The Ark II

 

There are five “time periods” I used to sort the historical appearances of the Ark in the Bible:

 

Introductory Period

The Ark of the Covenant first enters history a year after Moses communes with God atop Mount Sinai after it is constructed by two master craftsmen under the direction of God through Moses. There is no way of scientifically dating this event, with scholarly estimates ranging from 1450 to 1250 BC. The Ark is with the Hebrews throughout their 40-year period of wandering in the wilderness.

 

The Promised Land Period

The Ark accompanies Joshua into Canaan, the Promised Land. When first crossing the Jordan, the river dries up as soon as the priests carrying the Ark touch its water, and it remains so bound until they leave the riverbed. During the Battle of Jericho, the Ark is carried around the city once a day for six days, preceded by armed men and seven priests sounding seven trumpets. On the seventh day, Jericho’s walls fall down and the Hebrews take the city.

The following battle at the city of Ai (ay-EYE) is a defeat and Joshua laments before the Ark. After the conquest of Canaan, the Ark is kept at Shiloh, then moved to Bethel, and later returned to Shiloh.

 

The Conflict with the Philistines

 

The Israelites are defeated by the Philistines at the battle of Eben-Ezer, losing 30,000 men – but worse than that, the Ark is captured. When hearing this, priest Eli falls dead and his daughter-in-law, in labor with a son when hearing the news, names the child “Ichabod” – “the glory has departed Israel” – and dies in childbirth.

The Ark is carried by the Philistines to their city of Ashdod and stored in the temple of their god, Dagon. After the first night the statue of Dagon is found prostrate and bowed down; upon being restored it is found broken the following morning. The people of Ashdod are smitten with tumors and a plague of rodents overwhelms the land. The Philistines move the Ark to the cities of Gath and then Ekron, but the affliction follows.

After the Ark was with the Philistines for seven months, they return it to the Israelites. It is set in a field and the people there offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. It remains in the city of Kireath-Jearim (KEER-ee-ath ye-REEM) for twenty years.

 

The Ark during the Kingdom

 

King Saul was with the Ark when he first confronts the Philistines, but he is too impatient to consult it. Later, King David removes the Ark from Kiriath-Jearim amongst great rejoicing.

On the way to Jerusalem, Uzzah, one of the drivers of the cart that carried the Ark puts out his hand to steady it and is struck dead by God for touching it. David, in fear, keeps it in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite, where it remains for three months. When David finally brings the Ark to Jerusalem, he dances in front of it. His first wife, Saul’s daughter Michal, scornfully rebukes him for this.

David puts the Ark in a tent he has prepared for it and uses the tent as a personal place of prayer.     

Solomon worships before the Ark after his dream in which God promises him wisdom.           

During the construction of the Temple, a special inner room, the Holy of Holies, is prepared to receive and house the Ark. When priests emerge after first installing the Ark in the Holy of Holies, the Temple is filled with a cloud, “for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.”

When Solomon marries Pharaoh’s daughter, he has her dwell in a house outside Jerusalem, as Jerusalem is consecrated because it contains the Ark.        

 

In Later Times

 

During a time of possible conflict with the Assyrians, King Hezekiah may have hidden the Ark and other treasures from the Temple in an unidentified spring or cistern.

King Josiah has the Ark returned to the Temple, from which it appears to have been removed by on of his predecessors. Josiah is the last biblical figure mentioned as having seen the Ark.

In 567 BC the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar conquer Jerusalem, possibly taking away the “vessels of the ark of God,” though the Ark itself is not specifically mentioned.

The Ark of the Covenant is lost to history.

 

 

Next post: the possible fate and current location of the Ark.

The Ark I

 

Last Monday, during my bible study class, we discussed the Ark of the Covenant, introduced to the study in Revelation 11:19 (which immediately segues into the famous Woman clothed with sun in Revelation 12, which Catholic teaching regards as the Blessed Virgin Mary, the new Ark of the Covenant).

 

As a little extracurricular work, I decided to research the Ark itself. I am ashamed to admit most of what I know of it comes from Raiders of the Lost Ark, for the last time I read the Bible books that address the Ark it was sometime during the Wu Flu in 2020.

 

Anyway, I’m going to break up my simple research into three parts. This part will address what the Ark is. Part II will be what happened to the Ark in the Old Testament, and Part III will cover the speculative fate of the Ark.

 

*   *   *   *   *  *  * 

 

The Hebrew word, aron, used to describe the Ark, refers to something like a small wooden chest as opposed to a large construction, such as Noah’s Ark. Moses received instructions on how to build the Ark of the Covenant during his communion with God atop Mount Sinai during the Exodus. It was fashioned about a year after the Hebrews left Egypt by two highly skilled craftsmen, Bezalel and Oholiab.

 

Translating cubits to the English measuring system, the Ark was about 4 feet 4 inches long, 2 feet 7 inches wide, and 2 feet 7 inches deep. It was made with acacia wood, a durable and dense wood known for its strength and water resistance, having a rich coloration ranging from light brown to deep red. Over this was laid sheets of purest gold. A lid, called the Seat of Mercy or the Propitiatory, was laid atop it, and was likewise golden gilded. Two cherubin with outspread wings and facing each other were fastened onto the Seat of Mercy. When Moses communed with God before the Ark, the LORD would appear in a cloud between and above the cherubim. (This cloud is sometimes referred to as the shekinah.)

 

At each corner of the Ark a ring of gold was attached, into which staves of acacia overlaid with gold were to be inserted (and continually kept in place there) to carry the Ark. The length of the staves are not specified in the Bible. When the Hebrews were on the move, the Ark was carried about 3,000 feet in advance of the people when they marched. And when they camped, the Ark resided in the Tent of Meeting, inside the Tabernacle.

 

The Ark housed the tablets of the Ten Commandments, given to Moses atop Mount Sinai. Aaron’s rod, the staff which blossomed and budded, was also placed within it, along with a pot of manna, the bread-like substance supplied daily by God to the Hebrews in the desert during the 40-year wandering period. (Think of the Ark of the Covenant holding a pot of manna and compare that to the Blessed Virgin Mary with Christ in her womb…)

 

Some early commentators state that the books of the Law written by Moses were also placed within the Ark, but scripture does not explicitly state this.

 

The Ark of the Covenant is the name most familiar to Christians, but throughout the Bible it had other names:

 

   - The Ark of the Testimony (Exodus 25 and 26)

   - The Ark of the Testament (Exodus 30)

   - The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord (Numbers 10, Deuteronomy 10)

   - The Ark of God (1 Samuel 3)

   - The Ark of the LORD (1 Samuel 4)

 

The next post will be a summary of the Ark’s role in the Biblical story.

 

To Read History

 

I’ve come up with a new epigram:

 

HISTORIAM LEGERE EST TRISTE ESSE

 

In my native tongue, that translates to: “To read history is to be sad.”

And that’s my conclusion.

 

In the second third of my life I focused the majority of my reading in the field of history. Whereas it used to be science and math and philosophy and entertainment, since 2012 I’ve spent most of my nonfiction perusal in the Dewey Decimal 900s. “History.”

 

It began with the Civil War, then sidestepped to World War II (with a brief foray to the “Great War”). The Space Race, ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, the Crusades, the Catholic Church, nations such as China and India, Napoleonic France and all the continental conflicts involving the little emperor, just to mention the more significant phases. Even the history of Baseball. I’m sure there were a couple other “History of …” books I’m forgetting.

 

I’m writing this not so much to brag as to lay a foundation for why I believe HISTORIAM LEGER EST TRISTE ESSE.

 

Consider:

 

We live in a fallen world. This is my view based on the teachings of Catholicism. Other religious beliefs offer comparable starting points.

 

Strife and striving are the constant companions of men in specific and Man in general. Depending on who you consult as an authority, out of 5,000 years of recorded human history, there have only been around 300 years entirely free from major warfare. Thus, the history of Man is the history of War.

 

War necessitates suffering, and the more “civilized” we become, the more “innocents” suffer in conflict.

 

Since the Endarkenment, we have seen a receding of the influence of the teachings of Christ, Who offers the only true solution to Man’s fallen state of being. And that recession arguably has increased more and more, almost exponentially so, as the Western world actively seeks detachment from Christ and a return to a greater state of fallenness. A progression toward regression.

 

Thus any serious volume of history will necessarily document suffering.

 

Hence, to an inquirer with a heart, even a heart of stone, “to read history is to be sad.”

 

Quod Erat Demonstrandum. (Q.E.D.)

 

Now, I’m not certain that biography falls into this category. Strictly speaking I assume it does, but since it addresses the struggles of a specific individual, there could be a few drops of wisdom one can squeeze out to lessen one’s own battles. Perhaps I’m looking for a loophole, but for now biography sits in acceptable position for me, i.e., “to read the personal history of an individual does not necessarily necessitate sadness, but can provide personal enlightenment.”

 

I recognize such a loophole can be applied to my main argument. Hey, I’m just an armchair philosopher who may have too big an opinion of himself. (May?)

 

Anyway, the bottom line is I think it is time to switch my interest out of the Dewey Decimal 900s. I have some ideas where to channel my downtime so that it’s not depressing me. Perhaps in the near future I will elaborate. Now I’m going to exercise that loophole and read about Sinatra, a conflicted and often troubled man who attained highs and lows the average person could only dream about. (Or nightmare about, I suppose). After that, the dissertation on Tolkien. And after that …