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Ark
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"You shall make an ark of acacia wood, two
and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a
half cubits high. Plate it inside and outside with pure gold, and
put a molding of gold around the top of it. Cast four gold rings
and fasten them on the four supports of the ark, two rings on one
side and two on the opposite side. Then make poles of acacia wood
and plate them with gold. These poles you are to put through the
rings on the sides of the ark, for carrying it; they must remain
in the rings of the ark and never be withdrawn. In the ark you are
to put the commandments which I will give you. You shall then make
a propitiatory of pure gold, two cubits and a half long, and one
and a half cubits wide. Make two cherubim of beaten gold for the
two ends of the propitiatory, fastening them so that one cherub
springs direct from each end. The cherubim shall have their wings
spread out above, covering the propitiatory with them; they shall
be turned toward each other, but with their faces looking toward
the propitiatory. This propitiatory you shall then place on top of
the ark. In the ark itself you are to put the commandments which I
will give you. There I will meet you and there, from above the
propitiatory, between the two cherubim on the ark of the
commandments, I will tell you all the commands that I wish you to
give the Israelites." [EX 25:10-22]
"You shall have a veil woven of violet,
purple and scarlet yarn, and of fine linen twined, with cherubim
embroidered on it. It is to be hung on four gold-plated columns of
acacia wood, which shall have hooks of gold and shall rest on four
silver pedestals. Hang the veil from clasps. The ark of the
commandments you shall bring inside, behind this veil which
divides the holy place from the holy of holies. Set the
propitiatory on the ark of the commandments in the holy of
holies." [EX 26:31-34]
"For burning incense you shall make an
altar of acacia wood, with a square surface, a cubit long, a cubit
wide, and two cubits high, with horns that spring directly from
it. Its grate on top, its walls on all four sides, and its horns
you shall plate with pure gold. Put a gold molding around it.
Underneath the molding you shall put gold rings, two on one side
and two on the opposite side, as holders for the poles used in
carrying it. Make the poles, too, of acacia wood and plate them
with gold. This altar you are to place in front of the veil that
hangs before the ark of the commandments where I will meet you. On
it Aaron shall burn fragrant incense. Morning after morning, when
he prepares the lamps, and again in the evening twilight, when he
lights the lamps, he shall burn incense. Throughout your
generations this shall be the established incense offering before
the LORD." [EX 30:1-8]
With this sacred anointing oil you shall anoint the meeting tent and the ark of the commandments, the table and all its
appurtenances... [Taken from EX 30:26-27]
"See, I have chosen Bezalel, son of Uri,
son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with a
divine spirit of skill and understanding and knowledge in every
craft: in the production of embroidery, in making things of gold,
silver or bronze, in cutting and mounting precious stones, in
carving wood, and in every craft. As his assistant I have
appointed Oholiab, son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. I have
also endowed all the experts with the necessary skill to make all
the things I have ordered you to make: the meeting tent, the ark
of the commandments with the propitiatory on top of it, all the
furnishings of the tent..." [Taken from EX 31:2-7]
"Let every expert among you come and make
all that the LORD has commanded: the Dwelling, with its tent, its
covering, its clasps, its boards, its bars, its columns and its
pedestals; the ark, with its poles, the propitiatory, and the
curtain veil; the table, with its poles and all its appurtenances,
and the showbread; the lampstand, with its appurtenances, the
lamps, and the oil for the light..." [Taken from EX 35:10-14]
Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood, two and a
half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half
cubits high. The inside and outside were plated with gold, and a
molding of gold was put around it. Four gold rings were cast and
put on its four supports, two rings for one side and two for the
opposite side. Poles of acacia wood were made and plated with
gold; these were put through the rings on the sides of the ark,
for carrying it. The propitiatory was made of pure gold, two and a
half cubits long and one and a half cubits wide. Two cherubim of
beaten gold were made for the two ends of the propitiatory, one
cherub fastened at one end, the other at the other end, springing
directly from the propitiatory at its two ends. The cherubim had
their wings spread out above, covering the propitiatory with them.
They were turned toward each other, but with their faces looking
toward the propitiatory. [EX 37:1-9]
"On the first day of the first month you
shall erect the Dwelling of the meeting tent. Put the ark of the
commandments in it, and screen off the ark with the veil. Bring in
the table and set it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up the
lamps on it. Put the golden altar of incense in front of the ark
of the commandments, and hang the curtain at the entrance of the
Dwelling... Take the anointing oil and anoint the Dwelling and
everything in it, consecrating it and all its furnishings, so that
it will be sacred." [Taken from EX 40:2-5,9]
It was Moses who erected the Dwelling. He placed
its pedestals, set up its boards, put in its bars, and set up its
columns. He spread the tent over the Dwelling and put the covering
on top of the tent, as the LORD had commanded him. He took the
commandments and put them in the ark; he placed poles alongside
the ark and set the propitiatory upon it. He brought the ark into
the Dwelling and hung the curtain veil, thus screening off the ark
of the commandments, as the LORD had commanded him. He put the
table in the meeting tent, on the north side of the Dwelling,
outside the veil, and arranged the bread on it before the LORD, as
the LORD had commanded him. He placed the lampstand in the meeting
tent, opposite the table, on the south side of the Dwelling, and he set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD had commanded him.
[Taken from EX 40:18-25]
After the death of Aaron's two sons, who died
when they approached the LORD'S presence, the LORD spoke to Moses
and said to him, "Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to
come whenever he pleases into the sanctuary, inside the veil, in
front of the propitiatory on the ark; otherwise, when I reveal
myself in a cloud above the propitiatory, he will die." [LEV
16:1-2]
When all their males of a month or more were
registered, they numbered eight thousand three hundred. They had
charge of the sanctuary. The clans of the Kohathites camped at the
south side of the Dwelling. The prince of their ancestral house
was Elizaphan, son of Uzziel. They had charge of whatever
pertained to the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the
utensils with which the ministry of the sanctuary was exercised, and the veil. The chief prince of the Levites, however, was
Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest; he was supervisor over those who
had charge of the sanctuary. [Taken from NUM 3:28-32]
In breaking camp, Aaron and his sons shall go in and take down the screening curtain and cover the ark of the commandments with
it. [Taken from NUM 4:5]
When Moses entered the meeting tent to speak
with him, he heard the voice addressing him from above the
propitiatory on the ark of the commandments, from between the two
cherubim; and it spoke to him [Taken from NUM 7:89]
They moved on from the mountain of the LORD, a
three days' journey, and the ark of the covenant of the LORD which
was to seek out their resting place went the three days' journey
with them. And when they set out from camp, the cloud of the LORD
was over them by day. Whenever the ark set out, Moses would
say, "Arise, O LORD, that your enemies may be
scattered, and those who hate you may flee before you."
And when it came to rest, he would say, "Return, O LORD, you
who ride upon the clouds, to the troops of Israel." [NUM
10:33-36]
When Moses repeated these words to all the
Israelites, the people felt great remorse. Early the next morning
they started up into the foothills, saying, "Here we are,
ready to go up to the place that the LORD spoke of: for we were
indeed doing wrong." But Moses said, "Why are you again
disobeying the LORD'S orders? This cannot succeed. Do not go up,
because the LORD is not in your midst; if you go, you will be
beaten down before your enemies. For there the Amalekites and
Canaanites face you, and you will fall by the sword. You have
turned back from following the LORD; therefore the LORD will not
be with you." Yet they dared to go up into the foothills,
even though neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses
left the camp. And the Amalekites and Canaanites who dwelt in that
hill country came down and defeated them, beating them back as far
as Hormah. [Taken from NUM 14:39-45]
"At that time the LORD said to me, 'Cut two
tablets of stone like the former; then come up the mountain to me.
Also make an ark of wood. I will write upon the tablets the
commandments that were on the former tablets that you broke, and
you shall place them in the ark.' So I made an ark of acacia wood,
and cut two tablets of stone like the former, and went up the
mountain carrying the two tablets. The LORD then wrote on them, as
he had written before, the ten commandments which he spoke to you
on the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the
assembly. After the LORD had given them to me, I turned and came
down the mountain, and placed the tablets in the ark I had made.
There they have remained, in keeping with the command the LORD
gave me... "At that time the LORD set apart the tribe of Levi
to carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to be in attendance
before the LORD and minister to him, and to give blessings in his
name, as they have done to this day. For this reason, Levi has no
share in the heritage with his brothers; the LORD himself is his
heritage, as the LORD, your God, has told him. [Taken from DEUT
10:1-5,8-9]
When Moses had written down this law, he
entrusted it to the levitical priests who carry the ark of the
covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel, giving them
this order: "On the feast of Booths, at the prescribed time
in the year of relaxation which comes at the end of every
seven-year period, when all Israel goes to appear before the LORD,
your God, in the place which he chooses, you shall read this law
aloud in the presence of all Israel. Assemble the people - men,
women and children, as well as the aliens who live in your
communities - that they may hear it and learn it, and so fear the
LORD, your God, and carefully observe all the words of this law.
Their children also, who do not know it yet, must hear it and
learn it, that they too may fear the LORD, your God, as long as
you live on the land which you will cross the Jordan to
occupy." [DEUT 31:9-13]
When Moses had finished writing out on a scroll
the words of the law in their entirety, he gave the Levites who
carry the ark of the covenant of the LORD this order: "Take
this scroll of the law and put it beside the ark of the covenant
of the LORD, your God, that there it may be a witness against you.
For I already know how rebellious and stiff-necked you will be.
Why, even now, while I am alive among you, you have been rebels
against the LORD! How much more, then, after I am dead!" [Taken
from DEUT 31:24-27]
Early the next morning, Joshua moved with all
the Israelites from Shittim to the Jordan, where they lodged
before crossing over. Three days later the officers went through
the camp and issued these instructions to the people: "When
you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD, your God, which the
levitical priests will carry, you must also break camp and follow
it, that you may know the way to take, for you have not gone over
this road before. But let there be a space of two thousand cubits
between you and the ark. Do not come nearer to it." Joshua
also said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow
the LORD will perform wonders among you." And he directed the
priests to take up the ark of the covenant and go on ahead of the
people; and they did so. Then the LORD said to Joshua, "Today
I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they
may know I am with you, as I was with Moses. Now command the
priests carrying the ark of the covenant to come to a halt in the
Jordan when they reach the edge of the waters." So Joshua
said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of
the LORD, your God." He continued: "This is how you will
know that there is a living God in your midst, who at your
approach will dispossess the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites,
Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. The ark of the
covenant of the LORD of the whole earth will precede you into the
Jordan. (Now choose twelve men, one from each of the tribes of
Israel.) When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the
ark of the LORD, the Lord of the whole earth, touch the water of
the Jordan, it will cease to flow; for the water flowing down from
upstream will halt in a solid bank." The people struck their
tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of
the covenant ahead of them. No sooner had these priestly bearers
of the ark waded into the waters at the edge of the Jordan, which
overflows all its banks during the entire season of the harvest,
than the waters flowing from upstream halted, backing up in a
solid mass for a very great distance indeed, from Adam, a city in
the direction of Zarethan; while those flowing downstream toward
the Salt Sea of the Arabah disappeared entirely. Thus the people
crossed over opposite Jericho. While all Israel crossed over on
dry ground, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the
LORD remained motionless on dry ground in the bed of the Jordan
until the whole nation had completed the passage.
[JOSH 3:1-17]
After the entire nation had crossed the Jordan,
the LORD said to Joshua, "Choose twelve men from the people,
one from each tribe, and instruct them to take up twelve stones
from this spot in the bed of the Jordan where the priests have
been standing motionless. Carry them over with you, and place them
where you are to stay tonight." Summoning the twelve men whom
he had selected from among the Israelites, one from each tribe,
Joshua said to them: "Go to the bed of the Jordan in front of
the ark of the LORD, your God; lift to your shoulders one stone
apiece, so that they will equal in number the tribes of the
Israelites. In the future, these are to be a sign among you. When
your children ask you what these stones mean to you, you shall
answer them, 'The waters of the Jordan ceased to flow before the
ark of the covenant of the LORD when it crossed the Jordan.' Thus
these stones are to serve as a perpetual memorial to the
Israelites." The twelve Israelites did as Joshua had
commanded: they took up as many stones from the bed of the Jordan
as there were tribes of the Israelites, and carried them along to
the camp site, where they placed them, according to the LORD'S
direction. Joshua also had twelve stones set up in the bed of the
Jordan on the spot where the priests stood who were carrying the
ark of the covenant. They are there to this day. The priests
carrying the ark remained in the bed of the Jordan until
everything had been done that the LORD had commanded Joshua to
tell the people. The people crossed over quickly, and when all had
reached the other side, the ark of the LORD, borne by the priests,
also crossed to its place in front of them. The Reubenites,
Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh, armed, marched in the
vanguard of the Israelites, as Moses had ordered. About forty
thousand troops equipped for battle passed over before the LORD to
the plains of Jericho. That day the LORD exalted Joshua in the
sight of all Israel, and thenceforth during his whole life they
respected him as they had respected Moses. Then the LORD said to
Joshua, "Command the priests carrying the ark of the
commandments to come up from the Jordan." Joshua did so, and
when the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD had
come up from the bed of the Jordan, as the soles of their feet
regained the dry ground, the waters of the Jordan resumed their
course and as before overflowed all its banks. The people came up
from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and camped in
Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho. [JOSH 4:1-19]
And he ordered the people to proceed in a circle around the city, with the picked troops marching ahead of the ark of the LORD.
[Taken from JOSH 6:7]
So he had the ark of the LORD circle the city, going once around it, after which they returned to camp for the night. Early the next morning,
Joshua had the priests take up the ark of the LORD. [Taken from
JOSH 6:11-12]
Joshua, together with the elders of Israel, rent
his garments and lay prostrate before the ark of the LORD until
evening; and they threw dust on their heads. "Alas, O Lord
GOD," Joshua prayed, "why did you ever allow this people
to pass over the Jordan, delivering us into the power of the
Amorites, that they might destroy us? Would that we had been
content to dwell on the other side of the Jordan. Pray, Lord, what
can I say, now that Israel has turned its back to its enemies?
When the Canaanites and the other inhabitants of the land hear of
it, they will close in around us and efface our name from the
earth. What will you do for your great name?" The LORD
replied to Joshua: "Stand up. Why are you lying prostrate?
Israel has sinned: they have violated the covenant which I
enjoined on them. They have stealthily taken goods subject to the
ban, and have deceitfully put them in their baggage. If the
Israelites cannot stand up to their enemies, but must turn their
back to them, it is because they are under the ban. I will not
remain with you unless you remove from among you whoever has
incurred the ban." [JOSH 7:6-12]
And all Israel, stranger and native alike, with
their elders, officers and judges, stood on either side of the ark
facing the levitical priests who were carrying the ark of the
covenant of the LORD. Half of them were facing Mount Gerizim and
half Mount Ebal, thus carrying out the instructions of Moses, the
servant of the LORD, for the blessing of the people of Israel on
this first occasion. Then were read aloud all the words of the
law, the blessings and the curses, exactly as written in the book
of the law. [Taken from JOSH 8:33-34]
When the Israelites consulted the LORD (for the
ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, and Phinehas,
son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, was ministering to him in those
days), and asked, "Shall I go out again to battle with
Benjamin, my brother, or shall I desist?" the LORD said,
"Attack! for tomorrow I will deliver him into your
power." [Taken from JUDG 20:27-28]
During the time young Samuel was minister to the
LORD under Eli, a revelation of the LORD was uncommon and vision
infrequent. One day Eli was asleep in his usual place. His eyes
had lately grown so weak that he could not see. The lamp of God
was not yet extinguished, and Samuel was sleeping in the temple of
the LORD where the ark of God was. The LORD called to Samuel, who
answered, "Here I am." [Taken from 1SAM 3:1-4]
At that time, the Philistines gathered for an
attack on Israel. Israel went out to engage them in battle and
camped at Ebenezer, while the Philistines camped at Aphek. The
Philistines then drew up in battle formation against Israel. After
a fierce struggle Israel was defeated by the Philistines, who slew
about four thousand men on the battlefield. When the troops
retired to the camp, the elders of Israel said, "Why has the
LORD permitted us to be defeated today by the Philistines? Let us
fetch the ark of the LORD from Shiloh that it may go into battle
among us and save us from the grasp of our enemies." So the
people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the LORD
of hosts, who is enthroned upon the cherubim. The two sons of Eli,
Hophni and Phinehas, were with the ark of God. When the ark of the
LORD arrived in the camp, all Israel shouted so loudly that the
earth resounded. The Philistines, hearing the noise of shouting,
asked, "What can this loud shouting in the camp of the
Hebrews mean?" On learning that the ark of the LORD had come
into the camp, the Philistines were frightened. They said,
"Gods have come to their camp." They said also,
"Woe to us! This has never happened before. Woe to us! Who
can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the
gods that struck the Egyptians with various plagues and with
pestilence. Take courage and be manly, Philistines; otherwise you
will become slaves to the Hebrews, as they were your slaves. So
fight manfully!" The Philistines fought and Israel was
defeated; every man fled to his own tent. It was a disastrous
defeat, in which Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers. The
ark of God was captured, and Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas,
were among the dead. A Benjaminite fled from the battlefield and
reached Shiloh that same day, with his clothes torn and his head
covered with dirt. When he arrived, Eli was sitting in his chair
beside the gate, watching the road, for he was troubled at heart
about the ark of God. The man, however, went into the city to
divulge his news, which put the whole city in an uproar. [1SAM 4:1-13]
Hearing the outcry of the men standing near him,
Eli inquired, "What does this commotion mean?" (Eli was
ninety-eight years old, and his eyes would not focus, so that he
could not see.) The man quickly came up to Eli and said, "It
is I who have come from the battlefield; I fled from there
today." He asked, "What happened, my son?" And the
messenger answered: "Israel fled from the Philistines; in
fact, the troops suffered heavy losses. Your two sons, Hophni and
Phinehas, are among the dead, and the ark of God has been
captured." At this mention of the ark of God, Eli fell
backward from his chair into the gateway; since he was an old man
and heavy, he died of a broken neck. He had judged Israel for
forty years. His daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was with
child and at the point of giving birth. When she heard the news
concerning the capture of the ark and the deaths of her
father-in-law and her husband, she was seized with the pangs of
labor, and gave birth. She was about to die when the women
standing around her said to her, "Never fear! You have given
birth to a son." Yet she neither answered nor paid any
attention. (She named the child Ichabod, saying, "Gone is the
glory from Israel," with reference to the capture of the ark
of God and to her father-in-law and her husband.) She said,
"Gone is the glory from Israel," because the ark of God
had been captured. [1SAM 4:14-22]
The Philistines, having captured the ark of God,
transferred it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. They then took the ark of
God and brought it into the temple of Dagon, placing it beside
Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next morning,
Dagon was lying prone on the ground before the ark of the LORD. So
they picked Dagon up and replaced him. But the next morning early,
when they arose, Dagon lay prone on the ground before the ark of
the LORD, his head and hands broken off and lying on the
threshold, his trunk alone intact. For this reason, neither the
priests of Dagon nor any others who enter the temple of Dagon
tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod to this very day; they
always step over it. Now the LORD dealt severely with the people
of Ashdod. He ravaged and afflicted the city and its vicinity with
hemorrhoids; he brought upon the city a great and deadly plague of
mice that swarmed in their ships and overran their fields. On
seeing how matters stood, the men of Ashdod decided, "The ark
of the God of Israel must not remain with us, for he is handling
us and our god Dagon severely." So they summoned all the
Philistine lords and inquired of them, "What shall we do with
the ark of the God of Israel?" The men of Gath replied,
"Let them move the ark of the God of Israel on to us."
So they moved the ark of the God of Israel to Gath! But after it
had been brought there, the LORD threw the city into utter
turmoil: he afflicted its inhabitants, young and old, and
hemorrhoids broke out on them. The ark of God was next sent to
Ekron; but as it entered that city, the people there cried out,
"Why have they brought the ark of the God of Israel here to
kill us and our kindred?" Then they, too, sent a summons to
all the Philistine lords and pleaded: "Send away the ark of
the God of Israel. Let it return to its own place, that it may not
kill us and our kindred." A deadly panic had seized the whole
city, since the hand of God had been very heavy upon it. Those who
escaped death were afflicted with hemorrhoids, and the outcry from the city went up to the heavens.
[1SAM 5:1-12]
The ark of the LORD had been in the land of the
Philistines seven months when they summoned priests and
fortune-tellers to ask, "What shall we do with the ark of the
LORD? Tell us what we should send back with it." They
replied: "If you intend to send away the ark of the God of
Israel, you must not send it alone, but must, by all means, make
amends to him through a guilt offering. Then you will be healed,
and will learn why he continues to afflict you." When asked
further, "What guilt offering should be our amends to
him?", they replied: "Five golden hemorrhoids and five
golden mice to correspond to the number of Philistine lords, since
the same plague has struck all of you and your lords. Therefore,
make images of the hemorrhoids and of the mice that are infesting
your land and give them as a tribute to the God of Israel. Perhaps
then he will cease to afflict you, your gods, and your land... You
shall next take the ark of the LORD and place it on the cart,
putting in a box beside it the golden articles that you are
offering, as amends for your guilt. Start it on its way, and let
it go. Then watch! If it goes to Beth-shemesh along the route to
his own territory, he has brought this great calamity upon us; if
not, we will know it was not he who struck us, but that an
accident happened to us." ... Then they placed the ark of the
LORD on the cart, along with the box containing the golden mice
and the images of the hemorrhoids. The cows went straight for the
route to Beth-shemesh and continued along this road, mooing as
they went, without turning right or left. The Philistine lords
followed them as far as the border of Beth-shemesh. The people of
Beth-shemesh were harvesting the wheat in the valley. When they
looked up and spied the ark, they greeted it with rejoicing. The
cart came to the field of Joshua the Beth-shemite and stopped
there... The Levites, meanwhile, had taken down the ark of God and
the box beside it, in which the golden articles were, and had
placed them on the great stone... The large stone on which the ark
of the LORD was placed is still in the field of Joshua the
Beth-shemite at the present time. The descendants of Jeconiah did
not join in the celebration with the inhabitants of Beth-shemesh
when they greeted the ark of the LORD, and seventy of them were
struck down. The people went into mourning at this great calamity
with which the LORD had afflicted them. The men of Beth-shemesh
asked, "Who can stand in the presence of this Holy One? To
whom shall he go from us?" They then sent messengers to the
inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying, "The Philistines have
returned the ark of the LORD; come down and get it." [Taken
from 1SAM 6:1-5,8-9,11-15,18-21]
So the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim came for
the ark of the LORD and brought it into the house of Abinadab on
the hill, appointing his son Eleazar as guardian of the ark of the
LORD. From the day the ark came to rest in Kiriath-jearim a long
time - twenty years - elapsed, and the whole Israelite population
turned to the LORD. Samuel said to them: "If you wish with
your whole heart to return to the LORD, put away your foreign gods
and your Ashtaroth, devote yourselves to the LORD, and worship him
alone. Then he will deliver you from the power of the
Philistines." So the Israelites put away their Baals and
Ashtaroth, and worshiped the LORD alone.
[1SAM 7:1-4]
David again assembled all the picked men of
Israel, thirty thousand in number. Then David and all the people
who were with him set out for Baala of Judah to bring up from
there the ark of God, which bears the name of the LORD of hosts
enthroned above the cherubim. The ark of God was placed on a new
cart and taken away from the house of Abinadab on the hill. Uzzah
and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, guided the cart, with Ahio walking
before it, while David and all the Israelites made merry before
the LORD with all their strength, with singing and with citharas,
harps, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals. When they came to the
threshing floor of Nodan, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of
God and steadied it, for the oxen were making it tip. But the LORD
was angry with Uzzah; God struck him on that spot, and he died
there before God. David was disturbed because the LORD had vented
his anger on Uzzah. (The place has been called Perez-uzzah down to
the present day.) David feared the LORD that day and said,
"How can the ark of the LORD come to me?" So David would
not have the ark of the LORD brought to him in the City of David,
but diverted it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. The ark of
the LORD remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three
months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom and his whole house. When
it was reported to King David that the LORD had blessed the family
of Obed-edom and all that belonged to him, David went to bring up
the ark of God from the house of Obed-edom into the City of David
amid festivities. [Taken from 2SAM 6:1-12]
David, girt with a linen apron, came dancing before the LORD with abandon,
as he and all the Israelites were bringing up the ark of the LORD with shouts of joy
[Taken from 2SAM 6:14-15]
As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of
David, Saul's daughter Michal looked down through the window and
saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, and she
despised him in her heart... When David returned to bless his own
family, Saul's daughter Michal came out to meet him and said,
"How the king of Israel has honored himself today, exposing
himself to the view of the slave girls of his followers, as a
commoner might do!" But David replied to Michal: "I was
dancing before the LORD. As the LORD lives, who preferred me to
your father and his whole family when he appointed me commander of
the LORD'S people, Israel, not only will I make merry before the
LORD, but I will demean myself even more. I will be lowly in your
esteem, but in the esteem of the slave girls you spoke of I will
be honored." And so Saul's daughter Michal was childless to
the day of her death. [Taken from 2SAM 6:16,20-23]
The ark of the LORD was brought in and set in its place within the tent David had pitched for it.
[Taken from 2SAM 6:17]
When King David was settled in his palace, and
the LORD had given him rest from his enemies on every side, he
said to Nathan the prophet, "Here I am living in a house of
cedar, while the ark of God dwells in a tent!" [2SAM 7:1-2]
David then said to Uriah, "Go down to your
house and bathe your feet." Uriah left the palace, and a
portion was sent out after him from the king's table. But Uriah
slept at the entrance of the royal palace with the other officers
of his lord, and did not go down to his own house. David was told
that Uriah had not gone home. So he said to Uriah, "Have you
not come from a journey? Why, then, did you not go down to your
house?" Uriah answered David, "The ark and Israel and
Judah are lodged in tents, and my lord Joab and your majesty's
servants are encamped in the open field. Can I go home to eat and
to drink and to sleep with my wife? As the LORD lives and as you
live, I will do no such thing." [2SAM 11:8-11]
Zadok, too (with all the Levite bearers of the
ark of the covenant of God), and Abiathar brought the ark of God
to a halt until the soldiers had marched out of the city. Then the
king said to Zadok: "Take the ark of God back to the city. If
I find favor with the LORD, he will bring me back and permit me to
see it and its lodging. But if he should say, 'I am not pleased
with you,' I am ready; let him do to me as he sees fit." The
king also said to the priest Zadok: "See to it that you and
Abiathar return to the city in peace, and both your sons with you,
your own son Ahimaaz, and Abiathar's son Jonathan. Remember, I
shall be waiting at the fords near the desert until I receive
information from you." So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of
God back to Jerusalem and remained there. As David went up the
Mount of Olives, he wept without ceasing. His head was covered,
and he was walking barefoot. All those who were with him also had
their heads covered and were weeping as they went. When David was
informed that Ahithophel was among the conspirators with Absalom,
he said, "O LORD, turn the counsel of Ahithophel to
folly!" [Taken from 2SAM 15:24-31]
In the innermost part of the temple was located the sanctuary to house the ark of the LORD'S covenant, twenty cubits long, twenty wide, and twenty high. [1KGS
6:19-20]
At the order of Solomon, the elders of Israel
and all the leaders of the tribes, the princes in the ancestral
houses of the Israelites, came to King Solomon in Jerusalem, to
bring up the ark of the LORD'S covenant from the city of David
(which is Zion). All the men of Israel assembled before King
Solomon during the festival in the month of Ethanim (the seventh
month). When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests
took up the ark; they carried the ark of the LORD and the meeting
tent with all the sacred vessels that were in the tent. (The
priests and Levites carried them.) [Taken from 1KGS 8:1-4]
The priests brought the ark of the covenant of
the LORD to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the
sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple. The cherubim had
their wings spread out over the place of the ark, sheltering the
ark and its poles from above. The poles were so long that their
ends could be seen from that part of the holy place adjoining the
sanctuary; however, they could not be seen beyond. (They have
remained there to this day.) There was nothing in the ark but the
two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the
LORD made a covenant with the Israelites at their departure from
the land of Egypt. [Taken from 1KGS 8:6-9]
"When my father David wished to build a
temple to the honor of the LORD, the God of Israel, the LORD said
to him, 'In wishing to build a temple to my honor, you do well. It
will not be you, however, who will build the temple; but the son
who will spring from you, he shall build the temple to my honor.'
And now the LORD has fulfilled the promise that he made: I have
succeeded my father David and sit on the throne of Israel, as the
LORD foretold, and I have built this temple to honor the LORD, the
God of Israel. I have provided in it a place for the ark in which
is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers when
he brought them out of the land of Egypt." [Taken from 1KGS
8:17-21]
The following were entrusted by David with the
choir services in the LORD'S house from the time when the ark had
obtained a permanent resting place. They served as singers before
the Dwelling of the meeting tent until Solomon built the temple of
the LORD in Jerusalem, and they performed their services in an
order prescribed for them. [Taken from 1CHRON 6:16-17]
After David had taken counsel with his
commanders of thousands and of hundreds, that is to say, with
every one of his leaders, he said to the whole assembly of Israel:
"If it seems good to you, and is so decreed by the LORD our
God, let us summon the rest of our brethren from all the districts
of Israel, and also the priests and the Levites from their cities
with pasture lands, that they may join us; and let us bring the
ark of our God here among us, for in the days of Saul we did not
visit it." And the whole assembly agreed to do this, for the
idea was pleasing to all the people. Then David assembled all
Israel, from Shihor of Egypt to Labo of Hamath, to bring the ark
of God from Kiriath-jearim. David and all Israel went up to
Baalah, that is, to Kiriath-jearim, of Judah, to bring back the
ark of God, which was known by the name "LORD enthroned upon
the cherubim." They transported the ark of God on a new cart
from the house of Abinadab; Uzzah and Ahio were guiding the cart,
while David and all Israel danced before God with great
enthusiasm, amid songs and music on lyres, harps, tambourines,
cymbals, and trumpets. As they reached the threshing floor of
Chidon, Uzzah stretched out his hand to steady the ark, for the
oxen were upsetting it. Then the LORD became angry with Uzzah and
struck him; he died there in God's presence, because he had laid
his hand on the ark. David was disturbed because the LORD'S anger
had broken out against Uzzah. Therefore that place has been called
Perez-uzza even to this day. David was now afraid of God, and he
said, "How can I bring the ark of God with me?"
Therefore he did not take the ark back with him to the City of
David, but he took it instead to the house of Obed-edom the
Gittite. The ark of God remained in the house of Obed-edom with
his family for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-edom's
household and all that he possessed. [1CHRON 13:1-14]
David built houses for himself in the City of
David and prepared a place for the ark of God, pitching a tent for
it there. At that time he said, "No one may carry the ark of
God except the Levites, for the LORD chose them to carry the ark
of the LORD and to minister to him forever." Then David
assembled all Israel in Jerusalem to bring the ark of the LORD to the place which he had prepared for it.
[1CHRON 15:1-3]
David summoned the priests Zadok and Abiathar,
and the Levites Uriel, Asaiah, Joel, Shemaiah, Eliel, and
Amminadab, and said to them: "You, the heads of the levitical
families, must sanctify yourselves along with your brethren and
bring the ark of the LORD, the God of Israel, to the place which I
have prepared for it. Because you were not with us the first time,
the wrath of the LORD our God burst upon us, for we did not seek
him aright." Accordingly, the priests and the Levites
sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the LORD, the God of
Israel. The Levites bore the ark of God on their shoulders with
poles, as Moses had ordained according to the word of the LORD.
David commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their
brethren as chanters, to play on musical instruments, harps, lyres, and cymbals, to make a loud sound of rejoicing.
[1CHRON 15:11-16]
Berechiah and Elkanah were gatekeepers before the ark.
[1CHRON 15:23]
The priests, Shebaniah, Joshaphat, Nethanel, Amasai, Zechariah, Benaiah, and Eliezer, sounded the trumpets before the ark of God. Obed-edom and Jeiel were also gatekeepers before the ark.
[1CHRON 15:24]
Thus David, the elders of Israel, and the commanders of thousands went to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD
with joy from the house of Obed-edom.
[1CHRON 15:25]
David was clothed in a robe of fine linen, as
were all the Levites who carried the ark, the singers, and
Chenaniah, the leader of the chant; David was also wearing a linen
ephod. Thus all Israel brought back the ark of the covenant of the
LORD with joyful shouting, to the sound of horns, trumpets, and
cymbals, and the music of harps and lyres. But as the ark of the
covenant of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal,
daughter of Saul, looked down from her window, and when she saw
King David leaping and dancing, she despised him in her heart. [1CHRON
15:27-29]
They brought in the ark of God and set it within the tent which David had pitched for it.
[Taken from 1CHRON 16:1]
He now appointed certain Levites to minister
before the ark of the LORD, to celebrate, thank, and praise the
LORD, the God of Israel. Asaph was their chief, and second to him
were Zechariah, Uzziel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab,
Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel. These were to play on harps and
lyres, while Asaph was to sound the cymbals, and the priests
Benaiah and Jahaziel were to be the regular trumpeters before the
ark of the covenant of God. [Taken from 1CHRON 16:4-6]
Then David left Asaph and his brethren there
before the ark of the covenant of the LORD to minister before the
ark regularly according to the daily ritual; he also left there
Obed-edom and sixty-eight of his brethren, including Obed-edom,
son of Jeduthun, and Hosah, to be gatekeepers. [1CHRON 16:37-38]
After David had taken up residence in his house,
he said to Nathan the prophet, "See, I am living in a house
of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORD dwells under
tentcloth." Nathan replied to David, "Do, therefore,
whatever you desire, for God is with you." But that same
night the word of God came to Nathan: "Go and tell my servant
David, Thus says the LORD: It is not you who are to build a house
for me to dwell in. For I have never dwelt in a house, from the
time when I led Israel onward, even to this day, but I have been
lodging in tent or pavilion as long as I have wandered about with
all of Israel. Did I ever say a word to any of the judges of
Israel whom I commanded to guide my people, such as, 'Why have you
not built me a house of cedar?' Therefore, tell my servant David,
Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from
following the sheep, that you might become ruler over my people
Israel. I was with you wherever you went, and I cut down all your
enemies before you. I will make your name great like that of the
greatest on the earth. I will assign a place for my people Israel
and I will plant them in it to dwell there henceforth undisturbed;
nor shall wicked men ever again oppress them, as they did at
first, and during all the time when I appointed judges over my
people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies. Moreover, I
declare to you that I, the LORD, will build you a house; so that
when your days have been completed and you must join your fathers,
I will raise up your offspring after you who will be one of your
own sons, and I will establish his kingdom. He it is who shall
build me a house, and I will establish his throne forever. I will
be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me, and I will not
withdraw my favor from him as I withdrew it from him who preceded
you; but I will maintain him in my house and in my kingdom
forever, and his throne shall be firmly established forever."
All these words and this whole vision Nathan related exactly to
David. [1CHRON 17:1-15]
David also commanded all of Israel's leaders to
help his son Solomon: "Is not the LORD your God with you? Has
he not given you rest on every side? Indeed, he has delivered the
occupants of the land into my power, and the land is subdued
before the LORD and his people. Therefore, devote your hearts and
souls to seeking the LORD your God. Proceed to build the sanctuary
of the LORD God, that the ark of the covenant of the LORD and
God's sacred vessels may be brought into the house built in honor
of the LORD." [1CHRON 22:17-19]
David assembled at Jerusalem all the leaders of
Israel, the heads of the tribes, the commanders of the divisions
who were in the service of the king, the commanders of thousands
and of hundreds, the overseers of all the king's estates and
possessions, and his sons, together with the courtiers, the
warriors, and every important man. King David rose to his feet and
said: "Hear me, my brethren and my people. It was my purpose
to build a house of repose myself for the ark of the covenant of
the LORD, the footstool for the feet of our God; and I was
preparing to build it. But God said to me, 'You may not build a
house in my honor, for you are a man who fought wars and shed
blood.' However, the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from all my
father's family to be king over Israel forever. For he chose Judah
as leader, then one family of Judah, that of my father; and
finally, among all the sons of my father, it pleased him to make
me king over all Israel. And of all my sons - for the LORD has
given me many sons - he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the
LORD'S royal throne over Israel. For he said to me: 'It is your
son Solomon who shall build my house and my courts, for I have
chosen him for my son, and I will be a father to him. I will
establish his kingdom forever, if he perseveres in keeping my
commandments and decrees as he keeps them now.'" [1CHRON
28:1-7]
Then David gave to his son Solomon the pattern
of the portico and of the building itself, with its storerooms,
its upper rooms and inner chambers, and the room with the
propitiatory. He provided also the pattern for all else that he
had in mind by way of courts for the house of the LORD, with the
surrounding compartments for the stores for the house of God and
the stores of the votive offerings, as well as for the divisions
of the priests and Levites, for all the work of the service of the
house of the LORD, and for all the liturgical vessels of the house
of the LORD. He specified the weight of gold to be used in the
golden vessels for the various services and the weight of silver
to be used in the silver vessels for the various services;
likewise for the golden lampstands and their lamps he specified
the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, and for the
silver lampstands he specified the weight of silver for each
lampstand and its lamps, depending on the use to which each
lampstand was to be put. He specified the weight of gold for each
table to hold the showbread, and the silver for the silver tables;
the pure gold to be used for the forks and pitchers; the amount of
gold for each golden bowl and the silver for each silver bowl; the
refined gold, and its weight, to be used for the altar of incense;
and, finally, gold for what would suggest a chariot throne: the
cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the
covenant of the LORD. He had successfully committed to writing the
exact specifications of the pattern, because the hand of the LORD
was upon him. [1CHRON 28:11-19]
Solomon, son of David, strengthened his hold on
the kingdom, for the LORD, his God, was with him, constantly
making him more renowned. He sent a summons to all Israel, to the
commanders of thousands and of hundreds, the judges, the princes
of all Israel, and the family heads; and, accompanied by the whole
assembly, he went to the high place at Gibeon, because the meeting
tent of God, made in the desert by Moses, the LORD'S servant, was
there. (The ark of God, however, David had brought up from
Kiriath-jearim to Jerusalem, where he had provided a place and
pitched a tent for it.) [2CHRON 1:1-4]
When all the work undertaken by Solomon for the
temple of the LORD had been completed, he brought in the dedicated
offerings of his father David, putting the silver, the gold and
all the other articles in the treasuries of the house of God. At
Solomon's order the elders of Israel and all the leaders of the
tribes, the princes of the Israelite ancestral houses, came to
Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the LORD'S covenant from the City
of David (which is Zion). All the men of Israel assembled before
the king during the festival of the seventh month. When all the
elders of Israel had arrived, the Levites took up the ark, and
they carried the ark and the meeting tent with all the sacred
vessels that were in the tent; it was the levitical priests who
carried them. [Taken from 2CHRON 5:1-5]
The priests brought the ark of the covenant of
the LORD to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the
sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple. The cherubim had
their wings spread out over the place of the ark, sheltering the
ark and its poles from above. The poles were long enough so that
their ends could be seen from that part of the holy place nearest
the sanctuary; however, they could not be seen beyond. The ark has
remained there to this day. There was nothing in it but the two
tablets which Moses put there on Horeb, the tablets of the
covenant which the LORD made with the Israelites at their
departure from Egypt. [Taken from 2CHRON 5:7-10]
"My father David wished to build a temple
to the honor of the LORD, the God of Israel, but the LORD said to
him: 'In wishing to build a temple to my honor, you do well.
However, you shall not build the temple; rather, your son whom you
will beget shall build the temple to my honor.' Now the LORD has
fulfilled the promise that he made. I have succeeded my father
David and have taken my seat on the throne of Israel, as the LORD
foretold, and I have built the temple to the honor of the LORD,
the God of Israel. And I have placed there the ark, in which
abides the covenant of the LORD which he made with the
Israelites." [2CHRON 6:7-11]
Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the palace which he had built for her, for he said, "No wife of mine shall dwell in the house of David, king of Israel, for the places where the ark of the LORD has come are holy." [2CHRON 8:11]
He reappointed the priests to their duties and
encouraged them in the service of the LORD'S house. He said to the
Levites who were to instruct all Israel, and who were consecrated
to the LORD: "Put the holy ark in the house built by Solomon,
son of David, king of Israel. It shall no longer be a burden on
your shoulders. Serve now the LORD, your God, and his people
Israel. Prepare yourselves in your ancestral houses and your
classes according to the prescriptions of King David of Israel and
his son Solomon." [Taken from 2CHRON 35:2-4]
You will find in the records, not only that
Jeremiah the prophet ordered the deportees to take some of the
aforementioned fire with them, but also that the prophet, in
giving them the law, admonished them not to forget the
commandments of the Lord or be led astray in their thoughts, when
seeing the gold and silver idols and their ornaments. With other
similar words he urged them not to let the law depart from their
hearts. The same document also tells how the prophet, following a
divine revelation, ordered that the tent and the ark should
accompany him and how he went off to the mountain which Moses
climbed to see God's inheritance. When Jeremiah arrived there, he
found a room in a cave in which he put the tent, the ark, and the
altar of incense; then he blocked up the entrance. Some of those
who followed him came up intending to mark the path, but they
could not find it. When Jeremiah heard of this, he reproved them:
"The place is to remain unknown until God gathers his people
together again and shows them mercy. Then the Lord will disclose
these things, and the glory of the Lord will be seen in the cloud,
just as it appeared in the time of Moses and when Solomon prayed
that the Place might be gloriously sanctified." [2MACC 2:1-8]
God heard and grew angry; he rejected
Israel completely. He forsook the shrine at Shiloh, the tent
where he dwelt with humans. He gave up his might into
captivity, his glorious ark into the hands of the foe. God
abandoned his people to the sword; he was enraged against his
heritage. Fire consumed their young men; their young women
heard no wedding songs. Their priests fell by the
sword; their widows made no lamentation. [PS 78:59-64]
LORD, remember David and all his anxious
care; How he swore an oath to the LORD, vowed to the Mighty
One of Jacob: "I will not enter the house where I
live, nor lie on the couch where I sleep; I will give my eyes
no sleep, my eyelids no rest, till I find a home for the
LORD, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob." "We
have heard of it in Ephrathah; we have found it in the fields
of Jaar. Let us enter God's dwelling; let us worship at God's
footstool." "Arise, LORD, come to your resting
place, you and your majestic ark. Your priests will be
clothed with justice; your faithful will shout for joy."
For the sake of David your servant, do not reject your
anointed. [PS 132:1-10]
Return, rebellious children, says the
LORD, for I am your Master; I will take you, one from a
city, two from a clan, and bring you to Zion. I will appoint
over you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you
wisely and prudently. When you multiply and become fruitful in the
land, says the LORD, They will in those days no longer
say, "The ark of the covenant of the
LORD!" They will no longer think of it, or remember
it, or miss it, or make another. At that time they will call
Jerusalem the LORD'S throne; there all nations will be gathered
together to honor the name of the LORD at Jerusalem, and they will
walk no longer in their hardhearted wickedness. In those days the
house of Judah will join the house of Israel; together they will
come from the land of the north to the land which I gave to your
fathers as a heritage. [Taken from JER 3:14-18]
Now (even) the first covenant had regulations
for worship and an earthly sanctuary. For a tabernacle was
constructed, the outer one, in which were the lampstand, the
table, and the bread of offering; this is called the Holy Place.
Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of
Holies, in which were the gold altar of incense and the ark of the
covenant entirely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar
containing the manna, the staff of Aaron that had sprouted, and
the tablets of the covenant. Above it were the cherubim of glory
overshadowing the place of expiation. Now is not the time to speak
of these in detail. [HEB 9:1-5]
Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. There
were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The kingdom of the world
now belongs to our Lord and to his Anointed, and he will reign
forever and ever." The twenty-four elders who sat on their
thrones before God prostrated themselves and worshiped God and
said: "We give thanks to you, Lord God
almighty, who are and who were. For you have assumed
your great power and have established your reign. The nations
raged, but your wrath has come, and the time for the dead to
be judged, and to recompense your servants, the
prophets, and the holy ones and those who fear your
name, the small and the great alike, and to destroy
those who destroy the earth." Then God's temple in heaven was
opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.
There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder,
an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm. [RV 11:15-19]
Also try:
command
/ commandments [C5a]
Word
of God [B3]
teach
/ teacher / taught [T1a]
holy
/ holiness [H14a]
Heaven
/ heaven / heavens / heavenly [H8a]
fear
of God / fear of the Lord [F7]
reverence
/ honor to God [R8]
sacred
[S3]
Lord's
House / temple
[L6a]
revere
/ revered [R]
righteous
/ righteousness [R11]
virtue
/ virtues / virtuous [V]
authority
[A5]
kingdom
/ kingdom of God [K2a]
tremble
[T8]
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