Exodus 37:1-9 – Our great and awesome God!

Every piece of article in the Tabernacle speaks about a different aspect of God. The whole Tabernacle was a revelation of what God is like and the kind of relationship He wants to have with us, His people.  So, we study the different pieces of the furnishing, to get to know how to relate with God. Exodus 37:1-5 describe the Ark of the Covenant.  This is the only furniture that is placed inside the Holy of holies. This was made by Bezalel himself. This passage tells us so. Verses 1-5 say, “…Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was two and a half cubits, and its width one and a half cubits, and its height one and a half cubits; and he overlaid it with pure gold inside and out, and made a gold molding for it all around. He cast four rings of gold for it on its four feet; even two rings on one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. He made poles of acacia wood and overlaid them with gold. He put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark, to carry it.” 

This Ark was a sort of portable box made of acacia wood covered with pure gold. Its size was roughly four feet long, two feet wide and two feet in height. The rings and poles were made to carry the Ark during transportation.  On top and covering the Ark was the mercy seat with two cherubim made of beaten gold with outspread wings, one on each end. The tip of the wings of the cherubim touched each other’s. Cherubim are archangels who surround the throne of God. Psalm 80:1 tells us that our God is “…enthroned above the cherubim….” The Ark was a representation of God’s throne. This demonstrates to us that He is the ruler of heaven and earth. And on the mercy seat was where the blood of the sacrifice would be sprinkled. God was shown as the God who is merciful and would forgive us, sinners. The blood that was sprinkled would turn away the wrath of God. The sprinkled blood would show that the demand of His justice was met so that the guilt of sin could be removed. Here we see a merciful God who forgives sin on the basis of the atonement made.

Earlier in our reflection on the Ark, we discovered that there were three things placed inside the Ark, namely, a pot of manna, Aaron’s rod and the two tablets of the testimony. Each of these represents something of God to us. The manna was the miracle bread God had provided for them in their journey. They were not only spiritual bread but also supernatural and satisfying bread. This was what Jesus referred to in John 6. Here we see that God wants us to know that He is our provider. Walking with Him ensures that we have an everlasting source for all our needs in life. The rod of Aaron tells us that He is the authority in our life and He will guide us in our journey. The tablets of testimony tell us that if our lives are to be rich and meaningful; we need the abiding word of God. The Word of God sets out the terms of the covenant relationship we have with Him. And we need to live by those terms He has prescribed for us. So, in the Ark, we see so much of God. He is not only our savior but also our leader, provider, redeemer, the one made all the provision to forgive our sins and mend our broken relationship with Him. What a glorious God we have! He deserves our allegiance and total surrender!