its strange and eventful history lies outside its proper and nominal place in the midst of the many thousands of Israel, as their center. It was the priests who covered the holy vessels preparatory to the journeys of the camp. It was the Levites who carried on their shoulders the Ark and other holy vessels. But on three occasions it was borne on the shoulders of priests. When the camp was at rest the Ark was the center; with the Mercy-seat it constituted Jehovah’s throne. From thence Israel was governed, instructed, and cared for.
Two silver trumpets were made. These were to be blown by the priests―first, for the calling of the assembly; second, for the journeying of the camps (Num. 10:2, 82Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. (Numbers 10:2)
8And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. (Numbers 10:8)). But, first, Aaron and his sons enter the Holiest, take down the beautiful Veil separating the two holy apartments, and with it cover the Ark; then the Veil was covered over completely with badgers’ skins, and over all a cloth wholly of blue (Num. 4:5, 65And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall come, and his sons, and they shall take down the covering vail, and cover the ark of testimony with it: 6And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins, and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and shall put in the staves thereof. (Numbers 4:5‑6)). Then the sons of Kohath had committed to them the happy service of carrying the holy vessels from place to place. But Jehovah so jealously guarded all that expressed Himself to men that death was the penalty for any save the priests who touched any holy thing or looked within (verses 15, 20). This accounts for the judgment executed upon Uzzah who dared to put his hand upon the Ark to steady it (2 Sam. 6:77And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error; and there he died by the ark of God. (2 Samuel 6:7)). God ever sees to it that His glory is maintained. It needs not the rude hand of man to maintain the Ark of our God. The Ark is never in peril.
The Order of the March
The order in which Israel in her tribes was to journey is carefully marked out in Numbers 10. Six tribes marched in front, and six in the rear. Between these, and thus in the very center of the camp, the Ark was borne on the shoulders of the Kohathites. But behind the first three tribes the Tabernacle was borne (verse 17). Thus in the march the Tabernacle preceded, so that it could be set up to receive the Ark (verse 21). The order under Moses is the same under Asaph (Ps. 80:1, 2). When the Ark set forward (for it, not the camp nor even the Tabernacle, was the subject of surpassing interest), Moses uttered the calm, yet triumphant appeal to Jehovah, “Rise up, LORD, and let Thine enemies be scattered, and let them that hate Thee flee before Thee,” and Jehovah again and again in the subsequent history of the Ark answered the appeal of the mediator (Num. 10:3535And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. (Numbers 10:35)). The same cry will be taken up by the future suffering remnant of Israel (Ps. 68:1)—only, in their case, their thoughts will be directed to God Himself, the Ark being no longer in existence. When the Ark rested, Moses said, “Return. O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.” The presence of Jehovah there was signified by the Ark.
But while Jehovah carefully instructed His people as to the order of the march — the Ark in the center―yet in this very chapter (Num. 10.), where the movements of the came are Divinely ordered, there is a distinct departure from that order. Why this? Hobab, father-in-law to Moses, who had an intimate knowledge of the wilderness, was earnestly requested by the law-giver to act as guide to the journeying host: “thou mayest be to us instead of eyes” (verse 31).
Hobab as guide instead of Jehovah! The eyes of a man instead of the eyes of God! Jehovah resents the suggestion of His servant; even Hobab seemed to have a deeper sense of God’s presence with and for His people than Moses. “The ark of the covenant of the LORD went BEFORE them in the three days’ journey to search out a resting place for them” (verse 33). Thus the order of the march was reversed. The Ark went before the camp, not as in the prescribed order in the center. Laws are made for the creature, but the Creator knows no law, is not controlled by law, save by the law of His own nature. Law, dispensation, and economic arrangements must all yield to the claim of need. God ever answers the necessities of the creature as such, whatever law or laws may stand in the way. These may have to be brushed aside so that the law of Divine love may be honored.
There was another instance of departure from the order of march, as prescribed in Numbers 10. We refer to the crossing of the Jordan (Joshua 3:3, 43And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it. 4Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore. (Joshua 3:3‑4)). But it is well to notice that the order of march, as detailed by Moses (Num. 10.), was for the journeyings of the wilderness. The people settled in the land, but traveled in the wilderness.
The Eventful History of the Ark in the Land.
We necessarily start with the passage of the Jordan. The trumpet and the cloud characterized the departure of the redeemed host on their wilderness journey. But the entrance into Canaan was effected in the value of the Ark alone. Israel crossed the Red Sea under the protection of the cloud, and crossed the Jordan under the shelter of the Ark. In both cases the cloud and the Ark in themselves were of no avail, it was what they respectively signified that was of account. When the camp was at rest, the position of the Ark in the Holiest was indicated by the pillar of cloud which rested over the Shekinah, or glory cloud inside. Here, however, (Joshua 3.) we have no cloud; the Ark alone is named. The Ark was borne on the shoulders of the priests, and preceded the host by about a mile distance. The moment the priests entered the overflowing river, the waters above and beneath for about 20 miles were rolled back, and the host passed over. Christ entered the river of death for us. What was death to Him, is firm and dry ground to us. The Red Sea was Christ in death for us. The Jordan signified our death with Him. Christ’s death (the Red Sea) secures our Redemption. Our death with Him (the Jordan) is our door of entrance into the heavenly places. The typical import of the “Sea” and the “River” is of profound interest to every believer. In brief it may be thus stated. The Red Sea signifies Christ’s death for us so that the glory and strength of God’s Salvation may be ours. The close of Rom. 4. and opening of chap. 5. may illustrate this. The crossing of the Jordan then overflowing all its banks, points to our association with Him in death―only He first―in order that a dry and safe passage and secure anchorage ground may be ours: see John 13:33-3633Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. 34A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. 36Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards. (John 13:33‑36); Eph. 2: 1-6. We may further remark that type and symbol necessarily fall short in presenting the truth in its fullness. In this instance the sea and the river―geographically and historically separated―coalesce in the typical instruction It is the one death of Christ, but viewed in different aspects.
Now Jericho, the center and seat of the enemy’s strength, must fall before the conquering host. Tidings had reached the whole country of Jehovah’s acts of power on behalf of His people, and a general fear and terror had taken possession of all―kings, princes, and people (Joshua 2:9,11, 249And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. (Joshua 2:9)
11And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath. (Joshua 2:11)
24And they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us. (Joshua 2:24)). The world to-day is uneasy. It knows in its heart that God is with and for His people, however much the feeling may be disguised and concealed from public view (Phil. 1:2828And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. (Philippians 1:28)). The very presence of danger emboldens the child of God, strengthens faith, and inspires patient waiting to see how God will signalize His own Name. Thus in the maintenance of the glory of God our safety is amply secured.
The saved host encompass the city, but no human weapon is directed against those impregnable walls. On this occasion the Ark was in the center, borne on the shoulders of the priests, not the Kohathites. This was the second instance of the Kohathites being displaced by the priests bearing the Ark. In the passage of the Jordan the Ark went first; in the downfall of Jericho the Ark was in the center of the host. The armed men preceded the Ark, priests, and trumpeters, while the people followed in the rear. The order of march as appointed in Numbers 10. was not exactly that adopted in Joshua 6., but it has to be remembered that the Mosaic instructions concerned the wilderness, while those issued by Joshua applied to the land.
The measures adopted for the overthrow of the city were in themselves insignificant and humbling to human pride. The respite granted―seven days―must have been a time of anxiety to besiegers and besieged. But the end was sure. The lofty walls and strong towers must fall before the Ark of Jehovah. To human observation it was weakness against strength. The Ark symbolized the presence of the LORD of Hosts, and before it the utmost strength of the enemy was powerless. “Shout, for the LORD hath given you the city.” The LORD triumphed over death, the Jordan, and over Satan, Jericho. The person or people who have the conscious assurance of God’s presence, are for the time being omnipotent. “Confide ye in Jehovah forever; for in Jah, Jehovah is the Rock of Ages” (Isa. 26:44Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength: (Isaiah 26:4)).
We next read of the Ark in that interesting scene recorded in Deut. 11:26-3226Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; 27A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you this day: 28And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. 29And it shall come to pass, when the Lord thy God hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. 30Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? 31For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. 32And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day. (Deuteronomy 11:26‑32) and Josh. 8:30-3530Then Joshua built an altar unto the Lord God of Israel in mount Ebal, 31As Moses the servant of the Lord commanded the children of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, an altar of whole stones, over which no man hath lift up any iron: and they offered thereon burnt offerings unto the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32And he wrote there upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he wrote in the presence of the children of Israel. 33And all Israel, and their elders, and officers, and their judges, stood on this side the ark and on that side before the priests the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, as well the stranger, as he that was born among them; half of them over against mount Gerizim, and half of them over against mount Ebal; as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded before, that they should bless the people of Israel. 34And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings, according to all that is written in the book of the law. 35There was not a word of all that Moses commanded, which Joshua read not before all the congregation of Israel, with the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them. (Joshua 8:30‑35) — only in the Mosaic account the Ark is not mentioned. The conquest of Canaan was not yet complete, but the Jordan crossed, and Jericho and Ai destroyed, abundantly confirmed the prophetic word that the whole land from north to south and from west to east was granted to Israel by a Divine charter (Gen. 13:14-17; 15:18-21; 17:814And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: 15For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. 16And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. 17Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. (Genesis 13:14‑17)
18In the same day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: 19The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites. (Genesis 15:18‑21)
8And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. (Genesis 17:8)). But while without fail the land in its entirety shall yet be possessed by the Jewish people—for these Abrahamic promises were unconditional and pledged for by the word and oath of Jehovah—yet the possession of Palestine under Joshua was conditional on the people’s obedience and faithfulness, and in these they miserably came short. The scene, however, in the valley lying between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim is one of deepest interest. All Israel are gathered together― princes, priests, women, children, and strangers. Half of the tribes are on the one mount, and the other six on the opposite mount―the Ark between borne thither on the shoulders of the priests―the third occasion of their doing so. The formal possession of the land―the gift of Jehovah to His people―was the occasion of the unusual proceedings on that hallowed ground. The Ark was the center of all, for it was Jehovah who really took possession, but He did so in His people.
The Ark-Jehovah’s Strength and Glory — In Captivity.
The next occasion in which the Ark is prominently brought before us is recorded in 1 Sam. 4. If in Joshua we have narrated the victories of Israel, we have in Judges their failures equally written down, for our instruction surely—on whom the ends of the ages have come (1 Cor. 10:1111Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (1 Corinthians 10:11)). The last five chapters of the book of Judges present a dark and lurid picture. Now, our chapter (1 Sam. 4.) opens with a battle fought between Israel and the Philistines, in which the former were defeated, with the loss of four thousand men. There was no inquiry at the Lord why they were defeated, no mourning before Him, no supplications addressed to the LORD of Hosts, no tears of repentance and sorrow shed before him. The Ark was sent for out of Shiloh, where it rested in its rightful place in the Tabernacle and between the Cherubim. “Let us fetch the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that when it cometh among us it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.” It was not that made by Bezaleel that ever did or could save. Jehovah was the Saviour of His people. The typical force and value of the Ark consisted in that magnificent truth for Israel as for us: God amongst His people and for them. The Ark in itself could no more deliver Israel than could the gods of the heathen deliver Philistia. “When it cometh among us.” What was the value of the Ark unless it pointed to God and His presence? ―that “it may save us.” Had it ever done so? Was it the mere Ark of shittim and gold that arrested the rushing, overflowing waters of Jordan? that caused the mighty walls of Jericho to crumble to pieces? Nay, it was Jehovah. Not it but He delivered and shall deliver.
When faith in the living God is given up, then ordinances supplant Him in the mind and heart.
Israel was smitten with a great slaughter, thirty thousand at least fell on that fatal battlefield, including the sons of Eli, and worse still the Ark of God was taken. It is to this that the psalmist refers, “He delivered His strength into captivity, and His glory into the enemy’s hand” (78:61). The Ark, the glory and strength, not of Israel but of Jehovah, is in the hands of the uncircumcised and triumphing heathen.
The Ark is taken, the glory is departed from Israel (1 Sam. 4:21, 2221And she named the child I-chabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and her husband. 22And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken. (1 Samuel 4:21‑22)). The Ark was brought to Ashdod, and deposited in triumph in the temple of Dagon. During the night, unseen by all, Jehovah awoke for His glory. Early in the morning when the Ashdodites visited the house of their deity, they found Dagon lying on his face on the ground before the Ark of the LORD. Perhaps it was an accident, so Dagon was put upon his feet again, but the following morning witnessed a scene unequaled in the history of the Philistines. “Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the Ark of the LORD: and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him” (1 Sam. 5:44And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the Lord; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him. (1 Samuel 5:4).). God amply justified His name and glory for during the seven months the Ark was in the country of the Philistines (chaps. 5; 6:1 Sam.) it was a period of sharp judgment. The most awful was that which befell the men of Beth-shemesh of Israel, who impiously looked into the Ark. To do so they must have removed the covering — the Mercy-seat of pure gold on which the blood of atonement had been sprinkled. The law can only condemn; it is the blood that saves. The law in the Ark without its blood-sprinkled cover must have been judgment―pure and simple. It was an awful slaughter 50,070 men! Wherever the Ark went in Philistia, judgment to people and land tracked its steps. That which was the highest blessing to Israel proved the deepest curse to the Philistines. The former were a redeemed people, hence the Ark was in their midst for blessing; the latter were a heathen nation, and thus the Ark could only be amongst them for judgment.
Then the Ark was removed to Kirjath-jearim, where it remained twenty years (1 Sam. 7:1, 21And the men of Kirjath-jearim came, and fetched up the ark of the Lord, and brought it into the house of Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar his son to keep the ark of the Lord. 2And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim, that the time was long; for it was twenty years: and all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. (1 Samuel 7:1‑2)). On the accession of David to the throne, both king and people remembered the Ark. The joy could not he complete without the visible presence of God amongst them. Amidst a scene of rejoicing the Ark was put on a new cart. It should have been borne in the shoulders of priests or Levites. One wrong step led to another. Uzzah put forth his hand to steady it. “And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Uzzah: and God smote him there for his error: and there he died by the Ark of God” (2 Sam. 6.). Thus did God vindicate His word. (Num. 4:1515And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation. (Numbers 4:15)). It was death for any save priests to touch the holy vessels, or even to look into them when uncovered.
The progress of the Ark to Jerusalem was thus arrested. It was carried aside into the house of Obed-edom, where it remained for three months. It was a brief but blessed season to Obed-edom and all his household.
The next stage in the journey of the Ark was from the house of Obed-edom to the City of David, but on this occasion the order prescribed by Jehovah was strictly adhered to, being carried by its staves on the shoulders of the Kohathites. David had learned the lesson that “every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward” (Heb. 2:22For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; (Hebrews 2:2)). The men of Beth-shemesh, and Uzzah were striking examples of this. Music, dancing, singing, sacrifice, and a scene of rejoicing unequaled previously in the history of Israel, marked the progress of the Ark to its final resting place (2 Sam. 6:12-1912And it was told king David, saying, The Lord hath blessed the house of Obed-edom, and all that pertaineth unto him, because of the ark of God. So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the city of David with gladness. 13And it was so, that when they that bare the ark of the Lord had gone six paces, he sacrificed oxen and fatlings. 14And David danced before the Lord with all his might; and David was girded with a linen ephod. 15So David and all the house of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. 16And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David, Michal Saul's daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the Lord; and she despised him in her heart. 17And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. 18And as soon as David had made an end of offering burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of hosts. 19And he dealt among all the people, even among the whole multitude of Israel, as well to the women as men, to every one a cake of bread, and a good piece of flesh, and a flagon of wine. So all the people departed every one to his house. (2 Samuel 6:12‑19); 1 Chron. 15.). The gladsome day was not overcast by any act of judgment as on the former stage of the journey. The Ark never again entered the Tabernacle, but was placed in a new tent or tabernacle which David had prepared for its special use (2 Sam. 6:1717And they brought in the ark of the Lord, and set it in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that David had pitched for it: and David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. (2 Samuel 6:17)).
Solomon, who succeeded his father on the throne of the Loan, had the high honor of conveying the Ark from David’s tent to its rightful place in the Temple. It was carried by the priests and placed between the Cherubim, the staves were then drawn out as its journeys were over (1 Kings 8:6-116And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. 7For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. 8And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. 9There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord. (1 Kings 8:6‑11); 2 Chron. 5.). Thus the only Tabernacle Vessel was installed in the Oracle or Adytum of the Temple where it remained till the Chaldean destruction of Jerusalem. What ultimately became of it, we know not. Its fate is shrouded in mystery. We have that which the Ark set forth — the Divine presence. A material Ark now would be useless. For Christians, ritualism, holy places, and shadows are past― CHRIST IS ALL.