What was inside the ark of the covenant?

This is also called 'ARK OF THE COVENANT,' 'ARK OF THE TESTIMONY,' 'ARK OF JEHOVAH.' The sacred chest belonging to the Tabernacle and the Temple. It was made of shittim wood, overlaid within and without with pure gold. It was 2-1/2 cubits long, 1-1/2 cubits in breadth, and the same in height, with a crown or cornice of gold. On each side were rings of gold in which were inserted the staves by which it was carried. Its lid, on which were the two cherubim made wholly of gold, was called the MERCY-SEAT, q.v. The ark was typical of Christ, in that it figured the manifestation of divine righteousness (gold) in man; the mercy-seat was Jehovah's throne, the place of His dwelling on earth. In the ark were placed the two tables of stone (the righteousness demanded by God from man), and afterwards the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. For the place of the ark and the manner of its being moved see the TABERNACLE.

Nor was this the only difference between the ark in the tabernacle and in the temple. The apostle, speaking of the ark in its wilderness habitation, describes it as "the ark of the covenant, overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant." (Heb. 9:4) Such were the contents of the ark in its wilderness journeyings — the pot of manna, the record of Jehovah's faithfulness, in providing for His redeemed in the desert, and Aaron's rod, "a token against the rebels," to "take away their murmurings." (Compare Ex. 16:32-34; and Num. 17:10) But when the moment arrived in which "the staves" were to be "drawn out," when the wanderings and wars of Israel were over, the "exceeding magnifical" house was completed, when the sun of Israel's glory had reached, in type, its meridian, as marked by the wealth and splendour of Solomon's reign, then the records of wilderness need and wilderness failure were unnoticed, and nothing remained save that which constituted the eternal foundation of the throne of the God of Israel, and of all the earth. "There was nothing in the ark, save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb." (1 Kings 8:9)

Into the ark was put "the testimony," or two tables of the law, and in addition also, as we learn from Hebrews 9:4, "the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded."

When Solomon had built the temple, the ark was removed thither, and the staves by which it had been carried were taken out: the ark had now found its resting place in the kingdom of Solomon, whose reign is typical of the millennium. It is significant too that now there were only the two tables of stone in the ark, 1 Kings 8:1-11: the manna had ceased when they ate of the old corn of the land, which is typical of a heavenly Christ; and the witness of Aaron's rod was no longer needed now they were in the kingdom. The wilderness circumstances, in which the manna and the priesthood of Christ were so necessary, were now passed. These are both mentioned in Heb. 9:4, for there the tabernacle, and not the temple is in contemplation.

Further, we have mention of a golden pot of manna, and of the rod of Aaron which budded, as having been in the ark with the two tables of stone. Now, though in reading Ex. 16:34 and Num. 17:10 we might not have understood that, we cannot say that those passages could not imply it; so what our author here affirms we cannot say is contrary to fact. Certainly the golden pot and the rod never entered the Temple; for, when the ark was carried into its final resting-place, we are expressly told that there was nothing in it save the two tables of the Testimony. The mention of this, however, seems to point to the fact that once there had been other things therein as well; and the words of Ex. 16 and of Num. 17, "before the Testimony," may imply that they were placed where the tables were kept. That is all that we can say. Had it been written "before the ark of the Testimony," we should have known that they were never inside it.

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).

The proofs laid before the eyes of all the children of Israel (v.9), and Moses was told to bring Aaron's rod back before the Testimony, to be kept as a witness against the rebels. In Chapter 20:9 it is said the rod was "before the Lord." In Hebrews 9:4 we are told that Aaron's rod that budded was in the ark. Of course, it might have been put there at a date later than this history of Numbers 17.

Thus we have the purpose of the ark — an abiding repository for the law, then also for the pot of manna and Aaron's rod that budded. In close connection with these, we find also that the book of the law was laid up (Deut. 31:26), to be a witness against them in the day of their departure from God. God's word is but the enlargement of His law, the one unchanging expression of His will. The word law is frequently used for the entire Word, as in Ps. 1:2. It was enshrined in the heart of our Lord. He ever put honor upon the whole word of God, and said of it all, "The Scripture cannot be broken" (John 10:35).

It has been well suggested that each of the articles contained in the ark was a reminder and a witness of failure on the part of the people: the tables of the law were a reminder of the golden calf apostasy, the first tables having been broken on that occasion: the manna reminded them of their murmuring and unbelief and the rod that budded recalled the awful rebellion of Korah against the priest of God. For us, too, how all this speaks aloud — a broken law, unbelief and murmuring, and of pride that would rise against Christ!

There are several things to be considered in connection with the typical significance of the ark. It was on the one hand a manifestation of God in Christ, and on the other the place of His throne and government in Israel.

First, then, the ark may be viewed as a figure of the person of Christ. This is seen from its composition. It was made of shittim-wood, overlaid with pure gold. The shittim was a kind of acacia, a wood said by some to be imperishable. Be this as it may, it is a type of what is human; and if a wood, as some affirm, that would not rot, incorruptible, it was a most suitable emblem of the humanity of our Lord. The gold is always a symbol of what is divine. The structure of the ark, therefore, figures the union of the two natures in the person of Christ. He was "very God, and very man." "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Thereafter we read, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth." (John 1:1-14.) He was thus God and man, God manifest in flesh. The contents of the ark are also significant in this connection: "And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee." (v. 16.) That is, the two tables of stone, with the ten commandments written thereon, were deposited in the ark, and hence it is frequently termed the ark of the covenant (Num. 10:33; Deut. 31:26, etc.), because it contained the law on which the covenant was founded. But it points in a marked way to Christ. Speaking thus in the Spirit in the Psalms, He says, "Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of Me, I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy Law is within My heart." (Ps. 40:7-8.) The testimony in the ark, therefore, exhibits the law of God in the heart of Christ; setting forth, first, that as born into this world, being of the seed of David according to the flesh, He was "made under the law" (Gal. 4:4); and secondly, that He obeyed it perfectly. The law within the heart, indeed, brings before us the perfection of His obedience — the fact that God found in Him, and in Him alone, truth in the inward parts, a full and complete answer to all the requirements of His holiness, so that he could ever rest in Him with perfect complacency, and, as He beheld Him always doing the things that pleased Him, expressing the delight of His own heart in the words, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." (Matt. 3:17.)

There were three things in the ark (Heb. 9:4): the golden pot of manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant. The latter only are in view in our chapter (Ex. 25). Rich and precious as is the instruction connected with the two former things, yet we must note that all the glory of the throne is based upon the tables of the covenant. They spoke of Christ; for all that constitutes the glory of that throne — the being, nature, and character of God, the eternal unchanging principles of His will, as expressed in the tables of stone, find their true and proper resting-place and expression in Christ.

In Psalm 40. the Lord comes into view saying, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea Thy law is within My heart." This is the true answer to the tables of stone in the ark. And when we remember that these same tables are spoken of in 2 Corinthians 3 as a ministration of death we see the infinite moral distance that lay between Christ as man and the whole human race. That which was to man, even under divine culture, a ministration of death, was in Him the delight of His heart and the very sustenance of His being. But the divine thought was to possess the heart of man, and the beautiful moral connection between Christ and His people is shown in Hebrews 10. There the Apostle speaks of the "will of God," in regard to the death of Christ, and in regard to our sanctification. "By the which will we are sanctified," the end in view being, "I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them" (Heb. 10:7, 9, 10, 16). God will have men who in heart and mind shall delight in the law of the Lord. They shall take character from Christ. (See also 2 Cor. 3:3, where instead of the law it is Christ written in the heart, and also Rom. 8. 4)

But if all the brightness was unseen by Israel in the wilderness, did they pay heed to what they did see? It was to them a confirmation of Aaron in His office; it was also, as bearing blossoms and almonds, the assurance of mercy; it was connected with the promise that God would quite take away their murmurings that they die not. This was the mercy side of the rod, and Israel soon gave proof that they did not apprehend it. But the rod had another aspect, for it was laid up for a token against the rebels (Num. 17:10). If it declares God's goodness, it also brings to mind their sin. This scripture is remarkably characteristic of the mingled dispensation of law and grace; the rod is a token against the rebels, yet God says He will take away their murmurings that they die not. The people saw the token, but not the grace of God. They knew not the full import of its being laid up in the ark. It was a standing proof that none but Aaron and his sons should come nigh; but it was also the pledge that God would quite take away their murmurings. There in the ark it had a place with the golden pot of manna and the two tables of the law, a wondrous combination of law, grace, and priesthood. And being there, though a token against the rebels, in connection with the manna it became a memorial to God of their deep need of mercy, and the necessity of priesthood, if judgment was to be in any way restrained. Moreover the lid of the ark which enclosed these three symbols of God's dealings with that people was sprinkled with blood: the blood covered all and was the assurance that grace would triumph over all; and no sin of theirs ever removed that memorial from His sight. Unbelief and hardness of heart deprived them of its full blessings; but the ark with its contents and blood-sprinkled lid was, and ever will be, in the remembrance of God.

"Laid up in the ark," it is Christ abiding for them. Hidden from their view now because they rejected Him, and while the Jew is under judgment for their wickedness, Christ is a token against them. Until the present work of gathering out His church from among the Gentiles be completed, so long is Christ in heaven on the Father's throne a token against the Jew. When the church is taken, then Christ will appear for them and the "token against" be gone for ever. He will come forth as the living fruitful Rod, and then they shall bear fruit to God. Then will their murmurings be quite taken away.