The Ark of the Covenant

A great feast was prepared, and elders from each tribe assembled in Jerusalem for the temple’s dedication. Sacrifices were offered, and the ark was carried by Levite priests into the Most Holy Place of the temple. “All priests were Levites (Joshua 3:3), but not all the descendants of Levi were priests. The bearing of the ark on its journeys was properly the responsibility of the Levites of the family of Kohath (Num. 3:31; 4:15; 1 Chron. 15:2–15).” The ark was oriented crosswise from north to south, and the staves used to carry it were drawn out so they were visible from the Holy Place beyond the ends of a separating veil (2 Chronicles 3:14) through the open wooden doors in the separating wall (1 Kings 6:16, 31). The ark held the tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb (1 Kings 8:9). “The ark was brought into the most holy place, where, between the cherubim, was to be manifested the presence of God. This showed the sacredness of the law of God. The law is a transcript of the character of God. As God is holy, so are His commandments holy, just, and pure.” “There is something singularly impressive in this special hallowing of the two tables of the law. By being thus placed within the ark, directly above which God was to meet with His people (Ex. 25:22), the law is indissolubly bound together with God Himself. The most sacred place in the Temple was the holy of holies, and its most sacred item was the ark containing the law of God. As God by His very nature is holy and eternal, so likewise is His law. Everything that could possibly be done to impress upon His children the eternal sanctity of His law was done by God in the appointments of His holy Temple. This law, under the old covenant, was written upon two tables of stone; under the new covenant it is written upon the hearts of the righteous (Jer. 31:31–33).” God has always desired transformed hearts in His people.

When God chose David to lead His people, He looked not on outward appearances but upon his heart (1 Samuel 16:7).