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Ark of the Covenant

10 "They shall make an ark of acacia wood two and a half *cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. 11 You shall overlay the ark with pure gold, overlay it inside and out, and you shall make a gold border (frame) around its top. 12 You shall cast four gold rings for it and attach them to the four feet, two rings on either side. 13 You shall make [carrying] poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold, 14 and put the poles through the rings on the sides of the ark, by which to carry it. 15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be removed from it [so that the ark itself need not be touched]. 16 You shall put into the ark the Testimony (Ten Commandments) which I will give you.

17 "You shall make a *mercy seat (cover) of pure gold, two and a half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. 18 You shall make two cherubim (winged angelic figures) of [solid] hammered gold at the two ends of the mercy seat. 19 Make one cherub at each end, making the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. 20 The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing each other. The faces of the cherubim are to be looking downward toward the mercy seat. 21 You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony which I will give you.

22 There I will meet with you; from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, I will speak [intimately] with you regarding every commandment that I will give you for the Israelites.

Construction Continues

1 Bezalel made the ark [of the covenant] of acacia wood—it was two and a half cubits long, and one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.

The Tabernacle Erected

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "On the first day of the first month (Abib) you shall set up the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting [of God with you]. 3 You shall place the ark of the Testimony there, and you shall screen off the ark [from the Holy Place of God’s Presence] with the veil (partition curtain). [Heb 10:19-23]

20 He took the Testimony [the stones inscribed with the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark [of the covenant], and placed the poles [through the rings] on the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark. 21 Moses brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up a veil (partition) for the screen (curtain), and screened off the ark of the Testimony, just as the Lord had commanded him.

89 Now when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat (the gold cover) that was on the ark of the Testimony from between the two cherubim; and He spoke [by special revelation] to him.

33 So they set out from the mountain of the Lord (Sinai) three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went in front of them during the three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them. 34 The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp.

35 Whenever the ark set out, Moses said,

"Rise up, O Lord!

Let Your enemies be scattered;

And let those who hate You flee before You." [Ps 68:1, 2]

36 And when the ark rested, Moses said,

"Return, O Lord,

To the myriad (many) thousands of Israel."

Aaron’s Rod Buds

1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and get rods from them, a rod for each father’s household, from all their leaders according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods. Write every man’s name on his rod, 3 and write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi [his ancestor]; for there is one rod for the head of each of their fathers’ households. 4 You shall then deposit them in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) in front of [the ark of] the Testimony, where I meet with you. 5 It shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will bud, and I will no longer hear the constant grumblings of the Israelites, who are grumbling against you." 6 So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a rod, one for each leader according to their fathers’ households, twelve rods, and the rod of Aaron was among their rods. 7 So Moses deposited the rods before the Lord in the Tent of the Testimony (tabernacle).

8 Now on the next day Moses went into the Tent of the Testimony, and *the rod of Aaron of the tribe of Levi had sprouted and put out buds and produced blossoms and yielded [ripe] almonds. 9 Moses brought out all the rods from the presence of the Lord to all the Israelites; and they looked, and each man took his rod. 10 But the Lord said to Moses, "Put Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony [in the ark], to be kept as a [warning] sign for the rebellious and contentious, so that you may put an end to their murmurings [of discontent] against Me, so that they do not die." 11 And Moses did so; just as the Lord had commanded him, so he did.

14 So when the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan with the priests who were carrying the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and when those who were carrying the ark came up to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were submerged at the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all of its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters which were flowing down from above stopped and rose up in one mass a great distance away at *Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan. Those [waters] flowing downward toward the sea of the Arabah, the *Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed [the river] opposite Jericho. [Ps 114] 17 And while all [the people of] Israel crossed over on dry ground, the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan [riverbed], until all the nation had finished crossing over the Jordan.

18 When the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord had come up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of their feet were raised up to the dry land, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place, and flowed over all its banks as before.

The Conquest of Jericho

1 Now Jericho [a fortified city with high walls] was tightly closed because [of the people’s fear] of the sons of Israel; no one went out or came in. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, "See, I have given Jericho into your hand, with its king and the mighty warriors. 3 Now you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do this [once each day] for six days. 4 Also, seven priests shall carry seven trumpets [made] of rams’ horns ahead of the ark; then on the seventh day you shall march around the city seven times, and the priests shall blow the trumpets. 5 When they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall cry out with a great shout (battle cry); and the wall of the city will fall down in its place, and the people shall go up, each man [going] straight ahead [climbing over the rubble]."

6 So Joshua the son of Nun called for the priests and said to them, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and have seven priests carry seven trumpets made of rams’ horns ahead of the ark of the Lord." 7 He said to the people, "Go forward! March around the city, and let the armed men go ahead of the ark of the Lord."

20 So the people shouted [the battle cry], and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, they raised a great shout and the wall [of Jericho] fell down, so that the sons of Israel went up into the city, every man straight ahead [climbing over the rubble], and they overthrew the city.

2 The Philistines assembled in battle formation to meet Israel, and when the battle was over, Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the battlefield. 3 When the people (soldiers) came into the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, so that He may come among us and save us from the hand of our enemies." 4 So the people sent word to Shiloh, and from there they carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts who sits above the cherubim; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 So it happened that as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all [the people of] Israel shouted with a great shout, and the earth resounded. 6 When the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, "What does the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews mean?" Then they understood that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp. 7 The Philistines were afraid, for they said, "God has come into the camp." And they said, "Woe [disaster is coming] to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who will rescue us from the hand of these mighty *gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the wilderness. 9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, so that you do not become servants to the Hebrews, as they have been servants to you; act like men and fight!"

10 So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated and every man fled to his tent. It was a very great defeat, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 Also the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed. [1 Sam 2:34]

6 Then the hand of the Lord was heavy on the people of Ashdod, and He caused them to be dumbfounded and struck them with *tumors, both Ashdod and its territory. 7 When the men of Ashdod saw what had happened, they said, "The ark of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for His hand is heavy on us and on Dagon our god." 8 So they sent word and gathered all the lords (governors) of the Philistines to them and said, "What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel?" They answered, "Let the ark of the God of Israel be brought around to *Gath." So they took the ark of the God of Israel there. 9 But it happened that after they had taken it to Gath, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing an extremely great panic [because of the deaths from the plague], for He struck the people of the city, both young and old, and tumors broke out on them. 10 So they sent the ark of God to *Ekron. And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, "They have brought the ark of the God of Israel [from Gath] to *us, to kill us and *our people." 11 So they sent word and gathered all the lords of the Philistines and said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel; let it be returned to its own place, so that it will not kill us and our people." For there was a deadly panic throughout the city; the hand of God was very heavy (severe) there.

The Ark Returned to Israel

1 Now the ark of the Lord had been in the country of the Philistines for seven months. 2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners (seers), saying, "What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Let us know how we can send it back to its place." 3 They said, "If you send away the ark of the God of Israel, do not send it empty [without a gift]; but be sure to return [it] to Him [together with] a guilt offering. Then you will be healed, and it will be known to you why His hand is not removed from you."

10 And the men did so, and took two milk cows and hitched them to the cart, and corralled their calves at home. 11 They put the ark of the Lord on the cart, and the box containing the golden mice and the replicas of their tumors. 12 And the cows went straight toward Beth-shemesh along the highway, lowing as they went, and did not turn away to the right or the left. And the Philistine lords (governors) followed them to the border of Beth-shemesh.

13 Now the men of Beth-shemesh were gathering their wheat harvest in the valley, and they looked up and saw the ark and rejoiced to see it. 14 The cart came into the field of Joshua of Beth-shemesh and stopped there. A large stone was there; and the men split up the wood of the cart [for firewood] and offered the cows as a burnt offering to the Lord. 15 The Levites had taken down the ark of the Lord and the box beside it, in which were the articles of gold, and put them on the large stone. And the men of Beth-shemesh offered burnt offerings and made sacrifices that day to the Lord.

Rescue from the Philistines

1 So the men of Kiriath-jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord and brought it into the house of Abinadab on the hill, and they consecrated Eleazar his son to care for the ark of the Lord. 2 And from that day the ark remained in Kiriath-jearim for a very long time, for it was twenty years [until the reign of King David]; and all the house of Israel lamented (wailed) and grieved after the Lord. [2 Sam 6:3, 4; 1 Chr 13:5-7]

The Ark Is Brought to Jerusalem

12 Now King David was told, "The Lord has blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that belongs to him, because of the ark of God." So David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David with rejoicing and gladness. 13 And when those who were carrying the ark of the Lord [by its poles] had gone six paces, he sacrificed an ox and a fatling. 14 And David was dancing before the Lord with *great enthusiasm, and David was *wearing a linen ephod [a priest’s upper garment]. 15 So David and all the house of Israel were bringing the ark of the Lord up [to the City of David] with shouts [of joy] and with the sound of the trumpet.

The Ark Brought into the Temple

1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ households of the sons of Israel, to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion. 2 All the men of Israel assembled before King Solomon at the feast in the month of Ethanim (September-October), that is, the seventh month. 3 All the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. 4 They brought up the ark of the Lord and the Tent of Meeting and all the holy utensils that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, so many that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, into the inner sanctuary of the house, into the Holy of Holies, under the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubim covered the ark and its [carrying] poles from above. 8 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were visible from the Holy Place that was in front of the *Holy of Holies, but they were not visible from the outside; they are there to this day (the date of this writing). 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb (Sinai), where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt. [Deut 10:2-5] 10 Now it happened that when the priests had come out of the Holy Place, the cloud filled the Lord’s house, 11 so the priests could not stand [in their positions] to minister because of the cloud, for the glory and brilliance of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house (temple).

14 ‘Return, O faithless children [of the twelve tribes],’ says the Lord,

‘For I am a master and husband to you,

And I will take you [not as a nation, but individually]—one from a city and two from a [tribal] family—

And I will bring you to Zion.’ [Luke 15:20-22]

15 "Then [in the final time] I will give you [spiritual] shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and [true] understanding. 16 It will be in those days when you have [repented and] multiplied and increased in the land," says the Lord, "they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will not come to mind, nor will they [seriously] remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again [for instead of the ark, which symbolized My presence, I will be present]. [Is 65:17; Rev 21:3, 22, 23]

The Old and the New

1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for divine worship and for the earthly sanctuary. [Ex 25:10-40] 2 A tabernacle (sacred tent) was put up, the outer one or first section, in which were the lampstand and the table with [its loaves of] the sacred showbread; this is called the Holy Place. [Lev 24:5, 6] 3 Behind the second veil there was another tabernacle [the inner one or second section] known as the Holy of Holies, [Ex 26:31-33] 4 *having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold. This contained a golden jar which held the manna, and the rod of Aaron that sprouted, and the [two stone] tablets of the covenant [inscribed with the Ten Commandments]; [Ex 16:32-34; 30:1-6; Num 17:8-10] 5 and above the ark were the [golden] cherubim of glory overshadowing *the mercy seat; but we cannot now go into detail about these things.

19 And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning, loud rumblings and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm. [1 Kin 8:1-12]