The Ark Of The Covenant Essay, Research Paper

THE ARK OF THE COVENANT

BY B.J. SCHULTZ

The Ark of the Covenant is presently one of the most sought-after objects in the

world. It is probably the most powerful, influential, and mysterious objects in the

history of the world. There are hundreds of theories as to the whereabouts of the ark,

everything from the Temple Mount to aliens, Elvis, and Roswell New Mexico. But

where is it today? Has it already been discovered, or will it remain a mystery,

shrouded in conspiracy?

The Ark of the Covenant was constructed with acacia wood and 24 karat pure

gold. The ‘mercy seat’ was made completely of pure gold only, and the two cherubim

were made of the same peice of gold as the mercy seat. All the wood was overlayed

with gold. The cherubim’s wings were outstreched over the mercy seat to cover it.

The posts to carry it were made of acacia wood also and overlayed with gold. The ark

had rings on each corner which were separately cast and attached. It was two and a

half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide and one and a half cubits high. This is

about three feet nine inches long, two feet three inches wide, and two feet and three

inches high.

The Ark of the Covenant was built at Mount Sinai by Bezalel ben Uri, which

means, “In the shadow of God, the son of my light”. He built the ark to the exact

specifications of God. The ark contained the tablets of the Ten Commandments,

a golden pot of manna, and Aaron’s staff, which had budded. It was used to carry

these objects and God himself said it was his dwelling place. The ark was also a

symbol of God’s power to the Israelites and a physical representation of His presence

and dwelling place. The Israelites carried the ark with them everywhere and to every

battleground because they knew God lived among them and would protect them. It

was also a symbol of his promise that they were his chosen people.

The ark played a significant role while the Israelites were wandering in the

desert. They built a tabernacle as God instructed them, and placed the Ark of the

Covenant in a separate room called the Holy of Holies. No one could enter the Holy

of Holies unless God called them to do so. After the ark was set there the glory of

God filled the tabernacle in the form of a cloud. When the cloud lifted, the Israelites

would travel, but if it didn’t lift they had to stay put until it did. At night the cloud was

filled with fire to guide them. God’s ark led them through the desert during Exodus.

After the exile the ark was taken with them to the promised land. All this time the

Levites were the only group of people who could move the tabernacle and the ark and

protect them. From then on the ark stayed with the Israelites.

In all, the ark travelled from Mount Sinai to Gilgal to Shiloh and to Jerusalem

where King Solomon began constructing a temple for it. It took him seven years to

finish it. The resting place of the ark, the Holy of Holies, was twenty cubits long, high

and wide, andf overlayed completely with pure gold. Solomon had also had two

cherubim carved, each ten cubits tall with five cubit long outstreched wings, made of

olive wood and overlayed with gold. These cherubim seem to match the description

of the cherubim on top of the mercy seat. They were placed in the Holy of Holies.

When the preists put the ark in the new temple, under the cherubim, the cloud of the

glory of the Lord filled the entire temple so the preists couldn’t even perform their

responsibilities. After Solomon’s death there were many evil kings, and during the

reign of these kings it is assumed that the preists hid the ark in a safe place. In 2

Chronicles 35:3 Josiah tells the Levite preists to put the ark back into the temple

Solomon built. That is also the last time the Ark of the Covenant is mentioned in the

Scriptures. Was it placed back in the temple? Who knows?

God had very specific instructions on how the ark was to be transported. Only

the Levite preists could carry it, and it was supposed to be carried by the posts only.

In one situation, the ark was being transported during the reign of David on a cart

pulled by oxen. When it starts to fall off a man walking beside the cart reaches out to

steady it and the fire of God consumes him when he touches it. I think God did this

because his ark and dwelling place was not being treated as he had instructed. He said

the ark could only be carried by the Levites and only by the poles. These poles could

never be removed from the rings they were originally placed in, which were on the

sides of the ark. Anyway, I think this man was struck down as a warning to obey

God’s commands.

THEORY #1: AXUM, ETHIOPIA

This is one of the more popular theories out there. Graham Hancock, who

wrote “The Sign and the Seal”, believes that the ark is currently in a small church in

Axum, Ethiopia called The Church of Mary Zion. He tells us that the ark was simply

transported to the church in Ethiopia while Solomon was still king. It went from

Jerusalem to Elephantine Island in Egypt, to Lake Tama, to Axum where it has been

ever since.

The reason the Ark of the Covenant left Solomons’ temple was Solomon and

Sheba’s son, Menelik. He stayed with Sheba in Ethiopia for about twenty years and

then went to Jerusalem to visit Solomon. He soon became homesick and wanted to

return to Ethiopia, but he didn’t want to leave the ark behind, so Solomon secretly had

a replica constructed which was switched with the original and taken to Ethiopia. The

real ark supposedly followed five hundred years later.

There seems to be some, if limited reason to support this theory, the first being

that every church in the country has a replica of the ark and it seems to be the focal

point of their religion. Also, The Church of Mary Zion where it is said to be is heavily

guarded by armed soldiers around the clock. There is a preist who guards the ark itself

and can never leave the church grounds. When he is dying he chooses another to g

guard it. This is the way they’ve been doing things for thousands of years. The

Ethiopian people worship the Ark of the Covenant exactly as it was originally

worshipped in Israel.

In conclusion, Graham Hancocks’ theory seems possible, but unfortunately there

isn’t very much physical evidence to support or confirm it.

THEORY #2: THE CRUCIFIXION SITE

In 1982 Ron Wyatt claims to have found the Ark of the Covenant under th

crucifixion site of Christ. In 1978 Wyatt and sons were at the Red Sea on an

archeological visit. Wyatt decided to take a break and see the sights of Jerusalem due

to a sunburn , and while visiting with the locals he suddenly exclaimed, “That’s

Jeremiah’s Grotto and the Ark of the Covenant is in there”, and pointed to his left. Ron

Wyatt strongly believes that God had put those words in his mouth, as he had not

intended to say them. He and his sons immediately began to excavate the site, which

was being used as a dump next to a large boulder. They found a crack where Wyatt

believes the cross was pounded into the ground and three grooves in the cliff face

where signs were supposedly placed above the cross. Later, during the winter, his sons

had to return to the US due to illness.

On January 6, 1982, Wyatt and a local boy who had helped dig through the

winter, found a crack which looked like it led to a cave. The boy went inside but soon

came out saying, “What is in there? I’m not going back in there!” When Wyatt himself

entered the cave he looked up to see what he thought to be the same crack as where the

cross met the ground. Inside the cave there were piles of old animal skins covering

what he presumed to be the alter of the First Temple. All over the crack overhead and

down the sides of the cave was a dark dried liquid which he thought could be Christ’s

blood. He also deducted that the ark must be under the alter. After he took all that in

he passed out for three quarters of an hour.

Wyatt later returned to the cave with equipment to drill through the debris and

caught a glimpse of the ark underneath. Ron Wyatt’s theory has no archeological

evidenceat all though, and this is why a lot of people are critical towards him. His

theory could be believable if some physical evidence were presented, but

unfortunately, there is none.

THEORY #3: THE TEMPLE MOUNT

This theory suggests that the Ark of the Covenant never actually left the Temple

Mount, the reason being that there was never another temple to store it in. Several

rabbis claim to have seen the ark in a cave under the Temple Mount by looking around

a corner with a mirror. Dr. Jimmy DeYoung, who is a subscriber to this theory, tells

us that the Ark of the Covenant never left the temple simply because there was no

other temple to put it in, and the rabbis’ plans to build a third temple are coming into

play. Once again there is some logic involved here but no concrete evidence at all to

support this theory.

The Ark of the Covenant is still a mystery that may remain unsolved for the rest

of history. Will we ever find it? Where has it been for thousands of years? There are

endless theories and ideas that question even the limits of reason. And the largest

question of all: If we did discover the lost ark, what would the consequences be? The

answers we may never know. Maybe the location of the ark would be best left as it is

today — unsolved.

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