#5 The Ark - Things Placed Inside

Deuteronomy 10

The stone tablets placed in the Ark

At that time the LORD said to me, “Cut two stone tablets like the first ones, and come up to me on the mountain, and make a wooden ark. I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Put the new tablets in the ark.”

So I made the ark out of shittim wood, and I cut out two stone tablets like the first ones. Then I went up on the mountain with the two stone tablets in my hand. And the Lord wrote the same things on those tablets he had written before, the Ten Commandments, which he had spoken to you on the mountain from the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly. And the Lord gave them to me.

Then I turned and came down the mountain, and put the tablets in the ark I had made. And there they are as the LORD commanded me.

Numbers 4

The Sons of Kohath Charged to carry Sanctuary and Ark

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,  “Count the sons of Kohath from among the Levites. Count them by family groups and by the house of their fathers.  Count the men from 30 to 50 years old. They will do the work in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.”

“Their service will be for the most holy things in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.  When the camp moves forward, Aaron and his sons shall come and take down the curtain and cover the Ark of the Covenant with it.  They shall cover it with a covering made from fine leather, and shall spread a solid blue cloth over it. And then they shall put the carrying poles of the Ark in place.”

Then they were to put away and cover the other items from the Tabernacle (verses 9 – 14).

When Aaron and his sons are finished covering the sanctuary, and all the vessels of the sanctuary the camp is ready to move forward. The sons of Kohath shall come to carry it, but they shall not touch any holy thing, or they will die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kohath in the Tabernacle of the Congregation.

Deuteronomy 10

The Tribe of Levi appointed to bear the ark of the covenant

And the children of Israel journeyed from Beeroth to Moserah, and there Aaron died and was buried. In his place his son, Eleazar, ministered in the priest’s office.

And at that time, the LORD set aside the tribe of Levi, to bear the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him, and to bless His Name, even to this day.

Numbers 10

The Ark of the Covenant Goes Before Israel

And it came to pass, on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year, the cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle of the testimony.

And the children of Israel set out from the wilderness of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the wilderness of Paran.

See verses 14-28 to see the order in which the children of Israel set out for the first time, at the Lord’s command through Moses.

So they set out from the mountain of the LORD and traveled for three days. The Ark of the Covenant of the LORD went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest. And the cloud of the LORD was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

And it came to pass, whenever the Ark went forward, that Moses said, “Rise up, Lord, and let your enemies be scattered; and let them that hate you flee before you.”

Whenever the Ark came to rest, he said, “Return, O Lord, to the many thousands of Israel.”

Exodus 16

Manna from Heaven placed in the ark of the covenant

Then Moses said, “This is what the LORD has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.”

Moses said to Aaron, “Get a pot and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the LORD to preserve it for all future generations.” Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded Moses. He put it up before the Testimony, to be kept.

So the children of Israel ate manna for forty years until they arrived at the land where they would settle. They ate manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.

(See at end of page - John 6 Jesus is The Bread of Life)

Numbers 17

Aaron’s Staff Placed in the Ark of the Covenant

The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the children of Israel and take twelve staffs from them, one from everyone according to the house of their fathers. Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each house of their fathers.”

“Place them in the Tabernacle of the Congregation before the Testimony, where I will meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant complaining against you by the children of Israel.”

So Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and everyone of their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one rod a piece according to the house of their fathers, which was twelve rods, and Aaron’s staff was among them. Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tabernacle of Witness.

The next day Moses entered the Tabernacle of Witness and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed, and produced almonds.

Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the LORD to all the children of Israel. They looked at them, and then each man took his own staff.

The LORD said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s staff back in again before the Testimony, to be kept as a reminder to the rebellious. This should put an end to their murmuring against me, so that they will not die.” And Moses put Aaron’s staff in the Ark of the Covenant just as the LORD commanded him.

Hebrews 9:4, “…and the Ark of the Covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that had budded, and the tables of the covenant.”

Deuteronomy 31

The Book of the Law Placed in the Ark of the Covenant

And it came to pass that Moses finished writing all the words of the law and he put them in a book. He commanded the Levites, which carry the Ark of the Covenant, to place the book inside the ark that it may be a witness to the children of Israel.

And Moses commanded them, saying, “At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, during the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear before the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose, you shall read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather all the people together, men, women, children, and any foreigners, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD your God, and observe to do all the words of this law. And that their children, which have not known anything, may hear, and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live in the land where you go over Jordan to possess.”

So Moses commanded them to put the book in the Ark of the Covenant for a witness against them, because he said, “I know your rebellion, and you are stiff-necked. While I am yet alive you have been rebellious against the LORD. I can just imagine how much you will rebel after my death.”

He said, “Bring unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.”

“For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you. And evil will befall you in the latter days (meaning the end time) because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.”

John 6

Jesus, The Bread of Life

One day Jesus miraculously fed a multitude of 5,000 from 5 loaves of bread and two little fish. The men there were amazed, and said, “This is of a truth, the prophet, that we expected to come into the world.” Jesus knew these men planned on coming to try and force him to be king, so he left to go into the mountain alone. His disciples left in a boat to go across the sea to Capernaum.

The next day, some people who had stayed on the other side of the sea knew that Jesus did not go with his disciples in the boat, and they knew it was the only boat that was there. But then some boats from Tiberias came and landed near the place where the people had eaten the day before, the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord gave thanks. When the people saw that Jesus and his disciples were not there, they also left in boats and went to Capernaum to find Jesus.

When the people found Jesus on the other side of the sea, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?”

Jesus answered, “Why are you looking for me? Is it because you saw miracles? Truly, you are looking for me because you ate the bread and were filled. Do not work for the meat which will perish, but work for that meat that will endure to everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give you; for him has God the Father sealed.”

The people asked Jesus, “What shall we do, that we might do the works of God?”

Jesus answered, “The work God wants you to do is this: to believe in the One He sent.”

So the people asked, “What sign will you show us then? Show us! that we may see, and believe you? What will you do? Our fathers were given manna to eat in the desert. As it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

Jesus said, “I can assure you Moses was not the one who gave that bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

The people said, “Lord, from now on give us this bread.”

Then Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He that comes to me will never hunger, and he that believes in me will never thirst. But I told you before that you have seen me, and still you do not believe. All that the Father gives me shall come to me, and those that come to me, I will by no means cast out.”

“I came down from heaven, not to do my will, but the will of Him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will, which sent me: all that He gives me, I shall lose none, but shall raise up again at the last day.”

“And this is the will of Him that sent me, everyone that sees the Son of man, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Some Jews began to complain about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread, which came down from heaven.”

And they said, “Is this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

But Jesus said, “Stop complaining among yourselves. No one can come to me, except the Father which sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

“It is written by the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught of God.’ Every one that hears, and has learned from the Father, will come to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, save he which is of God, he has seen the Father.”

“Truly, I say unto you, ‘He that believes on me has everlasting life. I am that bread of life.”’

“Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and they are dead. The bread that comes down from heaven, that a man may eat and not die, that is the bread which comes down from heaven.”

“I am the living bread which came down from heaven, if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever. The bread that I will give is my flesh (body), which I will give for the life of the world.”

Then the Jews began to argue among themselves, and said, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, when I say to you, except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is indeed meat, and my blood is indeed drink. He that eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, dwells in me, and I in him. As the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father, so is he that eats of Me, even he shall live by Me.”

“This is that bread which came down from heaven, not the manna your fathers ate and are dead, but he that eats this bread shall live forever.”

Jesus said all this while he was teaching in the synagogue in the city of Capernaum. Therefore, many of his disciples, when they heard this, said, “This teaching is hard. Who can understand and accept it?

Jesus already knew that his disciples were complaining about this, so he said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what will you think when you see the Son of Man going up to where he came from? It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh profits nothing, but the things that I tell you are from the Spirit, so they give life. But some of you do not believe.”

Jesus knew from the beginning those that did not believe, and those that would betray him. And he said, “That is why I said, ‘Anyone the Father does not give to me, cannot come unto me.’”

After this many of his disciples left, and followed him no more. Then Jesus asked the twelve apostles, “Will you also go away?”

Then Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, where would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe and are sure that you are Christ, the Son of the living God.”