The Ark of the Covenant - Exod 25:10-22 "And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around. You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side. And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you. You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel."


Judaism, rejects any physical manifestations of spirituality, preferring instead to focus on actions and beliefs. Judaism begins with Abraham, who, shattered and destroyed the various religious idols that were being worshipped at the time. Worship of graven images is harshly condemned throughout the Torah, and perhaps the greatest sin the Israelites collectively committed was the construction of the Golden Calf (Ex. 32), intended to serve as a physical intermediary between them and G-d. Today, Jews do not venerate any holy relics or man-made symbols. But early in the history of the Jewish people, there was one exception to this rule, one man-made object that was considered intrinsically holy - The Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant is first mentioned in the Bible in Exodus 25 - (Hebrew: אָרוֹן הָבְּרִית‎ Ārōn Hāb’rīt [modern pron. Aron Habrit]). Following Israel's deliverance from slavery in Egypt, G-d instructed Moses to build a Tabernacle (or tent) in which the Israelites could worship G-d. Placed in a special area known as "the Holy of Holies," the Ark of the Covenant was the most sacred object in the Tabernacle. Detailed instructions were given by G-d on how to construct the Ark. It was to be made with acacia wood and plated inside and outide with pure gold. On the bottom of the box, four gold rings were attached, through which two poles, also made of acacia and coated in gold, were put. The family of Kehath, of the tribe of Levi, would carry the ark on their shoulders using these poles. The Ark was constructed to be 2.5 cubits (1 cubit is approximately 18 in.) long and 1.5 cubits wide and high. On top of the Ark were two gold angels with their wings covering an area of the Ark known as the "Mercy Seat." The atonement cover (or "mercy seat") that covered the ark was God's throne (2 Sam 6:2). Covering the box was the kapporet, a pure gold covering and attached to the kapporet were two sculpted Angels, also made of pure gold. The two Angels faced one another, and their wings, which wrapped around their bodies, touched before them.The Ark of the Covenant contained the two stone tablets Mose received directly form G-d bearing G-d's own inscriptions of the Ten Commandments (1 Kings 8:9). The Ten Commandments formed the foundation of G-d's covenant with Israel, commonly referred to as "The Law" (Exodus 31). According to some traditional interpretation of Exodus 16:33-34 and Numbers 17:25-26, the Ark also contained a jar of manna - manna was the starchy food G-d miraculously provided for the Israelites during their 40 years of desert wanderings (Exodus 16). The third and last item it contained was the rod of Aaron. G-d miraculously caused Aaron's rod to bud with blossoms to show the rest of the tribes of Israel that it was G-d's will for Aaron to be in charge of the Priesthood (Numbers 17).

The ark was a symbol of G-d's permanent covenant(s) with the Jewish people. According to the Pentateuch, the Ark was built at the command of G-d, in accord with Moses' prophetic vision on Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:10-16). G-d was said to have communicated with Moses "from between the two cherubim" on the Ark's cover (Exodus 25:22). The Ark and its sanctuary were considered "the beauty of Israel" (Lamentations 2:1). Biblical account relates that during the Israelites' exodus from Egypt, the Ark was carried by the priests some 2,000 cubits, or 1,000 m; 3,400 ft (Numbers 35:5; Joshua 4:5) in advance of the people and their army, or host (Num. 4:5-6; 10:33-36; Psalms 68:1; 132:8). When the Ark was borne by priests into the bed of the Jordan, water in the river separated, opening a pathway for the entire host to pass through (Josh. 3:15-16; 4:7-18). The city of Jericho was taken with no more than a shout after the Ark of Covenant was paraded for seven days around its wall by seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams' horns (Josh. 6:4-20). When carried, the Ark was always wrapped in a veil, in tachash skins (the identity of this animal is uncertain), and a blue cloth, and was carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the Cohanim who carried it.

After the conquest was completed, the Ark, and the entire Tabernacle, were set up in Shiloh (Josh. 18) . There they remained until the battles of the Jews with the Philistines during the Priesthood of Eli. The Jews, after suffering a defeat at the Philistines' hands, took the Ark from Shiloh to Even-Ezer in hopes of winning the next battle. But the Jews were routed, and the Ark was captured by the Philistines. Back in Shiloh, Eli, the High Priest, immediately died upon hearing the news (I Sam. 4). The Philistines took the Ark back to Ashdod, their capital city in the south of Canaan, where they placed it in the temple of their god Dagon. The next day, however, they found the idol fallen on its face. After replacing the statue, they found it the next day decapitated, with only its trunk remaining, and soon afterward, the entire city of Ashdod was struck with a plague. The Philistines moved the Ark to the city of Gath, and from there to Ekron, but whatever city the Ark was in, the inhabitants were struck with plague. After seven months, the Philistines decided to send the Ark back to the Israelites, and accompanied it with expensive gifts. The Ark was taken back to Beit Shemesh, and, according to midrash, the oxen pulling the Ark burst into song as soon as it was once again in Israel's possession (A.Z. 22b). The actual text of the story, however, tells a much grimmer tale: The men of Beit Shemesh were punished , and many were killed with a plague.

From Beit Shemesh, the Ark was transported to Kiryat Yearim, where it remained for twenty years. From there, King David transported it to Jerusalem. En route, however, the oxen pulling it stumbled, and when Uzzah reached out to steady the Ark, he died immediately. As a result of this tragedy, David decided to leave the Ark at the home of Obed-edom the Gittite. Three months later, he moved it to Jerusalem, the seat of his kingdom, where it remained until the construction of the First Temple by David's son Solomon (I Sam. 5-6). When the Ark was finally placed in the Temple, the midrash reports that the golden tree decorations that adorned the walls blossomed with fruit that grew continuously until the Temple's destruction (Yoma 39b).

The Ark of the Covenant was where G-d manifested His presence on earth. The Ark went ahead of the Israelites wherever they traveled. Not only was it the center of worship when it resided in the tabernacle, but the Ark also protected the Israelites in battle, supernaturally defeating any adversaries that came before them. The Israelites also went to the Ark to seek G-d's guidance and wisdom for the nation (Numbers 7:89, Exodus 25:22). The Ark was constructed during the Israelites' wanderings in the desert and used until the destruction of the First Temple, was the most important article of the Jewish faith, and served as the only physical manifestation of G-d on earth. The contents of the Ark has been debated through the centuries. The general consensus is that the first tablets containing the Ten Commandments, which were broken by Moses, and the second tablets, which remained intact, were contained in the Ark (Bava Batra 14b). According to one opinion in the Talmud, both Tablets were together in the Ark.

The Ark was built by Bezalel, son of Uri, son of Hur, who constructed the entire Tabernacle – the portable Temple used in the desert and during the conquest of the land of Israel. The Tabernacle was the resting place for the Ark, and also contained other vessels that were used in the physical worship of G-d. The Biblical scholars continue to argue over why G-d commanded Moses to build a Tabernacle in the first place: According to Rashi (Ex. 31:18), G-d realized after the sin of the Golden Calf that the Israelites needed an outlet for physical worship, and commanded that they build the Tabernacle as a way of expressing their own need for physical representation of G-d. According to Nachmanides (Ex. 25:1), however, the Jews were commanded to build the Tabernacle even before the sin of the Golden Calf; rather than filling a human need, the Tabernacle was G-d's method of achieving continuous revelation in the Israelites' camp. These two opinions as to whether the Tabernacles, and the Temples that followed them, were an a priori necessity or a necessary evil demonstrate the controversial role of physical worship in Judaism as a whole. I agree with Nachmanides.

The Ark was used in the desert and in Israel proper for a number of spiritual and pragmatic purposes. Practically, G-d used the Ark as an indicator of when he wanted the nation to travel, and when to stop. In the traveling formation in the desert, the Ark was carried 2000 cubits ahead of the nation (Num. R. 2:9). According to one midrash, it would clear the path for the nation by burning snakes, scorpions, and thorns with two jets of flame that shot from its underside (T. VaYakhel, 7); another midrash says that rather than being carried by its bearers, the Ark in fact carried its bearers inches above the ground (Sotah 35a). When the Israelites went to war in the desert and during the conquering of Canaan, the Ark accompanied them and gave the Jews victory in fighting.

Spiritually, the Ark was the manifestation of G-d's physical presence on earth (the shekhina). When G-d spoke with Moses in the Tent of Meeting in the desert, He did so from between the two Angelss (Num. 7). Once the Ark was moved into the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, and later in Solomon's Temple, it was accessible only once a year, and then, only by one person. On Yom Kippur, the High Priest (Kohen Gadol) could enter the Holy of Holies to ask forgiveness for himself and for all the nation of Israel (Lev. 16:2). The relationship between the Ark and the shekhina is reinforced by the recurring motif of clouds. G-d's presence is frequently seen in the guise of a cloud in the Bible (Ex. 24:16), and the Ark is constantly accompanied by clouds: When G-d spoke from between the Angels, there was a glowing cloud visible there (Ex. 40:35); when the Jews traveled, they were led by the Ark and a pillar of clouds (Num. 10:34); at night, the pillar of clouds was replaced by a pillar of fire, another common descriptor of G-d's visible appearance (Ex. 24:17); and when the High Priest entered presence of the Ark on Yom Kippur, he did so only under the cover of a cloud of incense, perhaps intended to mask the sight of the shekhina in all its glory (Lev. 16:13).

The holiness of G-d's Ark also made it dangerous to those who came in contact with it. When Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aaron, brought a foreign flame to offer a sacrifice in the Tabernacle, they were devoured by a fire that emanated "from the Lord" (Lev. 10:2). During the saga of the capture of the Ark by the Philistines, numerous people, including some who merely looked at the Ark, were killed by its power. Similarly, the Priests who served in the Tabernacle and Temple were told that viewing the Ark at an improper time would result in immediate death (Num. 4:20). In 1 Samuel 6:19 we see that G-d struck down some of the men of Beth Shemesh, putting seventy of them to death because they were staring disrespectfully at the Ark of the Lord. The people mourned because of the heavy blow the Lord had dealt them. In 2 Samuel 6:2-7 and 1 Chr. 13:7-10 we see: "He and all his men set out from Baalah of Judah to bring up from there the ark of G-d, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark. They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart with the ark of G-d on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord , with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of G-d, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore G-d struck him down and he died there beside the ark of G-d.

The Ark of the Covenant was where G-d's justice and judgement toward sin was satisfied. It is referred to almost 200 times in the Old Testament. Here are some names given in the Scriptures for the Ark of the Covenant:

Num 17:7-8 "And Moses placed the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness. Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, of the house of Levi, had sprouted and put forth buds, had produced blossoms and yielded ripe almonds."

Ex 25:22 "And there I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
Josh 3:6 Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, "Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
Josh 3:13 "And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap."
1 Sam 5:7 And when the men of Ashdod saw how it was, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is harsh toward us and Dagon our god."
1 Chr 6:41 "Now therefore, arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place, you and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let Your saints rejoice in goodness.
2 Chr 35:3 Then he said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the LORD: "Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel, built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the LORD your G-d and His people Israel.
Ps 78:60-61 So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had placed among men, And delivered His strength into captivity, and His glory into the enemy's hand.
Exod 16:32-33 "Then Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 'Fill an omer (24 liters) with it, to be kept for your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.' And Moses said to Aaron, Take a pot and put an omer of manna in it, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations." See also Hebrew 9:4.

The Ark of the Covenant was an early prophecy of the Lord Jesus Christ - who was the living bread which came down from heaven: John 6:50-51 "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

Ark of the Covenant: Foreshadowing the Coming Messiah - The biblical text repeatedly shows that where there is sin, the unavoidable result is death. The sacrifice of the lamb removes the severity of sin. Sin must always be atoned (paid) for in order for G-d to be just (Hebrews 9:22). G-d's compassion enabled the sins of Israel to be transferred upon the sacrificial lamb. The blood sacrifices were foreshadowing a greater sacrifice yet to take place -- the sacrifice of G-d's only begotten Son - the Jewish Messiah, Jesus Christ. G-d knew that these continual animal blood sacrifices would be insufficient to pay for the sins of Israel, much less the sins of all humanity. Therefore, G-d would provide Jesus Christ as the ultimate sacrificial lamb, which became the greatest act of love in all history. A Roman cross became the ark on which Christ was sacrificed. The blood of Christ, once and for all, atoned for the wrongs of all who would accept Him as their Savior (John 3:16).

Ark of the Covenant: Replaced by God's New Covenant The Ark of the Covenant disappeared from the Jewish Temple somewhere before or during the Babylonian invasion of Jerusalem in 586 BCE. In anticipation of the Ark's disappearance, the prophet Jeremiah wrote: "And 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). Even before Jesus, Jeremiah's prophecy revealed that there would be no more need for the Ark of the Covenant in the future. G-d had a better covenant He would bring to pass -- the new covenant in His Son, Jesus Christ.


There was a cover on the Ark, known as the Mercy Seat, or Propitiation Cover. It was here that the blood of a goat was sprinkled by the high priest on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:34), to appease G-d's righteous anger (propitiate) for the sins of the people of Israel. Romans 3:24-25 tells us that there is redemption in Christ Jesus, because G-d has set Him forth as a propitiation, through faith in His blood. Christ has died. The price is paid. To those who believe in Jesus Christ's death for their sins, there is now mercy not wrath. "G-d demonstrates His own love for us, in that while we are yet sinners, Christ died for us. Having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him" (Romans 5:8-9).


The Acacia wood speaks of the indestructible humanity of Jesus. He was 100% man. G-d Himself became flesh and suffered the agonies of the human experience. He was tempted, He was weary, He thirsted, He had to learn the Scriptures and learn obedience and to hear G-d's voice and be led by the Spirit as a man. Not only does the Acacia wood tell us that He was 100% man but the pure gold that overlayed the wood teaches us that He was 100% God. Jesus said "unless you believe that I AM you will die in your sins." He used the same words (Heb. eheyay asher aheyay) as when the Lord spoke to Moses at the burning bush. The Jewish Messiah was none other than Jehovah Himself visiting His people and becoming their savior by dying for the sins of the world and that is the etymology of the name Jesus (Heb. Y'shua 'Yaweh has become salvation'). Jesus condemned the religious leaders for not recognizing "the day of their visitation."

The crown of gold around the top of the ark speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus overcame the onslaught of opposition that was set against Him His whole life by the religious leaders, the wealthy Jewish aristocracy, Rome itself, and even all the power of the enemy. He overcame even death itself and rose triumphantly and was given a crown, and glory, and honor, because He is the King. According to John it was Jesus who Isaiah saw seated on the throne of glory with the angels crying 'holy, holy, holy.'

The unbroken tables of stone set forth Jesus as the One who perfectly kept the Law and never broke God's Commandments. The Bible says that He "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth." Jesus felt the pressure of temptation at its full intensity yet he never sinned. Even the look in His eye and the tone of His voice reflected the very perfections of the holiness of God Himself. Aaron's rod that budded also speaks of Jesus. Something that had died and supernaturally came to life again. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life." The golden pot of manna speaks of Jesus as the bread of life who came down from heaven to bring food, the Word of God, to a world in darkness and dying of hunger. It all points to Jesus. Even the golden poles speak of the ever living and ever present Savior who is with us in all our journeying and will never leave us nor forsake us. If you were to examine the history of the ark there would be striking resemblances to the ministry of Jesus our Lord:

The ark went before the people - Jesus went before the people. The ark was in the middle of G-d's people - Jesus is in His people. The people were to follow the ark - We are to follow Jesus: And on and on, the ark was always first to lead them. It was death to those that were enemies of G-d. The ark brought blessings and curses. Hebrews 5:1-10 speaks about Jesus, our perfect high priest, and His ability to deal with all our problems of sin, ignorance, and wandering away from G-d.

Isa 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called wonderful, Counselor, Mighty G-d, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

John 1:14 And the Word became 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.
Matt 5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Jn 6:32 Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Jn 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G-d, and the Word was G-d.
Jn 1:14 And the Word became 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.

Men are still looking for G-d's Ark of the Covenant - Do you want to see where it was last? Then read about the two angels in John 20:1-2,12 - "Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene *came early to the tomb, while it *was still dark, and *saw the stone already taken away from the tomb. And so she *ran and *came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and *said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.......... and she beheld two angels in white sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying."