Next Bezalel made the Ark of acacia wood—a sacred chest 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high. He overlaid it inside and outside with pure gold, and he ran a molding of gold all around it. He cast four gold rings and attached them to its four feet, two rings on each side. Then he made poles from acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. He inserted the poles into the rings at the sides of the Ark to carry it. Then he made the Ark’s cover—the place of atonement—from pure gold. It was 45 inches long and 27 inches wide. He made two cherubim from hammered gold and placed them on the two ends of the atonement cover. He molded the cherubim on each end of the atonement cover, making it all of one piece of gold. The cherubim faced each other and looked down on the atonement cover. With their wings spread above it, they protected it. [Exodus 37.1-9]
The Ark was an interesting item.
The Ark must have been quite heavy with the solid gold atonement cover and its solid gold cherubim.
The Ark was the place where God met with man. I can only imagine it was ornate in its design and magnificent to behold.
And yet, there remains a lot of mystery around the Ark of the Covenant. I suppose this is because of the statement in the previous paragraph - its where God met with man! That sounds straightforward enough and should have no mystery, except when we consider that only the High Priest could see the Ark (ever) and, if he was ill-prepared in seeing it, he could very possibly die. So, there was much more involved than just seeing it! Which brings up...
...That medallion worn on Aaron's turban, with the the words, "HOLY TO THE LORD." Yeah, that medallion had to be there on Aaron's forehead... It was not an option. It was part of the deal for Aaron to meet with God. So the mystery intensifies!
The thing is, all the elaborate design represents only one thing: holiness. And, the holiness it represents is beyond our comprehension (except that if we fail to give it full respect, it will cause death!).
For all of Israel, only one man could come into God' presence. And, that one man had to have everything right - completely and thoroughly right - or he was a dead man.
There is much to be understood from God's holiness. There is much that God's holiness, when understood more, reveals about the significance of Jesus Christ.
Father, help me to give proper consideration of Your holiness. Help me to understand the full significance of Jesus opening the way to You.
The thing is, all the elaborate design represents only one thing: holiness. And, the holiness it represents is beyond our comprehension (except that if we fail to give it full respect, it will cause death!).
For all of Israel, only one man could come into God' presence. And, that one man had to have everything right - completely and thoroughly right - or he was a dead man.
There is much to be understood from God's holiness. There is much that God's holiness, when understood more, reveals about the significance of Jesus Christ.
Father, help me to give proper consideration of Your holiness. Help me to understand the full significance of Jesus opening the way to You.
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