Weighty Matters

Then he [Bezalel] made the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. [Exodus 37.6]

On days like today, when the OYCB reading is mostly details, it is tempting to just glaze over it without seeing significance - without comprehending the weightiness of the text...

Weight is exactly then what I thought about!

There was a lot of gold used in the construction of the articles used in the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place of the Tabernacle. Actually, 2,193 pound of gold is the estimated weight for all that was used in the Tabernacle.

So, here is a thought. The priests carried the Ark of the Covenant, right? Today, for the first time ever (I think) I wondered just what that Ark of the Covenant weighed. While it is very difficult to understand every dimension from the text of Exodus, we are given some rough dimensions from which to make some assumptions. I will focus here on the Ark's cover.

If the Ark's cover was 45" X 27", then is was 1,215 square inches. How thick was it? We don't know, but we can assume it was thick enough to remain rigid (understanding that gold is very soft unlike steel). How thick would make it rigid? 1/2"? 1"? Well, if it was 1" thick, that would be 1,215 cubic inches. Gold weighs approximately 0.6979166666/cubic inch. 1,215 cubic inches of gold then would weigh approximately 848 pounds! Let's say the cover of the Ark was only 1/2" thick - then the weight would have been only 424 pounds...

The point is, the Ark of the Covenant was likely a very heavy object! Imagine having to carry it everywhere!

But that is the point, isn't it? The Ark of the Covenant was indeed a 'weighty' matter! It represented the Law of God. It was heavy. It was, dare I say, a burden!

Sometimes we may not appreciate what Jesus has done for us in redeeming us from the Law, its rituals, its penalty, ...its burden. But today, we should consider it.

Jesus said:

For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. [Matthew 11.30]

Father, thank You that You have redeemed me from the Law with its weightiness!