- Description of the Ark
Core texts: Ex. 25:31-40 & Ex. 37:17-24
Most of the objects of the holy tabernacle which are described in two places within Exodus: the Ark of the covenant, the showbread table, the golden lampstand, the tabernacle itself, the bronze altar, the court of the tabernacle, and the priest’s garments. Inbetween the two descriptive chapters is the incident of the golden calf. In chapter 37 the text identifies Bezelal as responsible for creating the objects. His name means in the shadow (protection) of God. This is reminiscent of Psalm 91: He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. For there is safety dwelling under the shadow of the Allmighty.
— The Ark (Ex. 25:10-17)
(The children of Israel) shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length (117 cm), a cubit and a half its width (70 cm), and a cubit and a half its height (70 cm). .
You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around.
You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side.
You shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.
You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. The poles shall be in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it.
You shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you.
It is interesting that in chapter 25 the pronoun alternates from the third person plural to the second person singular. It is the “thou shalt” and the “you shalt” in KJV english. Yet when you go to chapter 37 the instructions are solely given to Bezalel. I assume he had helpers but the point is there is a specific person instructed to carry out this work.
The Testimony included the golden pot of manna, aaron’s rod that budded almonds, and the two tablet of the Law (10 commandments) although 1 Kings 8:9 says only the two tablets remained by the time of Solomon. There is only speculation on how the jar and staff disappeared. Some things just don’t last thru time. God’s law will last because Yeshua said ‘until heaven and earth disappear not the smallest letter or stroke of a pen will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished’ (Matt: 5:18). But remember it took only a day or two for manna to breed worms and the staff would bud and dry up quickly as well.
Speculations abound for the location of the Ark of Testimony from hidden chambers under the temple mount to a cave on Mount Nebo (Jordan), to being held in a monastary in Aksum, Ethiopia. In the 1981 movie ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ in the Indiana Jones series, the Ark was found. Unfortunately only demons remained within it’s contents. If the Ark and the Tablets were to be found it would serve as a significant archeological discovery but provide very little to our understanding of spiritual principles and concepts. Next, let’s look deep into the idea of what the Ark symbolizes.
— The Mercy Seat (Ex. 25-17-22)
This is where we get into the typology and symbolism of the mercy seat and see how Christ’s sacrifice as the Passover lamb is not directly related to the Day of Atonement.
You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit and a half its width. This is about 45″ x 27″ in english measure.
You shall two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. The cherubim shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat.
You shall put the mercy seat on top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you. There I will meet with you, and I will speak with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, about everything which I will give you in commandment to the children of Israel.
Lev. 16 speaks of the blood sprinkled on the mercy seat Verse 14 speaks about the blood of the bull and the blood of the goat. It shall be sprinkled onto the front of the mercy seat on the east and in front of the mercy seat sprinkle the blood seven times. The blood of the bull is a sin offering for the high priest and the blood of the goat for the people.
In biblical numerology the number is most significant. Last week we spoke of the seven lamps on the menorah and the seven churches of Asia Minor. Seven signifies the completion of the week and also siginfies the names of the Spirit of God. The once sprinkled blood onto the front of the mercy seat represents the oneness (or unity) of the Godhead. Even the two angels can point us to the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation and also the One New Man concept of Apostle Paul in the letter to the Ephesians (Jew and Gentile). I could also speak here of the two lambs that are sacrificed continually each day in the Temple, one in the morning and one in the evening.
The sprinkling of blood is a reference to the Day of Atonement which is covered by the writer of Hebrews:
Heb. 10:19-22: therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,
by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
The veil of the temple torn in two from top to bottom speaks of Christ’s flesh being torn away from him as he died. A new creation would soon emerge. The One New Man as head of his church provides a way of access to the Holy Sanctum where God once dwelt. Our hearts have to be sprinkled clean through the pledge of baptism and holy living.
I believe that Apostle Paul was alluding to this atonement for sin when he wrote to the Romans:
Rom. 3:24-25:: we are justified by his grace as a gift,through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forebearance he had passed over former sins.
But again, Paul was mainly speaking about Christ’s sacrifice at Passover, not Atonement per se.
— New Covenant Concepts on the Mercy Seat
It is once a year during Yom Kippur that the high priest ventures into the Holy of Holies to make atonement for himself and for the people. What is Christ’s role then in regards to the Holy of Holies? Be prepared, this is really deep and challenges some of our understanding of what ‘Lamb of God’ signifies.
The writer of Hebrews, when it comes to the Ark and the Mercy seat states: Of these things we cannot now speak in detail (Heb. 9:5) but the writer does give us some absolute truth.
If you read between the lines, the author of Hebrews seems to be saying in verses 8 and 9 that at the present time, while the temple is still standing, that the way into the Holiest of All has not yet been made manifest. This is very interesting and curious also. Decades after Christ’s resurrection we are told all things have not yet been revealed. He also references the first tabernacle and says it is symbolic of the present time so tabernacle and temple seem to alluded to as being equivalent spiritually which we shall see shortly is how John seems to be doing in his revelation of things to come.
Heb. 9:11-12:: Christ appeared as the high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation). He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
Please notice it is not the earthly tabernacle has Christ appeared. The text here says nothing of the temple but speaks metaphorically about the tent, or tabernacle. So why is the temple not even a consideration?
All three of the synoptic gospels record the temple curtain being torn in two from top to bottom during his crucifixion (Matt. 27:51, Mark 15:38, and Luke 23:45). This is when Yeshua breathed his last. Luke records it was at the time of twilight when the sacrificial lamb was slein. I submit to you it is then when God abandoned the idea of the priest only going into the Holy of Holies once a year on Yom Kippur. We all have such entry available to us through Christ’s blood to enter in and worship at the Ark of the Testimony and at the Mercy Seat.
The typology does not support the Day of Atonement but rather opens up the pathway for atonement. This is why we have Hebrews which explains things better than other writings which deal strictly with the Passover lamb (John 1:29,36;Acts 8:26-40;1 Pet. 1:18-21; Rev. 5:6-13).
The blood of the lamb is not technically right for the Day of Atonement. The lamb’s blood was a passover symbol so that the Death Angel would pass over us but the lamb is also a symbol of the 2x/day continual sacrifices at the temple. According to Numbers 28 the daily lamb sacrifices were burnt sacrifices as part of food offerings and on the Sabbath day two BURNT offerings consisting of male lambs. But Christ is one so a double daily sacrifice is not good symbology either.
It is interesting in Heb. 9:7 that it speaks of blood being offered in the holy place for the high priest and for unintentional sins of the people, thus not speaking of atonement for intentional sins. Other versions translate this as sins done in ignorance or errors of the people. That is why Heb. 10:26 goes on to say if we go on sinning deliverately that there is no more sacrifice for sins.
Heb. 9:24:: For Christ has entered, not into holy place made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.
More on the Tabernacle itself in a few weeks.
Heb. 13:11-12 (Lev. 4:12,21) speak about the blood brought into the holy places by the priest for a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the city gates and goes on to say likewise Yeshua suffered outside of the city gates.
What I am not saying here is that the sacrifice of Yeshua is no no effect or that he wasn’t our ultimate sacrifice for humanity. What I am suggesting here is that a lamb of God typology for the sin sacrifice on the Day of Atonement is NOT very accurate. He died during Passover, not The Day of Atonement. Let me explain further.
The blood of the goat (or bull) is not traditionally symbolic of the blood of Christ. We call Yeshua the lamb of God. A young ram is also a lamb. A young goat is normally called a kid. This is where the analogy to the blood of Christ breaks down when it comes to the mercy seat. The daily sacrifice consisted of a male lamb morning and evening (every day!). Sacrifices of Passover also used the lamb.
In Num. 28:19 there were 2 bulls, 1 ram, 7 male lambs a year old used as a burnt offering during Passover. Verse 22 says that a goat was to be used for a sin offering, to make atonement for you. Does this not suggest the Passover lamb is not a good typology for our sin offering? For sure Hebrews does say that Yeshua was burnt outside of the city gates (Heb. 13:11-12).
Lev. 4:3: young bull required for anointed high priest (sin offering)
Lev. 4:13-14: you bull required for entire community (sin offering)
Lev. 4:22-23: male goat for the high priest (burnt and sin offering)
Lev. 4:27-32: female goat or lamb for common people (burnt offering)
Remember it was the ram (not goat) caught in the thickets that Abraham sacrificed for his son, his only son Isaac. So why is Yeshua considered The Lamb of God and not a ram, goat, bull, or even 7 lambs?
This is because in Exodus 12 there is one lamb selected from each household on the 10th of the first month. It was to be sacrificed on the eve of the 14th of this month, at twilight. The lamb was to be an umblemished male a year old from the sheep or the goats (Ex. 12:5) so the Word of God leaves open the possibility of a goat for a offering at Passover.
My main point here is the the Passover sacrifice is really a family affair! Of course in Jewish history one would want to sacrifice it at the temple and that caused many logistical obstacles due to the size of worshppers. The blood of the lamb was put on the doorposts and lintels of the house to remember the Exodus and to keep the Death Angel from coming into our household.
I would have to say after all of this that Christ should be the Goat of God for our sin offering as strange as that sounds. He was the Lamb of God for our Passover to keep away the Death Angel.