Ark of The Covenant
The ark of the covenant was, as it were, the center of worship to all the Hebrews who served God according to the Levitical law. And not only in the temple, when they came to worship, but also in the places of their dispersion. Whenever they prayed, they turned their faces towards the place where the ark stood and directed their prayers in that direction.
Daniel 6:10, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed (by Darius to bow to his royal statue), he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before this.”
Whatever happened to the Ark of the Covenant? In 599 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar went into Jerusalem and removed from the Temple the sacred vessels. It is from this time forward that the Ark was never seen again. Did the king remove them to his god’s temple in Babylon? Was it hidden by the priests before he could carry it away? Was it destroyed when the Temple was destroyed in 598 B.C.? or was it taken into heaven? John writes,
Revelation 11:19, “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.”
The Ark of the covenant was a small chest of coffer, three feet nine inches in length, two feet three inches deep, and of the same height. Inside was the golden pot that contained manna; Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant, Hebrews 9:4.
The Ark was made of shittim-wood, and covered with the mercy-seat, which was of solid gold. On either side were cherubim facing each other, each with wings expanded, embracing the whole circumference of the solid gold mercy-seat.
On the Ark, the Shechinah glory, or symbol of the Divine presence, rested, both in the tabernacle and the temple, manifesting itself in the appearance of a cloud, as it were hovering over the mercy-seat.
From that time forward, as often as Jehovah was consulted in behalf of the people, the divine oracles were given by an audible voice. From this place above the mercy-seat, God is said to dwell between the cherubim, for the mercy-seat was the throne of the visible appearance of His glory among the people.
Leviticus 16:2, the LORD is speaking to Moses, “Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.”
The size of each of the two cherubim was approximately 14 to 15 feet in height, and their wings were 7 or 8 feet in length. They were placed at equal distances from the center of the ark, and from each side of the wall, so that their wings being expanded, they would extend behind touching the wall, and met over the ark, and so overshadowed it. I believe the 14 or 15 feet mentioned above may be the actual size of these creatures. Maybe that’s the reason no man ever attempted to reenter into the garden of Eden.
Genesis 3:24, “So he (God) drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.”
When these two magnificent cherubim were finished, the ark was brought in and placed under their wings, 2 Chronicles 5:7-10.
The ark was called the ark of the covenant, because it was a symbol of the covenant between God and his people. It was also named the ark of the testament, because the two tables that had been placed inside were witnesses against every transgression.
The Second Temple stood for over 500 years without the Ark, without Aaron’s rod that budded; without the tables of the covenant; without the sacred vessels; and without the Levitical priests who were appointed by God for temple service.
In the second temple, the Holy of Holies was nothing but an empty chamber, having no ark, neither the cherubim hovering over it. Without the mercy seat, the Shechinah, glory of God’s Divine presence, would not manifest itself in the appearance of a cloud. Any and all sacrifices made by the Jews after their captivity until the destruction of the second temple by the Romans in 70 A.D., were for naught.
It was only when the Lord Jesus made his appearance 2000 years ago, the Jews at the moment in time were given the opportunity to have the Jesus as their High Priest and King. But you know the story, they rejected him! But one day He will return and take his rightful place on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem as “KING of KING’s and LORD of LORDS.”
Isaiah 2:2, “And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD’s house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all (gentile) nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, come you, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.”
Yes, the land that king David purchased about the year 974 B.C., that holy place that stands at the top of Mt. Moriah belongs to the LORD. And only by the will of God, He has allowed it to be “trampled under-foot by the gentiles until the time of the gentiles is fulfilled.”
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com