The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
The command required the carrying poles to remain permanently in the rings of the ark and never be removed. It was given for the wilderness tabernacle as part of the divine pattern for a sanctuary built to move with Israel on its journey. The ark itself was made as the depository for the stone tablets on which God engraved the Ten Commandments. For that reason it is the ark of the testimony and of the covenant, because those commandments are God's covenant and the foundation of His government. It stood as the symbol of God's presence, with the Shekinah glory resting above the mercy seat between the cherubim, and as the earthly pattern of the true ark in the heavenly sanctuary where Jesus ministers.
Ark's Construction and Setting
The carrying poles were to stay in the rings of the ark and not be taken from it. This direction was part of God's directions given to Moses on the mount for building the earthly sanctuary according to a divine pattern. It belonged to the wilderness tabernacle of Moses' time, which was built to move from place to place as Israel journeyed.
The ark was a chest of acacia wood, also described as precious wood, overlaid within and without with gold and finished with a crown or border of gold about the top. Its cover, called the mercy seat, was wrought of one solid piece of gold and bore a golden cherub on each end. Their wings were stretched on high, their faces were turned toward each other, and their gaze was directed reverently downward toward the ark in token of reverence and humility.
The ark stood beyond the inner veil in the holy of holies or most holy place, where the symbolic service of atonement and intercession centered. Outside the veil, the holy place held the candlestick with its seven lamps on the south giving light day and night. There also stood the table of showbread on the north and the golden altar of incense, whose fragrance rose daily with the prayers of Israel.
What the Ark Signifies
The ark was made as a depository to hold the stone tablets, the two tables on which God himself engraved the Ten Commandments. Hence it is called the ark of the testimony, the ark of the covenant, or the ark of God's testament. The Ten Commandments are God's covenant, the basis of the covenant made between God and Israel, and the foundation of God's government.
The ark symbolized God's presence among His people and represented God himself. It was regarded as Israel's glory and strength, with the token and sign of His presence resting upon it day and night. That presence was the Shekinah, the manifestation of the divine presence in a cloud of glory above the mercy seat between the cherubim. From between the cherubim God made known His will.
The earthly ark was a pattern of the true ark in the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, where Jesus ministers after 1844. Angels stand beside the heavenly ark in reverence before God's law, and the heavenly host regard it with reverence and with interest in the plan of redemption. Before that ark Jesus stands presenting the prayers of the saints to the Father with incense from a golden censer between the cherubim. Above where He stands before the ark is an exceeding bright glory like a throne where God dwells, so that light and glory overshadow the mercy seat and fill the temple and pass from God to Jesus and from Him to those whose prayers rise like incense.
The ark was treated as a sacred object to be guarded from intrusion, and its protection serves as an example of how carefully God's work should be guarded.
The command required the carrying poles to remain permanently in the rings of the ark and never be removed. It was given for the wilderness tabernacle as part of the divine pattern for a sanctuary built to move with Israel on its journey. The ark itself was made as the depository for the stone tablets on which God engraved the Ten Commandments. For that reason it is the ark of the testimony and of the covenant, because those commandments are God's covenant and the foundation of His government. It stood as the symbol of God's presence, with the Shekinah glory resting above the mercy seat between the cherubim, and as the earthly pattern of the true ark in the heavenly sanctuary where Jesus ministers.
Ark's Construction and Setting
The carrying poles were to stay in the rings of the ark and not be taken from it.
This direction was part of God's directions given to Moses on the mount for building the earthly sanctuary according to a divine pattern.
It belonged to the wilderness tabernacle of Moses' time, which was built to move from place to place as Israel journeyed.
The ark was a chest of acacia wood, also described as precious wood, overlaid within and without with gold and finished with a crown or border of gold about the top.
Its cover, called the mercy seat, was wrought of one solid piece of gold and bore a golden cherub on each end.
Their wings were stretched on high, their faces were turned toward each other, and their gaze was directed reverently downward toward the ark in token of reverence and humility.
The ark stood beyond the inner veil in the holy of holies or most holy place, where the symbolic service of atonement and intercession centered.
Outside the veil, the holy place held the candlestick with its seven lamps on the south giving light day and night.
There also stood the table of showbread on the north and the golden altar of incense, whose fragrance rose daily with the prayers of Israel.
What the Ark Signifies
The ark was made as a depository to hold the stone tablets, the two tables on which God himself engraved the Ten Commandments. Hence it is called the ark of the testimony, the ark of the covenant, or the ark of God's testament. The Ten Commandments are God's covenant, the basis of the covenant made between God and Israel, and the foundation of God's government.
The ark symbolized God's presence among His people and represented God himself. It was regarded as Israel's glory and strength, with the token and sign of His presence resting upon it day and night. That presence was the Shekinah, the manifestation of the divine presence in a cloud of glory above the mercy seat between the cherubim. From between the cherubim God made known His will.
The earthly ark was a pattern of the true ark in the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, where Jesus ministers after 1844. Angels stand beside the heavenly ark in reverence before God's law, and the heavenly host regard it with reverence and with interest in the plan of redemption. Before that ark Jesus stands presenting the prayers of the saints to the Father with incense from a golden censer between the cherubim. Above where He stands before the ark is an exceeding bright glory like a throne where God dwells, so that light and glory overshadow the mercy seat and fill the temple and pass from God to Jesus and from Him to those whose prayers rise like incense.
The ark was treated as a sacred object to be guarded from intrusion, and its protection serves as an example of how carefully God's work should be guarded.