The ark of the testimony, also known as the ark of the covenant, was a sacred chest made by the Israelites according to exact specifications given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 25:10-22). It served as a physical manifestation of God’s presence and glory among His people. The ark was constructed of acacia wood and overlaid with pure gold. It measured 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.
The ark had a solid gold cover called the mercy seat, which had two cherubim (angelic figures) facing each other with wings spread overhead. The mercy seat represented God’s throne in heaven and signified His divine presence. Inside the ark were three items: the tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments were written, Aaron’s rod that budded, and a golden pot of manna (Exodus 16:33-34, Numbers 17:10, Hebrews 9:4).
The Ten Commandments represented God’s covenant with Israel, Aaron’s rod symbolized God’s choice of Aaron’s priesthood, and the manna recalled God’s provision in the wilderness. Together, these items were a reminder of God’s faithfulness and served as a “testimony” to who He is. The ark was placed in the innermost part of the tabernacle and later the temple, indicating that it was the most sacred object (Exodus 26:33-34).
The ark had several key functions:
- It represented the throne and presence of God among His people (1 Samuel 4:4). God spoke to Moses from above the mercy seat (Exodus 25:22).
- It was a sign of God’s glory dwelling among the Israelites (Exodus 40:34-38).
- It contained the stone tablets of the covenant that God made with Israel (Deuteronomy 10:1-5).
- It reminded the Israelites of God’s provision of manna and leadership through Aaron (Exodus 16:32-34).
- It was consulted by the high priest for guidance from God (Numbers 27:21).
- It led the procession of the Israelites through the wilderness (Numbers 10:33-36).
- It brought victory and judgment to Israel in battle (1 Samuel 4-6).
The ark was considered so holy that touching it irreverently resulted in death (2 Samuel 6:6-7). Only the Levites were allowed to carry the ark, using poles placed through rings on its sides. They had to cover it with veil cloths to shield their eyes from seeing it (Numbers 4:5-6, 15).
In the Old Testament, the ark was central to Israel’s worship. Its presence signaled God’s favorable presence with Israel. After entering the promised land, the ark resided at several sites, including Shechem, Shiloh, and Jerusalem (Joshua 18:1, 1 Samuel 4:3, 2 Samuel 6). It was captured by the Philistines for a time but was returned after God severely afflicted them (1 Samuel 4-6).
Later, the ark was moved to the temple Solomon built in Jerusalem (1 Kings 8:1-9). It disappeared when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC and destroyed the temple. The ark is no longer needed because Jesus Christ is the final sacrifice and atonement for sin. He fulfilled and surpassed the ark’s purpose. Today, God’s presence dwells not in a box but in the hearts of believers through the Holy Spirit.
In summary, the ark of the covenant was a sacred chest constructed according to God’s instructions to Moses. It symbolized God’s presence with Israel and contained reminders of His covenant. As the most holy object, the ark was central to worship and represented God’s glory. Its disappearance foreshadowed how Jesus would bring God’s presence directly into the lives of His people.
Several key passages provide details about the ark of the testimony:
- Exodus 25:10-22 – God’s instructions for building the ark
- Exodus 37:1-9 – The actual construction of the ark
- Exodus 40:20-21 – Placing the tablets of the testimony in the ark
- Numbers 10:33-36 – The ark leading the Israelites through the wilderness
- 1 Samuel 4-6 – The ark captured by the Philistines then returned
- 2 Samuel 6:1-15 – David returning the ark to Jerusalem
- 1 Kings 8:1-13 – The ark brought into Solomon’s temple
- Hebrews 9:1-5 – The ark described in the New Testament
The ark serves as a powerful symbol of God’s covenant faithfulness towards His people. Though the ark itself is gone, we have the privilege of God’s presence within through His Holy Spirit, thanks to Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
1Then the Lord said to Moses, 2“Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering. You are to receive the offering for me from everyone whose heart prompts them to give. 3These are the offerings you are to receive from them: gold, silver and bronze; 4blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen; goat hair; 5ram skins dyed red and another type of durable leather; acacia wood; 6olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense; 7and onyx stones and other gems to be mounted on the ephod and breastpiece.
8“Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. 9Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
10“Have them make an ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 11Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. 12Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 13Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry it. 15The poles are to remain in the rings of this ark; they are not to be removed. 16Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you.
17“Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 18And make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 19Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 20The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. 21Place the cover on top of the ark and put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. 22There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.”
34Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.
36In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.
10The Lord said to Moses: 2“Make a chest of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. 3Overlay it with pure gold, both inside and out, and make a gold molding around it. 4Cast four gold rings for it and fasten them to its four feet, with two rings on one side and two rings on the other. 5Then make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. 7The poles are to remain in the rings of this chest; they are not to be removed. 8Then put in the chest the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you.
9“Make an atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. 10Then make two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. 11Make one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; make the cherubim of one piece with the cover, at the two ends. 12The cherubim are to have their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim are to face each other, looking toward the cover. 13Place the cover on top of the chest and put in the chest the tablets of the covenant law that I will give you. 14Then put the poles into the rings on the sides of the chest to carry it. 15The poles are to remain in the rings of this chest; they are not to be removed.
16“Put into the chest the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you.”
17The Israelites set out from the Desert of Sinai and traveled from place to place until the cloud came to rest in the Desert of Paran.
18Whenever the cloud lifted from above the tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped. 19At the Lord’s command the Israelites set out, and at his command they encamped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they remained in camp. 20When the cloud remained over the tabernacle a long time, the Israelites obeyed the Lord’s order and did not set out. 21Sometimes the cloud was over the tabernacle only a few days; at the Lord’s command they would encamp, and then at his command they would set out. 22Sometimes the cloud stayed only from evening till morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they set out. Whether by day or by night, whenever the cloud lifted, they set out. 23Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out. 24At the Lord’s command they encamped, and at the Lord’s command they set out. They obeyed the Lord’s order, in accordance with his command through Moses.
32And between the two rows—all around the ark of the covenant law—Aaron and his sons are to minister before the Lord as long as they live. 33This is the duty of the Levites regarding the tent of meeting and the ark.
6David again brought together all the able young men of Israel—thirty thousand. 2He and all his men went to Baalah in Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name, the name of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim on the ark. 3They set the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio, sons of Abinadab, were guiding the new cart 4with the ark of God on it, and Ahio was walking in front of it. 5David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.
6When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. 7The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah because of his irreverent act; therefore God struck him down, and he died there beside the ark of God.
8Then David was angry because the Lord’s wrath had broken out against Uzzah, and to this day that place is called Perez Uzzah.
9David was afraid of the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?” 10He was not willing to take the ark of the Lord to be with him in the City of David. Instead, he took it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. 11The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed him and his entire household.
12Now King David was told, “The Lord has blessed the household of Obed-Edom and everything he has, because of the ark of God.” So David went to bring up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing.
13When those who were carrying the ark of the Lord had taken six steps, he sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf. 14Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
8Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. 2All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.
3When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, 4and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, 5and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.
6The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. 7The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. 8These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.
9There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
10When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. 11And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.
12Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; 13I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.”
1Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand and the table with its consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. 3Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, 4which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. 5Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
The ark of the testimony was central to worship and God’s presence with His people in the Old Testament. However, the New Testament book of Hebrews explains that these regulations, priestly duties, furnishings, and sacrifices were pointers and shadows of the new covenant established by Christ (Hebrews 8:5, 10:1).
Jesus is the perfect high priest and mediator between God and man, offering Himself as the ultimate, once-for-all sacrifice (Hebrews 7:27). He entered the true, heavenly sanctuary not made by human hands (Hebrews 9:24) and tore the curtain separating us from God’s presence (Matthew 27:51).
Believers now meet directly with Christ and commune with God through the indwelling Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). The physical ark served its representative purpose but is no longer needed. Jesus fulfilled its signifiance. The presence of God has shifted from residing in a box to residing within the hearts of those who place their faith in Christ.