The Ark of the Covenant is a cabinet for storing stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. Because there is the ark of god, also called the ark of testimony; Because there is evidence in it, it is also called evidence cabinet; When people call it the sacred ark, it is also called the sacred ark, because it means the sacred ark.
Many events related to the Ark were recorded in the history of the Old Testament, which also showed the importance of the Ark. There are people who are protected by the ark; There are also people who are cursed and perished. What happened to them is recorded in the Bible as a warning and warning (see Cor. 10: 1 1). Through the past history, we should understand the essence of the ark and participate in the blessing of salvation.
The fruit of life and the ark guarded by the cherubim
Gen 2: 16- 17 "The Lord God commanded him," You may eat whatever you like from every tree in the garden, but you shall not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, because you will die on the day you eat it. " 」
If we look at the history of the Garden of Eden recorded in Genesis, God forbade Adam and Eve to eat the fruits of good and evil, but they ate the fruits of good and evil and committed crimes. As a result, they became ancestors who led mankind to death. But there is also the mystery of eternal life in the Garden of Eden, where the history of death began.
Gen 3: 22-24 "The Lord God said, that man already knows good and evil like us. Now I'm afraid he will put out his hand to eat the fruit of the tree of life and have eternal life. "... so I kicked him out. To the east of the Garden of Eden, he placed a rotating cherub and a flaming sword to guard the path of the tree of life. 』
There are fruits of life in the Garden of Eden. Even sinners who can only die will live forever after eating it. In order to prevent sinners from eating the fruit of life at will, God installed cherubims and burning swords to guard the path of the tree of life.
What is the entity of the fruit of life guarded by the cherubim? Since Adam, God's law has been handed down through unwritten law and reorganized and written in Moses' time. Among them, the mystery of the fruit of life guarded by the cherubim can be found in the law about the sanctuary.
Exodus 25: 10-22 "Make an ark of acacia wood ... and put the testimony I want to give you in it. Make a mercy seat of pure crystal, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. Make two cherubim hammered out of gold and put them at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make a cherub at one end and a cherub at the other. The cherubim shall be of one piece at the two ends of the mercy seat. The cherubim shall spread their wings and cover the mercy seat. The cherubim shall face to face with the mercy seat. Put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and put the testimony I will give you in the ark. There I will meet you, and I will tell you from between the cherubim on the mercy seat of the ark of the testimony all that I will command you to pass on to the Israelites. 』
When God gave Moses the law, he told him to build a temple. He also ordered that the ark of the Covenant be placed in the inner temple of the most holy place, the most holy place; And you shall put cherubim on the mercy seat, like the top of the ark. He said that he would meet the Israelites between the cherubim of the ark, and there he gave orders to the Israelites. The cherubim who guarded life in the Garden of Eden also guarded the Ark in this sanctuary, which means that the Ark is the fruit of life.
The end of those who despise the ark.
? After setting up a tent in the wilderness, the ark was moved to many places. In this process, those who serve the ark with respect for God are blessed. Those who despise God are doomed to failure.
Sam 2: 30 Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, said, "I said that you and your father's house would walk before me forever. Now I say, you will never do this. Because people who respect me, I will value him; Those who despise me will be despised. " 』
This is God's warning to the house of Eli in Israel. Eli's two sons, Hoveni and Phinehas, are both bad people. They have always violated God's laws and regulations, despised God's sacrifices and done many evil things. They ignored God's warning and went on doing evil. As a result, they were defeated in the war with the Philistines and even the ark was taken away.
Sam 4: 4- 1 1 So the people sent to Shiloh, and from there they brought up the ark of the Lord of hosts who sat between the cherubim. Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, came with the ark of God. ..... The Philistines became afraid and said, "God has come to their camp. And he said, "Woe to us! This has never happened before. we are ruined ! Who can save us from these powerful gods? These are the gods who attacked the Egyptians with all kinds of disasters in the wilderness. Be strong, Philistines ... be a man and fight them. The Philistines fought with Israel, and Israel was defeated, and everyone fled to his home. Many people were killed and 30,000 Israeli infantry fell. The ark of God was taken, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were also killed. 』
From the 40-year history of Israel's wilderness, we can see that the Ark has always been ahead of them on all their roads, and whenever they encounter difficulties and obstacles, the Ark is their shield. All this was because the God between the cherubim on the ark fought for Israel.
The Israelites who knew this brought the ark back from Shiloh before the battle of the Philistines. With a loud shout, the earth shook, and the Philistines trembled with fear. But the Israelites were defeated in the war, and Hoveni and Phinehas were also killed. Everything was done according to God's warning to Eli's family.
1 Sam 4: 17-32 The messenger replied, "The Israelites fled before the Philistines and many people were killed! Your two sons Hophni and Phinehas are also dead, and the ark of God has been taken. "As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell back from his seat, broke his neck at the door and died ... Eli's daughter-in-law, Phinehas's wife ... suddenly felt pain and bent down to give birth. When she was dying ... she named the child Ichabod and said, "Glory has left Israel!" " This is because the ark of God has been taken, and because her father-in-law and husband are dead. She added, "Glory has left Israel, because the ark of God has been taken. "
In this way, the ark of God is the most important core and key to all the destinies of Israel. When serving the ark, the glory of Israel was brilliant; But when the ark was taken away, all Israel suffered disaster, and the glory went with it.
Sam 6: 19 -7: 2 "the Lord killed seventy people in Beth-shemesh because they were good at watching his ark;" There were 50,000 people there. The people wept, because the Lord struck them hard. The men of Beth-shemesh said, "Who can stand before the Lord, the holy God? To whom can this ark be sent from us? So they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, The Philistines have brought back the ark of the Lord. Come down and bring it to you! So the people of Kiriath-jearim came down and brought up the ark of the Lord and put it in Abinadab's house on the mountain ... The ark stayed in Kiriath-jearim for a long time. Twenty years later, all the Israelites turned to God. 』
The people of Beth-shemesh looked at the ark of God without scruple, so God killed 50,700 of them. In this way, until Solomon built the temple so that the ark could be safely placed there, many things happened related to the ark.
Obed-Israel, blessed master of the ark.
Chr 1。 David and all Israel went up to Barak, which belongs to Kiriath-jearim in Judah, to bring the ark from there. This is the Ark of the Covenant, which sits on the cherubim with the name of the Lord God on it. They carried the ark of God out of Abinadab's house and put it on a new car ... When they reached the threshing floor in Keaton, Uzza reached out and held it, because the cow had lost its front hoof. The Lord was angry with him, because he put out his hand to hold the ark and killed him, and he died before God. ..... David was afraid of God that day and said, "How can the ark of God be brought to me? So David did not bring the ark into David's city, but to the house of Obededom the Gittite. The ark of God stayed in the house of Obededom for three months, and the LORD blessed the house of Obededom and all that he had. 』
When trying to transport the ark to the city of David, Uzza, who was holding the ark, was killed on the spot. When David saw this fear, he did not transport the ark to David's city, but to Obed-edom. In order to serve the ark, God's blessing came to Obed-Israel.
God does not forgive those who do not obey the law and deal with the ark without authorization, which brings them disaster; But for those who cherish and serve the ark, their return is full of blessings. Because of Uzza's skin, David, who was afraid, also realized the blessing given by God through the ark, and finally transported it to the city of David.
So David, the elders of Israel and the commanders of thousands went out from the house of Obededom and brought up the ark of the Lord with joy. ..... David is still wearing a linen ephod. So all Israel brought up the ark of the Lord with cheers, trumpets, cymbals, harps and harps. When the ark of the Lord entered the city of David, Michal, the daughter of Saul, looked through the window and saw King David dancing enthusiastically, and her heart despised him. 』
When the ark of God returned to the city of David, David danced with joy like a child. However, Michael can't understand the blessing from the ark. He looks down on such David. He can't have an heir for life.
After that, David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings to God. The Levites served, praised, thanked and praised before the ark of God (chapter 16, section 1-4). It was not until the generation of Solomon, the son of David, and when the temple was completed that the ark of God was put in the temple. According to the Bible, after Solomon built the temple and carried the ark and all the utensils into it, the temple was filled with the glory of God (1 Kings 8:1-1).