“Now arise, Lord God, and come to your resting place, you and the ark of your might. May your priests, Lord God, be clothed with salvation, may your faithful people rejoice in your goodness.” -2 Chronicles 6:41 (NIV)
(This post is part of a series on the character of God, based on Exodus 34:6-7).
In my last post, I talked about the problem of spiritual amnesia, where one generation of God’s people are faithful to the Lord, but their children or grandchildren grow up and completely forget about him.
It goes without saying that God wants every generation to know him, to be saved, and to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). So when God was first establishing his covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai, he gave them something tangible that was supposed to serve as an ongoing reminder of his faithfulness — the Ark of the Covenant. God had already told Moses that he was a God who abounds in faithfulness (meaning trustworthiness, reliability and loyalty — see Exodus 34:6), but the ark served as a tangible expression of that.
What the Ark Meant to Israel
The Ark of the Covenant was something like a wooden treasure chest that God commanded Israel to construct. It was intended to reassure the people of Israel that God was real, he was powerful, and he was with them, especially as they took on new challenges and entered new lands. It also reminded the Israelites of the holiness of God — no one could touch the ark and live.
Here’s a few passages that bring out those themes:
Exodus 40:21, Leviticus 16:2 — The ark is placed in the Holy of Holies inside the Tabernacle, which symbolized the presence and holiness of God.
Numbers 7:89 — Moses heard the voice of God coming from above the Ark.
Numbers 10:33, Joshua 3:3 — The Ark of the Covenant went ahead of the people of Israel, guiding them on their journey.
Joshua 6:9 — The Israelites carry the Ark into battle, symbolizing God’s power over their enemies.
As you can see, the Ark of the Covenant was a physical reminder of God’s power, his presence, and his guidance. God wanted to make sure Israel would have something tangible to remind them of his love and faithfulness.
But the story of the Ark goes even deeper than that. God instructed Moses to put certain things inside that would remind the Israelites of how faithful he really is. And all of those things point ahead to Jesus.
What Was in the Ark?
“3 Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4 which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant…” -Hebrews 9:3-4 (NIV)
Each of those items — the manna, the staff, and the Law — are connected to the faithfulness of God. They go back to key parts of Israel’s journey through the wilderness and serve as a reminder that God is always there for his people.
Golden Jar of Manna
When Israel was hungry in the desert, God sent them manna and quail. When they were in need, God opened his hands and satisfied the desires of his treasured possession (Psalm 145:16). God’s people felt like life was hopeless in the desert without any food, but God showed up in a powerful way to meet their needs.
Aaron’s Staff
This reference is a little more obscure, but the point is that God has the power to create life out of hopeless situations. In Numbers 17, God took Aaron’s wooden staff and caused it to bloom into a flower. Then the flower produced an almond. The image of a lifeless wooden staff blooming into food-producing flowers is a picture of the way that God can bring hope into hopeless situations. The rest of the story also makes it clear that God has little patience for those who grumble and complain against his chosen leaders. The budding staff was God’s way of saying “I really am with Aaron—so follow his lead.” In a way, that principle could be extended to all of Israel — they really are God’s chosen people.
Stone Tables of the Covenant
God also instructed Moses to put the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. But if you remember that story from the end of Exodus, Moses actually smashed the Ten Commandments when he learned about the Golden Calf. He was so disgusted with the sin of his people that he destroyed the Law out of anger and frustration — or perhaps as an object lesson of what the Israelites had done to the covenant. After that, God revealed himself as a compassionate and gracious God, a God who is slow to anger, a God who abounds in love and faithfulness. He renewed his covenant with Israel and gave Moses a second chance to chisel out the Law on stone tablets.
It was these tablets — the second copy — that Moses placed in the Ark. God didn’t tell Moses to put the broken pieces of the first tablets in the Ark, something that would have reminded Israel of their failure. He asked Moses to put the second copies inside, something that symbolized God’s loyalty and faithfulness to Israel, even though they were unfaithful to God.
Not only did these tablets symbolize God’s grace and faithfulness, they also represent the firm foundation of the Word of God. There are a lot of different foundations we can build on, but only one of them is strong enough to withstand the storms of life. That’s the point Jesus makes at the Sermon on the Mount. If we know the Word and put it into practice, we’re like a wise man who builds their house on the solid rock.
A Foreshadow of Christ
The Ark of the Covenant was a physical reminder that Israel could always count on God. Its contents reminded them of God’s grace, his provision, and his miraculous power to bring hope into hopeless situations. It came to represent his power in battle, his guiding voice, and his comforting presence. And all of that was intended to keep God at the forefront of the Israelite’s minds.
Today, Jesus takes on the role that the Ark played in the Old Testament. Jesus brings hope to the hopeless and lavishes us with his grace and provision. He is our source of strength, a guiding presence, and a firm foundation to build on.
Everything the ark symbolized is perfected and fulfilled in Jesus. So even though we might not have access to the physical Ark of the Covenant any more, we all have access to the power, presence and guidance of Christ.