Ark of the Covenant

Ark of the Covenant

The ark of the covenant was an Old Testament symbol of God’s presence with His people. It has also been called the ark of the Lord and the ark of the testimony. A covenant is a two-way promise with God, and an ark is the “container” of that promise. Noah’s ark carried his family over the waters and proved to be their salvation. The children of Israel were delivered out of bondage, and they were to always remember and reverence God who had miraculously delivered them. The ark of the covenant was a physical reminder of their deliverance and continued blessings.

Moses was instructed by God to prepare a tabernacle as well as the ark of the covenant which was housed there. The tabernacle was to serve as a portable temple that could travel with the people as they traveled in the wilderness after their escape from Egypt. In this tabernacle was a wooden chest about 4 feet by 2 ½ and 2 ½ feet. It was covered with gold and fitted with a seat of gold, the mercy seat, where God was to sit to direct His people. Two cherubs were on either side of this lid or covering, facing one another. The design of the ark was revealed by God Himself. This ark was kept in the innermost part of the tabernacle and later the temple, the holiest place called the Holy of Holies. Inside the chest were the symbols of God’s interaction with them—the stone tablets that Moses brought from Sinai, the rod of Aaron which miraculously budded and then parted the Red Sea in Moses’ hands, and manna, the food given to Moses’s people to preserve them in the wilderness. Poles were fitted into rings on each corner, to lift the Ark.

The Old Testament people were very receptive to the physical symbols of God being with them, and those who understand this symbolism can see that they are a type and shadow (symbol) of Jesus Christ Himself. Jesus is indeed our God who came to earth and even now, through His Atonement in our behalf, is the bridge between us and our Heavenly Father.

It is also significant that the Ark of the Covenant itself was the means of bringing the children of Israel across the Jordan River into their promised land (Josh. 3:3–17). Led by Joshua, the Levite priests lifted up the ark. As their feet touched the river, it became dry land, easy to cross. Again, the symbolism is unmistakable. Later, when the city of Jericho was conquered, it was the ark that was carried seven times around the walls as the trumpets sounded (Josh. 6:1–21).

When the temple of Solomon was built, the ark was put into this sacred edifice. There it remained until it was either destroyed or hidden away. Yet the symbolic truth which it portrayed remains with us still. Jesus Christ is our Redeemer from the bondage of sin. Modern followers of Christ are baptized by water in a ceremony given by God to symbolize their covenant promises with Jesus Christ just as the ark of the covenant symbolized the presence of God in the lives of ancient Israelites.