I remember the thrilling moment, in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, when the German soldiers opened the lid of the ark of the covenant, and Indiana Jones tells his leading lady not to look, as angels, turning into demons, emerge from the golden box to wipe out the soldiers.
Sadly, that is the image at the forefront of most believers’ minds when they think about the ark, because we hear very little about the ark from our pulpits! The ark of the covenant is brimming with meaning. It was part of the tabernacle whose exact specifications were laid out by God to Moses over about 15 chapters of Exodus (Ex.25-40). My guess is that we have spent more time unpacking the burning bush than we have the ark of the covenant. So let’s ‘raid’ the ark again.
The ark was the most important piece of furniture in the whole tabernacle. It is described first in Exodus 25, and it held pride of place in the holy of holies, covered inside and out in gold. The ark was God’s throne, reminding us that He is king over His people, over His world, and over the entire cosmos, including angelic powers (we don’t have time for all the ‘cosmic’ imagery in the tabernacle, but that’s another fascinating study!)
