What happened to the Ark of the Covenant?

We have said the Ark was there, for till the Babylonish captivity that Ark made by Bezaleel under the shadow of mount Sinai, and so intimately connected with all Israel's wilderness wanderings, as well as with their entrance into, and victory in the land, that Ark remained in the Temple. There never was another Ark. And remembering that it was the symbol of the presence of the unchanging One we can understand the suitability of this. Moreover there never will be another owned by God. So we read in Jeremiah 3:16. "And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall say no more, The Ark of the covenant of the Lord; neither shall it come to mind, neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it: neither shall that be done any more. "For the Lord Himself will be there (Ezek. 43:7; 48:35).

But what became of it? This is enshrouded in mystery. It just disappeared. The Temple was burnt by Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard under Nebuchadnezzar, but not till one month after the capture of the city (Jer. 52). Much spoil was taken to Babylon, but no mention is made of the Ark. Was it burnt? Was it hidden in some subterranean chamber under the Temple area? We know not. A tradition in 2 Maccabees 2:4-5 states, that the prophet Jeremiah, being warned of God, commanded the Tabernacle and the Ark to go with him; so he went forth into the mountain, where Moses climbed up, and saw the heritage of God. And when he came thither he found a hollow cave, wherein he laid the Tabernacle and the Ark, and the Altar of incense, and so stopped the door. To this record no credence can be given, for the writer of it proceeds in verses 7, 8 to put into Jeremiah's mouth words at variance with the tenour of his prophecy quoted above. But whilst regarding this account as fabulous its existence confirms the fact, that nothing is known of the Ark's disposal or of its end.

With the notice of the mercy-seat the enumeration of things connected with the Holiest comes to an end. The ark with its lid, the mercy-seat, was the only piece of Bezaleel's workmanship that was transferred for use to the Temple of Solomon. Till the Babylonish captivity it existed. When, however, the Temple was destroyed, it disappeared. It never went to Babylon; that we read of. It disappeared. Tradition makes Jeremiah to have transported it to a cave (2 Macc. 2:4-8), and there hid it with the altar of incense. That it disappeared is certain. That he hid it, to come forth at a future day, is we think most unlikely, with the words of his prophecy (Jer. 3:16) before us. It was in the Temple in the days of Josiah (2 Chron. 35:3), but is never mentioned in the Old Testament after that citation from Jeremiah. Beyond then the days of that prophet the ark cannot be traced. A stone supplied its place in the restored Temple, and no mention of it have we in Ezekiel's future one. Jeremiah has told us that it will not be needed, which we can all understand; for being, as it was, the symbol of the Divine presence, it will not be required when God Himself shall be there (Ezek. 43:1-8, 48:35).

Moved, no doubt, by what was written in the recovered book of the law regarding it, "Josiah kept a passover unto the Lord in Jerusalem." Careful preparations were made that everything might be done according to the written word of God. It was in the eighteenth year of his reign, so was probably celebrated immediately after the completion of the temple repairs and the finding of the book. (Comp. 2 Chron. 34:8, and 35:19). "And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the Lord. And said unto the Levites, that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the Lord, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build, it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the Lord your God and His people Israel. And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son." It was all to be done according to what was written. Josiah evidently took great care as to this, and so became a beautiful example for all who long to please the Lord and desire to decline "neither to the right hand nor to the left," like this godly king, from following Him. Some in the kingdom might think him too much bound to the letter of these writings, but he would have God's approval, which was quite enough. No one can say where the wilful departure of a hair's breadth may not eventually lead. The safety of all is to keep as far away from the edge of the precipice as possible. "Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments" (Ps. 119:6).

Josiah tells the Levites to put the ark in its proper place in the temple, and not bear it any longer on their shoulders. It is the last historical reference to the ark in Scripture. It would almost appear, from Jer. 3:16, that it had been made an object of ostentatious display, and was possibly borne by the Levites in procession through the streets of Jerusalem. It is never after heard of, and probably perished when the temple was burned by the Chaldees (2 Chron. 36:19).

No further mention is made of the ark: it is supposed to have been carried away with the sacred vessels to Babylon, and to have never been returned: if so there was no ark in the second temple nor in the temple built by Herod, nor do we read of the ark in connection with the temple described by Ezekiel. In Rev. 11:19 the ark of God's covenant is seen in the temple of God in heaven: symbol here of the resumption of God's dealings with His earthly people Israel.

The diligent reader of Scripture will follow its course from its being carried round Jericho to Shiloh (Joshua 18), and from there to the lamentable time when it was taken by the Philistines, then to Bethshemesh, the house of Abinadab in the hill country, and so on till it was eventually put into the place prepared for it by Solomon (2 Chr. 35:3), and it will be noted that at all times the majesty of God surrounded it. Its history terminates in mystery, for we hear no more of it after the capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar.

The verse just quoted shows God's present thoughts. From the Babylonish captivity the ark of the covenant was lost, and never afterwards heard of. While it was in the tabernacle or temple, it was the central object, the sign of Jehovah's presence, the pledge of Jehovah's care. But the earthly things were only copies of the heavenly. The appearance of the ark in the heavenly temple is therefore a great event. Hitherto unseen, it now comes into view, a figure showing that the covenant with Israel, though long hidden from sight, is now again taking its former place in the thoughts and ways of God. The ark is the sign of security to his own people, but also of judgment to His enemies, as when the walls of Jericho fell flat, and the victorious Philistines were put to shame, in its presence. So here, the lightnings and voices speak of coming wrath on the Gentile oppressor.

The last verse of the eleventh chapter belongs properly to the twelfth. It characterizes what is to follow rather than what precedes, and, when we remember that Israel is upon the scene, is of greatest significance. The temple of God is opened in heaven, and there is seen in His temple the ark of His covenant. From the world below it had disappeared, and the temple itself been overthrown, — the testimony of His displeasure with an apostate people. Nor, though the temple were replaced, as after the Babylonish captivity had been the case, could the ark ever be restored by man's hand. It was gone, and with it the token of Jehovah's presence in the midst — a loss evidently irretrievable from man's side. Yet if Israel had no longer thus the assurance of what they were to Him, in heaven all the time, though in secret, the unchangeable goodness of God remained. The ark abode, as it were, with Him, and the time was now come to manifest this: the inner sanctuary of the heavens was opened, and there was the ark still seen.

To us who are accustomed to translate these types into the realities they represent, this is all simple. The ark is Christ, and, as the gold outside the shittim-wood declared, is Christ in glory, gone up after His work accomplished — the work which had provided the precious blood which had sprinkled the mercy-seat. Israel had indeed rejected the lowly Redeemer, and imprecated upon themselves the vengeance due to those who shed it. Yet, though the wrath came, Israel was neither totally nor finally rejected. The blood of Jesus speaketh better things than that of Abel, and is before God the justification of a grace that shall yet be shown them. The literal ark is passed away, as Jeremiah tells us, never to return; but instead of that throne of His of old, a more magnificent grace has declared that Jerusalem itself shall be called "the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart." (Jer. 3:16-17.)

So far as we know it was entirely lost sight of after the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, when the Temple was burnt by Nebuzar-adan, although in the Books of the Maccabees there is a legend as to its being hidden in a cave, to which however no credence is given by those who have studied the subject. When our Lord was crucified, in the midst of the darkness the veil of the Temple was rent from top to bottom, in the midst, but behind that veil there was no Ark, although the minds of the Lord's people often seem to picture it there. Josephus says in his "History" there was nothing inside the veil, but legends say there was a stone, which would be a significant fact if it were so, seeing that Scripture so often speaks of the Lord under the figure of a stone, "The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the head of the corner." But in Herod's temple (so called) no Ark was found. Already the Jewish ritual was a form of godliness without the power thereof, and the last link was broken when the Blessed Son of David, and Son of Man, offered Himself to Israel and was rejected. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." Therefore He said, "Your house is left unto you desolate."

*The silence of Scripture is at times holy and impressive. I observe this as to the ark. We are not told a word about its fate in the day of Jerusalem's sorrow — it is never mentioned; the theme was too sacred. The ark was the symbol of the divine presence; and the Spirit could not contemplate its captivity, if He could not do so in connection with glorious victory, as in 1 Sam. 4. Therefore we will leave it untraced in the day of Jerusalem's downfall. When next it is seen, it is in heaven. (Rev. 11, Rev. 15)

Hilkiah the priest having found the book of the law in the house of Jehovah, its contents were read before Josiah; and this brought that pious king deep exercise of soul: he rent his clothes and wept, for he clearly saw that the wrath of God had been aroused against His guilty people. Yet he did not, like Jehoshaphat, proclaim a fast; neither did he, like Hezekiah, enter into the temple, and there personally appeal to the God that dwelleth between the Cherubim. He sent the high priest and others to Huldah, that they might enquire of Jehovah for him. This may appear strange; but still more strange is the king's command to the Levites, recorded in the next chapter, to "put the holy ark in the house." For such a command implies that it was at that moment outside of the house! Had those who wickedly set up an idol in that house, also removed it from its resting place with sacrilegious hands? Or had certain faithful priests, desirous of preserving it from sacrilege in those terrible days reverently borne it away to some place of safety (as those Levites intended to have done when Absalom threatened the peace of Jerusalem. 2 Sam. 15:24-25)? To me it seems that this latter supposition is correct, and that Ezek. 44:15-16; Ezek. 48:11, refer to this pious action on the part of faithful sons of Zadok.