"THE ARK OF THE COVENANT”
INTRO: The Ark was placed in a room that was called the HOLY OF HOLIES because in there, it was found to hold the very presence of God Himself!
It was the place of God's dwelling under the Old Covenant ... and so the room held great awe and fear.
Only the High Priest was allowed to enter this room and then only once a year, and if any sin was in his heart he would be killed on the spot!
During certain reigns they had learned to put bells around the ankle of the High Priest and to even tie a rope around him in case he died when he entered, they would remove his body by pulling it out!
If they suddenly heard the bells stop, they knew he had died in the presence of the Lord, and they pulled his body out!
I’m sure many of people held their breath to see if the High Priest returned from the Holy of Holies some years.
The outer court represented the believer's separation from the world, and the Holy Place represented the place of fellowship with God ... this room called the Holy of Holies represented the place of Worship!
The inner room was veiled off by a thick curtain under the Old Covenant, but we see that the curtain was torn in two in the great earthquake when Jesus died which gave us the New Covenant, now through Christ the room is open for all, not restricted to one!
This room was a perfect cube 15' by 15' by 15' ... one room with 3 equal dimensions, which we now can understand that that represents a symbol of the Trinity of God. (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)
The room was blocked by that large veil or curtain.
To enter you had to be the right person, at the right time, and in the right way, or death resulted.
(N.T.) In Christ we now can enter anytime as the right people, always the right time, and with our sins washed away by Christ we can enter always in the right way ... the result, LIFE, not death!
The Bible teaches us the Holy of Holies through GRACE is through Christ. We now have access to God; the way for us is open to those who come through Christ our High Priest our Holy of Holies.
Let us look at the items that were stored in the Ark of the Covenant.
The items inside the Ark.
Hebrews 9:4
9:4 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;
Items were placed inside the Ark of the Covenant.
Three items were placed inside there and this morning I would like for us to examine, to look at those three (3) special and holy items.
1. MANNA
That Manna was God’s Heavenly Provision!
1. A gold jar full of the manna Israel had during their desert wanderings.
a. The gold was the symbol of deity ... Jesus.
b. The manna was the heavenly bread ... again Jesus!
Hebrews 10:19- 20
10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
We can see under the New Testament the Holy of Holies is Jesus.
2. The unique feature of this sample of manna was that it never spoiled ... as long as it remained a part of the ark it was fresh forever! It was EVERLASTING BREAD!
a. The symbol of Jesus here is powerful ... HE IS THE EVERLASTING BREAD OF LIFE!
b. This bread symbolized God's heavenly provision for their life!
3. This Ark was a symbol of LIFE to God's people in the Old Testament, but if treated improperly it was an Ark of death ...
(The time the Philistines possessed the Ark, they began to die from tumors ... so much death resulted that they gave it back to Israel!)
a. It was life to those who respected it and handled it properly ... death to those who misused it!
b. God had provided for them everlasting bread ... now that is fulfilled in Christ!
c. Jesus is called the "BREAD OF LIFE."
John 6:31-35
6:31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
6:32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
6:33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
6:34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
2. Rod
This Rod shows us God’s Heavenly Power
1. Not just a simple stick but one that had buds, flowers, and ripened almonds on it ... the symbol of Aaron as High Priest.
When Aaron's priesthood had been challenged, Moses had been given instructions by God to have all those who thought they were to be the High Priest (1 from each tribe) bring a rod and the rod that budded and had fruit on it would be the one God had chosen ... it had been Aaron’s rod that budded ... and this was placed in the ark as a constant reminder that God chooses His servants
a. The rod was the symbol of God's authority as well as God's choice for High Priest!
2. Like this rod ... Jesus appeared to be at first a dead suddenly brought to life in a miraculous manner ... always having fresh buds and ripe fruit on it, like the manna, always alive!
a. Heb. 10:21-21 clearly speaks that Jesus is the High Priest forever!
Hebrews 10:20-21
10:20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
10:21 And having a high priest over the house of God;
a. This is Jesus; though at the cross. He died upon the cross but came alive again and is still alive bearing much fruit
b. In John 15:5-8 we are also likened as dead branches, but in Christ we are grafted into the vine which is Christ and alive we become branches bearing fruit also!
John 15:5-8
15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples
3. (2 Tablets - 10 commandments)
The Tablets shows God’s Heavenly Principles
1. These 2 tablets of stone with God's laws written on them, the ones Moses brought down the mountain!
a. These laws had been written by God Himself ... not man!
b. Man will never be able to improve upon these.
c. These were God's principles of LIFE!
2. Any person who would keep these laws would find life, these were God's eternal laws, His Word.
3. Again, we see Christ here who fulfilled the law fully ... whose obedience to this law of God brought the gift of life to us!
Maybe time will tell if the Ark of the Covent will ever be found.
Remember the movie, “RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK”.
Believe it or not, Hollywood did depict what would happen if you found the Ark and opened it up.
It did not turn out as nice as those Nazi thought would happen when they did it.
God poured out judgement upon all those that looked at it.
This is why Indiana Jones told that girl to cover her eyes and do not look at the Ark.
Personally, I am not so sure you would want to find it because if you open it up and you have sin in your life, you ain’t going to see another sunrise, you probably will not even see that sundown that evening.
Who knows if it will ever be found. God may well have took up back to Heaven with him because a new Covenant was to be brought forth for all of us in the person of Jesus Christ.
We no longer need the Holy of Holies tabernacle, we have a Saviour a redeemer, He is our Holy of Holies, and we can look upon him this morning and find salvation.
…and one day I will to be able to look upon His face and call him Lord.
How about you this morning?
Will you be able to look upon the face of Jesus and He call you friend, call you, his sheep?
…or will it be as in days of old, the wrath of God will serve you justice for having sin in your life before him.
The only way to wash yourself of that sin is not go into a tabernacle in a back room and make a blood sacrifice, that sacrifice of blood has already been paid at Calvary…it up to you this morning if you want it to cleanse you as white as snow.
