Where Scripture is concerned many tend to misinterpret symbolism and mishandle timeless principles. Since the Bible is the benchmark for all truth, it’s imperative that its parables, precepts and promises are not skewed. Take for instance the Ark of the Covenant. To the common seeker reading Scripture for devotional purposes, or the uninformed believer sifting through 4000 years of biblical history, things can get a little dicey with interpretation. It’s easy for things to get lost in translation.
Space would not
permit me to elaborate on the vast expanse of the meanings behind the symbolism
of the entire Tabernacle. Even the Ark itself cannot be unscrambled within these
700 words. But here are a few things we need to know about the Ark of the
Covenant, as it relates to our own lives.
The Ark, or “Box”,
as it is defined in the Hebrew text, was made of Acacia wood. Acacia wood was
not wood that was found in abundance in the land of Canaan. It was primarily
found in the Sinai wilderness. The Ark was constructed in the wilderness, and
then overlaid within and without with pure gold. On the top of this “Box” was a
lid capped with a crown, which was overlaid in pure gold as well. For this blog
we’ll leave the cherubim on top of the lid out of the discussion.
The Ark’s
purpose was two-fold. First, it was to protect the Word of God – the two tables
of stone inside the Ark containing the Ten Commandments. Second, it was to keep
God’s covenant intact. There were no magical powers about the Ark. Without the
Word of God inside it was just another box. God’s Word contained in that gold
box brought God’s protection, provision, and blessing to the nation of Israel.
If you weren’t keeping the words of the “Testimony” contained in the Ark then
you became a recipient of His wrath – just ask the Philistines.
The people of
Israel were not allowed to lay eyes upon the Ark. Only one man, the High
Priest, one time per year was allowed to lay eyes upon the Ark, and that only
with God’s glory upon it and lamb’s blood applied to it. This was God’s way of
preventing them from being tempted with idolatry. He did not want them to
worship the Box, a graven image. The Box was the container of the Word and the
throne of His glory.
Everything in
the Tabernacle represents something about the nature of Christ, especially the
Ark. Christ in His flesh – the acacia – was proven in the wilderness and pure
as gold, within and without. He was the Word in flesh and the shedding of His blood
was the antitype of the blood on the lid of the Ark. The crown of thorns on His
head symbolized His total submission. The blood of Christ, which came from His
head and downward, now covers mankind. You will never wear a crown of gold
until you can first wear a crown of thorns.
In reality, your
heart is that Box, made of wild acacia. Yet if you hide God’s Law in your
heart, it will make it pure as gold, within and without. His blood is not just
a covering for your heart, but it is literally a covering for His Word in your
heart. His Word in your heart covered by His blood brings His glory upon you.
As it was with the “Thorny Acacia” in the wilderness with Moses, the Lawgiver
spoke to the Law receiver out of the Acacia that burned with fire but was not
consumed. This pointed the way to the Box of the Covenant, made of Acacia,
overlaid within and without with pure gold and covered by blood, and the voice
of God spoke from the cloud upon the Mercy Seat. The fulfillment: God covers
the wild nature of believers (Acacia) with the pure blood of Christ and fills
us with His glory. The same voice speaks from that same cloud through us in
other tongues out of the abundance of our heart. YOU are the Box.
Bishop J. Todd Nichols
Bishop J. Todd Nichols
