“And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around. You shall cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other side. And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. You shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them." vv.10-14
Read chapter 25
What is an ark? First thought is usually of Noah's ark in the worldwide flood, but this isn't referring to a boat that size here yet could resemble a ver mini version of its shape. This ark is a box that held the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments (v.16). A cubit isn't a dimension we use today but was a measurement taken from the length of a man's arm, from elbow to extended middle finger, so commonly about 18 inches. Therefore the ark was about 4' long x 2 1/4' wide x 2 1/4'high. Poles were made for it to carry as the Israelites traveled and also as it continually moved among homes. The ark was not to be touched and we see Uzzah die when David has him transport the ark and it falls (2 Samuel 6). Everything was overlaid with gold that would've made it resplendent and costly, not to be made an idol but to preserve His words and show its great importance and value. We don't have the ark anymore today, but have the Bible as His word and testimony to us. Do you treat it as valuable as it is, worth far more than gold?
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