What Was the Ark of the Covenant? | Message 1
One of the most fascinating portions of the Bible is the Old Testament description of the Tabernacle. At first glance, these passages may seem filled with measurements, fabrics, furniture, and ceremonial instructions that appear distant from everyday Christian life. Yet the New Testament reveals something remarkable about these ancient instructions. They were designed by God to point forward to Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10:1 explains this truth clearly:
“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things…”
The Tabernacle was a shadow of something greater. Every object, every ritual, and every priestly duty pointed forward to the person and work of Jesus Christ.
When we study the Tabernacle, we are really studying portraits of Christ that God revealed centuries before Jesus came into the world.
Our culture today has a very different attitude toward sin than previous generations did. There was a time when people were ashamed of wrongdoing. Today many openly celebrate it. One writer observed that people once hid their sins but now boast about them.
There was even a popular song encouraging people to “do what comes naturally.” But the Bible teaches the opposite. Sin is not natural to the life God designed for humanity. It is something foreign to us that corrupts the human heart and separates us from God.
Instead of searching for excuses for sin, we must look to God for forgiveness and strength to resist temptation. The Old Testament Tabernacle addresses this issue directly because it shows how sinful people can approach a holy God.
Lewis Carroll’s famous story Alice in Wonderland illustrates an important spiritual truth. Alice asks the Cheshire Cat, “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” The Cat replies, “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.”
The same question applies to every person spiritually: Where do you want to go?
Many churches today rarely confront the reality of sin. If the subject is mentioned at all, it is often softened so that no one feels uncomfortable. But the Bible confronts the issue directly.
The Old Testament Tabernacle shows us how sin can be dealt with and how fellowship with God can be restored.
The Tabernacle served as Israel’s central place of worship for more than four hundred years. Within it were seven pieces of furniture, each with deep spiritual meaning. Hebrews 8:2 describes Christ as “a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.”
The earthly Tabernacle was temporary. It was a visual representation of something far greater. The true sanctuary exists in heaven, where Jesus Christ now ministers as our High Priest.
Everything in the Tabernacle ultimately points to Him.
The Tabernacle was also extraordinarily costly to construct. Exodus 35 tells us that the people of Israel brought offerings of gold, silver, bronze, fine linen, precious stones, and many other valuable materials. Men and women brought jewelry, fabrics, skins, and wood for the work of the sanctuary.
Nothing was left to human imagination. God gave Moses precise instructions for every detail of the structure. The value of the materials alone would amount to many millions of dollars today.
But the significance of the Tabernacle was not its cost. Its significance was its purpose.
Exodus 25:8 records God’s command:
“And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”
From the very beginning, God desired to dwell among His people.
WHAT THE TABERNACLE TAUGHT
The Tabernacle contained seven pieces of furniture, and through these objects we see God’s perfect provision for His people.
First, the Tabernacle teaches that God desires to dwell among His people.
Exodus 25:8 says, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”
God’s desire has always been fellowship with humanity. The portrait of Christ in this truth is powerful. Through Jesus Christ, God has made peace with sinful humanity.
Romans 5:1 declares, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Through Christ the barrier of sin is removed and fellowship with God is restored.
Second, the Tabernacle teaches the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man.
Inside the Tabernacle was the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant rested. Only the High Priest could enter this sacred place, and he could do so only once each year.
This arrangement emphasized the separation between holy God and sinful humanity.
The portrait of Christ here is powerful. Jesus became our High Priest by offering Himself as the perfect sacrifice.
When Jesus died on the cross, Matthew 27:51 tells us that the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The barrier separating humanity from God was removed.
Hebrews 10:19 tells us that believers now have boldness to enter the presence of God through the blood of Jesus.
Third, the Tabernacle reveals salvation through a blood sacrifice.
Hebrews 9:22 says, “Without the shedding of blood there is no remission.”
Leviticus 17:11 explains that the life of the flesh is in the blood and that it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
The priests continually sacrificed animals on behalf of the people. But these sacrifices were temporary. They pointed forward to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 10:14 declares, “For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”
Christ shed His blood once for all so that sinners could be forgiven forever.
The Tabernacle itself contained two rooms.
The first room was called the Holy Place. It measured thirty feet long, fifteen feet wide, and fifteen feet high. Only priests were permitted to enter this room as they carried out their ministry before God on behalf of the people.
Inside the Holy Place were three pieces of furniture that illustrated different aspects of Christ.
One of those furnishings was the Golden Lampstand.
The lampstand symbolized Christ as the Light of the World. It provided the only light inside the Tabernacle. Without it, the room would have been completely dark.
This reminds us that the world’s wisdom cannot illuminate spiritual truth.
Jesus said in John 8:12, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
He also said in John 9:5, “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
Through the new birth in Jesus Christ, every believer becomes part of what Scripture calls a royal priesthood.
First Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Another piece of furniture in the Holy Place was the Table of Showbread.
This table symbolized Christ as the Bread of Life.
Jesus said in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”
The bread placed upon this table represented God’s continual provision for His people.
Exodus 25:30 commanded, “And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always.”
There was always bread on that table.
The table itself was overlaid with gold, emphasizing its sacred significance. The message was clear: God provides everything His people need.
If we walk in obedience to Him and live according to His truth, He will meet every need in our lives.
Christ is the Bread who nourishes the soul.
WHAT THE ARK OF THE COVENANT TAUGHT
At the center of the Tabernacle stood its most sacred object: the Ark of the Covenant.
The Ark rested inside the Holy of Holies and represented the throne of God among His people.
The Ark revealed the presence of God.
Above the Ark was the Mercy Seat where the High Priest sprinkled the blood of sacrifice on the Day of Atonement. It was there that God met with His people.
The Ark also revealed the law of God.
Inside the Ark were the tablets of the Ten Commandments. These tablets reminded Israel that God’s standards of righteousness cannot be ignored.
Yet above the law was the Mercy Seat.
This symbolized the beautiful truth that God’s mercy covers humanity’s failure to keep His law.
The blood sprinkled upon the Mercy Seat pointed forward to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Through His blood our sins are forgiven.
Ephesians 1:7 tells us, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
The Tabernacle tells a powerful story. It reveals God’s holiness, humanity’s sinfulness, and the necessity of sacrifice.
But most importantly, it reveals Jesus Christ.
Every piece of furniture points toward Him.
Every sacrifice anticipates His cross.
Every symbol proclaims the same message: God desires to dwell among His people, and through Jesus Christ that fellowship is now possible.
In the coming messages of this series we will continue exploring the remaining furnishings of the Tabernacle and discover how each one reveals another portrait of Christ.
