Ark of the Covenant

Exodus Chapter 19-32

Its been a long time, but I remember the first time I saw the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. When I was a kid I thought there was supposed to be something about a giant boat like the one Noah built, but I never saw one. All I remember from that first time at the age of seven is a wierd box that sent out ghosts or something and killed a bunch of bad guys. It wasn't until years later I learned that the Ark was not a boat, but piece of Jewish history.

These chapters in Exodus read almost like a How To manual on the construction of a box that was to contain the Law given from Yahweh to his people, the Israelites. It was also supposed to contain some of the manna from the desert and the Rod of Aaron. These specific directions were given supposedly directly from Yahweh to Moses on Mt. Sinai. There are no other extra-biblical sources for these items, but it is refrenced in Kings I to have still been in the possesion of the Israelites during the time of King Solomon but by then only contained the stone tablets with the Law written on them. By the end of the Old Testament it will be lost to history. It seemed to be a very powerful thing for the Israelites and inspired the building of a Temple to house it in since it was supposed to be a dwelling place for Yahweh among his people. Because it was so holy and so sacred only the chosen priesthood could come near it.

The Ark was also important in the use of ritual to cleanse the people of their sins against God. Its here that its established that mankind is so impure that the very nature of God cannot help but leap out and destroy it when confronted face to face. Later when it is placed in the Temple there will be a viel placed between it and the people within the Holy of Holies. We'll see soon enough what happens when people don't leave well enough alone and listen to the warning of Moses.