The Arks Contents (12-6-11)

Hebrews 9:3-4 - "Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant."

After the time that the ark of the covenant was built there were three different occasions that God told Moses to put something into it. The ark of the covenant was a box, a piece of furniture, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide and one and a half cubits tall. It was built of the finest wood and overlaid with pure gold. The ark of the covenant was the only piece of furniture in the most holy place, and whenever the children of Israel would set out the priest would carry it with two long poles. We only have one account of someone touching the ark, and that man fell dead immediately.The ark would have been a pretty good size but only three things were put into it, and that's what I want to focus on.

The first thing that was put into the ark was a golden jar full of manna. Exodus 16:33-34 says - "Moses said to Aaron, “Take a jar and put an omerful of manna in it, and place it before the Lord to be kept throughout your generations.” As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron placed it before the Testimony, to be kept." Manna was an amazing thing, a miracle really. The entire time that the children of Israel were in the wilderness God provided food for them to eat. Every morning a thin wafer like bread would appear on the ground with the dew, and as the sun rose it would dissolve. God miraculously provided food for His people in the wilderness every day, they never had to worry about going hungry, God was faithful to provide them with food. But there was a problem. God will always supply our needs, but not always our wants. God provided food to sustain His people, but they got sick of it and began to complain against the Lord. In Numbers chapter 11 the people began to complain that they didn't have any meat. This is what they said - "Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish which we used to eat free in Egypt, the cucumbers and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic, but now our appetite is gone. There is nothing at all to look at except this manna." They once again turned their focus back to Egypt instead of looking forward to Gods promise. They were reminiscing about all the good things they used to eat freely back in Egypt, but they seem to have forgotten that they had been in slavery and the Lord miraculously brought them out of their captivity. They had become dull to the miracle of the daily bread that God was giving them and because of this the anger of the Lord burned against them and many of the Israelites were consumed in fire and others were struck with a severe plague. So Moses was told to put a jar of manna inside the ark of the covenant.

The second thing Moses was told to put into the ark was Aaron's rod which budded. In Numbers 16 the children of Israel once again began to complain against the Lord and against Moses. They thought that Moses and Aaron were exalting themselves above all the congregation. God had chosen Moses and Aaron but the congregation didn't think it was fair that they should get such a high position. But God clearly showed them that He had chosen Moses and Aaron. Those who set themselves up against Moses and Aaron were consumed in fire, and the ground opened and swallowed a group of them alive. Also, a plague began to spread throughout the camp. But even after these awesome signs the people were still not convinced. So in Numbers 17:2-11 God says - "Speak to the sons of Israel, and get from them a rod for each father’s household: twelve rods, from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households. You shall write each name on his rod, and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. You shall then deposit them in the tent of meeting in front of the testimony, where I meet with you. It will come about that the rod of the man whom I choose will sprout. Thus I will lessen from upon Myself the grumblings of the sons of Israel, who are grumbling against you.” Moses therefore spoke to the sons of Israel, and all their leaders gave him a rod apiece, for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, with the rod of Aaron among their rods. So Moses deposited the rods before the Lord in the tent of the testimony. Now on the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony; and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. Moses then brought out all the rods from the presence of the Lord to all the sons of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod. But the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the rod of Aaron before the testimony to be kept as a sign against the rebels, that you may put an end to their grumblings against Me, so that they will not die.” Thus Moses did; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did." So the second thing Moses put into the ark was Aarons rod which budded.

The third thing that God told Moses to put into the ark were the two tablets on which the ten commandments were written. Just like us, the children of Israel were unable to keep the ten commandments. They were constantly breaking Gods law. In fact when God gave Moses the ten commandments he came down from the mountain and the people had made a graven image and were worshiping it. And in anger Moses threw down the tablets and they broke. So in Deuteronomy 10:2-5 God tells Moses - "I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered, and you shall put them in the ark.’ So I made an ark of acacia wood and cut out two tablets of stone like the former ones, and went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hand. He wrote on the tablets, like the former writing, the Ten Commandments which the Lord had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them to me. Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and there they are, as the Lord commanded me." So the third and final thing placed into the ark were the ten commandments.

Each of the things put into the ark was a reminder of Israels failure. They had complained against God, rebelled against God and broken His perfect law. But an interesting thought is that after these things were placed into the ark of the covenant they were never seen again. None of the children of Israel saw the jar of manna, Aaron's rod which budded, or the ten commandments. You see, on top of the ark of the covenant, on top of this box was a lid. But not just any lid, the lid that God told Moses to make for the ark was called the mercy seat. The mercy seat was a golden lid for the ark that had two cherubim on top, and God would appear in a cloud over the mercy seat in between the two cherubim. Three reminders of Israels failures were put into the ark, and the mercy seat of God covered them. Because of God's mercy we don't get what we deserve. It doesn't matter what we have done it's covered by the mercy of God. God has forgiven us, and said "their sin and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." The have been covered and they will never need to be dealt with again. God has covered them in His mercy and He will never bring them up again. But get this, everyone else who's saved, their sins, their mistakes, their failures are also covered, you're not the only one. No matter how badly someone may have messed up God's mercy covers it once they come to Him. This means that we can't bring it up anymore. We can't look with disdain on someone because of a former lifestyle, or a sin or mistake in their past. God has covered them, just like He has covered you.

Lamentations 3:23 - "Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. they are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness."