3 And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
4 Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; Hebrews 9
I’m sure most of us have seen “Raiders of the Lost Ark” – Indiana Jones has to save the ark of the covenant from the Nazis. They think that tremendous power can be found by opening it… If you’ve seen the movie, you know the awful, awesome power that comes out when the ark is opened. Indie and his friend turn their faces away because they know it’s the power of God and as humans, they aren’t worthy to look upon it – and that’s what saves their lives. The Nazis who try to use God’s power for the wrong things end up as dust, after they quickly age, die and disintegrate.
Have you ever thought about what items were found in the ark? It truly does hold the power of God- but not in the way the movies portray it.
Each item in the ark was there for a reason:
- Manna was the heavenly food that God provided the Israelites while they traveled through the wilderness. It was the perfect food; and there was always enough- the people were told to gather only what they could use in a day- anything more would be full of worms if they kept it overnight. On the day before the Sabbath, they were told to gather two days’ worth of manna- and what was kept for the Sabbath did NOT ruin. God made sure they didn’t have to work for their food on the Sabbath. Manna represents God’s provision for us.
- Aaron’s rod was also in the ark- this is the rod that flowered in the presence of the Pharaoh’s magicians; it also turned into a snake and ate the magicians’ rods when they too turned into snakes. The rod represents God’s leadership for us.
- The tablets that the ten commandments were written on were also put in the ark- these are the laws that God gave to Moses for the Israelites to follow. These laws are how perfect people would behave in a perfect world – anyone who could always follow those rules and never mess up were worthy to enter Heaven. Of course we know that there is no one worthy to enter Heaven on their own goodness, other than Jesus – and that’s why the ten commandments are so important – to show us that we can’t do it on our own. We all have to have a savior who is worthy. The tablets represent God’s law and how it convicts us and points us to Jesus and the salvation He offers.
Please – consider the sacrifice that Jesus has made for you; if you were the only person who needed salvation, He would still have died – just for you. Know that Jesus loves you as you are; but He doesn’t want to leave you that way. He loves you enough to want to help you be the person you can be- the person He’s designed you to be.