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Teaching And Research By: M. E. Arbaugh
Overcoming
the Enemies
of Health
THE TABERNACLE
THE ARK
Lesson
12
Exodus 25:10-16 NKJV. "And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And 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. And 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. And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will give you."
The ark consisted of two articles, but because they belonged together, they are commonly spoken of as though they were one. The ark was the bottom half of the two pieces, the mercy seat was the top. Without the ark and the mercy seat, there would have been no reason for the tabernacle. The whole sanctuary was built for the purpose of housing what was commonly called the ark. This sacred piece of furniture was in the Holy of Holies and it was from here that God would rule and commune.
The ark was the object toward which the brazen altar pointed. The brazen altar made it possible for the high priest to enter into the presence of God, (symbolized by the ark with the mercy seat resting upon it) and represent the people before Him. The ark was about forty five inches in length by twenty seven inches in width by twenty seven inches high, a gold covered box of acacia wood, two ends, two sides, with a bottom. On each side there were two rings of gold and the usual poles, used for carrying. Around the top edge of the ark there was a crown to hold the mercy seat in place.
The ark was designed to contain the stone tablets of the law, that no man was able to keep. At a later date the rod of Aaron that budded, bloomed and bore fruit and a golden pot of manna was also placed in the ark. The rod was a type of Jesus who as prophet and priest was rejected of men. Cut off at the cross, God raised Him unto new life and fruitfulness so it also speaks of resurrection. The pot of manna speaks of God's supernatural provision for His people.
The ark itself, represents Jesus the obedient one who came in His incorruptible humanity, as our representative, and kept the law for us. It was in the man Jesus that the law was deposited. Only He could keep the law. Paul said, "By the obedience of one, many shall be made righteous." We can declare our righteousness, because of Jesus.
Isaiah 45:22-25 NKJV. "Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself; The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, And shall not return, That to Me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall take an oath. He shall say, 'Surely in the LORD I have righteousness and strength. To Him men shall come, And all shall be ashamed Who are incensed against Him. In the LORD all the descendants of Israel Shall be justified, and shall glory."
The ark represents the person Jesus, the Son of God. The mercy seat speaks of the work that He did. We need to dwell more upon who He is. The church, as a whole, has spent far more time thanking Him for what He did, than we have praising Him for who He is. It is the ark, His person, which holds up and supports the mercy seat, His work.
The New Testament always speaks first of His person, before it speaks of His work. John said, "Behold the lamb" (His person) before he said, "who takes away the sin of the world" (His work), John 1:29. Paul said, " I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ,(His person) and Him crucified "(His work). 1 Corinthians 2:2. The book of Revelation speaks of the lamb standing in the midst of the elders, (His person) and then adds, as it had been slain, (His work), Revelation 5:6.
The carnal mind does not comprehend the things of God. Because of his fallen nature, man must first see Jesus in His work at the altar of sacrifice. After the new birth of our spirits, the Holy Spirit makes changes in us and we begin to see Him in the beauty of His Holiness. The Father sees Him first as His Son, and then sees His work. When we comprehend His perfection we not only thank Him for what He has done, but we also praise Him for who He is.
The Father seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. He is worthy of praise because of who He is. He was God, before He went to the cross. It is on the ark, that mercy rests. The ark with the mercy seat upon it, was the seat of government. Israel was a theocracy, meaning that only God was the head of the nation, ruling through Moses, priests and the elders. All instructions came from God's throne.
Israel did not move unless the ark led the way. When the ark went before them into battle victory was assured. So it ought to be for us today, through Jesus, our ark, we receive our guidance and operating instructions. When we follow the instructions of the Lord, allowing Him to lead us, we have this assurance, we shall be above and not beneath, the head and not the tail, provided for, and world overcomers.
When? Right now.
The ark was called by various names at various times. As the names of God reveal the nature of God to us, so did the names of the ark reveal to the children of Israel much of the Messiah who was to come.
Seven names were applied to the ark.
In Exodus 25:22, it is called the ark of the testimony, it contained the law of God and thus spoke of His Holiness. In Hebrews 1:3, Jesus is the express image of God, the testimony of God. He who knew no sin, expressed the Holiness of God.
In Numbers 10:33, the ark is called the ark of the covenant. Jesus is the surety and mediator of a better covenant. Hebrews 7:23, 9:6, 13:20, a covenant which He agreed to, before the foundation of the world was laid.
Joshua 3:15 declares that the ark is the ark of the Lord of all the earth. When the ark went before them, they knew that victory was at hand for He is Lord of all the earth. The earth and the fullness thereof belong to the Lord. Satan operates the world system, but he does not own the earth. When our ark, Jesus, goes before us, victory is at hand.
1 Samuel speaks of the ark of God. God did not identify Himself with any other item in the tabernacle, only the ark. Of Jesus our ark, the Father said, "this is my beloved Son hear Him" God identified with Jesus, Luke 3:22.
1 Kings 2:26 calls the ark, the ark of the Lord God. In the Hebrew that is Adonai Jehovah. Adonai always refers to headship, as in Master and ruler. Jehovah speaks of God in His covenant relationship. Jesus our ark is master and Lord of the covenant.
2 Chronicles 35:3 calls the ark, the Holy ark. When Israel kept the ark as the center of their lives, there was a revival of holiness in their midst. When they did not, they followed after other Gods. When we give, Jesus our ark, central place in our lives, there is holiness in our lives. When we don't, worldly ways creep back in. We become, more and more, like that which we worship.
Psalm 132:8 calls the ark, the ark of our strength. Jesus our ark is called the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:24, in the name of Jesus, we the weak, can declare ourselves strong. In our weakness, His strength is shown to be perfect.
The ark of the testimony was anointed with the Holy Oil of God.
Jesus our ark was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power
and went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the
devil,
Acts 10:38.
When Israel was to move, Aaron and his sons were to take down the veil that
separated the Holy place from the Holy of Holies and cover the ark and the
mercy seat with it. The veil spoke of the body of Jesus which was rent, Hebrews
10:22. Over the veil was placed the lowly badgers skin covering, over the
badgers skin went a covering of the heavenly blue color. Of all of the articles
in the tabernacle, the ark and mercy seat are the only ones which were made
evident to all, as it was carried from one place to another. All of the other
pieces had an outer covering of the badgers skin, but the ark was made evident
by it's covering of blue.
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In the world, many of the things of God, may seem to be plain, blending into the surroundings. But Jesus the ark of God is to be made evident. He is to be borne by His people, as a witness before all. How do we do that? We spend time with Him, we think the word, speak the word and do the word. Then our light will shine and people will see our moral excellence and our praiseworthy, noble and good deeds, and they will recognize and honor and praise and glorify our Father Who is in heaven, Matthew 5:16 Amp.
THE MERCY SEAT
Exodus 25:17-22 NKJV. "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. And you shall make 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. And 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. And 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."
The mercy seat was a slab of gold which had been hammered into form, it served as the lid of the ark and was held in place by the crown around the top of the ark. The mercy seat was the throne of God. A place of judgment and communion. Here the blood of the sin sacrifice, which spoke of justice satisfied, was taken. The high priest would take his finger and dip it into the blood and sprinkle the blood once on the mercy seat and seven times on the ground. The law, that man could not keep, is covered by the mercy seat which represents the person Jesus and also the blood which represents the work of Jesus. Glory to God, even the ground before the ark is made perfect, safe by the blood. Our lives, the places where we walk, are made safe, as we walk in the presence of the ark Jesus.
The golden cherubim, are the guardians of God's justice and the students of His mercy, so they look down with interest at the law covered by the person and work of Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 1:11-12 tells us, the sufferings of Christ and the glories which were to follow are things which the angels desire to look into.
Here at the throne of God, justice and mercy are met in the presence of the blood. Because of who Jesus is and because of what He did, man may now enter into communion with God. We now have the choice, the way has been opened. Jesus offered Himself once and for all and having completed the work rests at the right hand of the Father. The broken law is now covered by both the person and the work of Jesus. What man couldn't do, is done.
Sin isn't the problem anymore. The problem is, what will we do with this man Jesus. Will we admit our inability to earn heaven and accept and trust in Him to be Saviour and Adonai (the ruler) of our lives? Jesus died to put away sin, and to restore us to a place of fellowship with God.
To say that we are cleansed by the blood of the lamb, and then deny Him the right to be Lord of our lives is not only foolish, it is very dangerous. The writer of Hebrews said to do so was the same as profaning the blood of the lamb and would result in judgment. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will also reap, in this life and in the life to come. God has provided the new and living way, but He won't force us to take it. The decision is ours. He has said, "I set before you life and death and blessing and cursing."
You choose.
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Teaching And Research By: M. E. Arbaugh
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