|
by
Doug Ward |
Whatever happened to the ark of the covenant? This is a frequently asked
question, as the popularity of the classic movie Raiders of the Lost Ark
suggests. Let's see what the Bible and history tell us about the ark.
The
ark is described in the Bible in Exodus 25. It was a gold-covered wooden box
about four feet long, 18 inches wide, and 18 inches high, built as a container
for the two tablets of the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses on Mount
Sinai. The commandments are the foundation of God's covenant with the children
of Israel, hence the name ark of the covenant.
The
ark was housed first in Israel's tabernacle, then at Solomon's temple (2
Chronicles 5). On the ark's lid were golden images of two winged heavenly
beings called cherubim. Between the cherubim God's presence appeared, both at
the tabernacle and at the temple (Exodus 40, 2 Chronicles 5).
During
the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640-609 BC) the temple was renovated. After
the renovation, the ark was reinstalled in the temple (2 Chronicles 35:3). This
is the last time the ark is mentioned in the biblical account of Israel's
history.
In
586 BC, the Babylonians conquered the kingdom of Judah and destroyed the
temple, taking back to Babylon "all the vessels of the house of God, great
and small" (2 Chronicles 36:18). Since the Babylonians paid their soldiers
in gold, it is likely that they melted down the gold from the temple vessels,
including the gold covering the ark, for this purpose.
So the Babylonians may well
have burned up the ark in 586 BC. Nothing would have prevented them from doing
so, since God's presence had left the temple several years earlier (Ezekiel
8-11).
There
are also other possibilities. One ancient legend suggests that the ark was
hidden somewhere in or near the temple before the Babylonians attacked. Another
story says that the prophet Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave on Mount Nebo, where
Moses had died (2 Maccabees 2:4-8).
However,
the Bible also indicates that the ark came with an expiration date attached.
Jeremiah predicted that in a future spiritual restoration of Israel, no one
would miss the ark, which would not be rebuilt (Jeremiah 3:14-18). Instead, the
words on the tablets contained in the ark would be "written on the
hearts" of people (Jeremiah 31:33), which means that God's presence would
dwell in the hearts of his followers (see 1 Corinthians 3:16).
Spiritually
speaking, then, every believer is an ark. That is the good news to which the
ark mystery leads.
File
translated from TEX by TTH,
version 3.66.
On 12 Jun 2025, 14:54.
