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Ian Hay

Professor Thomson

Ancient World History

17 February 2017

The Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant was one of the most valuable possessions of the Israelites. It

was considered to be the throne of God. A lot of mystery lies behind where the ark is today and

what happened to it when it disappeared. The story of the Ark of the Covenant is very valuable to

Christianity and the history of their religion.

Exodus 25:10-21 reveals the instructions that were given to Moses on how to build the

Ark of the Covenant. Exodus 25:10-22 of the English Standard Version says, They shall make

an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits[a] and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth,

and a cubit and a half its height. You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you

overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. You shall cast four rings of gold

for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side

of it. You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. And you shall put the

poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. The poles shall remain in the

rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I

shall give you. You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its

length, and a cubit and a half its breadth. And you shall make two cherubim of gold;

of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub on

the one end, and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make
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the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing

the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces

of the cherubim be. And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you

shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you, and from above the

mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with

you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel. (English Standard

Version, Exodus 25:10-22)

The verse reveals the very details that God wanted the ark to be constructed from. Any

mistakes would have ruined the ark and it would have been holy enough to be the throne of God.

The ark took a lot of time to make and it was also time consuming to gather everything that was

to be used to make the ark. A good portion of the materials and items that were used to make the

ark and the tabernacle where it was to be kept, were given as offerings by the people of Israel.

The ark was very important to the people and they honored Gods commands to Moses by giving

their possessions to help construct the ark.

The true origin of the ark was on Mount Sinai. God spoke to Moses while he was up on

the mountain for a 40-day stay. God revealed the plans to Moses for how he wanted the ark to be

built. He also revealed the plans for constructing the tabernacle which is where the ark would be

kept. The ark was built as a keeping place for the 10 commandments. Everything that was used

to build the ark represented something. The box, 3 feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet high,

was made of acacia wood (commonly construed as speaking of the humanity of Christ). It was

overlayed with pure gold (denoting Christs perfect humanity). It held a pot of manna, the Ten

Commandments and later Aarons rod that budded. The mercy seat was the gold lid or top of the
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ark, illustrating how the divine throne of judgment is transformed to a throne of grace by atoning

blood sprinkled upon it. The two cherubim (winged lions with human heads known for

contemporary iconography) represented guardianship of the holiness of Gods throne, above

which was enthroned the Shekinah glory presence of the Lord. The ark was the beginning of the

tabernacle symbolism, God working outward to his outreach to man. (Unger 99)

To the Israelites, the ark was more than just a storing place for the Ten Commandments.

The ark was also a symbol of the Lord through which they could worship him and pray to him.

The ark was located in the holiest place of the tabernacle. There are many different examples of

the Israelites worshipping and praying to God through the ark. Joshua 7:6, Then Joshua tore his

clothes and fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders

of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. In this verse Joshua is falling on his knees and

praying to the Lord through the ark and asking him to help save them from the Amorites. Psalm

28:2, Hear the voice of my supplications, When I cry to You, When I lift up my hands toward

Your holy sanctuary. In this verse David is crying out to the Lord in the holy place where the

ark is kept. He is on his knees in worship and prayer.

The ark was lost during an attack on Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar. The city was

destroyed and the tabernacle was burned down to the ground. When the attack was over the ark

was nowhere to be found in all the wreckage. Up to this day no one has found the Ark of the

Covenant. One of the most commonly asked questions about the ark of the covenant is where

did it go?. Most people think that the ark was hidden previously to the attack on Jerusalem.

A man by the name of James Davila translated an ancient text called the Massekhet

Kelim. The Massekhet Kelim is an old Hebrew text that supposedly contains the records of the
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hidden locations of all the Solomons lost treasure including the Ark of the Covenant. According

to the Massekhet Kelim the location of the treasures shall not be revealed until the day of the

coming of the Messiah son of David.

The Ark of the Covenant, to this day, is still one of the most talked about subjects in the

bible. People all over the world dedicate their time to trying to find the lost artifact. The story of

the Ark of the Covenant is very valuable to Christianity and the history of their religion.
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Works Cited

Pruitt, Sarah. "Fate of the Lost Ark Revealed?." History, 10 Jan. 2014, www.history.com/news/fate-of-

the-lost-ark-revealed. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

Rodriguez, Angel M. "What is the significance of the ark of the covenant?." Biblical Research Institute,

https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/theology-sanctuary/ark-covenant. Accessed 15

Feb. 2017.

Jarus, Owen. "Fate of Ark of the Covenant Revealed in Hebrew Text." LiveScience, 7 Jan. 2014,

www.livescience.com/42398-ark-of-covenant-fate-revealed-in-hebrew-text.html. Accessed 15 Feb.

2017.

"What was the Ark of the Covenant, and was it real?." Bible.org, 1 Jan. 2001,

https://bible.org/question/what-was-ark-covenant-and-was-it-real. Accessed 17 Feb. 2017.

The English Standard Version Study Bible. General Editor, Wayne Grudem, Crossway, 2011

Unger, Merill F. Unger's Bible Handbook. Chicago, Moody Press, 1966, p. 99.

Unger, Merill F. The New Unger's Bible Handbook. Chicago, Moody Press,

1984, p. 80.
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Ian Hay

Professor Milam

Ancient World History

18 February 2017

Annotated Bibliography

Pruitt, Sarah. "Fate of the Lost Ark Revealed?." History, 10 Jan. 2014, www.history.com/news/fate-of-

the-lost-ark-revealed. Accessed 16 Feb. 2017.

The article contains information about the Ark of the Covenant and where it could be

located today. The article focuses on presenting different theories about where the ark could

possibly be and what might have happened to it.

Rodriguez, Angel M. "What is the significance of the ark of the covenant?." Biblical Research Institute,

https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/theology-sanctuary/ark-covenant. Accessed 15

Feb. 2017.
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This article by Angle Rodriguez talks about the significance of the ark to the Israelites.

He points out some of the main purposes of the ark and how the Israelites used the ark to worship

and pray to God.

Jarus, Owen. "Fate of Ark of the Covenant Revealed in Hebrew Text." LiveScience, 7 Jan. 2014,

www.livescience.com/42398-ark-of-covenant-fate-revealed-in-hebrew-text.html. Accessed 15 Feb.

2017.

Owen Jarus discussed where the ark could possibly be today. He revealed some

translations of old Hebrew text that help describe where the ark could be today. Jarus backed up his

statements with solid evidence which made the article reliable.

"What was the Ark of the Covenant, and was it real?." Bible.org, 1 Jan. 2001,

https://bible.org/question/what-was-ark-covenant-and-was-it-real. Accessed 17 Feb. 2017.

This article contained verses that talked about the Ark and how it was built. The

verses were reliable because the Bible is a very highly trusted source for information.

The English Standard Version Study Bible. General Editor, Wayne Grudem, Crossway, 2011

The bible contains very important information about how the ark is to be built and

what parts should be used to build it. The verses are reliable because they are cited

directly in the bible with factual evidence.

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Unger, Merill F. Unger's Bible Handbook. Chicago, Moody Press, 1966, p. 99.

In this book Merill Unger talks about the vast wonders of the bible. He explained what

measurements were to be used to build the ark. He also talked about what material was to be used

to build the ark.

Unger, Merill F. The New Unger's Bible Handbook. Chicago, Moody Press, 1984, p. 80.

Merill Unger talks about the travels of the ark of the Covenant. He recounted the different

places that the ark was taken. He also discussed what different nations captured the ark.