The Indiana Jones movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark1” stirred the imaginations of millions of people, leading to myriad questions. Where is the Ark? Does the Ark have supernatural power? Why hasn’t it been found? All of these are good questions, but as Christians, we need to understand that the ark was an instrument of God to point us to Jesus; it was not an end itself.
The Ark and Its Contents
Inside the ark of the covenant were three things2. 1) The two tablets upon which Moses wrote the Ten Commandments (Moses destroyed the two that God wrote upon), 2) Aaron’s rod, and 3) a pot that contained manna from the time when the Israelites were fed by God in the wilderness.
Stone Tablets From God
The two stone tablets upon which Moses inscribed the Ten Commandments represented the supremacy of God. For the one who gives laws is superior to the one to whom those laws apply. The Law makes us aware of our sins, but it does not deliver us from God’s judgment3. So, with the law inside the ark and outside of the ark the high priest sprinkling the atoning blood on the mercy seat, we have a picture of God’s mercy protecting the Israelites from His judgment.
The Ark of the Covenant is a similar picture of Noah’s ark. Noah was protected from God’s judgment upon humanity for their sins. Noah was inside the ark (large boat) and God’s judgment – a flood – was outside. The wood of the ark, a picture of the wooden cross of Christ Jesus, provided God’s mercy to Noah and his family, saving them from God’s judgment.
A Scepter From God
In Biblical times, a rod represented authority, like a king’s scepter. Aaron’s rod was the rod that summoned the plagues in Egypt and swallowed the snakes that Pharaoh’s sorcerers unleashed by their magic.
Manna From God
The eating of the sorcerers’ snakes points back to when Satan entered a snake and brought the downfall of humanity in the Garden of Eden. But, the power of God entered Aaron’s rod. It “became” a snake and destroyed the evil snakes. This foreshadowed when Satan would enter Judas Iscariot4 with the intent of defeating Jesus, but, instead, Jesus Christ defeated Satan5.
The food God provided the Israelites during their forty years in the wilderness was called manna, literally meaning “what is it?” The manna in the ark represented God’s “bread” that physically kept the Israelites alive. This pointed to Jesus, the Bread of Life6, who provides us with eternal sustenance.
Jesus is Our Mercy Seat
The ark was the place where the Jews received atonement (covered over) for their sins. But now, Jesus has once, for all times, provided the perfect sacrifice and provided for our redemption7 (purchased from).
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.”
Romans 3:24-25 NKJV
On the Mercy Seat rested the the divine presence of God. It was called a seat because it was here where God was “seated” to give mercy to the Israelites when the high priest sprinkled the blood of the atonement. The Greek word for “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5 is hilasterion, meaning “that which makes expiation” or “propitiation.” It carries the idea of the removal of sin8.
Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat.
Hebrews 9:3-5 ESV – Behind the second curtain was a second – Bible Gateway
The Foreshadow is Replaced by the Light
And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet.
John 20:12 ESV – And she saw two angels in white, – Bible Gateway
Just as the Holy of Holies was done away with at the moment of Christ’s death9, the ark of the covenant, the foreshadowing of Jesus, was replaced by Jesus, the Light of the World10 . The image of two angels, one at the head and the other at the foot of the place where Jesus’ dead body had lain, tells us that He is now the eternal “mercy seat” for all that will come to Him for salvation.
Where is the Ark? Does the Ark have supernatural power? Why hasn’t it been found? These are still good questions, but the question that we should ask is this: What is the ark for? It was where the very presence of God intersected with humanity. That place is now found in Jesus Christ of Nazareth; it is found not by sight but by faith11.
** No part of this article was produced by artificial intelligence (AI). **
James Tissot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Footnotes
- Wikipedia contributors. (2024, February 15). Raiders of the Lost Ark. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Raiders_of_the_Lost_Ark&oldid=1207792229 ↩︎
- Hebrews 9:4 – The Earthly Tabernacle. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/hebrews/9-4.htm ↩︎
- Romans 3:20 – There is No One Righteous. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved February 22, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/romans/3-20.htm ↩︎
- Bible Gateway passage: Luke 22:3 – King James Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2022%3A3&version=KJV ↩︎
- Bible Gateway passage: Hebrews 2:14 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%202%3A14&version=ESV ↩︎
- Bible Gateway passage: John 6:35 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%206%3A35&version=ESV ↩︎
- Bible Gateway passage: Hebrews 9:12 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%209%3A12&version=ESV ↩︎
- What is the mercy seat? (2010, March 11). GotQuestions.Org. https://www.gotquestions.org/mercy-seat.html ↩︎
- Bible Gateway passage: Mark 15:38-39 – New International Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2015%3A38-39&version=NIV ↩︎
- Bible Gateway passage: John 8:12 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%208%3A12&version=ESV ↩︎
- Bible Gateway passage: Ephesians 2:8-9 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved February 19, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%202%3A8-9&version=ESV ↩︎