The first item of the tabernacle that is
specified is the ark. This is severally
called:--
“The ark of the testimony”
(Exod. xxv. 16);
“The ark of the covenant”
(Numb. x. 33);
“The ark of the Lord” (Josh.
iii. 13);
“The ark of God” (I Sam.
iii. 3);
“The ark of the Lord God” (I
Kings ii. 26);
“The ark of Thy strength”
(II Chron. vi. 41);
“The holy ark” (II Chron.
xxxv. 3).
These seven titles are doubtless
distributed throughout the Scriptures with that discrimination which we always
find whenever we subject the Word to a careful examination. For example, the title “The ark of the
testimony” is reserved for the period covered by Moses and Joshua, whereas the
title “The ark of the covenant” extends from Moses’ tabernacle to Solomon’s
temple, from wilderness to kingdom. We
must leave the tabulation of these titles, with the added one “The ark of the
God of Israel” (I Sam. vi. 3) and others, to those who may be able to spare the
hours that verification and accuracy demand.
The ark and
its contents.
The ark was an oblong wooden chest 2-1/2
cubits long, 1-1/2 cubits wide, and 1-1/2 cubits high, covered within and without with gold, and
having upon it round about a crown of gold. For the purpose of transport four rings of
gold were fixed to the four corners, and two staves of shittim wood overlaid
with gold were placed in the rings, and left there in constant readiness for
the removal of the ark. The shittim wood of which the ark was made is most
probably that of the acacia tree. It is mentioned, together with the cedar, the
myrtle and the oil tree, fir tree, pine, and box, in Isa. xli. 19,
and appears to be one of seven trees that indicate blessing:--
“The glory of Lebanon shall come unto
thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place
of My sanctuary’ (Isa. lx. 13).
Jerome says that the wood of the shittim
tree affords long planks smooth and free from knots, and that it does not grow in
cultivated places, or in any other place of the Roman Empire, except in the
desert of Arabia. It is intensely
interesting to note that the LXX renders the word shittim wood xulon asepton
= “incorruptible wood”. The woodwork
of the tabernacle was covered; it was designed for constructional purposes, and
not for beauty, and the humbler office was fulfilled throughout by the shittim
or acacia tree. Where every detail is so
specifically shown, and where the typical character of every item seems so
apparent, we can hardly dismiss as fanciful that suggestion that the two
natures “flesh” and “spirit” (Rom. i. 3, 4) are set forth by the wood and gold
used in the construction of the ark.
Within the ark was placed, at different intervals of time:--
1.
The tables of the
covenant.
2.
Aarons’ rod that
budded.
3.
The golden pot of
manna.
The tables of stone are called “the
testimony” and “the covenant”, and give their names to the ark. These were the only articles placed in the
ark when it was first made (Exod. xxv. 16).
The tables of stone originally given to Moses were broken by the angry
law-giver at the sight of the people and the golden calf, and after having
demonstrated that they had so soon broken the covenant into which they had
entered, Moses prayed for the people:--
“Oh, this people have sinned a great sin,
and have made them gods of gold. Yet
now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin---; and if not, blot me, i pray Thee, out of Thy
book which Thou hast written” (Exod. xxxii. 31, 32).
Passing over much that we shall have to
consider later, we find the Lord restated the covenant, after bidding Moses to
hew tables of stone like unto the first.
After the proclamation of His mercy and graciousness, the Lord in restating
the covenant lays particular stress upon idolatry (Exod. xxxiv. 10-28). Moses returned to Israel with the new tables
of stone, and Exod.xxxv.4 re-introduces the question of the
tabernacle. What we have to learn from
this rather complicated parenthesis is the old lesson of the ages. Before Israel actually received the tables of
stone, they had broken them, and when Moses once more returned with the fresh
tables of stone, he said in effect:
“Make an ark. This covenant
cannot be kept by you. All that you can
hope for is to have a system of types and shadows, and await the advent of Him
Who alone can magnify the law and make it honourable.”
The same story is found in Genesis iii.
Man failed, and is shut up to the promised Seed. Israel failed, and is shut up unto the faith
that should afterward be revealed. The
important fact for us at the moment is that the ark contains the unbroken
law. It is fundamental to both
doctrinal and dispensational truth that it should be so. One cannot imagine, after a knowledge of the
truth, the broken tables of stone being placed in the ark. The ark speaks of a law and a covenant
fulfilled. Now the tabernacle and its
furniture were shadows of the true or heavenly reality. Two references from the Apocalypse
will be sufficient to prove that the ark was a pattern of a heavenly reality:--
“And the temple of God was opened in
heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His covenant” (Rev. xi.
19).
“Behold, the inner shrine of the
tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened” (Rev. xv. 5).
Following the former quotation came
lightnings, voices, thunderings, earthquakes, and great hail, which in turn is
followed by the sign of Israel and the dragon (Revelation xii.). Following the latter quotation we find the
seven angels with the vials of wrath spoken of as a sign “great and marvellous”
(Rev. xv. 1).
This is the covenant of marvels, which God
made upon the restatement of the covenant with Israel:--
“Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such
as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation” (Exod. xxxiv. 10).
Thus it is that the plagues which fell
upon Egypt are repeated in the Revelation upon a grander scale. They are aimed at the same idolatry and
blasphemy, and are marked by the same hardening effect. Little as we may be sensible of the fact, the
whole controversy of righteousness and lawlessness, of Christ and Satan, is
summed up in the first and second commandments.
The destruction of the Canaanites by Israel, their altars, images, and
groves, was the only preservative against being enticed into making a contrary
covenant with them. The terrible
judgments of the Revelation fall upon those who “had the mark of the beast, and
upon them which worshipped his image” (Rev. xvi. 2). Idolatry was the outward visible sign of an
inward and invisible apostasy.
The sin of Israel, whereby they broke the
covenant of Sinai, was exactly the same, idolatry
(the golden calf), and their chequered history from the time of the Judges
until the captivity in Babylon was one series of lapses into idolatry. Man can have but one of two masters: Elijah may call them Jehovah and Baal, and Christ may call them God
and Mammon, while Paul may call them righteousness
and sin, or God and Satan.
It is all the same, and whosoever serves not the one serves the
other. The ark with its unbroken law
enthroned the Lord; an ark with a broken
law enthrones Satan. The prophet
Zechariah had a vision of this very travesty:
“… i see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits … everyone
that stealeth is declared innocent according to it on this side, and every one
that sweareth is declared innocent on the other side to it … Lift up now thine
eyes, and see what goeth forth … This is
an ephah … and, behold, there was lifted up a talent of lead … This is wickedness ... Then . . . . . two
women with the wind in their wings, for they had wings like a stork, and they
lifted up the ephah . . . . . To build it an house in the land of Shinar . . .
. .” (Zechariah v. 1-11, ?version?)
Here we have the law definitely
broken; an ephah (a measure equalling
about three pecks) instead of the ark; a
lid made of lead, instead of the mercy seat made of gold. Wickedness within instead of righteousness,
and two women with wings like those of an unclean bird to serve as cherubim,
finally taking it back to its own resting place, Babylon. A remarkable statement in Jeremiah leads us
to understand still further the typical character of the ark:--
“In those days (of Israel’s restoration)
saith 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 it be made again” (Jer.iii.16),
the
reason being, according to verse 17, that the throne of the Lord will then be
at Jerusalem, and therefore the type will no longer be necessary.
Priesthood
and provision.
Beside the two tables of the covenant,
there were placed in the ark Aaron’s rod that budded, and the golden pot of
manna. The rebellion of Korah and
Dathan, that foreshadows the great revolt against the Lord Himself, was
followed by the command to lay up in the tabernacle, before the testimony, the
rods of the leaders of Israel, among them Aaron’s. On the morrow it was discovered that Aaron’s
rod had budded, bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds. This symbol of life, while it confirmed Aaron
in his office, pointed on to Him Who by means of resurrection hath an
unchangeable priesthood. The golden pot
of manna was a constant memorial of the faithfulness of God in supplying all
pilgrim needs until the land of promise was reached, and is a very real type of
Christ. Is it no comfort to us in our
wilderness journey to know that beside the unbroken law, there is the reminder
of that Priest Who ever liveth to make intercession for us, and of that
faithfulness that has said no good thing will He withhold while we walk the
pilgrim pathway?
The golden ark with its crown, its
unbroken covenant, its pledge of the ever living Priest, and its memorial of
ever faithful care, was incomplete without the mercy seat that rested upon it. Righteousness without mercy would not bring
salvation to sinners:--
“Though justice be thy plea, consider
this, that in the course of justice, none of us should see salvation.”
In the ark and the mercy seat,
“righteousness and peace have kissed each other”.
The mercy seat.
The mercy seat was made of pure gold,
unlike the ark which was made of wood overlaid with gold. Made of one piece with it were the cherubim
with their wings stretched forth on high, and with their faces toward the mercy
seat:--
“And thou shalt put the mercy seat above
upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt
put the testimony that I will give thee.
And THERE I WILL MEET WITH THEE, and I will commune with thee . . . . .”
(Exod. xxv. 17-22).
The N.T. word mercy seat in Heb. ix. 5
is translated in Rom. iii. 25, “propitiation”, and is the word used by the
LXX to translate the Hebrew word mercy seat.
The word mercy seat (kapporeth) is from the word kaphar,
to make atonement. Now whatever our
conclusions may be as to the exact meaning of the word translated “atonement”,
one thing is established, and that is that it is an essential part of the great
sacrificial work of Christ.
We endeavour in this series to avoid
arguments that are complicated, or that necessitate too close an investigation
into the originals, and as we hope to give the doctrine of the atonement a
careful study in the series headed “Redemption”, we leave the controversial
side alone in this article. If we were
asked what ideas came to the mind at the mention of the mercy seat, we should
probably say, something to do with atonement, acceptance, or forgiveness. All these are true, but they are not the
primary truth. This atonement is
necessitated by our sins, but what is the object before us which necessitates
the removal of the barrier, sin? We may
receive a precious lesson from the very first statement made concerning the use
of the mercy seat. To Moses the Lord
said, “There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee”. Fellowship and communion, these are the real
objects; all else but makes a way.
I will meet. — The words to meet
mean “to meet by appointment”, and the Hebrew word enters into one of the
names of the tabernacle, viz., “the tabernacle of the congregation”
(Exod.xxvii.21). It is translated “to
betrothe” in Exod. xxi. 8, 9, and “agreed” in Amos iii. 3. It will
be remembered that the tabernacle number was given as number 5, and 5 times in
the book of Exodus does the Lord speak of the mercy seat, or the altar, where
the blood was shed that sprinkled the mercy seat, as the place where He would
meet Moses, and the children of Israel (Exod.
xxv. 22; xxix. 42, 43;
xxx. 6, 36).
The meeting place, a beautiful symbol of
the result of the atonement, contains within itself the ideas of entrance,
access and acceptance. A most
interesting and helpful suggestion of the fulness of this meeting with God is
contained in the LXX rendering of the word “meet” in these passages, where the
translation reads, “And I will make Myself known to thee from
thence”. The knowledge of Himself and
His ways are made known there. Knowledge in the Scriptural sense is far removed from mere
scholarship, valuable asset though that is. Asaph learned this lesson, and recorded it
in Psalm lxxiii., for when he went into the sanctuary of God he
understood that which before he could not discover.
I will commune. — The Hebrew word dabar,
which is translated “commune” 20 times, is translated “speak” 814 times, so
that while we lose an apparently spiritual idea by giving up the deeper word
“commune”, we in reality gain by using the commoner word “speak”, for instead
of thinking of set occasions, and for specially holy purposes Moses heard the
voice of the Lord, it was here at the mercy seat that every word was
heard, every instruction given, every problem settled. Here it was that the Lord “spake (dabar)
with Moses face to face, as a man speaketh (dabar) unto his friend”
(Exod. xxxiii. 11). Here it was that the
Lord “talked” with Moses (Exod.xxxiii.9):--
“When Moses was gone into the tabernacle
of meeting to speak with Him, then he heard the voice of One speaking
unto him from off the mercy seat that was upon the ark of the testimony,
from between the two cherubim, and he spake unto him” (Numb. vii. 89).
Who will have the temerity to decide that
the meaning of the last clause should be written, “and He spake unto
him”, or “and he spake unto Him”?
Is it not the very essence of this meeting place that both should speak; Moses speaking with God, and God speaking
with Moses? Is not this
“communion”? To speak with God, and to
hear His word, before the blood sprinkled mercy seat? Truly we have yet to learn of burnt offerings
and sin offerings, offerings to make atonement and peace, yet are they not all
with the very object to remove all barriers and unfitness so that, unhindered,
we may enter into the presence of God, to “meet” with Him and to have this
“communion”?
So important is this somewhat forgotten
aspect of the result of atonement, that the word dabar was used as a
name for the holiest of all, and appears in the word “oracle” (II Sam. xvi.
23), and in the slightly modified form (debir) in sixteen other passages
in the O.T. The mercy seat, though
associated with the work of atonement, is essentially a place of fellowship,
and the hearing of the word of God.
The references to the mercy seat (kapporeth)
in the tabernacle are 26 in number, and those who have Dr. E. W. Bullinger’s Number
in Scripture will find examples tending to show the connection of the number
13 and its multiples with the subject of atonement. These 26 references to the mercy seat are
divided into three groups:--
1.
Those in Exodus
which speak of the actual making and placing of the mercy seat.
2.
Those in Exodus
and Numbers that refers to it as a place of meeting and communion.
3.
Those in Leviticus xvi. which deal with the great day of atonement.
The references in Leviticus xvi. are seven in number. What was the actual origin of the day of
atonement? The sin and death of Aaron’s
two sons Nadab and Abihu. These men
offered strange fire before the Lord, and were destroyed:--
“Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is that
the Lord spake, saying, I WILL BE SANCTIFIED in them that come nigh Me, and
before all the people I will be glorified” (Lev. x. 1-3).
Leviticus xvi. begins with the words:--
“And the Lord spake unto Moses after the
death of the two sons of Aaron, when they offered before the Lord, and died . .
. . . Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times within the
vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that
he die not.”
The words “at all times” mean “just at any
time”. Aaron and his sons were becoming
too familiar, and made certain religious conventions necessary. It is the habit of the superior person to
sneer at conventions, but with some natures they have their place, and while
set forms, solemn ritual, and ceremonial may degenerate into superstition and
empty formalism, they have their place.
The solemn ritual of the day of atonement, and the restriction of access
to the high priest once every year, would have the tendency to hallow the name
of God and prevent that unholy familiarity that was evidently developing. And so there is the washing of the flesh, the
linen clothes, the sin offering and the atonement, the incense and the seven
times sprinkled blood. The words of the
wise man are very appropriate here:--
“Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house
of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools; for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thy
heart be hasty to utter anything before God:
for God is in heaven, and thou
upon earth: therefore let thy words be few” (Eccles. v. 1,
2).
The cherubim [which are so closely
associated with the mercy seat as to be made “of the matter of the mercy seat”
(Exod. xxv. 19 margin)], have been dealt with in the series Redemption,
both in connection with the cherubim themselves, and in connection with the
original office of Satan, and though we do not pretend to have exhausted the
teaching of Scripture, we can say nothing more to profit at the end of an
article. May the four simple features
brought before us in connection with the ark and mercy seat be a blessing to
us:--
1.
An unbroken
covenant.
2.
An undying
Priest.
3.
An unfalling
supply.
4.
A place
of fellowship and
communion.
“And truly our fellowship is with the
Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ … If we walk in the light, as He is in
the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ
His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (I John i. 3-7).
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