The New Ark Of The Covenant

Types and Shadow

“For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things...”        Hebrews 10:1

Friend, this talks about the Old Testament and the occurrences in it being a symbol or a type; “a shadow of the things to come” (Colossians 2:17). For example, in Genesis 22, when Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Isaac, the Lord gave him a lamb instead of Isaac and blessed him to be the father of many sons and daughters. This is a shadow of how God sacrificed the Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten son, as the Lamb of God, and gained more sons and daughters on earth today (John 3:16, John 12:32, Mark 15).

Another instance is Moses and the children of Israel. Moses saved them from Egypt where they were slaves and captives and moved them into a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 13;14;15, Joshua 5:6), which is also a shadow and a type of the "good things to come" when Jesus saved us from darkness, where we were slaves to sin, and translated us into the kingdom of God (1 Peter 2:9, Colossians 1:13). Can you see this? That's why the scripture in Hebrews 10:1 says that “the law (Old Testament) having a shadow of good things to come (New Testament), and not the very image of the things...”

What we are trying to do here is to establish an understanding of what the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant is and how it came about in order to relate it with the New Testament Ark of the Covenant—the better things to come.

Old Testament Ark of the Covenant

God instructed Moses and the children of Israel concerning the sanctuary and the Ark of the Covenant in Exodus 25:8-22.

8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them....                                                           10 And they shall make an ark.... 16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony...                                  17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat....(atonement cover, NIV) 21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark, and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. 22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat...

You see, the Lord said they should make a sanctuary for Him to dwell among them. This sanctuary was the temple which had two tabernacles: the first, the Holy Place, and the second, the Holiest of All (Hebrews 9:1-7). He said they should make an ark (Exodus 25:10-15) which was to be placed in the Holiest of All, where only the High Priest went. If you notice, you will see that the ark had some major characteristics.

First, the testimony (the Old Covenant or Law). Second, the mercy seat; the NIV translated it as the atonement cover. In verse 21, let's look at it a bit closer. You will notice that the mercy seat, which is the atonement cover, was placed "above upon the ark." And the testimony was placed in the ark, "in the ark thou shalt put the testimony." Note these major characteristics and their positions in the ark: the mercy seat or atonement cover was upon the ark while the testimony (the Old Covenant, the Law) was placed inside the ark. In verse 22, “And there (the ark) I will meet with thee and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat." Third, the ark was a meeting point between Moses and God. God said they should make a sanctuary so He could live among them, but He chose to dwell in the ark. The term "ark," which essentially signifies container, was referred to as the Ark of the Covenant (Joshua 3:3), the Ark of Testimonies (Joshua 4:16), or the Ark of God (1 Samuel 4:11) because it was a container or a vessel that God dwelt in. Lastly, it is a container that carries God.

As you have seen, the ark has the mercy seat upon it. It also has the testimony of God placed in it. The ark is the container that carries God inside, and it was the meeting place between God and Moses. It was a place of communion between God and man.

However, "the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things...." The Ark of the Covenant is a shadow; it is not the very image of good things to come. It was just a shadow of 'good things to come.' You can't compare a shadow with its real image; though it may be similar in structure, the real image is far better because it is tangible and colorful. If in the shadow God could dwell inside... A wooden vessel covered with gold, aren't you curious about the real image of the Ark of God?

The New Testament Ark of the Covenant

We have examined what the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant is and its major characteristics, among which was that it was a meeting place between God and Moses, where Moses heard from God and related to the people. However, now we have a "better covenant" established upon "better promises" (Hebrews 8:6). Let's examine this "good things to come," the real image of the Ark of the Covenant.

A Better Covenant

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more."

Hebrews 8:10-12

This is the better covenant established on better promises. If you look through the passage carefully, you would notice some of the major characteristics of the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament listed. God said, "I will put my laws in their minds and write them in their hearts." So, like the testimony was placed inside the Ark of the Covenant, the law is written in our hearts. Hebrews 10:6: "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts..." The testimony is now in the heart of men—born again Christians, that is.

Let's also look at this: "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." We have obtained mercy from God, just like the Ark, in that the mercy seat was upon it, which was the atonement cover. Herein, the very image of this is "we joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement" (Romans 5:11). We have received the atonement cover, and our sins and iniquities God will remember no more. We are 'justified,' just-as-if-we-never-sinned, and that's because of the atonement cover upon us. So you can see that in the very image, you, just like the Ark, have the testimony of God placed inside your heart and you have received the mercies of God. The atonement cover is over you, just-as-if-you-never-sinned—justified!

Now, in 2 Corinthians 5:17:

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

Here he said, if any man be in Christ that man is a new creature, but we know that man is a spirit being because God is spirit (John 4:24) and man was made in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). Also, whosoever is born of the Spirit of God is a spirit (John 3:5-8). So in essence, 2 Corinthians 5:17 is saying if any man be in Christ, he (a spirit being) is a new creature. So it is the spirit of man that is the new creature. Man is a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. When we are born again it is our spirit that is the new creature; our soul (mind) is not changed at that moment, neither do we have a new body, no, it is the spirit that is a new creature "a new spirit will I put within you" - Ezekiel 36:26.

When God established His covenant with man (a spirit being) and put His laws into his heart (man's spirit), man (a spirit) obtained mercies from God. No one having a conversation with another leaves his focus on the person and starts talking to the person's clothes, asking it questions and expecting a reply from the clothes. Friend. when God was putting the Laws in man, He placed it in his spirit and the mercies of God, the atonement cover, came upon him. 2 Corinthians 6:16: "..I will dwell in them, and walk in them (IN our spirit, the new creature) and I will be their God and they shall be my people." The Ark of the Covenant was the Ark of God because wherever the Ark went, that was where God went. 2 Corinthians 6:16 said, "I (God) will dwell in them (that's our spirit)" and it is our spirit man that has the law put in him and it's also the spirit man, the real man, that received an atonement cover - the mercy seat upon him.

Therefore, the spirit of man is the very image of the Old Testament Ark of the Covenant. 1 John 3:24 says, "And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us (our spirit), by the Spirit which he hath given us." No wonder in Hebrews 8:10-12 He said, "for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest," why? Because He dwells in them (their spirits) by His Spirit which He has given unto us.

Therefore, the very image of the Old Testament Ark is the spirit of man, for we have received atonement through Jesus Christ and God dwells and walks in our spirit through His Spirit which He has given us. So God dwells in your spirit; you are a God carrier!

Now Let's Not Mix This

"And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, 'I will dwell in them, and walk in them...'"

2 Corinthians 6:16

Now, was he talking about our spirit being the temple of God? Certainly not. Remember He said over in the shadow, "let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them." But was the sanctuary the Ark of God? No, the Ark of the Covenant was inside the sanctuary. You see, it was the Ark the Lord was referring to when He said, "I will meet with thee and commune with thee," not the sanctuary.

"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"                     1 Corinthians 3:1

"What! Know ye not that your body is the temple (the sanctuary) of the Holy Ghost which is in you (your spirit—the Ark of God) which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"                                     1 Corinthians 6:19

What! It is our body that is the temple (the sanctuary) and our spirit is the Ark. So just like in the shadow there was the sanctuary and the Ark was inside, in the very image of it, so your body is the temple and your spirit is the Ark of God.

Meet and Commune with God in Your Spirit

"There I will meet with thee and I will commune with thee"                 

Exodus 25:22.

Our spirit man, the new Ark of the Covenant, the Ark of God, is the place where God speaks to us from. God does not speak from without; He speaks from within. That's why the days of worship and fellowship with God in mountains and hills are over, for "God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). Joshua met and communicated with God through the Ark. When the Ark arrived in the house of Obededom for three months, it was recorded that the Lord blessed him and his household. I was meditating on this and then the Holy Ghost said, "Do you think he got blessed just because the Ark was there?" Then He said, no, he got down and sat with God for directions on how to go about life; no wonder he never lost relevance even after David took the Ark (2 Samuel 6:9-13).

Proverbs 20:27 says, "The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly." Kenneth E. Hagin said, "God will enlighten us—He will guide us through our spirits." The Lord said to Kenneth Hagin that if he would learn to follow the inward witness of his spirit, He was going to make him rich. I believe that just like Obededom and Kenneth Hagin, you can amount to blessings too, but it was Bishop David Oyedepo said, "Only those that ask questions are ever entitled to answers." So be awakened! You are the new Ark of the Covenant, a God carrier.

Friend, the God you pray to is not far from you; no, He is within you. Don't live life all confused and guessing. You and God live in the same house (your body), so be an Obededom—ask the Lord questions, meet and commune with Him. Matthew 7:8 says, for everyone—and that includes you—that asketh receiveth. So, ask the Lord questions, ask Him to direct you in your endeavors. It's not a difficult thing, just ask Him, "Lord, who am I?" As you do so, I see you and your household getting blessed! Amen.

Jesus is Lord!

Min. Roi