Monday Meditation
April 11, 2016
From the desk of A.J. Higgins
The Ark
“And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the heights thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold.” Exodus 25:10, 11
The tabernacle can be divided into the framework which upheld it, the fabrics which covered it, and the furniture which filled it. While each piece of furniture speaks of Christ in some office or function He fills, the ark speaks in a particular way of His Person. It can be considered from the standpoint of its Material, or its Measurements; as well, there are lessons learned from its Movements with the children of Israel in all their journeys. Think first, however of its:
Composition: We are told of acacia wood and gold. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, the Septuagint, the word shittim or acacia wood is translated, incorruptible wood. Here was a wood which could withstand the extremes of the desert. No unseen rot beneath the surface ever attacked this wood. No hollowness ever afflicted it. But linked with the wood was gold which was used within and without. Gold would mark the holy of holies and the holy place. What value the gold gave to each piece of furniture!
The incorruptible wood lined and covered by the inestimable gold – what an apt picture of the Lord Jesus in His incorruptible humanity and full deity. Both combined in one person and all their fullness and in all their perfection.
Construction: It was a rectangle, 2 1/2 by 1 1/2 by 1 1/2. Why the “incomplete” cubit? Is it to suggest that there is always something more to Christ than we can apprehend?
A crown of gold went round the top of the ark; this was to secure in place the mercy seat. The security of the propitiatory work was dependent on the gold of the crown. It is because of Who He is that God is satisfied with that work and that we are secure. Touch the deity of Christ and you touch the finality of the work of atonement.
Carrying the Ark: There were to be four rings in the four corners of the ark. Staves, as well were to be made of acacia wood and covered with gold. The ark was to be borne about in all the movements of the ark. Never was there to be a journey when the value of the ark and the mercy seat would be divorced from the people of God. The value of the work displayed on the mercy seat was always with them. The lesson for us in this is both obvious and overwhelming. We are never seen apart from the value of Christ and His work. We are “in Christ.”
Contents: Although here in Exodus we are told only of the law being placed in the ark, later it would contain the pot of manna, and Aaron’s rod that had budded. All three were reminders of failure: the golden calf marked their failure when the law was given. The golden pot marked their failure to trust God for bread. The presence of Aaron’s rod would be a reminder of their rebellion at the time of Korah. Yet all three were under the mercy seat, covered by the blood. As well, the picture is that the law could only be preserved and kept in Christ. “Thy law is within My heart” (Ps 40:8). All was under the blood.
Consider:
1. Why do you think verse 16 is repeated in verse 21? Does the mention of the mercy seat in between these verses have anything to do with it?
2. Can you think of any other suggestions as to the half cubit measurements for all three dimensions?
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