25:10-22

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Ark of the covenant

(Ex 25:10-22)

The ark (GNB: covenant box) was a gold covered wooden box, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high. (A cubit was about forty-four centimetres or eighteen inches.) It was the only piece of furniture in the Most Holy Place (see Ex 26:34).

Inside the ark were the two stone tablets on which the law was written, as a constant reminder to the people of Israel that the God who dwelt among them was also their law-giver (Ex 25:10-16; Deut 10:1-5). (Later Aaron’s rod and the golden pot of manna were also placed in the ark; see Heb 9:4.)

A specially sacred part of the ark was its richly ornamented lid, called the mercy seat. The two cherubim (GNB: winged creatures) attached to the top of the mercy seat apparently symbolized divine protection of the seat, the ark and the contents (Ex 25:17-21).

This mercy seat appears to have been a visible throne for the invisible God. It was the place where God spoke with Moses and where the high priest made atonement for the sins of the people when he entered the Most Holy Place once a year (Lev 16:1-19,29-31; Heb 9:7).

The name mercy seat emphasized to the people of Israel that when they finally reached the heart of their religion they were still sinners, dependent entirely upon the mercy of God for their salvation (Ex 25:22).