We continue our study, answering a number of questions about the Ark of the Covenant. As we mentioned, all of the material that we reference is found in our book, "In Search of the Lost Ark, The Quest For The Ark of The Covenant." It is found on our website educatingourworld under the heading of Bible Prophecy, and it is a free download...
In our fourth episode on this subject, we are looking at chapter 4 of the book, A Temporary Home For The Ark: The Tabernacle.
As God had given divine instructions to build the Ark, He also gave specific instruction to construct a place to house the Ark for its wilderness journeys, the tent of meeting, or the "tabernacle."
There was other furniture that the Lord commanded to be built. These articles, including the Ark, were described before the tent itself because they were of primary importance, and the Ark was the most important of all. That is why it is described first.
Simply put, the tabernacle was a tent that was made according to God's pattern and it was a "holy place." It consisted to two rooms, the larger room "the Holy Place" and the smaller room "The Holy of Holies."
While the priests would regularly work in the Holy Place, the Holy of Holies was only entered once a year, and only by the Great High Priest. This would take place on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
He would bring the blood of the offering and sprinkle it on the Mercy Seat, or Atonement Cover. This was done as an offering for the sins of the people. As we shall eventually explain, it spoke of the offering that Christ Himself would make on our behalf.
We summarize this chapter as follows...
The Importance Of The Ark Of The Covenant
As we conclude our brief summary of the Tabernacle, we observe that the Ark of the Covenant ranked the highest of all the vessels, standing alone in the Holy of Holies. In the biblical order, before the Tabernacle was even described and commanded to be built, God gave orders to build this most important piece of furniture.
All the rituals of the Tabernacle were conducted with reference to the Ark. Without the Ark of the Covenant, all the other vessels of the Tabernacle and all the service of the priests would have been useless.
The Ark of the Covenant, the most important object in the Tabernacle, was now ready to make its trek to the Promised Land and a permanent resting place.
It is vital that we understand exactly why the Ark was ordered to be constructed. Therefore, in our next episode, we will answer the all important question, "What Was The Purpose of The Ark?