Ark of Covenant

I’d like to share with you the picture of the Ark of the Covenant. I hope you find this imagery helpful. 

The Ark of the Covenant was a chest found inside the inner veil within the tent of the tabernacle in the Old Testament.  This chest contained Aaron’s staff, the stone Tablets on which Moses recorded the Law, and a pot of manna.  On top of the chest was the mercy seat, where the high priest would sprinkle the blood of sacrifice once a year. Above the mercy seat were two cherubim, and God’s (visible) presence would rest in between them.

As I have been reading through Hebrews recently, the Lord has been putting this picture in mind. The writer of Hebrews describes in detail the spiritual significance of the tabernacle. In Chapters 7-10, I began to see a beautiful image of the ark representing the two covenants God has made with His people: the Old and New Covenant. 

In the Old Covenant, perhaps the order was from the bottom up. The Israelites, reaching up to God through the law, made sacrifices to receive mercy and come into His presence. As the writer of Hebrews observes, the system was flawed. The law could not make the worshiper perfect. When Jesus became the eternal sacrifice, His Kingdom reverses this order. God comes down through the blood of Christ to dwell in us. Grace and mercy come first. The realization of this new order is revolutionary! 

God no longer sees us through the lens of our unrighteousness (Heb 10:17).

As the Holy Spirit infuses our soul, He imprints His laws on our heart (Heb 10:16). What this means is that we simply walk with Him, flowing with His Spirit, thus making us perfect.  God’s idea of perfection is an unbroken fellowship between us and God. He wants to be our best friend!

This is worth careful consideration. . .

Under which covenant are you living?  Are you striving to meet some outside standard, constantly discouraged by your sin or inability to meet the standards of this world?  Are you “obeying” God by following a set of external instructions in order to be a good Christian?  Are you plagued by a sense of guilt, a sense of duty, or constant judgment?  There is a better way. 

Take Jesus’ hand, and walk humbly with God.