Ark Of God

2 Samuel 5:21-6:2 – And the Philistines left their idols there, and David and his men carried them away. And the Philistines came up yet again and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim. And when David inquired of the Lord, he said, “You shall not go up; go around to their rear, and come against them opposite the balsam trees. And when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then rouse yourself, for then the Lord has gone out before you to strike down the army of the Philistines.” And David did as the Lord commanded him, and struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer. David again gathered all the chosen men of Israel, thirty thousand. And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale-judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who sits enthroned on the cherubim.

Genesis 3:24 – He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

Exodus 25:10,17 – “They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height…“You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, and a cubit and a half its breadth.

1 Samuel 4:21 – And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

Application:

• ·         Only through God’s redemption in Christ do I have access to the tree of life.
• ·         The ark symbolized the throne of the Lord, the great King, who chose to dwell among His people.
• ·         Atonement means reconciliation, the divine act of grace whereby God draws to Himself and makes “at one” with Him those who were once alienated from Him. That God’s symbolic throne was capped with an atonement cover signified His great mercy toward His people—only such a God can be revered.
• ·         Removal of the ark from Israel demonstrated the gravity of their error in thinking that in spite of their wickedness they had the power to coerce God into doing their will simple because they possessed the ark.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV