The Ark of the Covenant Research Paper

The word Ark, Aron in Hebrew, means simply a chest. The Ark was made in Sinai by Bezaleel ben Uri, whose name suitably means, "In the Shadow of El (God), The Son of my Light". It consisted of a rectangular chest made of acacia wood and covered over with gold. It measured 1. 15 meters long, 0. 7 meters wide and 0. 7 meters high. Two long bars, also made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, carried it.

The mercy seat was a kind of lid, which closed the chest from above. It was made of pure gold and was held in place by a golden ridge or crown.Beaten out of this mercy seat were two cherubim, (a winged creature with human face) with their wings overshadowed the mercy seat. They were beaten out of the same piece of pure gold as the mercy seat.

God had commanded Moses to make the Ark of the Covenant (Ex. 25. 10-22) and inside it Moses placed the two tables of the law. Later on, Aaron's rod that budded was placed in it (Num. 17. 10), together with the golden pot that had the manna (Ex. 16. 33, Heb. 9. 4).Together these three items form the Testimony (Exodus 25:21); hence the Ark is called the Ark of the Testimony.

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The Ark of the Covenant is the best-known item in the Tabernacle, (the tent carried by the Jews through the desert and used as a temple). It resided in the Holy of Holies, the innermost room of the Tabernacle. It was famous for its mysterious powers against the enemies of Israel (I Samuel chapters 5 ; 6).

Access was only allowed once per year, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) and was limited to one person only, the high priest. He had to come into the Holy of Holies with the blood of a goat, on behalf of his own and the people of Israel's sins. 1. The Stone Tablets of the LawThe Ten Commandments were written on these two pieces of stone, by the finger of God on Mount Sinai (Exodus 31:18; 32:16,19; 34:1). The tablets of stone are also called the tables of testimony (Exodus 31:18), because they show us what God is like: protective, kind, truthful and right. He is sacred and righteous.

Here are the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17):  "I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.  You shall not make for yourselves any carved image; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.  You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who misuses His name.  Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day.  Honour your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. . You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbour's house; you shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.  The Ten Commandments on the two stone tablets are the basis for God's promise with the children of Israel (Exodus 19:57).

They specify what the moral requirements of the law are, but there is no supply to help the children of Israel to obey the commandments.

Aaron's Rod that Budded A short while after the Tabernacle had been functioning; one of the priests (Korah) and some others raised a challenge to the leadership of Moses and Aaron. But, God wanted to demonstrate absolutely that Aaron was his choice for the priesthood (Numbers 17:5). A rod from the head of each of the twelve tribes was marked with the name of the tribe and placed before the Lord, at Ark of the Testimony (Numbers 17:4).

When Moses returned the next day, Aaron's rod had budded with sprouts, yielding blossoms and ripe almonds.God commanded Moses to place Aaron's rod back before the Testimony, "to be kept as a sign against the rebels" to prevent further murmurings and death (Numbers 17:10).

The Golden Pot of 'Hidden' Manna Manna was the food that came down from God to feed the children of Israel daily in the wilderness for the forty years of their journey to Canaan. It was given to the children of Israel in such a way that it required them to build up self-discipline. Manna only came in the early morning with the dew (Exodus 16:13-14). By the time the sun was up, it would have evaporated (Exodus 16:21).It had to be gathered every day, any remains would breed worms and smell (Exodus 16:20), and they had to gather a double portion on the sixth day, because none would fall on the Sabbath (Exodus 16:22-27). It was called 'Manna', because that is Hebrew for 'what is it'.

It looked like white coriander seed and tasted like wafer biscuits made with honey (Exodus 16:31). The Lord ordered Moses to fill an omer vessel with Manna and keep it for a memorial to future generations of how God fed them in the wilderness (Exodus 16:32-33). This is the Golden Pot of Hidden Manna in the Tabernacle, which indicates eternal life. History According to the sacred account recorded in Exodus XXV, 10-22, God Himself had given the description of the Ark of the Covenant, as well as that of the tabernacle and all its accessories.

When it was completed God showed His happiness by filling the tabernacle of the testimony with His Glory, and covering it with the cloud that in future would be to His people a guiding symbol in their journeys. Whenever, during the desert life, the camp was to set forward, the people pitched their tents to halt for some time in a place; everything was set again in its usual order.Hence, the Ark led over all the journeys and stations of Israel during all their nomadic life in the wilderness.

When David took Jerusalem and made it the capital and religious center of his kingdom, he brought back the Ark of the Covenant. He thought of building a temple. Although the building of this structure was to be the work of his successor, David himself took to heart to collect and arrange the resources for its creation.

From the very beginning of Solomon's reign, this commitment showed the greatest respect to the Ark. When the temple and all its paraphernalia were completed, Solomon, assembled the elders of Israel, so that they might solemnly transfer the Ark from the place where David had set it up to the Holy of Holies. However, after the fall of Jerusalem, in 587 B. C., numerous legends exist about its correct location.

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