What’s in the Box?

In it stood the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were a golden urn holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the tablets of the covenant. Hebrews 9:4 (New Oxford Bible)

While reading in one of my bibles recently, I started to think about the first time I ever heard a sermon preached on the contents of the Ark of the Covenant. I remember when it was because I was visiting the Methodist church my brother attends in Virginia.  

You might think it is sacrilegious of me to call ‘the Ark” a box but the word “ark” comes from the Latin word “arca” which means “box.” However, “the Ark” is arguably the most beautiful box ever on earth. 

I think it was while reading the part of that battle led by Joshua against the Amalekites that made me think of “the Ark.” I was reading about how Aaron and Hur supported Moses’ arms in the uplifted position with the “rod of God” (his staff) in Moses’ hands. 

Anyway, I started to wonder how many Christians know what was placed inside the “Ark.” I’m guessing that number is a small one. Perhaps it is just a little detail that no one remembers even though the “Ark” was designed by God and its contents were commanded by God.  

Each of the 3 items was a miracle in itself. Only God could inscribe the words of the law on the stone tablets instantaneously. Only God could preserve the manna in a golden jar (in the desert the manna disintegrated overnight), and Only God could preserve Aaron’s “flowering rod of almond” inside the darkness of the Ark.

Not all sources I consulted agreed on the significance of the contents of the Ark but basically the manna represents lifesaving food, Aaron’s rod represents God’s blessing on the Levitical priesthood and the tablets of the law represented that God’s moral law would stand forever before His presence. Some argue that the broken tablets were also placed in the Ark but I could find no proof of that in scripture.

When the Ark went before the Israelites during the exodus, God was leading them physically, spiritually and morally. He cares so much for all his people. Why, I wonder, are we always amazed by God’s designs?

Prayer: Father, we praise You for all the places we find You and we thank You for the blessings You bestow on us unworthy as we are, but most of all we love You for all the ways You show us how much You love us. In Your Son, Jesus’ name we pray. Amen

Judy Welch