Christianity Oasis Ministry has provided you the Ark of the Covenant Bible study on who has the Ark of The Covenant? We'll look into that as well as all aspects of the Christian Walk. This study brings forth truth, understanding and then peace.
Christianity Oasis Ministry
presents
Ark of the Covenant Bible Study
Who Has the Ark of the Covenant
Welcome to our Christianity Oasis Christian walk study program. This is the Ark of the Covenant Bible study asking what is the Ark of the Covenant, where is the Ark of the Covenant and who has the Ark of the Covenant? Let's look into this Spiritual mystery together.
Ark of the Covenant Bible Study Insight
Who Has The Ark of the Covenant Today
How about a little archaeology lesson?
Not to be confused with Noah's Ark, which although the English language uses the same spelling for both, the Ark of the Covenant was a sacred chest in which the two tablets of the Law of the Lord was kept. Noah's Ark was a boat or ship in which Noah and his family, and each kind of creature on Earth was protected from the Great Flood.
There are some very interesting things to learn about the Ark of the Covenant. You might say that the Ark of the Covenant was like God's treasure box. Some folks have a jewelry box, or a cedar chest or some other kind of fancy container that they use to keep their treasured items in ... and God wanted the children of Israel to keep the stone tablets that He wrote the Old Testament on, so when He brought them out of slavery in Egypt, while they were in the wilderness, He gave Moses the plans to make an Ark to preserve them in.
Curious about what the Ark looked like?
10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits
and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit
and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half
the height thereof.
11 And thou shalt overlay it with
pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it,
and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put
them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall
be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other
side of it.
13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim
wood, and overlay them with gold.
14 And thou shalt put
the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark,
that the ark may be borne with them.
15 The staves shall
be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken
from it.
16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony
which I shall give thee.
Let me give you some modern measurements so that you can get a better mental picture of the size of the Ark. A cubit is an ancient measurement that was based on the length of the forearm, from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, usually equal to about 18 - 21 inches.
That would make the Ark of the Covenant approximately 50 inches in length, 30 inches in width, and 30 inches tall.
Below is what the Ark of the Covenant, with the Mercy Seat on top may have looked like.
... and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 See, I have
called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur,
of the tribe of Judah:
3 And I have filled him with the
Spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in
knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship,
4 To devise
cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in
brass,
5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in
carving of timber, to work in all manner of
workmanship.
And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it ...
This is an interesting thing to note. Bezaleel didn't go to any kind of craftsman or carpentry school, but God filled him with His Spirit, to know how to construct the Ark according to the plans that were given to Moses.
Who was in charge of the Ark of the Covenant? The descendants of Levi's son Kohath were in charge of the Ark:
Levi begat Kohath
Kohath begat Uzziel
Uzziel begat Elizaphan
29 The families of the sons of Kohath shall pitch on the
side of the Tabernacle southward.
30 And the chief of the
house of the father of the families of the Kohathites
shall be Elizaphan the son of Uzziel.
31 And their charge
shall be the Ark, and the table, and the candlestick,
and the altars, and the vessels of the sanctuary
wherewith they minister, and the hanging, and all the
service thereof.
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 Take the sum of the sons of Kohath from among the sons
of Levi, after their families, by the house of their
fathers,
3 From thirty years old and upward even until
fifty years old, all that enter into the host, to do
the work in the Tabernacle of the congregation.
There were important rules to follow in taking care of the Ark, and if they weren't followed, the consequences were very serious, indeed.
4 This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the
Tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy
things:
5 And when the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall
come, and his sons, and they shall take down the
covering veil, and cover the ark of testimony with it:
6 And shall put thereon the covering of badgers' skins,
and shall spread over it a cloth wholly of blue, and
shall put in the staves thereof.
And when Aaron and his sons have made an end of covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary, as the camp is to set forward; after that, the sons of Kohath shall come to bear it: but they shall not touch any holy thing, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the congregation.
17 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying,
18 Cut ye not off the tribe of the families of the
Kohathites from among the Levites:
19 But thus do unto
them, that they may live, and not die, when they
approach unto the most holy things: Aaron and his sons
shall go in, and appoint them every one to his service
and to his burden:
20 But they shall not go in to see
when the holy things are covered, lest they die.
What made the Ark of the Covenant, which was also called the Ark of Testimony, so special? Well, not only was it a sacred chest that the Old Testament or Law was kept in for safe keeping, but atop the Ark, was the Mercy Seat, which was where the presence of the Lord was.
And when Moses was gone into the Tabernacle of the congregation to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of one speaking unto him from off the Mercy seat that was upon the Ark of Testimony, from between the two cherubim: and He spake unto him.
Interesting Ark of the Covenant Stories
There are some interesting stories about the Ark of the Covenant. When the Lord led Joshua to lead the children of Israel to pass over the Jordan river to enter into the Promised Land, the priests carried the Ark into the middle of the Jordan, which at the time of harvest overflows its banks, and the river parted, just as the Red Sea did when Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. The Levite priests remained in the midst of the Jordan until all the Israelites had passed over the Jordan on dry ground. Through this event, the Lord brought honor to Joshua, and the children of Israel respected him. You can read the entire story in Joshua, Chapter 3 and 4.
Once the children of Israel were somewhat settled in the Promised Land, they set up the Tabernacle in Shiloh (Joshua 18:1), and the Ark of the Covenant remained there until the days of Samuel, but the conquest of Canaan was an ongoing battle so to speak. At one time, the Philistines engaged in battle against Israel and things weren't looking so good for the Israelites. The elders then came up with an idea to bring the Ark of the Covenant out of Shiloh to the battle site, in hopes that it would save them. When the Ark arrived in the camp, all of Israel shouted so that the Earth rang, like when Joshua led the children of Israel to conquer Jericho (Joshua 6:20).
Can you imagine what it would be like to hear shouting so loud that the Earth shakes? You could probably compare it to something like thunder, when it's so loud you can feel the vibration of the Earth from the sound of it. The Philistines realized what was happening and they said, God is come into the camp. At first they were distressed, having never seen such a thing before, but the thought of being servants to the Hebrews encouraged them to fight on, and they defeated Israel, killing 30,000 soldiers and stealing the Ark of the Covenant.
Now, even though the Philistines recognized the power of God when they heard the shout of the children of Israel at the battle, they weren't very well informed about the consequences of messing with the Ark of the Covenant. The Philistines took the Ark of God, and brought it to Ashdod in Philistia, into the house of their god that they called Dagon. The next day, when they went to worship, Dagon was fallen on his face in front of the Ark of the Lord. They set the idol back up in its place, and the next day when they returned, Dagon was fallen on his face again and the head and both the palms of its hands were cut off and on the doorstep ... only the stump of Dagon was left.
Those in Ashdod didn't dare return to the house of their god. As you can imagine, there was a price to pay for stealing the Ark of God ... He destroyed them, and those who didn't die, He plagued with tumors in their secret parts, so the people in Ashdod, sent the Ark to Gath in Philistia, and God afflicted them as well. This convinced them that the Ark of God should be sent to Ekron in Philistia, but the people there said, They've brought us the Ark of the God of Israel to destroy us, so they sent the Ark of the God back to the children of Israel. The Philistines had the Ark of the Covenant for seven months.
You may recall that in the rules for the sons of Kohath, the Levites who were in charge of the Ark, they weren't allowed to touch any holy thing or see when the holy things were covered lest they die. Well, the first city that the Ark arrived in when the Philistines sent it back to the children of Israel (without a driver), was Bethshemesh. Now even though the children of Israel were elated to have the Ark back in their possession, the ordinances and statues and laws for the holy things of God still stood. Carelessly, 50,070 people from Bethshemesh looked into the Ark of the Lord, and God smote them with a great slaughter.
You may think this is a bit rash, but you must look at this spiritually. If you had a treasure box, you wouldn't want just anyone looking in it or touching it. Even if you appointed someone to guard it, that wouldn't give them the right to look through it. You don't want the employees of your bank looking through your safety deposit box, do you? For the entire story ...
After that, the Ark of the Covenant was taken to the city of Kirjathjearim (also called Gibeah), and remained in the house of Abinadab, under the care of Eleazar his son, for a period of twenty years (1 Samuel 7:1-2). It wasn't until David was king, that the the Ark was brought up to Jerusalem ... and there's a story that accompanies that event too.
The sons of Abinadab ... Uzzah and Ahio ... made a new cart on which to transport the Ark. As they traveled, the oxen shook it, and Uzzah reached out and touched the Ark to steady it. This angered the Lord and God struck him, that he died there by the Ark of God. Again, just as the people in Bethshemesh died for looking into the Ark, perhaps God felt that Uzzah was irreverent for not trusting that God would keep the Ark steady. Perhaps God was using Uzzah as a tool, to warn others to keep their hands off the Ark ... don't forget, the tablets were in there ... God's own Handwriting!!!
This made king David fear the Lord, so he wouldn't bring the Ark into the city of David, but had it taken outside the city to the house of Obed-edom, the Gittite. It remained there for three months and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his family. When David heard that Obed-edom and all he owned was blessed because of the Ark, he happily had the Ark brought into Jerusalem. After the Ark had traveled six paces, David made sacrifice to the Lord, and he was filled with such joy, that he danced before the Lord with all his might, clothed in a fine linen robe and ephod (vest) (1 Chronicles 15:27).
This made Michal, David's wife, despise him in her heart, and she mocked him, but David told her that he had no shame to dance for the Lord, who chose him above her father (king Saul) and all his descendants, to appoint him king over the the people of the Lord ... over Israel. For mocking David, Michal was made barren.
David wanted to build a house for the Lord rather than the Ark of the Covenant and the Lord's very presence remaining in a Tabernacle (tent), but the Lord told David that his son Solomon would build His house.
2 Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said,
Hear me, my brethren, and my people: As for me, I had
in mine heart to build an house of rest for the Ark of
the Covenant of the LORD, and for the footstool of our
God, and had made ready for the building:
3 But God said
unto me, Thou shalt not build an house for my name,
because thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed
blood.
4 Howbeit the LORD God of Israel chose me before
all the house of my father to be king over Israel for
ever: for he hath chosen Judah to be the ruler; and of
the house of Judah, the house of my father; and among
the sons of my father he liked me to make me king over
all Israel:
5 And of all my sons, (for the LORD hath
given me many sons,) he hath chosen Solomon my son to
sit upon the throne of the Kingdom of the LORD over
Israel.
6 And He said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall
build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to
be my son, and I will be his Father.
So, David prepared a place to set up the Tabernacle for the Ark of the Covenant to rest in until Solomon was king. When king Solomon built the first Temple, the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the Temple.
Ark of the Covenant Location Changes
1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all
the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of
the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in
Jerusalem, that they might bring up the Ark of the
Covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which
is Zion.
2 And all the men of Israel assembled
themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month
Ethanim, which is the seventh month.
3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests
took up the Ark.
4 And they brought up the Ark of the
LORD, and the Tabernacle of the congregation, and all
the Holy vessels that were in the Tabernacle, even
those did the priests and the Levites bring up.
5 And
king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel, that
were assembled unto him, were with him before the Ark,
sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor
numbered for multitude.
6 And the priests brought in the
Ark of the Covenant of the LORD unto His place, into
the oracle of the house, to the Most Holy Place, even
under the wings of the cherubim.
7 For the cherubim
spread forth their two wings over the place of the
Ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and the staves
thereof above.
8 And they drew out the staves, that the
ends of the staves were seen out in the Holy place
before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and
there they are unto this day.
9 There was nothing in
the Ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put
there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the
children of Israel, when they came out of the land of
Egypt.
10 And it came to pass, when the priests were
come out of the Holy place, that the cloud filled the
house of the LORD,
11 So that the priests could not stand
to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the
LORD had filled the house of the LORD.
So, where is the Ark of the Covenant?
After Solomon's reign, the Ark isn't mentioned until the days of king Josiah. There's an interesting reference to the Ark in the Chronicles that's a bit curious:
1 Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in
Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the
fourteenth day of the first month.
2 And he set the
priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the
service of the house of the LORD,
3 And said unto the
Levites that taught all Israel, which were Holy unto
the LORD, Put the Holy Ark in the house which Solomon
the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall
not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the
LORD your God, and His people Israel,
4 And prepare
yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your
courses, according to the writing of David king of
Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his
son.
This leads one to believe that the Ark was removed from the Temple at some point between Solomon and Josiah's reign, and leads us to assume that it was returned there. When the Temple was destroyed and the children of Israel were carried away to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, there are two things that spark interest concerning what became of the Ark of the Covenant:
Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.
And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
The Ark is not mentioned again in the Bible except for once in Jeremiah:
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.
It seems that the quest to find the Ark of the Covenant is something that this generation feels compelled to do, as if it still exists. Friends, the Ark held the OLD Testament, and Jesus brought in the NEW Testament, rendering the Old Testament as ... history. I have to share with you Paul's explanation of how the Old Covenant had a worldly sanctuary and such, and how the New Covenant is a spiritual one:
1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of
divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
2 For there was
a Tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the
candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which
is called the sanctuary.
3 And after the second veil,
the Tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
4 Which had the golden censer, and the Ark of the
Covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was
the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that
budded, and the tables of the covenant;
5 And over it
the cherubims of glory shadowing the Mercyseat; of
which we cannot now speak particularly.
6 Now when these
things were thus ordained, the priests went always
into the first Tabernacle, accomplishing the service
of God.
7 But into the second went the high priest alone
once every year, not without blood, which he offered
for himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 The
Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the
holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the
first Tabernacle was yet standing:
9 Which was a figure
for the time then present, in which were offered both
gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did
the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers
washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until
the time of reformation.
11 But Christ being come an high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more
perfect Tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to
say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of
goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in
once into the Holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us.
13 For if the blood of bulls and of
goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the
unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve
the living God?
15 And for this cause He is the mediator
of the New Testament, that by means of death, for the
redemption of the transgressions that were under the
first testament, they which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a
testament is, there must also of necessity be the
death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force
after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at
all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the
first testament was dedicated without blood.
19 For when
Moses had spoken every precept to all the people
according to the law, he took the blood of calves and
of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop,
and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the Testament which God
hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with
blood both the Tabernacle, and all the vessels of the
ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged
with blood; and without shedding of blood is no
remission.
23 It was therefore necessary that the
patterns of things in the Heavens should be purified
with these; but the Heavenly things themselves with
better sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not
entered into the Holy places made with hands, which
are the figures of the true; but into Heaven itself,
now to appear in the presence of God for us:
25 Nor yet
that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest
entereth into the Holy place every year with blood of
others;
26 For then must He often have suffered since the
foundation of the world: but now once in the end of
the world hath He appeared to put away sin by the
sacrifice of Himself.
27 And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment:
28 So Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto
them that look for Him shall he appear the second time
without sin unto Salvation.
Was there anything in the Ark of the Covenant other than the tablets?
There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.
3 And after the second veil, the Tabernacle which is
called the Holiest of all;
4 Which had the golden
censer, and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid round
about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had
manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of
the Covenant;
5 And over it the cherubims of glory
shadowing the Mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak
particularly.
As you can plainly see, Paul has a different inventory of the Ark than the author of 1 Kings ... so let's do a little investigating on our own, shall we?
33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer
full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD,
to be kept for your generations.
34 As the LORD commanded
Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony,
to be kept.
10 And the LORD said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod again
before the Testimony, to be kept for a token
against the rebels; and thou shalt quite take away
their murmurings from me, that they die not.
11 And Moses
did so: as the LORD commanded him, so did he.
Now, whether 'before the Testimony' means in front of the Testimony INSIDE the Ark, or whether it means in front of THE ARK, would determine the TRUTH, but an even more important TRUTH is that God didn't want people gazing into the Ark to see His trinkets anyway, so in respect of that, I'd like to suggest that we just be satisfied with knowing that God had such a cool thing while the Old Testament was in force and leave it at that.
You may have seen movies, like Raiders of the Lost Ark, or documentaries that claim they believe the Ark of the Covenant is here or there, but there is no conclusive evidence that it is anywhere to be found.
Why is that? The Old Testament doesn't exist anymore, and if you believe in what the Bible says ... you'll find the answer to the question, “Where is the Ark of the Covenant?” plain as day in the book of Revelation:
And the Temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in His Temple the Ark of His Testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.
God has taken the Old Covenant away ... and replaced it. His new treasure ... is your Faith in Jesus Christ His Son.
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.
To better understand the Covenants ... See the link in our Related Studies box below.
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