Last time we finished with the Holy
Place. It was so amazing to see how the Holy Spirit was presented
there in all His glory and how Jesus was depicted as the Bread of
Life. And how our prayers are like sweet incense to the Lord. When
prayed from a position filled with the Holy Spirit and Jesus, there
is so much power and ultimate victory.
And through our prayers prayed in
Jesus' Name, we can enter into the Most Holy Place, the Holy of
Holies, the place where God resides. Inside the Most Holy Place was
the Ark of the Covenant as well as the two cherubim. Today I want
us to have a look at the meaning of the Ark.
"And they shall make an ark of
acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit and
a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. And you shall
overlay it with pure gold, inside and out you shall overlay it, and
shall make on it a molding of gold all around. You shall cast four
rings of gold for it, and put them in its four corners." Exodus
25:10-12
The ark was made of acacia wood and
overlaid with gold. And inside the Ark was the following:
"….and behind the second veil,
the part of the Tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on
all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the
manna, Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the Covenant."
Hebrews 9:3, 4
The tablets of the Covenant were
the agreement of the Covenant between God and man. These were the
stone tablets that God wrote on with His own hand and gave to
Moses. These tablets represented God's agreement with Israel that
He will always be there for them. God would never ever break this
Covenant, unfortunately Israel did. They didn't follow God as they
promised they would. They didn't serve Him as they promised and
they never truly loved Him. The tablets represent for me God's
eternal promises. It shows me that He will never waver and never
forsake us. It is a promise for me of His eternal steadfastness. He
will remain faithful forever. And under the new Covenant, Jesus did
our part; all we need to do is to come to Him. He will be there,
faithfully waiting for us.
Aaron's rod symbolizes God's chosen
leaders. During their wilderness escapade some Israelites rebelled
against Aaron and Moses and said that they should be the leaders of
Israel. God then ordained that each leader bring their rods and
place them before the Tabernacle. The next day it was clear who God
chose. Aaron's rod began to bud and blossom, whilst the others'
remained the same. At the end of the day not one of the rebels
survived and Aaron remained the High Priest. And as we know the
High Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies once a year and
only on the Day of Atonement to atone for the sins of the people.
But when Jesus opened up the way for us by dying for our sins, we
obtained entry into the Holy of Holiest every day, whenever we want
to. So for me today Aaron's staff symbolizes the amazing fact that
we are allowed to enter in, always, every day. We don't have to be
the High Priest to enter in and even if we were, we can enter in
whenever we want to. God is so amazing. He wants us to remember the
privilege that we have and that we are all super special in His
eyes.
And lastly the manna was kept in
the Ark as a reminder that God always provided for them. He always
cared and always looked out for them. They never went hungry and
never lacked. They always had more than enough. He made sure of
that.
God is therefore saying to us today
through the ark and its contents - The new covenant has made way
for us to enter into His Presence, whenever we want to. And in His
presence is all the provision that we need, everything. In His
presence we will have more than enough, never lacking. Isn't it
just wonderful? All we need to do is to enter in and to rest in His
Presence. He knows best, He is faithful and will forever look after
us.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Thank you
dearest Father that You are the God of more than enough and that we
never need to fear. We are so grateful, eternally grateful and we
love You very much. Thank you for Your provision and care, Your
amazing Grace! In Jesus' Name. Amen