THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
A few years ago a man in Dayton, Ohio, found a unique way to propose to his girlfriend. He hired an airplane to fly over the city towing a banner that read, "Judy, I love you. Will you marry me?" Judy accepted his proposal by asking, "How can you say no to love like that?" We look at God's love for us, especially as it is expressed to us through Christ and his cross and ask, "How can you say no to a love like that?" I have that same experience when I think of the cross and the price that Jesus paid for my sins. How can you say no to a love like that?
The sixth and last piece of furniture in the tabernacle was the Ark of the Covenant. It was located in the Holy of Holies – a small room separated from the Holy Place by a curtain. The ark was made of gold and had 2 Cherubim with wings spread over it.
Ex 25:10 "Have them make a chest of acacia wood--two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 11 Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it.
The ark was located in the Holy of Holies. This was thought to be the very dwelling place of God. It was the place where the Shekinah Glory of God was manifest – the radiant holy light of the almighty God. Only the High Priest would enter there once a year and only then with an acceptable sacrifice.
Between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies there was a thick curtain or veil. This was provided to shield sinful men from a holy God. The picture of the veil was that of a barrier between man and God, showing man that the holiness of God could not be trifled with. God’s eyes are too pure to look on evil and He cannot tolerate sin. The veil was a barrier to make sure that man did not carelessly and irreverently enter into God’s awesome presence.
In the New Testament, when Jesus died on the cross the temple curtain was torn from top to bottom – notice it started from above with God and ended below with man. The barrier that stood in the way was removed so that God’s spirit now resides in each one of who is saved in Christ. We have free access into the presence of God by the imputed holiness of Christ. Jesus, the great High Priest has offered the sacrifice once and for all.
Heb. 10:19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
1. LEANING ON GOD - sharing what is on your heart
When the priest entered into the Holy of Holies, the clothes he wore were very special. The priest had on a breastplate that had 12 stones. Each stone represented one of the 12 tribes of Israel. He bore the concerns for the nation with him into the Holy of Holies.
Exodus 28:29 "Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breast piece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD.
When we enter into the presence of God we bring to Him what is on our hearts. God loves us and there is nothing that can surprise or shock Him. Bring Him every care and concern you have. Don’t hold back thinking that God will somehow be offended with you or that somehow you can shock Him. I love the Psalms because in them we see the full spectrum of human emotion. There are quiet tender moments as well as shouting and frustrated moments of doubt.
I was talking with someone last week who confessed to me that recently they have been so hurt by a situation that they just felt like shouting at God. I told them to go ahead and shout. God can take it. He wants us to be real and to bring Him what is on our hearts. So often we hold back from being open with God out of fear or a misunderstood sense of ‘reverence’. The fear of the Lord is a good thing:
Psa 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.
This means that we give God the respect that He deserves. It doesn’t mean that we are afraid of Him. I want my children to respect me but I don’t want them to fear me. What is the difference? Love. Fear separates while loving respect draws us near.
1Jn 4:18-19 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
The priests in the Old Testament who ministered in the Tabernacle had reason to fear the Holy of Holies. There was a reason the Ark of the Covenant was behind a curtain. The holiness of God is not something that you take lightly. Remember this story.
2Sa 6:6-12 When they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7 The LORD's anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down and he died there beside the ark of God. 8 Then David was angry because the LORD's wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah. 9 David was afraid of the LORD that day and said, "How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?"
We remember that part of the story but often forget what comes next:
10 He was not willing to take the ark of the LORD to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it aside to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11 The ark of the LORD remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed him and his entire household. 12 Now King David was told, "The LORD has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God." So David went down and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.
The ark was intended to be an instrument of blessing, not a curse. Yes, God demands respect, but not fear. The curtain that separated the ark from the people was torn in two when Jesus died on the cross because our sins were paid for. If you have received Jesus then you have the righteousness of Christ and you can boldly come into God’s presence.
You don’t have to hide behind the curtain in fear feeling that you are not good enough and that God would never accept your prayers. You don’t have to pretend you are something that you are not. You don’t need to wear a mask and pretend to have everything together. Come as you are.
At the end of WWII the Japanese government faced a problem with thousands of soldiers who were hiding in the jungles and mountains in the South Pacific. Although the treaty with the U.S. had been signed and the war was over, thousands of Japanese soldiers living in the mountains and jungles of the South Pacific islands would not come out of hiding, surrender their weapons, and return to their homes to live in peace. These soldiers had been so indoctrinated with stories of what the Americans would do to them if they surrendered that they believed they would face certain torture or immediate death, so they remained in hiding and ready to fight.
How could the Japanese government convince these die hard warriors that the war was indeed over and they were not just hearing American propaganda designed to capture unsuspecting soldiers? Finally, the Japanese Emperor made a speech detailing the end of the war and pleading with them to return home. The voice of the Emperor was broadcast by radio and recorded to be repeatedly played on loudspeakers directed into the jungles and mountain caves where these men were hiding. One by one the Japanese soldiers accepted the assurance of their Emperor and turned themselves in. Some waited to be certain the war had indeed ended, but within a few months all but a few had surrendered.
After some years, it was assumed all of these hidden soldiers had been accounted for; those still missing were presumed dead. However, in March of 1974 a Japanese soldier finally came out of hiding, 29 years after the war was over. When asked why he had remained in hiding so long, this warrior now in his sixties said it had taken him that long to get over his fears. The U.S. and Japan had shared a friendly relationship for years, but this lone soldier had wasted 29 years hiding from an enemy he still feared within his mind.
Can you imagine being held captive by your fears for 29 years? Imprisoned, not by an invading army or a cruel dictator but held captive by the fear within your mind.
You might be thinking to yourself, “why should I bring God what is on my heart when He already knows everything that there is to know about me?” That is like saying that because your wife knows that you love her that you never have to actually say it. Guess what guys, even though she might know it you still have to say it! Why? There is power in communication. Speaking the words is important.
2. LISTENING TO GOD - hearing what is on His heart
As we spend time in the presence of God we need to not only share with Him what is on our heart but also to find out what is on His. God desires to make his will known to us and in us – but this requires spending time listening. In Genesis 18 the Lord appeared to Abraham and they met together in his tent. After they had spent time together God shared with Abraham that he would have a son and also confided in him what was about to happen with Sodom and Gomorra.
Exodus 28:30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breast piece, so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.
In the breastplate of the High Priest was carried the Urim and Thummim which was used for casting lots to determine the will of God. Before Israel went to war or made an important decision the High Priest would use these to determine God’s direction. In the New Testament we no longer have to rely on casting lots since we have the Holy Spirit within us. As we spend time in the presence of God the Holy Spirit can speak to us and direct us in the ways that the lord wants us to go.
In Directions, James Hamilton writes: Before refrigerators, people used ice houses to preserve their food. Ice houses had thick walls, no windows, and a tightly fitted door. In winter, when streams and lakes were frozen, large blocks of ice were cut, hauled to the ice houses, and covered with sawdust. Often the ice would last well into the summer. One man lost a valuable watch while working in an ice house. He searched diligently for it, carefully raking through the sawdust, but didn't find it. His fellow workers also looked, but their efforts, too, proved futile. A small boy who heard about the fruitless search slipped into the ice house during the noon hour and soon emerged with the watch. Amazed, the men asked him how he found it. "I closed the door," the boy replied, "lay down in the sawdust, and kept very still. Soon I heard the watch ticking." The question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we will be still enough, to hear.
3. LOVING GOD - spending time with Him
The tabernacle was a physical structure which represents a spiritual reality. It is a picture of heaven. It’s design was to show us how to come into God’s presence. All that it represented can be reduced to a simple principle:
Heb 9:23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence… 27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
The most important thing in life is our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The Ark of the Covenant contained the things that reminded Israel of it’s relationship with God. In the ark there were the stone tablets which God had given to Moses – the basis of His covenant with the people. There was a jar of manna – a sign of God’s daily provision. There was Aaron’s staff that budded – a sign of God’s selection and anointing. The covenant that God made with Israel was His will to walk in relationship with them. He would do His part and they would do theirs.
In Jesus we have entered into a covenant relationship with God. What do you keep in your ark to remind you of that relationship? Where are you at today with Jesus? Remember that scary scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when they open the Ark and everyone except those who refuse to look inside are destroyed? Would you have looked inside?
Allow me to pull out my own ark this morning and give you a peek inside. Don’t worry, your face will not melt if you take a peak – you will not be consumed by it’s contents. When I am with the Lord and I open my own ark I find a number of memories. It is me as a 13 year old boy sitting at the foot of an old wooden cross overlooking Lake Huron and praying that Jesus would come into my life. It is a foggy night in my first year of university sitting on an old rusty swing set asking God for strength and direction. It is the missions trip when I told the Lord I would go into full time ministry. It is the ring on my finger reminding me of a day 20 years ago (in 2 weeks) when I walked down the aisle with Naomi and said ‘I do”. It is the birth of each one of my 3 daughters. There are so many wonderful and some painful memories; each one so precious and holy to me.
What is in your ark? What is it that you pull out and hold dear when you are with the Lord? What memories or things remind you of God’s love for you and His calling on your life?
An engagement ring that fell into the sea off the west coast of Sweden almost two years ago found its way back to its owner. The ring was consumed by a mussel that was caught by a fisherman Peder Carlsson. Carlsson was able to return the ring to its owner because its owner, Agneta Wingstedt, had her name engraved on the inside. If we belong to Christ and bear his name, we will be reunited with him one day.
Each one of us who has received Jesus has His name engraved on our hearts. We are His. We have been adopted into His family and we will spend eternity with Him in glory. Each one of us has a limited number of days on this earth. This life is preparation for the next. God is waiting to spend time with us. He has parted the veil and has invited us to draw near. Every moment of every day we make the decision to accept or reject that invitation.
Elizabeth Barrett was born in 1806 in England. She had a jealous and dominating father. Her first 4 books of poetry had been published when she was just 12 years old. At 15 she injured her spine, and the resulting confinement in London affected her lungs, and she came to be regarded as a permanent invalid, doomed to spend her life in bed. But still she kept writing. As time passed, the grief caused by the drowning of a brother, and her father’s refusal to allow any of his children to marry made her a recluse. Nearing 40, she seemed destined for a life of helplessness and gloom. But the publication of one of her books brought about a correspondence with another poet, a man by the name of Robert Browning. He visited her, and then they wrote often to each other, with him encouraging her to try to get out of bed and make every effort to resume a normal life. But this met with strong resistance from her parents. And they resented Robert for even suggesting it.
They refused to allow him to visit her again, but the correspondence continued and soon they were in love. Finally, more than a year later, she escaped the possessive vigilance of her father and they were secretly married. They immediately moved to Italy and in that sunny climate it wasn’t long until she was strong and active once again. Her parents disowned her, but she wrote almost every week, telling them that she loved them and longed for a reconciliation. After 10 years of writing to them, she received a huge box in the mail that contained all the letters she had ever sent. Not a one of them had been opened! Although these "love letters" have now become a precious part of English literature, it’s sad to know that they were never read by her parents. Had they looked at just one, the broken relationship with their daughter might have been healed.
We hear a story like that and we think, “Oh, what a pitiful story. What a pitiful thing for her parents to be like that.” You’re right. But let me ask you a question. Is it possible that as far as God is concerned, that some of us are acting exactly the same way that her parents did? How often has God made His love known to us? How often has He expressed it? How great a gift He has given that we might know that He loves us! And we never open His letters. We never talk about His love. We never respond to His invitation. We just ignore Him.
Don’t spend your life before the veil. Stop living in the outer room, trying to serve God in His tabernacle without ever truly spending time with Him. The curtain has been torn and the invitation to come has been given. Precious blood was spilled to make the way for you to draw near. How can you say no to a love like that?
