The Ark of the
Covenant
Physically, the Ark of
the Covenant was a small box of
acacia wood, overlaid with gold,
about 3 feet wide by 5 feet long and
three feet tall. (Exodus 25:10) It
had two rings on each side through
which poles enabled the priests to
carry the Ark from place to place
without touching it. The top surface
of the Ark was called the atonement
cover or “mercy seat.”
(Compare KJV Exodus 25:17; 26:34,
30:6 with later translations.) Two
golden angel figures (cherubim) stood
on the top of the box. (Exodus 25:20)
The Israelites regarded the Ark to be
the most holy piece of furniture
because the Shekinah Glory hovered
between the two cherubim. (Exodus
25:22) A few items were kept inside
the Ark. These items were the Ten
Commandments that God wrote on two
tablets of stone, a bowl of manna and
Aaron’s rod that budded. (Exodus
31:18; 40:20; Exodus 16:33; Numbers
17:10) The ceremonial laws, which God
later dictated to Moses, were placed
in a “pocket” attached to
the outside of the Ark. (Deuteronomy
31:26)
A Hidden Ark
The ark was located
inside the Most Holy Place of the
temple. The High Priest was the only
person allowed to see the Ark and he
could see it just once each year on
the Day of Atonement when he entered
the Most Holy Place. When preparing
the Ark for travel, the veil
separating the Holy Place from the
Most Holy Place was used as the first
layer of protection around the Ark.
Then, the Ark was completely hidden
from view by a blue covering.
(Numbers 4: 5,6) When traveling, the
Israelites had to keep a radius of
about a thousand yards (seven tenth
of a mile between them and the Ark.
(Joshua 3:4) As the priests prepared
the Ark for travel, they always
approached it by walking backwards.
The hidden Ark conveys
a profound truth about God and sin.
Before sin defiled the human race,
God communed with Adam and Eve
face-to-face in the Garden of Eden.
(Genesis 3:8) However, when sin
separated man from God, sin and
sinners could not survive the
glorious presence of God. (Exodus
19:21) Therefore, God hid Himself
from man. At Mt. Sinai He covered
Himself with dense darkness so He
could be close to His children
without His glorious Presence
consuming them. (Exodus 19:18; 20:21)
The darkness at the time of
Christ’s death was also a
covering from the Presence of the
Father. (Matthew 27:45) God is very
near, but we cannot physically see
Him because of sin. When Moses wanted
to see the One with whom he spent so
much time with, God would not allow
it. (Exodus 33:20) Consider the
paradox: The natural eye cannot see
God, but the eye of faith can
behold His Presence! (2 Kings 6:17)
The Ark was hidden in
the Earthy tabernacle to illustrate
how God’s ways are hidden from
the natural or carnal eye of man. (1
Kings 3:14; Psalms 95:10; Isaiah
55:8; 1 Corinthians 2:14) Just as man
cannot see (or discern) the Heavenly
Ark (and Heaven’s order), so the
children of Israel could not see the
Earthy Ark. Why then, did God hide
the Ten Commandments within the Ark?
God understands man’s tendency
to worship something tangible. He did
not want people worshiping the Ark or
the stones of the law. Instead, He
wanted His people to absorb the ways
of His law into their hearts and
worship Him, the benevolent Creator!
The Bible predicts a
very sad time in the future when the
Heavenly Ark of the Covenant will be
displayed to the people of Earth!
This marvelous wonder in the sky
happens at the conclusion of the
seventh trumpet. “Then
God’s Temple in Heaven was
opened, and within His Temple was
seen the Ark of his covenant. And
there came flashes of lightening,
rumblings, peals of thunder, an
earthquake and a great
hailstorm.” (Revelation
11:19) Why does God display
Heaven’s Ark to the people of
Earth at that time? By showing
the Heavenly Ark, God confirms the
reality and authority of His holy law
to all people. He presents the legal
basis of His forthcoming torment on
the wicked, which comes in the form
of the seven last plagues.
(Revelation 15:1; Revelation 16)
Just as God reveals
the Heavenly Ark of the covenant to
the people of Earth, I believe God
will also reveal the secret hiding
place of the earthy Ark of the
Covenant. In this manner, God will
also display His covenant to
Earth’s inhabitants. It seems
logical that God would reveal the
Earthy Ark when the judgment of the
living begins – right after the
great earthquake marking the
beginning of the seven trumpets. This
would also verify the accuracy and
legitimacy of Old Testament history.
The name “Ark of
the Covenant” is used 33 times
in the Bible. It is also called the
“Ark of the Testimony” 13
times. The words “covenant”
and “testimony” refer to
the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 40:20;
16:34; Deuteronomy 4:13) God revealed
the truth about His ways in the Ten
Commandments. They give testimony to
what God regards as righteous and
unrighteous and He has offered life
to all who submit to the terms and
conditions of His covenant. (Ezekiel
18:9) The Ten Commandments are
unchanging and eternal. God wrote the
Ten Commandments on two tablets of
enduring stone to illustrate two
areas of responsibility for man: One
tablet defines man’s duty to God
(commandments 1-4) and the other
defines man’s duty to man
(commandments 5-10) The Ten
Commandments are a divine revelation
which define the moral codes of life
and all humanity is bound to them.
The Ten Commandments separate people
who are submissive to God from those
who are not. The individuals who
allow God to transform their
rebellious (sinful) hearts into
willing submissive (harmony) with the
Ten Commandments will receive eternal
life. This transformation happens
through the indwelling power of
Christ – it cannot be humanly
produced. (John 3; 1 John 5:12,13;
Hebrews 8:10-13) The Earthy
tabernacle illustrates that
God’s biggest dilemma is not
getting man to Heaven, but instead,
putting the ways of Heaven within the
heart of man.
When God created this
planet, He built everything according
to law. If Gods ways were not in
harmony with law, all Heaven would be
moving toward destructive chaos (as
this world demonstrates) and
God’s ways would never make
sense. To identify Himself as the
eternal “I AM” is no small
claim. (Exodus 3:14) This title can
only be everlasting if God’s
ways are without conflict, orderly,
and according to law.
The Mercy Seat
The golden atonement
cover (or mercy seat) formed the top
of the Ark. On the Day of Atonement,
when the high priest entered the Most
Holy Place, he would eventually
sprinkle blood on this part of the
Ark to illustrate atonement for the
broken law. (Leviticus 16:14) “The
wages of sin is death.”
(Romans 3:23) Notice what Paul says: “In
fact, the law requires that nearly
everyone be cleansed with blood, and
without the shedding of blood there
is no forgiveness.” (Hebrews
9:22) Therefore, blood was sprinkled
on a broken law because all have
sinned. (Romans 3:23)
The Ark of the
Covenant represents the character of
God. The Ten Commandments require
uncompromising justice and the
atonement cover offers grace beyond
measure. The balance between
God’s justice and God’s
mercy is defined as divine love. This
is why John says, “God is
love.” (1 John 4:8) God
placed the Ark of the Testimony in
the Most Holy Place because His
character is the most important thing
He owns. (Leviticus 11: 44,45) He
will not allow anyone to bring
reproach upon His Holy Name without
severe consequences. (Exodus 20:7)
God is King over the universe. He
established a parallel schematic of
the Earthy/Heavenly temples to inform
man of the orderly process that He
follows, not only for man’s
salvation, but also to clear His Holy
Name of suspicion. Remember, through
libelous and scurrilous charges,
Lucifer caused one-third of the
angels to harbor suspicion and malice
toward God.
The Laver
“Make a bronze
basin, with its bronze stand, for
washing. Place it between the Tent of
Meeting and the altar, and put water
in it. Aaron and his sons are to wash
their hands and feet with water from
it. Whenever they enter the Tent of
Meeting, they shall wash with water
so that they will not die. Also, when
they approach the altar to minister
by presenting an offering made to the
LORD by fire, they shall wash their
hands and feet so they will not die.
This is to be a lasting ordinance for
Aaron and his descendants for the
generations to come.”
(Exodus 30:18-21)
The bronze basin (NIV)
or laver (KJV) has practical and
spiritual lessons associated with it.
On the practical side, the text
reveals how God required a state of
physical purity, orderliness and
cleanliness among those that served
in the temple. The ever-present
“desert dust” soiled their
hands and feet of the priests who
served in the temple and God required
them to wash before entering the
tabernacle (tent of meeting) so they
might be clean. On the spiritual
side, the application of water to the
hands and feet reveal man’s
perpetual need to be “made
clean” of sin from time to time.
Sin (like desert dust) defiles our
hands and feet and we, like the
priests of old, need to be made
clean!
Notice the words of
Jesus to Nicodemus, “Jesus
answered, ‘I tell you the truth,
no one can enter the kingdom of God
unless he is born of water and the
Spirit.” (John 3:5) Some
people misinterpret this verse to
make it say that a person must be
baptized in order to be saved. This
is not true. The thief on the cross
was not baptized, nor salvation comes
through rites, sacraments or works.
(Ephesians 2:8,9) Rather, the willing
application of water (being born
of water) reveals submission to the
purifying experience of God’s
sanctification. In other words,
Christians need to be “washed of
sin” from time to time as they
travel along the road of life.
Baptism marks the first washing.
Then, the periodic washing of one
another’s feet as our Lord
commanded, serves as a
“miniature baptism”
representing that we are made clean
by water from a basin (laver). The
ordinance of foot washing reminds us
who we are, servants – not
masters. (See John 13: 6-8.) It is
easy to forget that our righteousness
is as “filthy rags” in
God’s sight. (Isaiah 64:6) Yet,
we often allow pride and selfishness
to taint our attitude toward others.
The function and
presence of the laver in the Earthy
temple indicates that God requires
physical and spiritual cleanliness.
Yes, He may accept mortals for what
we are, but He requires, as a
minimum, that we physically clean up
before we approach Him. If this is
true of the physical realm, what can
be said of the spiritual? The
Psalmist wrote, “Who may
ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may
stand in his holy place? He who has
clean hands and a pure heart, who
does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.”
(Psalms 24: 3,4) No doubt, this text
is the basis of the adage:
“Cleanliness is next to
Godliness.” Before we leave the
matter of cleansing the hands and
feet at the laver, consider the
implication of this verse concerning
those who will occupy mansions in the
New Jerusalem: “Nothing
impure will ever enter it, nor will
anyone who does what is shameful or
deceitful, but only those whose names
are written in the Lamb’s book
of life.” (Revelation 21:27)
The Golden Lampstand
“Make a
lampstand of pure gold and hammer it
out, base and shaft; its flowerlike
cups, buds and blossoms shall be of
one piece with it…See you make
them according to the pattern shown
you on the mountain.” (Exodus
25:31,40) The golden lampstand was
made of one talent of pure gold
(about 66 pounds) and it had seven
lamps on top of it. It was placed
next to the south wall of the Holy
Place, directly in front of the Table
of Presence. (Exodus 25:37,39; 26:35)
The golden Lampstand represents the
agent of God’s light of truth.
Matthew 5:14; Acts 13:47) God has a
special relationship with the
trustees of His covenant. Notice how
the Golden Lampstand represents God
and His people: First, the Lampstand
was made of pure gold that represents
God’s agape love for
mankind. (Agape love or divine love
is pure, unlike human love.) The
purpose of any lampstand is light and
this was the practical and spiritual
intent of the Golden Lampstand.
Israel was chosen to be a “light
to the world,” to represent
God’s love for man. God required
the priests to refuel the seven lamps
daily with pure olive oil so the
seven lights would burn continuously.
(Leviticus 24:4) In like manner, the
priests were to continuously
“refuel” the people with
love and adoration for God. The light
of God’s truth must never go out
and that responsibility uniquely
rested upon the priests. If they
became negligent or careless in
teaching the ways of God to the
people, darkness would eventually
fill the hearts of the worshipers.
Just as God held the priests
accountable for keeping the
“lamp lights on,” they were
also responsible for communicating
the “light of truth” to His
people. The priests were
“keepers of the flame.”
Unfortunately, the priests failed and
consequently, Israel apostatized.
History proves that, “As priests
(religious leaders) go, so do the
people.” In fact, much of the
blame for today’s social rot
lies at the doorstep of religious
leaders.
Carefully consider the
consequences of priestly failure.
When THE light of Truth came to the
world, the priests of Israel rejected
Him. (John 1: 1-11; 8:12) God
intended Israel to be a “city of
light” to the world. (Isaiah
42:6) He even placed them
geographically in the center of the
nations for maximum exposure!
(Ezekiel 5:5) In spite of all this,
Israel’s priests chose the ways
of darkness instead of the way of
light and the people of Israel
followed their example by rejecting
the Messiah. This is why God
eventually abandoned Israel and
raised up new trustees of the
covenant – Christians. (Matthew
23:1-38; 28: 18-20)
The Golden Lampstand
was intricately and wonderfully made,
and the glorious light from Heaven is
reflected in God’s PLAN of
salvation. God’s PLAN for saving
the human race shines like a beacon
of light to reveal the ways, love and
commitment of Jesus to die as
man’s substitute. Yes, this
knowledge is the glorious light from
Heaven!
The Table of the
Presence
“Make a table
of acacia wood – two cubits long
[44 inches], a cubit wide [22
inches] and a cubit and a half
high [33 inches]. Overlay it
with pure gold and make a gold
molding around it…And make the
plates and dishes of pure gold, as
well as its pitchers and bowls for
the pouring out of offerings. Put the
bread of the Presence on this table
to be before me at all times.”
(See Exodus 25: 23-30.) This table
represents the throne of God. All
blessing flow from His throne. The
idea that the Table of the Presence
represents God’s throne is
surprising since in the Earthy
tabernacle, the focus was always
directed toward the
“hidden” Ark of the
covenant located in the Most Holy
Place. The Shekinah Glory of God
dwelt within the Most Holy Place.
Therefore, the second room in the
Earthy tabernacle was holier than the
first room. The veil obscured the
Most Holy Place from the view of
everyone but the high priest, which
indicted its extreme sacredness.
These facts have led many people to
conclude that the Ark of the Covenant
must represent the throne of God.
However, here are three reasons why I
believe the Table of Presence
represents the throne of God:
Reason # 1 – Name
“Put the bread
of the Presence [shewbread, KJV]
on this table to be before me at all
times.” (Exodus 25:30) The
table received its name from the 12
loaves of bread that were placed on
it each Sabbath. (Leviticus 24:8) The
priests baked the loaves on Sabbath
while still hot. (1 Samuel 21: 3-6)
At first, this practice seems
contradictory to the instructions God
gave to Israel in regards to
appropriate Sabbath behavior when He
forbade them to cook and bake on the
Sabbath. (Exodus 16:23) However, this
bread was “special.” It
represented a sacred offering from
the twelve tribes. The presence
of “fresh bread” on the
Sabbath was to reveal God’s
intention to use His servants (the
priests) to offer “freshly
prepared” spiritual food to His
people on the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:5)
The Hebrew words involved (lechem
– Strongs: #3899 and paneh
– Strongs: #6440) mean visible
food, having presence, within sight
or showing. The idea being conveyed
by KJV translators is that the bread
was clearly visible – as in
“show us the bread.” Thus
the name “showbread”
(NKJV). The idea presented by the NIV
and other recent translations is that
the bread represented the presence of
God. Therefore, the teaching of
God’s presence on the Sabbath
through “freshly prepared”
words of life is the primary meaning
behind the symbol of this bread.
Twelve loaves of bread
(for the twelve tribes) and other
items were placed on the Table of
Presence for the priests to consume
at regular intervals. The Table also
had cups, bowls and pitchers
associated with it. (Exodus 37:16)
When a person looks at the Table in
terms of the utensils and the food
placed on it, it becomes obvious this
Table represents “a Kings
table.” The priests were invited
to eat from the King’s table
because they were highly honored.
Eating from the King’s table was
not only a great honor, but also
showed intimacy with the King. It was
common for generous kings in ancient
times to honor special people by
inviting them to eat at their table
for as long as they lived! (2 Samuel
9:7) Even the wicked Jezebel captured
the favor of Baal’s prophets by
feeding them at her table. (1 Kings
18:19)
Eating at the
King’s table means having access
to the King and his throne. Jesus
told his disciples, “And I
confer on you a kingdom, just as my
Father conferred one on me, so that
you may eat and drink at my table in
my kingdom and sit on thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of
Israel.” (Luke 22:29,30)
Therefore, the Table of Presence in
Earthy temple reflected the special
privileges of priests. Unfortunately,
Israel’s priests did not
recognize this great privilege for
what it was. They failed to commune
with God and they misunderstood their
great opportunity. However,
Jesus’ life, death and
resurrection opened wide the door to
all people and the privileges
reserved for priests were granted to
each believer. Jesus established what
is called the “Priesthood of the
believer.” Revelation says, “…Blessed
are those who are invited to the
wedding supper of the Lamb!”
And he [the angel] added, “These
words are the true words of
God.” (Revelation 19:9;
3:20,21)
Since all that we
receive comes from God, and Jesus is
the Bread of Life (John 6:35) that
has come down from Heaven, the Table
of the Presence reflects the source
of our blessings – God’s
throne. From this Table, the Bread of
Life is served. So, “Let us
then approach the throne of grace
with confidence, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help
us in our time of need.”
(Hebrews 4:16)
Reason # 2 –
Location
The Table of the
Presence was located on the north
side of the tabernacle. In ancient
times, the direction of
“north” was regarded as the
direction of divine judgment or
authority. Destruction and/or
judgment always came for the north.
Notice these five examples (italics
provided):
- Isaiah 41:25 “I
have stirred up one from the north,
and he comes
– one from the rising
sun who calls on my name. He
treads on rulers as if they
were mortar, as if he were a
potter treading the
clay.”
- Jeremiah 1:14 “The
LORD said to me, ‘From the
north disaster
will be poured out on all who
live in the land.”
- Jeremiah 4:6 “Raise
the signal to go to Zion!
Flee for safety without
delay! For I am bring
disaster from the
north, even
terrible destruction.”
- Jeremiah 46:20
“Egypt is a beautiful
heifer, but a gadfly is
coming against her from the
north.”
- Jeremiah 50:9 “For
I will stir up and bring
against Babylon an alliance
of great nations from the
land of the north.
They will take up their
positions against her, and
from the north she
will be captured. Their
arrows will be like skilled
warriors who do not return
empty-handed.”
Notice the location of
the Table of Presence: “Place
the table outside the curtain on the north
side of the tabernacle and put the
lampstand opposite it on the south
side.” (Exodus 26:35) No
matter where Israel moved the Earthy
tabernacle, the Table of the Presence
always sat on the North side. What
does this suggest?
Now, compare the
location of God’s throne in
Heaven with the Table of the
Presence: “How art thou
fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of
the morning! How art thou cut down to
the ground, which didst weaken the
nations! For thou hast said in thine
heart, I will ascend into heaven, I
will exalt my throne above the stars
of God: I will sit also upon the
mount of the congregation, in the
sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of
the clouds; I will be like the most
High.” (Isaiah 14: 12-14,
KJV) Why did Lucifer conspire to
place his throne “in the sides
of the north?” Because this is,
where God’s throne was located.
To underscore the immediate
importance of the “north
side” location for the Table of
the Presence, notice this text: “Beautiful
for situation, the joy of the whole
Earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of
the north, the
city of the great King.” (Psalms
48: 2 KJV) Eventually, god intended
to rule the world from Jerusalem
(Jeremiah 3:17), and the Psalmist
calls its global location, “on
the sides of the north” even
though the land of Israel is not
regarded as located in the north.
(Incidentally, because of
Israel’s failure, God will reign
from the New Jerusalem.
Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 3:12)
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