This Part 2 is the continuation and conclusion to “Ark of the Testimony – Journeys (1)”.
The “Ark of the Testimony” (seen in Ex.25:16, Jsh.4:16, e.g.) was the most revered object in God’s portable tabernacle, constructed by Moses/Israelites. The Hebrew term for “ark” is aróne, Strongs h727. The term for “testimony” is aydúth h5715. The Ark was also known as the “Ark of the Covenant” (h1285, Nu.10:33, e.g.), the “Ark of the Lord” (h3068, Jsh.3:13), the “Ark of God” (h430, 1Sm.3:3). This Ark wasn’t the floating vessel ‘Noah’s ark’ so-called, seen earlier in the Flood account of Ge.6–8.
Christ was the God and good Shepherd of ancient Israel. His glory ‘dwelt’ above the Ark, upon the mercy seat between the cherubim (cf. Ex.25:22, Ps.80:1, Jn.10:11. see the topic “Jesus Was the Old Testament God”.) The Ark represented the Lord’s Presence and Name! 2Sm.6:2 “The ark of God which is called by the Name, the very name of the Lord of hosts who is enthroned above the cherubim.”
Using Dr. Martin Anstey’s The Romance of Bible Chronology, v.2, Israel’s exodus from Egypt occurred circa (c) 1612 BC and the sacred tabernacle tent & sanctuary was erected c 1611 BC.
“Ark of the Testimony – Journeys (1)” covered the time from the Ark’s construction in the aftermath of Israel’s exodus from Egypt…until the capture of the Ark by the enemy Philistines, c 1102 BC.
The Ark, a gilded rectangular chest, resided in the Holy of Holies innermost room (Ex.26:34) of Moses’ tabernacle for 500 years! From c 1611 BC – c 1102 BC (except when it was in transport or taken into battle). But after c 1102 BC, the Ark would never return to Moses’ tabernacle!
Now in Part 2, we’ll continue the account of the Ark’s journeys from when the Philistines’ captured it.
In the latter years of Eli the high priest & judge, Israel had become very backslidden. The tabernacle of Moses and the Ark was at Shilóh, in the tribal territory of Ephráim. 1Sm.4:1-5 the Ark is carried into the battle of Ebenézer against the Philistines. v.17-18 the Philistines sack Shiloh, and capture the Ark. Eli dies when he hears the news. v.22 “The glory is departed from Israel, for the ark of God is taken.”
1Sm.5:1-7 the heathen Philistines took the captured Ark of God from Ebenezer to their city of Ashdód, into the temple of their pagan god Dagón. But the idol of Dagon was then found fallen down before the Ark…and broken! The Lord afflicted the Ashdodites with tumors and mice (LXX). v.8-9 so the Philistines took the Ark to their city of Gath. The Lord afflicted them there with tumors. v.10-12 so they took the Ark to Ekrón. The hand of God was heavy upon them in Ekron; many men died or were smitten with tumors. At that point the Philistines didn’t know what to do with the Ark!
1Sm.6:1-12 after the Philistines had possession of the Ark for 7 months (c 1101 BC), they called for their heathen priests & diviners, to learn what should be done with the Ark. It was decided the Ark should be sent away on a cart hitched to two milk cows. Lo and behold…the cows didn’t go towards their calves in Philistia…on their own, the cows carted the Ark straightway to Bethshémesh in Israel!
1Sm.6:13-19 the Ark arrived in Bethshemesh. It was back in Israel. But the Lord struck down men there because, without authorization, “they looked into the Ark of the Lord”. (Nu.4:4-5 in transport, the Ark was to be covered by the inner veil; the Kohaththites in charge of holy articles weren’t to touch the Ark or see into it.) 1Sm.6:20-21 so they wanted it taken from Bethshemesh to Kiriáth-jearím in Judah.
1Sm.7:1-3 the men of Kiriath-jearim brought the Ark to the house of Abinadáb in Kiriath-jearim.
Although Israel repented after 20 years, the Ark remained in the house of Abinadab for approximately 70 years (c 1101 BC – 1030 BC). JFB Commentary 1Sm.7:2 “20 years….the Israelites began to revive from their sad state of religious decline.” Les McFall The Chronology of Saul and David “The actual time from the death of Eli to the deposition of the ark in Jerusalem by David was 68 years.” The Ark remained at Abinadab’s house during the judgeship of Samuel and the entire reign of Saul.
When David was running from King Saul, Moses’ tabernacle (minus the Ark) was at the town of Nob. Saul later had the residents of Nob killed, ref 1Sm.21–22. Cambridge Bible 1Sm.1:3 “The tabernacle was removed to Nob (1Samuel 21), and the once holy place was utterly desecrated.” After Nob, Gibeón became the site of Moses’ tabernacle, ref 1Ch.16:39-40 & 2Ch.1:3 (until Solomon’s time).
After David became king and subdued the Philistines, he wanted the Ark brought up to Jerusalem (c 1030 BC) in the tribal territory of Judah. 1Ch.15:1 “In the city of David [on Mt Zión] he prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched a tent for it.” (That Hebrew term for “tent” is óhel h168.)
2Sm.6:2-11 David brought the Ark from Abinadab’s house to Obéd-edóm’s house, where it remained for 3 months. v.12-17 David then brought the Ark from Obed-edom’s house to the “tent of David” on Mt Zion in Jerusalem. (see the topics, “Tent/Tabernacle of David” and “Zion in the Bible”.)
Jesuswalk.com/david “David can’t very well return the ark to the tabernacle at Shiloh. Shiloh had been destroyed! The tabernacle had been moved to the priestly city of Nob, but the ark had never been there and Saul had slaughtered the town’s priests and their families. The ancient tabernacle is now to be found at ‘the high place at Gibeon’ (1Ch.16:39-40, 21:29; 2Ch.1:3, 13; 1Ki.3:4), in a Levitical city where personnel continued sacrifices. David wants the center of Yahweh worship to be in the capital at Jerusalem, not in some priestly town. So he sets up a tent for the ark in Jerusalem, in hopes of eventually building a proper temple to house it.” His son Solomon would later build the Temple there.
King David brought only the Ark into the tent. The Ark still contained God’s law of the Decalogue or Ten Commandments (even during Solomon’s reign, 2Ch.5:1-2, 10). See Part 1. But absent (since c 1102 BC?) from Moses’ Holy of Holies at Gibeon was Aaron’s rod that budded (Nu.17:10) and the memorial jar of manna (Ex.16:32-34).
1Ch.17:16 David sat before the Ark! 2Sm.11:11 the Ark was again taken into battle.
2Sm.15:24-29 Zadók the priest took the Ark with David as he fled from Absalóm…but Zadok then returned it to Jerusalem. Poole Commentary 2Sm.15:25 to “the tabernacle David had lately built for it.”
The Ark of God resided in the tent at David’s palace on Zion for 40 years (though he died c 1002 BC). The only item in the Ark then was God’s eternal law (later seen in heavenly Mt Zion, Re.11:19 & 14:1).
After David’s death, King Solomon completed the temple c 991 BC. 1Ki.7:51 – 8:1-21 the original Ark (1Ki.8:9) was moved from David’s tent on Mt Zion into Solomon’s stationary temple “house of the Lord” on Mt Moriáh (2Ch.3:1). 1Ki.8:10-11 at the occasion, the temple was filled with the glory cloud of the Lord! The Ark had been at a personal residence or palace for c 110 years (c 1101 BC – 991 BC)!
1Ki.8:8 KJV the projection of the poles/staves, by which the descendants of Koháth had carried the Ark during Israel’s journeys, was changed in Solomon’s temple. Barnes Notes 1Ki.8:8 “A sign that the ark had reached ‘the place of its rest’, and was not to be borne about anymore.” 1Ki.8:4 the old tabernacle of Moses with its holy utensils was brought from Gibeon into the temple. The journeying of Moses’ Ark (and portable tabernacle) was ended.
More than 300 years after Solomon, c 622 BC King Josiah made sanctuary repairs to Solomon’s temple, 2Ch.34:8-10. The Ark was removed for those repairs, and was then put back. Josiah said to the Levites in 2Ch.35:3, “Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel built”. The Ark then was either Moses’ original Ark, or else a copy that had been made (since Solomon, 1Ki.8:9).
2Ch.35:3 is the last occurrence in the Old Testament (OT) where we read of the Ark in the temple.
The final OT reference to the Ark of God is Je.3:16. “Declares the Lord, They shall say no more ‘The ark of the covenant’. It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made again.” God said the Ark of the Testimony/Ark of the Covenant, their most important object, reflecting His Presence…would no more be remembered or reproduced (or noted in the OT).
The Ark is later mentioned in the Apocrypha. The book of 2 Maccabees was written in Greek c 124 BC. God had warned Jeremiah to hide the Ark in the mountain from which Moses had viewed the Promised Land (Mt Nebó, De.34:1). 2Mac.2:4-8 KJV 1611 edition “When Jeremiah came thither, he found a hollow cave wherein he laid the Tabernacle, the Ark, the altar of incense, and stopped the door. Some of those that followed him came to mark the way, but they could not find it. Jeremiah blamed them, saying, ‘That place shall be unknown.” Jeremiah hid that Ark in an unknown cave, prior to 587 BC when Nebuchadnézzar carried off other holy vessels from Solomon’s temple (2Ch.36:7-10). Since Jeremiah was told to hide the Ark, he knew it couldn’t be seen and its memory would fade (Je.3:16).
1Esdras 1:54 KJV 1611 edition “They [Babylonians] took all the holy vessels of the Lord, both great and small, with the vessels of the ark of God, and the king’s treasures, and carried them away into Babylon.” ref Je.52:17-23 for more item detail. However, these passages don’t say they took the Ark itself. (But 2Esdras 10:22 KJV 1611 edition “The Ark of our covenant is spoiled.” The original Ark?)
Ezr.1:5-11 the Ark isn’t listed among the articles of Solomon’s temple which the Jewish returnees brought back from Babylon into the temple of Zerubbabél/Ezra, the 2nd temple. (see the topic “Temple of Zerubbabel”.) 2Ch.35:3 NASB footnote: “No reference is made to the ark by Ezra, Nehemiah, or even Josephus after the captivity.”
Later, neither was the Ark in Herod’s temple in the 1st century AD. Josephus Wars of the Jews 5:5:5 “The inmost part of the Temple…in this there was nothing at all…it was called the Holy of Holies.” Nor was the Lord Christ ‘seated’ in the Holy of Holies chamber of Herod’s temple…Jesus was out walking the Land in His human body in the 1st century AD!
The (physical) Ark chest disappeared from Israel’s history. There are speculations today about the whereabouts of the Ark. Some think the Ark ended up with the Jews in Elephántine, Egypt. Or the original Ark possibly disappeared way back in the days of Solomon & the Queen of Sheba…and now remains in the possession of an Orthodox church in Ethiopia. (If so, then the Ark hidden by Jeremiah wasn’t the original.) I won’t elaborate on these speculations here. (Many articles about the ancient Ark’s disappearance are available on the internet. You might read Dean Smith’s What Happened To The Jewish Ark of the Covenant? and The Queen Of Sheba And The Jewish Ark.)
There are only two New Testament references to the “ark” (kibotós g2787, Greek) of the covenant. He.9:1-7 briefly summarizes Moses’ tabernacle, its furnishings and service. v.4 “…the ark of the covenant, covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant.”
He.9–10 shows the efficacious atonement of Christ’s blood for Christians…sprinkling animal blood at the Ark’s mercy seat on each annual Day of Atonement by the Aaronic high priest is no longer needed. Nor do Christian ‘soldiers’ (figurative) follow a physical ark into battle against nations of this world.
John envisioned in Re.11:19, “The temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple”. A heavenly Ark endures, not an earthly. Again, the only thing in the Ark in the tent/tabernacle of David was God’s eternal law tablets. God’s laws are now figuratively being written by the indwelling Holy Spirit on the minds & hearts of New Covenant Israelites (He.8:8-13) and gentiles grafted-in. see “Two Covenants – Heart of the Matter”. An earthly Ark is unnecessary.
As the Lord said in Je.3:16, the ancient physical Ark made for Israel need not be missed or made again.
Bible Topic Exposition 