The Ark- the Chest

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The three parts of the Ark of the Covenant are the Mercy Seat, the Chest or Ark, and the Poles. This post will look at the Chest of the Ark and its symbolism of Jesus. The given instructions are in Exodus 25:10-12 and its purpose is in verse sixteen. The Chest was to hold the stone tables of the Law. Over the course of time a pot manna and Aaron’s symbol of leadership, the sprouted staff was also placed inside the Chest. (Hebrews 9:4)

Materials and Parts

  • Acacia wood
  • Gold (to cover the wood)
  • A gold molding
  • Four gold rings (for the Poles)
  • Four feet

(Symbols and symbolism can be like beauty – “it is in the eyes of the beholder”. There is always more that can be said, please add these to your list.)

  1. I looked but did not see where ornaments or decorations were added to the sides of acacia wood.
  2. The gold on the wood speaks of Jesus’ dual nature God/Man, heavenly/earthly, plain/rich. This list could go on for a while.
  3. The gold molding can represent the crown that was always His. It should have helped to maintain the Mercy Seat on the top of the Ark.
  4. The feet were necessary for the attachment of the rings. This arrangement would have the Ark high and lifted above the Levities who carried it.
  5. The rings held the Poles (the Holy Spirit).

The Real Ark

Moses made a copy of what he saw in heaven when he talked with God on Mount Sinai. Revelation 11:19 is John seeing the Ark in the heavenly Temple. Is there possibly still an ark here on earth? Sure, why not, but it is still a copy of what Moses saw. John 1:17 says it differently, “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” 

Five

Numbers and symbols are tools of our God to teach us lessons. They are not to be feared or worshipped, they do not bring you good or ill, they are just tools. Instead of fearing them, fear the One who made them. With that said, pundits of the past and present see five as representing grace. Why? When they count things in the Bible, they see sets of five as being associated with the things of grace. (Remember what your eyes see.) Are they wrong, NO? If you do an internet search for things in the Bible, please be aware that many secular and New Age sites work biblical numbers in with their non-godly philosophies.

Jesus is the reason we have God’s grace. The ark/chest, which I see as representing Jesus, has five sides. The sixth panel of the box is the Mercy Seat, which is the Father. This idea helped me to make sense of why five fish fed the 5,000. The five fish were broken into pieces (like Jesus was broken) and that allowed for the 5,000 to receive grace and be fed. If you continue your study to when the crowds found Jesus on the other side of the lake; Jesus called them out for only wanting to be fed. The forty years of manna was in this conversation. A jar of manna was in the Ark for a long time.  

Rules, Provisions, Leadership

Moses was directed by God to put three items in the Ark: Tablets of the Law, a gold jar of manna, and Aaron’s rod. These items are the reason I began this study. A pastor I respect rightfully said that these things are associated with rebellion against God. He continued by saying that they are covered by being in “Jesus”. I saw the items as positive things that Jesus has waiting for us in Him. Like the Tree in the Garden, many things can have good/bad thoughts associated with them.

  • Manna – This heavenly bread was going to be supplied because the people had to eat. The congregation of Israel just had to complain instead of thanking God for His provision. The amount stored was an omer. The same amount that one person needed for one day.
  • Aaron’s Rod – God had a dead stick blossom and fruit so everyone could see whom He picked to be responsible for leading the Levities. This came about because Korah (a Levite) wanted authority that was not for him to have. The stick blossomed as an almond. See the post on Fruit and Nuts.
  • Stone Tablets of the Law – The tablets that went in were the second set God wrote. Moses broke the first set because of the golden calf Aaron had made and how quickly the people went wild. The Law was given to help us and would have been stored somewhere.
  • Gold – (How you look at things.) The inside of the Ark was covered with gold. Just saying.

Questions

When and how did the manna and rod leave the Ark? Were the contents ever brought out and shown to the people? How big were the tablets?

A Little of the Ark’s Travels

  • In Judges the Ark was in Bethel, this is where Jacob saw the stairs and angels coming and going from heaven.
  • Samuel starts with the Ark in Shiloh.
  • After the Philistines returned it, they had it for seven months. The people took it to Kiriath Jearim (Baalah of Judah), a Levitical town. It stayed there for twenty years. It is hard to say if the Ark and the rest of the Tabernacle were together at this time, but it did not go back to Shiloh. This is a serious separation. No, sacrificing near the presence of God.
  • David puts it on a new cart (like the Philistines) and tries to move it to Jerusalem. A priest dies and it goes to the house of Obed-Edom for three months. The question here is did anyone know the correct way to transport the Ark? The priest and Levites seemed to agree and go along with this improper way of honoring God.
  • David pitches a tent for the Ark in Jerusalem, and it stays there until Solomon moves it into the Temple.
  • Through good kings and bad, the Ark stays in the Temple. 2 Chronicles 35:3 is the last mention of the physical Ark I can find. Josiah is telling the Levites to stop carrying it around Jerusalem and teach the people. Treasures had been removed by several invading countries, and kings have used the Temple’s treasures to buy off bully nations, but no one touched the Ark. You have to wonder if the seven months in the land of the Philistines had something to do with it?
  • Jeremiah 3:16 is the last mention of the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament timeline. It actually is a promise from God to the people about not needing it. The last part of the verse, to me, is strange- “nor will another one be made”. Bible translations seem to be split on how to handle this verse. Many infer that seeking the Ark won’t happen. (There are legends that Solomon may have made a copy.) It is assumed that Jeremiah, a priest, removed the Ark from the Holy of Holies and hid it or carried it off.

The shadows that these movements and events create are complex. The symbol of the triune God in the hands of the Philistines is very unnerving. I could see links to Jesus’ life and sacrifice here. The roughly 400 years of silence in scripture about the Ark also leaves many questions. I will take for granted that the priest still carried out their duties, but did the people join them? Hezekiah and Josiah both had “cleaning out the Temple” and “finding the Book of the Law” moments, so it seems that the priest had lapses in doing what was right.

Simple links and comparisons of the chest of the Ark to Jesus may be few. I know this study has challenged me to see and seek God are more insight into this mystery.

Hosea 911

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Hosea 9: 11-As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception. (KJV) The set of verses from 9: 10 to 17 is a direct statement from God and is a very intense promise of what will happen to Ephraim/Jacob.

From the beginning of the background study of Hosea, I have wondered why “Ephraim”. I have offered some thoughts in the first post and then I dug a little deeper.

Ephraim’s land was south of Mount Gerizim, which was on the border with Manasseh’s land. Shiloh, the place where the Ark was kept, was here (1 Samuel 1). Manasseh still had the most land allotted to him. Shechem and, more importantly, the city of Samaria was here.

Jeroboam (1 Kings 12 and 14), the first king of the northern kingdom, was an Ephrathite. To maintain his control of the people, he made idols and picked priests who were not the descendants of Aaron. This idolatry would consume Israel.

Verse 9: 10 talks about Baal Peor (Numbers 22 to 25). This was the first time Israel worshiped other gods after receiving the Law and the Tabernacle. The sin of Jeroboam was that bad. 10a tells how excited God was to find Israel; Baal Peor changed that. The rest of the section is NOT a blessing.

Hosea 9: 11 has two things in it: Ephraim’s glory and children. Ephraim was not a small, poor tribe. They were leaders and had many fighting men. That was some of their glory. Part b of the verse is a statement against the offspring. (Children and what happens to them is a theme that runs throughout Hosea.) The three parts, because of children, each had a “glory” that was going to fly away – birth, pregnancy or womb, and conception. It would change those three stages for the women, from a happy, glorious time to one of trouble and grief.

God is love, and He took Ephraim back after they were punished and returned to His ways. The last chapter of the book proclaims this and, like the last chapter of Amos, especially Amos 9:11, there is a happy ending in Hosea after its 9:11.

Bible 911-Hosea

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Okay, this Bible 911 about Hosea is my background study for the 9:11 post. If you are new, I am looking at every book that has 9 chapters and then focusing on the eleventh verse. When I did Amos, I realized how little I knew about that book, so I did a background study. Now on to Hosea.

The timeframe is very important for this book. There are several prophets who prophesied at the same time and were led to write very similar things. Hosea started writing during the reign of Uzziah and ended in the time of Hezekiah, just like Isaiah. Both of these great prophets called for repentance, spoke out about Assyria, and had Messianic visions.

These are the kings of the southern kingdom of Judah, think Jerusalem and south along the Dead Sea. “Right” does not mean that they did not have problems, I am glad the Father is so gracious.

  • Uzziah did right (2 Kings 15, he is also known as Azariah)
  • Jotham did right
  • Ahaz did evil
  • Hezekiah did right like David (2 Kings 18)

The northern kingdom of Israel (Samaria); think north of Jerusalem on both sides of the Jordan and all-around Lake Galilee. None of these kings did right; well maybe Jehu. This is where Elijah and Elisha worked for the Lord.

  • Zechariah (2 Kings 15, he was the last of Jehu’s family to rule Israel. See verse 12.)
  • Shallum
  • Pekahiah
  • Pekah
  • Hoshea (2 Kings 17) He was the last king of Israel. Assyria was the Lord’s instrument for punishment, and they deported all the tribes and replaced them with various people groups including Babylonians. They became known as Samaritans.

Gomer is Hosea’s wife. After reading several articles, I think it would be right to refer to her as a “trophy wife”. Hosea 1 – 3 tells the story. She has three children, and it is possible they are not all Hosea’s (more on the names later). She is unfaithful and leaves Hosea. In 3:2 Hosea pays for her again, I will refer to this as a second “bride’s price” like what he did in chapter 1 when he first married her. So, either she sold herself or her father married her off again.

A thought I had here is the timeline for chapters 1 – 3; when did all of this happen? Given that this is a picture of an unfaithful Israel, it would seem right to believe that chapters 4 -14 happened during and after the marriage.

Prostitution and Adultery

This is the major theme of Hosea. Israel has left Jehovah and gone after other gods. In the NIV this idea is stated more than sixteen times. 4:12 and 5:4 talk about the spirit of prostitution that has affected the people of God.

The Kids

Hosea and Isaiah are contemporaries. Both had a mission and part of that was to be witnesses and signs to the two kingdoms. Their missions extended into their families; a very visible part was the names God instructed them to give the children. Hosea’s three children are mentioned in 1: 4 Jezreel is a son; 1:6 Lo-Ruhamah is a daughter; 1:8 Lo-Ammi is a son. I have to wonder who took care of the children when Gomer left. Isaiah had a very different family. His wife is called a prophetess and she bore two sons- 7: 3 Shear-Jashub and 8: 3 Maher-Shalal-Hash-Baz. 8:18 refers to the family as symbols in Israel (NIV).

Children are a major theme in Hosea. The 9:11 verse highlights this, but it is not the only one to talk about children.

Assyria

This nation rose to world power during the lives of these prophets. They were the main nation that Israel prostituted itself to. Nineveh was the main city and was the focus for other prophets- Jonah and Nahum. The field commander of Assyria called his king the “great king” in Isaiah 36: 4 +13; this idea is repeated in Hosea 5:13, 10:6, and 8:10.

Egypt is frequently mentioned in the same verse as Assyria. They are seen to be a false help for Israel.

Deals much with history–

  • Massacre at Jezreel 1:4 by Jehu. See 2 Kings 10:11, it seems that Jehu went too far in carrying out his instructions 2 Kings 9.
  • Gibeah 5:8, 9:9, and 10:9. Judges 19, they sinned, and the other tribes of Israel destroyed Benjamin for the rape of the concubine. 
  • Gave them a king 13:11; this could reference Saul or more specifically Jeroboam (for the north). He had a promise from God if he did right.
  • Gilead- 6:8, 12:11 a city of wicked men. This is on the east bank.
  • Gilgal- 4:15, 9:15, 12:11 wrong sacrifices. This is where Joshua circumcised the young men when they entered the land. 
  • Jacob in Aram 12:12 
  • Moses the shepherd in 12: 13
  • Admah and Zeboyim 11:8 These are cities overthrown with Sodom and Gomorrah

Ephraim

Ephraim is the second-born son of Joseph. He was born in Egypt and has an Egyptian mother. Jacob blessed him to be over his brother Manasseh and get a bigger inheritance from Joseph. (See Tribes of Israel-Ephraim.) In Hosea, he is first mentioned in Chapter 4, he is lost to idols, and is talked about in every chapter, thereafter. In Chapter 14 he returns to God and remembers where his strength comes from. I suggest you use a search tool and follow his story through Hosea, it is very telling. The NIV has 32 passages with him in it. He is paired with Judah (another son who was elevated in status by Jacob) several times. It is easy to see that Ephraim is being used in place of Israel in representing the northern kingdom. That actually is shallow because I also see other things he is standing for-the tribe and someone who is still divided about God. The most telling statement about him is 7:11 where he compared to a dove who is easy to deceive. (A note. Manasseh got two sections of land, one on the east bank and one on the west.)

 Connections

These are random thoughts and comparisons; I am sure I missed some good ones.

  • 12:9 sounds like Amos 9: 11
  • 11:11 sounds like Amos 9:15
  • The Day, referring to a day of judgment, like in Isaiah. It is said several times, especially at 10:15.
  • 10:4 and 8 sound like Matthew 13:24 the Parable of the Weeds.
  • The name Hosea is used in Romans 9:25 and in his book, nowhere else.
  • The Bible is unique in that it talks about the shortcomings of some very important characters. Lot was willing to let his daughter suffer abuse (angels guarded them) and then is abused by them. Judges 19 tells a tale of sexual abuse by a city that is defended by a tribe. Absalom uses ten of his father’s concubines (wives). Hosea’s tale is special because the wife leaves and then is redeemed by her husband.
  • Baal Peor-9:10b, this is found in Numbers 25.

Prophets

Prophets of God are an amazing group of people. God loves His people but not all have the same mission, so some have higher levels of responsibility. According to talents, gifts, and callings, He expects more from some people, true prophets of God fall into the higher levels. Jeremiah had to walk hundreds of miles to bury and then retrieve a belt. Elijah had to face 850 false prophets and people who doubted God. Ezekiel had a special diet for a year and had to dig through the city wall. Jonah hated the Assyrians and a whale had to bring him back.

I think Hosea may have been the prophet that really mirrored the heart and actions of the Father and Jesus the most. He had to marry (pay a dowry) a beautiful woman he knew would cheat on him, and then purchase her again after she left him. God first purchased Israel when He freed them from Egypt.

Jesus in the Story

The task of buying back the unfaithful wife fell on Jesus. Hosea’s purchase speaks of Israel and Judah. The price Jesus gave was for all unfaithful mankind. His broken body and shed blood are the only things that could restore fellowship with the Father as Adam and Eve had in the Garden.

Homework-Find the meanings of the names of the children of Hosea and Isaiah. Now find how they would be symbols (a Bible 911) for a nation that is ignoring their God.

A Question About Rehoboam

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The question about Rehoboam was really on who his mother was. The problem for the questioner was the fact that she was an Ammonite and not a native Israelite. I have two posts on Naamah. Post #1 and Post #2. I will guess Deuteronomy 23 is the scripture the question stems from. I am not going to wade through the jots and tittles of Hebrew Law about marrying foreigners.

But I had to stop and think about all of the times that Hebrew men married foreign women. Moses, Salmon, Boaz, and probably David, and the men who returned to Jerusalem with Ezra and Nehemiah are the ones I thought of. Moses married a Cushite (Numbers 12), Salmon married Rahab (1 Chronicles 2:13, Matthew 1:5), Boaz married Ruth, David married Bathsheba (possibly a Hittite, 2 Samuel 11), and the men with Nehemiah (13:23) seemed to be marrying who was available. You may argue with God about the first four. I will try to contrast and compare the women of these two groups.

Group 1 – We know very little about the Cushite and Naamah, just that they had yoked themselves to the Israelite community. Rahab hid the spies in Jericho after acknowledging God and the things He had done. Ruth pledged to Naomi that she would follow her and accept Jehovah as her God. Bathsheba was part of the community and I guess David offered sacrifices for her when the first baby died. It seems to me that all of these women chose to follow God when they married into Israel.

Group 2 – These women were from Ashdod (Philistine), Ammon, and Moab, not that different from Group 1. Nehemiah 13: 23 and 24 paint a different picture of how they lived. They married the men but did not choose the God of Israel. To be fair to them their husband may not have been on fire for Jehovah either. They were not even taught to speak Hebrew, which met that they could not read Torah or participate in festivals with the Hebrew community.

A great, well-learned Pharisee wrote a New Testament commentary on this subject in 2 Corinthians 6:14-do not be unequally yoked to unbelievers. I am not sure if any of the women in Group 1 could enter the “temple” and worship God with their husbands. I have read that the Hebrew husband would “cover” the children of these marriages, but that finer point of the Law is above my paygrade. It does seem that these women did yoke themselves to the God of Israel.

Since much of the lineage of Jesus was mentioned in Group 1, I will let you question if Rehoboam should have had an Ammonite for a mother.

Homework-What did the people (men) of Israel yoke themselves to in Numbers?

A Word to Live by-Salvation

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Logos is a new category of study that is starting with the word salvation.  Since this is a Bible study blog you will need to be ready with your Word, a concordance, or at least a Bible study site like biblegateway.com.    

This post started by doing a search on the term “salvation”, where I went to the New Testament.  First, I noticed that the word salvation is not used in Matthew or Mark. (You may notice that number counts don’t match! Gateway does a verse count while a concordance does a word count. Throw in titles and modern word replacements, counts will vary between websites and concordances.)

You can focus on one verse, book, or writer and have a meaningful study.  I noticed in looking at the uses of salvation in the New Testament an interesting pattern.  In Luke 1: 69, 71, and 77, these verses are part of the prophecy of Zechariah about Jesus and John.  Luke 2:30 and 3:6 are “seeing” salvation.  Luke 19:9 and John 4:22 (only use) is Jesus talking to people about salvation – Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector, and the Samaritan woman at the well. 

Luke starts again in Acts 4:12 with salvation for mankind and his next three mentions (concordance please) have the Gentiles included in receiving salvation.  The Holy Spirit continues the inclusion of Gentiles in Romans 1:16 and 11:11. 

Romans 13:11 starts another facet of material that presents things and ideas associated with salvation.  Paul includes two different verses about salvation being our “helmets” – Ephesians 6:17 and 1 Thessalonians 5:8. Hebrews and Peter (1+2) include many verses about salvation.  The last verse about salvation is Revelations 19:1 where “salvation, glory, and power belong to God”.

Hebrews 2:10 I found interesting because it is about Jesus.  He is the pioneer of our salvation that was made perfect by what He suffered (most of that thought is from the NIV).  “Perfect” in the thinking of the Old Testament would be one who is complete.  That may cause a bump in our modern thoughts about the term perfect.

FYI – biblegateway.com has forty verses with salvation in the New Testament NIV.  I found the ordering of the word salvation in the Logos interesting because it makes a logical presentation on the topic starting in Luke and going to Revelations.