Imagine the Ark of the Covenant in Your Living Room

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Short Summary
The discourse explores the symbolic and prophetic significance of the Ark of the Covenant, emphasizing its representation of the church, divine qualities, and doctrinal truths such as the separation of flesh and spirit. It discusses historical events involving the Ark, including its capture by the Philistines and its return to Jerusalem, drawing parallels to Israel’s spiritual disfavor and eventual restoration. Additionally, it highlights intriguing details like the Ark’s dimensions, its relationship to the Most Holy place, and possible connections to the Great Pyramid, inviting further reflection and study.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on the Ark of the Covenant in a Private Home

Title and Theme Introduction:
– The provocative title “Imagine the Ark of the Covenant in your living room” introduces the idea that the Ark was at times in private homes, not just in the Tabernacle or Temple.
– Scriptural references confirm two occasions where the Ark was housed in private homes (Abinadab’s and Obed Edom’s).
– The discourse aims to explore hidden and beautiful teachings related to the Ark, including prophetic, doctrinal, and specific physical features.

Basic Description of the Ark:
– Constructed from acacia wood and overlaid with gold.
– Dimensions: 2.5 cubits long, 1.5 cubits wide, 1.5 cubits high (approximately 45 inches or just under 4 feet long).
– Interesting note: The Ark has 22 edges, symbolically linked to the original 22 books of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Symbolism of the Ark and Its Components:
– The Ark (box) represents the Church.
– The Mercy Seat (golden lid) represents Jesus as the Head of the Church.
– The Shekinah light above represents Jehovah God.
– The Mercy Seat symbolizes justice (where atonement blood was applied).
– The Shekinah light symbolizes God’s wisdom.
– The two cherubim represent God’s power and love.

The Rings and Carriage of the Ark:
– Rings were cast from gold and positioned near the feet of the Ark (Exodus 25:12).
– The Ark was carried on long staves over the shoulders of Levites, high above their heads.
– Many common illustrations err by placing rings too high or staves uncovered by gold.
– The Ark was always covered during transport: first by the veil between the Holy and Most Holy, then by a covering of seal skin, then a cloth of blue.
– The possibility of eight priests carrying the Ark (on the short side) is suggested, symbolizing “new life” and resurrection (number eight).

Doctrinal Teaching from the Coverings:
– The veil represents the death of the flesh — the passage “beyond the veil” signifies dying to the flesh to reach a new spiritual state.
– The seal skin represents the flesh, which does not touch the Ark (the holy things); flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50).
– The blue cloth symbolizes faith — what remains visible after death is faith and consecrated life, not the flesh.
– Psalm 87:5-6 supports this by showing God’s recognition of those “born in Zion” (the Church).

The Ark Taken by the Philistines:
– In 1 Samuel 4–7, Israel brought the Ark to battle against the Philistines, treating it like a lucky charm.
– Despite the Ark’s presence, Israel lost, and the Ark was captured.
– The Ark stayed in Philistine cities for seven months, causing them problems and showing it could not remain with enemies.
– This event prophetically parallels Israel’s rejection of Jesus during the Gospel Age and the temporary removal of divine favor.
– Psalm 78:60-64 describes God abandoning the temple of Shiloh and the resulting calamities.
– Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:37-39 prophesy the desolation of Israel for rejecting Him.
– Matthew 21:43 and Romans 11 describe the kingdom being taken from Israel and given to the Gentiles.

What Was Inside the Ark?
– Initially: Aaron’s rod that budded, the stone tablets of the law, and the golden pot of manna.
– Solomon’s Temple Ark contained only the stone tablets (1 Kings 8:9).
– Likely, the Philistines removed the rod and manna (both symbolic of priesthood and divine nature) but left the tablets (the Law).
– This symbolizes Israel losing the priesthood and divine nature privileges but retaining the Law covenant under the new covenant.

Ark’s Relationship to the Most Holy Place:
– The Ark’s volume is approximately 5.625 cubic cubits.
– The Most Holy Place’s internal volume is 810 cubic cubits (9x9x10 cubits).
– Exactly 144 Arks would fit into the Most Holy place (810 ÷ 5.625 = 144).
– The number 144 is significant and appears repeatedly in biblical symbolism (e.g., 144,000 in Revelation).

The Ark’s Return to Jerusalem and the Incident of Uzzah:
– After 20 years in Abinadab’s house, King David sought to bring the Ark to Jerusalem (1 Samuel 7:2).
– David’s mistake: using a cart to transport the Ark instead of Levites carrying it on their shoulders (Deuteronomy 31:24-25; Numbers 4:15).
– During transport, Uzzah touched the Ark to steady it when oxen stumbled and was struck dead by God (2 Samuel 6:6-7).
– Responsibility is shared by Uzzah (for touching the Ark), the Levites (for lack of care), and David (for not following God’s ordinance).
– The incident occurred at the threshing floor of Nacon (meaning “prepared”), symbolizing harvest and prophetic parallels to Jewish and Gospel age harvests.
– David delayed the Ark’s entry into Jerusalem for three months; the Philistines had it for seven months—both periods have symbolic significance.

The Ark in Obed Edom’s House:
– After Uzzah’s death, the Ark stayed in Obed Edom the Gittite’s house for three months (2 Samuel 6:10-12).
– Obed Edom was likely a Levite living in a Gentile city (Gath).
– His name means “servant who honors God rightly,” and he was blessed because of the Ark’s presence.
– This represents the Church (mostly Gentiles) holding the Ark during Israel’s disfavor.
– Obed Edom had 8 sons, reinforcing the symbolism of new life and resurrection associated with the number eight.
– The absence of Eliezer (guardian in Abinadab’s house) parallels removal of the Holy Spirit from Israel during its rejection.

Prophetic and Doctrinal Applications:
– The Ark’s time with the Philistines and Obed Edom symbolizes God’s temporary removal of favor from Israel and the grafting in of Gentiles.
– The rejection of Jesus and the Jewish harvest are foreshadowed.
– The coverings and handling of the Ark teach about the nature of flesh, death, faith, and divine inheritance.

Connection to the Great Pyramid:
– The stone coffer in the King’s Chamber is the same volume as the Ark of the Covenant.
– The King’s Chamber is a perfect cube, like the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle and Solomon’s Temple.
– This suggests a possible symbolic or prophetic link worthy of further study.

Summary Points:
– The Ark’s rings were low, making the Ark sit high when carried.
– Coverings teach the separation of flesh and spirit; flesh cannot inherit the kingdom.
– The Ark lost to the Philistines symbolizes Israel’s disfavor in the Gospel Age.
– Mathematical relationship: 144 Arks fit inside the Most Holy.
– The Ark’s journey to Jerusalem includes lessons on obedience, reverence, and prophetic fulfillment.
– The Ark’s time in private homes reflects God’s presence among His people and the Church’s role.
– Connections to biblical numbers and possibly the Great Pyramid enrich understanding.

Key Bible Verses Referenced:
– Exodus 25:12 – Placement of the Ark’s rings.
– Numbers 4:5-6 – Covering and transport instructions of the Ark.
– 1 Corinthians 15:50 – Flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
– Psalm 87:5-6 – God’s recognition of the faithful born in Zion.
– 1 Samuel 4-7 – Account of the Ark taken by the Philistines.
– Psalm 78:60-64 – God abandons Shiloh and gives Ark into captivity.
– Matthew 23:37-39 – Jesus laments Jerusalem’s rejection.
– Matthew 21:43 – Kingdom taken from Israel and given to a nation bearing fruit.
– Romans 11:11 – Salvation coming to Gentiles through Israel’s fall.
– 1 Kings 8:9 – Contents of the Ark in Solomon’s Temple.
– 2 Samuel 6:6-7 – Uzzah’s death for touching the Ark.
– Deuteronomy 31:24-25; Numbers 4:15 – Levites to carry the Ark.
– Isaiah 30:9-21 – Israel’s rebellion, waiting, and eventual restoration.
– 1 Samuel 6:12 – Blessing of Obed Edom’s household.
– Romans 11:11 – Salvation to Gentiles to provoke Israel to jealousy.

This detailed summary captures the main points, doctrinal teachings, prophetic parallels, symbolic meanings, and scriptural references presented in the discourse on the Ark of the Covenant residing in private homes and its spiritual significance.

Transcript

All right, so some of the surprises is missing, but let’s try it. Imagine the Ark of the Covenant in your living room. That’s our title. Now, you might say, well, that’s pure fantasy. You know, my Ark of the Covenant could never be in the minute in my living room.

However, you know, when you look at the scriptures, there are two occurrences where the Ark of the Covenant ended up in a private home. Now, whether they put it in their living room or not, who can tell, you know, but it was there among their everyday living. This provocative title underlies really what we’re going to speak about today. We’re going to look at some of the hidden and more beautiful teachings of the Ark of the covenant. Now, in 45 minutes or 40 minutes, you know, we’re not going to be able to cover all of the wonderful lessons there.

So we just picked a few. Our lessons will include prophetic ones, they will include doctrinal ones, and we even have one that’s just a little bit about the specificities of the Ark of the Covenant. In fact, we’re going to do that one first.

Let’s review what the Ark of the Covenant is again. This is things that are familiar to you. It was made out of acacia wood, and it was overlaid with gold. It measured two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high, and if you remember, a cubit is about 18 inches.

So two and a half cubits, well, that would be 18 plus 18 plus nine. So it gives us what, about 45 inches? Just a little less than four feet long, and lastly, something I picked up in Brother Fry’s notes, it has 22 edges, if you count all the edges on it, and 22 is an interesting number for a variety of reasons, the basic of which is there was originally 22 books in the Hebrew scriptures.

Now we have 39 today. But in the original Hebrew Scriptures, they had combined some of that. So that’s the significance of. Of the number 22 symbolisms. Let’s just talk basically.

Again, this is part of the review. What does this Ark of the Covenant represent? You know, there’s a. There’s two parts to it. The Ark of the Covenant.

There’s the box itself, and then there’s the Mercy Seat, which was made of pure gold and it had cherubim that were a beaten work. Now, symbolically, the Ark itself, the box itself represents the church. The Mercy seat represents our head, just as the Mercy seat is the head or the lid of the box. So Jesus is our head, and then Jehovah, God himself is represented by the Shekinah light above, and when you look at the Mercy seat, the two cherubim and the Shekinah light, we have a lesson in the four qualities of our Heavenly Father, justice being represented by the Mercy seat.

And that seems pretty logical, doesn’t it? Because the blood of atonement, the satisfaction of justice, was taken, took place right there on the Mercy seat, the Shekinah light, the picture of Jehovah’s wisdom, and then that leaves the two cherubim representing the power and love of our Heavenly Father. Our first consideration of the Ark is the Rings of the Ark. I bet you’ve never thought too much about the Rings of the Ark.

Here’s a picture of the Ark of the Covenant, and I want to diverge here just a little bit. When you go on the Internet looking for illustrations, and every brother, every elder that has done a PowerPoint is always looking for good illustrations to use. You can find a lot of illustrations of the Tabernacle in the Ark of the Covenant, but many of them contain errors. Many are incorrect, not precise. All right, this picture of the Ark of the Covenant has two things wrong with it.

What’s one of them?

I still couldn’t hear, but.

Well, that is true. But the staves are supposed to be covered in something. What are they supposed to be covered? Gold. These aren’t gold encased, are they?

Scripture is very clear about them being covered in gold or overlaid with gold, and the second thing is the rings. Now, Kathy said the rings are up too high. Well, you know, she watched me make this talk, so she knows all the answers, but she’s right. Exodus 25:12.

Now, read this carefully, and thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it and put them where? In the four feet thereof, and two rings shall be on one side and two rings on the other side. So on this particular picture, they weren’t near the feet, were they?

Here’s an illustration that I think shows the more proper position down low. Now, I want you to think about what this would mean. Now, the Levites were supposed to carry the Ark on their shoulders. That means the Ark was lifted up a lot higher. It wasn’t lower than them, which you’ve seen some pictures maybe of them not even having it on their shoulders, but it meant that it would have been pretty high above them.

Now, one other thing of interest. Well, let me read a scripture here first. There. Here’s the specification. Numbers seven, nine.

But under the sons of Koath Gave he none. Because the service of the sanctuary belonged to them. They bear it upon their shoulders, and here’s another illustration of what it might look like, and you can see it, it’s quite higher above the head.

Incidentally, this is another example. You can find many illustrations of the priest carrying the Ark of the Covenant with no coverings. They always had the Ark of the Covenant covered. Always, and that’s why I choose this one.

And we’re going to talk about the coverings here in just a little bit. Now, one last consideration. You’ll notice that the rings were on the long side and the staves on the long side. I did find one illustration here that had them on the other side. Now, I’m not sure just which which way it was.

The predominant thinking is that it was on the long side. But if it was on the short side is here. Remember this Ark of the covenant, 45 inches, give or take wide. Which means that you could theoretically, instead of having just four priests carry it, you could have eight piece priests carry it. This arrangement would give enough room to be able to do them.

Now, again, I have encountered no example of eight priests carrying. It’s always four. But eight was interesting to me simply because of the number. Eight represents newness of life, resurrection, glory. We’re going to see that a little bit later in our lesson as well.

Anyway, consideration. There is this possibility as well. All right, that’s number one, the rings of the Ark. Number two, the traveling clothes, and there’s a beautiful doctrinal teaching that can be found in this.

Let’s read it together. Numbers chapter four, verses five through six, and this is the service of the sons of Kohath in the tent of Meaning about the most holy things. When the camp setteth forward, Aaron shall go in and his sons and they shall take down the veil of the screen. We’re talking about the veil between the Holy and the Most Holy and cover the ark with it.

They would move that forward and cover the ark and then shall put there upon a covering of seal skin and shall spread over to covering a cloth all of blue and shall put the staves thereof. All right, here’s an illustration of that. You can see that the bottom cover is in fact the veil between the Holy and the Most Holy. Then over top of that was a seal skin and over top of that was a cloth of blue. I really don’t like this shade of blue here.

I don’t know what historically or in antiquity what the shade of blue was. I’d be really interested in Seeing maybe a study on what they used for that. But I had the concept that it was a. Like a blue of sky. This is a much dark.

This is like a navy blue here, a sky blue, and I think of that because it makes you think of the heavens. All right, so here’s the coverings, the veil between the holy and the most Holy. The skin, the outer covering of blue. This order is highly specific.

The veil represents the death of the flesh. You know, we talk about going beyond the veil. Well, how do you get beyond the veil? You like Jesus, you have to die. So the veil represents the death of the flesh, the separation, as it were, between our existence as human beings and our.

Our existence as new creatures. Seal skin, going back to our tabernacle types and, and figures, represents the flesh. Now notice very carefully that the seal skin does not touch the Ark of the Covenant. It is separated by the veil and it represents the flesh.

What are we talking about here? A very basic doctrine that is missed by most of Christendom. First Corinthians, 15:50, now this. I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

You know, in the churches, they have this idea that when Jesus was raised, he was given some type of glorified flesh. Well, here in the coverings of the tabernacle, it teaches that the flesh does not go beyond the veil. It cannot go beyond the veil. It never touches anything of the. Of the ark, of the holy things.

A very basic doctrine that is confirmed in this, by the way you can read in volume 1, study 10. Nature is separate and distinct. That’s what this is all about. That’s what this teaches. All right, let’s go to the one last covering.

What about the covering of blue? When we say, and when we talk about going beyond the veil, we’re talking about finishing our course as human beings. The flesh doesn’t follow us as we know, and the flesh disappears. We die and our bodies disintegrate.

But in the kingdom, there’s something of us that remains that the people will see, and I think that’s what’s represented by the veil of blue. Go back to your symbolism. What does blue represent? Faith.

Exactly right. So what is it the world sees of the Church when we are beyond the veil? Not our flesh. It’s gone. It’s hidden.

They remember our faith. They remember the things that we did, either for them or they watched us doing those things. They watched us living a consecrated life day by day, sacrificing even good things. In our life in order to serve the Heavenly Father that remains. We have a beautiful scripture that sort of suggests the conversations that will occur about you and me in the kingdom.

Psalm 87, 5 and 6. Yay of Zion, the church. It shall be said, this one and that one was born in her, and the Most High himself will establish her. Jehovah will count when he writeth up the peoples. This one was born there.

This scripture is depicted by this cloth of blue. Very nice. Our third consideration, the Ark taken by the Philistines. This is going to give us a little bit of a prophetic lesson. In First Samuel, chapters four through seven, we have the account of the loss of the Ark of the Covenant.

Let me set the stage here. The Israelites were fighting the Philistines and they were losing. Somebody got the bright idea, hey, let’s get the Ark of the Covenant and bring that on the battlefield. We’ll whip them then. Well, they did all the way to Shiloh.

It was not a little distance. They had to go far to bring the, the Ark back. But they brought it out of Shiloh where it had been for several hundred years. They brought it on the battlefield and they were cheering and yelling. Even the Philistines heard them.

What’s going on in the, in the camp? Is there God in the camp? And one of the Philistines said to his other Philistines, stand up, quit yourself like men. You know, stop being afraid. Well, the Philistines weren’t afraid and the Ark of the Covenant didn’t help them.

They lost the battle and they lost the Covenant. Very interesting that this happened. It was a really faithless act for them to go fetch the the covenant. They treated the holiest object in Israel as a lucky charm.

Here’s the. The outline where you can read this. First Samuel 4, 5 and 6 all describes what happened. The Ark was in the. In the realm of the Philistines for seven months.

We’re not going to go in that. There’s some interesting things there as well. But, you know, it didn’t work out well for them. They. They went from one city to another city to another.

Four cities all together. In every city that they went, they had problem. It’s almost amusing, but clearly it was by the Lord’s intention that the Ark was not to remain there. So we think this is prophetic of Israel’s experience during the Gospel age. Remember that when Jesus presented to them, presented himself to them as king, there were some that accepted it.

But the authorities, the religious authorities and leaders and whatnot, didn’t it got them very upset. Remember when he rode into Jerusalem as king? They did not accept it and they ended up killing him. Now, in Psalm 78, verse 60 through 64, we have an account. This is interesting.

Remember, Psalms are songs. So they were singing this. He abandoned the temple of Shiloh, the tent he had set up among humans. He sent the ark of his might into captivity, his splendor into the hands of the enemy. He gave his people over to the sword and was furious with his inheritance.

Fire consumed their young men, and their young women had no wedding songs, and their priests were put to the sword and their widows could not weep. It describes that loss and that battle in First Samuel. Very, very well. So Israel without faith did not accept Jesus as their Messiah, and Jesus recognized this before he died.

And in Matthew 23, here’s what he says. Matthew 23:37, 39. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem that killeth the prophets, and stone of them that are sent unto her. How often I would have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not behold, your house is left to you desolate.

For I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth till ye shall say, blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, and I want to do one other thing here. Now, the result of this was that the favor was taken away from Israel and given to the Gentiles.

There we go, and the Gentiles were invited to Christ. Here’s one more scripture that shows this. Matthew 21:43. Therefore I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken away from you and shall be given to a nation, bringing forth the fruits thereof.

So Israel was broken off and the Gentiles were grafted in Romans, chapter 11. I’m going to skip over this because we’re running a little bit low on time already. It was about the breaking in. So the rejection of Israel occurred during the gospel age. The seven stages of the gospel age.

Now, why did I now go to seven stages? How long was the Arkin in the hands of the Philistines? Seven months. I think there’s a parallel there. This represents, again the picture quite beautifully, is the taking away of God’s favor for a period of time before it can come back.

As Jesus said, you know that you will no more see me henceforth until you say, blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. The blessings would return, and the ark did come back. But when the ark came back, it was different. How was it different?

Let’s consider this Question first. What was originally put into the Ark of the Covenant? Some audience participation. Three things in the covenant.

Yep, you got them all. That’s right. Aaron’s rod that put it, the tables of the law and the golden pot of manna, and these things are very, very significant because they have meaning for us. Here’s the three of them there.

So what are we to make of this, though? When Solomon’s temple was built, there was a description of what was in the ark. Let’s read first. Kings, 8, 9. There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone which Moses put there at Horeb when Jehovah made a covenant with the children of Israel when they came out of Egypt.

What happened to the other two items? Where did the golden pot of manna go? Where did Aaron’s rod that budded go? Somebody had to take them out. They’re not.

They’re not here, and they were here. Well, two possibilities. An Israelite took them out. Ah, not likely.

The ark was the holiest object in Israel. What would happen to an Israelite that touched the ark? He would get zapped, wouldn’t he? In fact, we’re going to look at that as another example in our lesson today. So this is not a very likely.

Who does that leave? Well, the Philistines took him out, and I think this is most likely golden pot of mana. Oh, gold, yes. Take the gold. Right.

No, no question there. What’s this budding rod? No tables. The law. Too heavy.

Leave them. Leave them there. So it’s very likely that it was taken out by the Philistines. Now, again, remember the general picture here, that this is a picture of Israel’s double of disfavor. God has removed his Holy Spirit, his favor from them, but it comes back to them.

But his promises and what he gives, wants to give them have changed. Aaron’s rod that butted represented the selection of the priesthood that was given to the Gentiles, beginning with Pentecost. Is it going to be given back to the Jews? No, they lost that. The golden pot of manna, the hidden manna of the divine nature that was given to the Church.

When God’s favor returns to Israel, will they have a chance at the divine nature? No, they lost that too. What’s left? The tables of the law. When the favor fully returns to Israel, they will be under a new covenant.

That’s why the tables of the law are left. It really comes together quite beautifully. So Israel, because of its faithlessness, lost the hope of becoming part of the Melchizedek priesthood and lost the hope of being in the Divine Family. But they still have the Law Covenant. That a beautiful picture.

Number four, the Ark’s relationship to the Most Holy. Let’s review some of the types here. The Most Holy represents the Spirit born condition of the Divine nature. The Ark of the Covenant represents the Divine Family. Remember we saw that earlier.

Ark representing the Church, Mercy Seat representing Jesus, Shekinah Light representing Jehovah. As we said, this is the three things there, and let’s just take a look at that again. This is what we looked at before. There’s a very interesting mathematical observation that we can make about the Ark’s relationship to the Most Holy.

How big was the Ark of the Covenant? Well, we mentioned this earlier. Let’s look at the volume. It’s 2, 2 and a half cubits long, 1 and a half cubits high, 1 and a half cubits wide. That means it has a total volume of 5 and 5, 8 or 5.625.

By the way, if you’ve got a, a little math or arithmetic app on your phone, get it out. I want you to see this for yourself. The volume of the Most holy is 9 by 9 by 10 cubits. Now somebody might ask, well, isn’t the most holy 10 by 10 by 10? That’s the external measurements.

But the thickness of the boards, which is 1/2 a cubit, it’s not given in Scripture. But you can calculate it positively. That means the inside is a perfect square, nine by nine in it. So it’s 810 cubits. Now remember, the Ark represents the Church.

The Most Holy represents the Divine condition. How many Ark of the Covenants could you fit into the Most Holy? And you see it if the symbology follows, doesn’t it? This is the Ark, the Church. It is in the Most Holy.

It’s a division. So here’s the division. 810 divided by 5.625. I’ll give you a moment. Do it.

And I see people mouthing what the answer is. You got it.

144. Isn’t that interesting? Isn’t that marvelous? This is again one of these deeper lessons that we have, and by the way, the number 144, this is, I think for me the most dramatic example of, of God hiding some things in the numbers.

But it comes up many, many other times in the tabernacle. That’s a whole nother study. But the number 144 and factors of it, 1440, 144,000, it appears, by the way, somebody might say, well, brother, David 144. That’s not the same as 144,000. You’re off by a factor of 1,000.

Well, the heavenly Father provides that too. What’s the exterior measurements of the 10 by 10 by 10? There’s your factor. Divine providence provides it.

Number five, the ark’s movement to Jerusalem. Now, we saw earlier, we looked at the, the Ark being stolen or at least lost by Israel to the Philistines. It had been in Shiloh for well over 300 years prior to that. So when it came back, there’s a lot of details here that were, that were going over quickly, but it came back, it ended up in the house of Abinadab for 20 years, and you can get this from First Samuel, chapter seven, verse two.

Abinadab had one son at that time. His name was Eliezer, who was consecrated to guard the Ark during that time. Remember the title of our talk? Imagine the Ark of the Covenant in your living room here in Abinadab’s household. They had the Ark.

As I said earlier, I don’t know that they put it in the living room. In fact, I would suspect that the holiness of it, it probably had its own room. But nevertheless, it was in the house, and it was in the house for 20 years.

If you were a bit of dad, where would you put the Ark? I wouldn’t put it in my bedroom. I know that.

All right, let’s go on here. The important note here is that it was in a private home and it represented Jehovah’s presence in that home. Now, if the Ark of the Covenant was in your house, probably the first day that it was in your house, you would, you would just be, wow, wow. A year later, oh, this is, this is wonderful. Five years later, ten years later, where’s the Arco?

Yes, it’s over here in the room. It could become commonplace, couldn’t it? And I think that perhaps that might explain the mistake that Uzzah made, which we’re going to get to now. Let’s pause here. We’re going to jump forward in the future here.

So it’s in the Ark. It’s in the house of Abinadad for 20 years. Now we’re going to go to the time when David is king, and David, he got a whole group of people together. There’s two different accounts of this.

He decided that he needed to bring the Ark in Jerusalem because he had conquered Jerusalem. Now remember when he first began the kingship, Jerusalem was not part of, of his kingdom. It was, it was controlled by the Jebusites, and it wasn’t until seven years into his reign that he conquered the city and made it his capital. So he wants to bring it.

His first mistake is that he put the Ark on a cart. It was a new cart, but it was a cart, even though Jehovah had commanded that the Kohathite Levites carry it. Here’s a couple of examples of the law that God laid down regarding the transportation of the ark. Deuteronomy 31:24, 25, and it came to pass when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this book of the slaw in the book when they were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites that bear the Ark of the Covenant, saying numbers 4, 15.

And when Aaron and his sons have made an end to covering the sanctuary and all the furniture of the sanctuary as the camp set it forward after that, the sons of Kohath shall bear it, but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burdens of the sons of Kohath. So God’s law was pretty clear. It was not to be put on a cart. It was to be carried from one place to another.

And you probably remember the account the sons of Abinadab, Uzzah and Ahayo, who had their Ark in the poem for 20 years. Remember, I just made an illusion here that having it maybe make makes it more common. Well, they were walking closely with the Ark during the journey, and you know what happened? 2nd Samuel 6, 6 and 7.

And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put forth his hand to the Ark and took hold of it. For the oxen had stumbled, and the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Uzzah, and God smote him there for his error, and there he died by the Ark. Very sad thing. It must have been a terrifying thing to those that were around it, watching it.

Here’s an illustration of it, by the way. What’s wrong with this illustration?

Yeah, it’s not a cloth of blue, is it? Yeah, very good. So who was at fault in Uza’s death? Who’s. Who takes the blame for this problem?

Well, Uza, to be sure. He was a Levite and he should have known that it should not be touched. Remember, we just read for a moment. They shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. So he knew what the law was, so he bears some of the responsibility.

Oh, by the way, here in. I went a little too fast here. When God says, smote him for his Error, you know, there’s a responsibility assigned. But we might also say that the Levites themselves, the other Levites, the priests, should have known that this is not what you do. In 1st Chronicles 13:2.

This is the parallel account. Then David said, none ought to carry the ark of God, but the Levites. For them hath Jehovah chosen to carry the ark and to minister unto them forever. So the Levites themselves, there’s some community, communal responsibility here.

The last one responsible is David himself. David was the project manager and he should have known. He made arrangements for a new car. That was his idea, but he wasn’t thinking either. But David understood after the fact that he was responsible again back in First Corinthians 13:13.

For because he bear it not at first Jehovah, our God made a breach upon us for that, for that we sought him not according to the ordinance. So David took responsibility. Is there a deeper meaning here?

This all occurred, we are told, at the threshing floor. Not threshing, flood, threshing floor of necan. When you think of threshing, what do you think of? Harvest? Right.

And when you think of harvest, what do you think of? Well, in God’s plan, there’s two harvests. Jewish age harvest, the gospel age harvest. So I think that we might think along the lines of a. Of a harvest application here and see perhaps another prophetic application.

Nakan means prepared. Interestingly enough, in the First Chronicles account, it says the threshing floor of Chidon. So it gives a different name. Chidon means something to strike with dark lance, spear. By the way, were Nakan and Chaitan a place or a name?

We don’t know. The scholars are back and forth on that. But the fact that names are given is always important. Lastly, we know that aza means strength. Now we’re going to suggest an application here which is the same application we already saw when the Philistines took the ark.

The same prophetic application. But this one has some other details which are of interest. This whole parade here of David was about returning the ark, the presence of Jehovah, to Jerusalem. It’s what he wanted to do was a noble thing to do. This is the center of activity for the whole nation.

That’s where the presence of God should be. But an act of irreverence, of lawlessness interrupted it, and as a result, the ark was delayed into coming back to Jerusalem. It was delayed three months. The Philistines had it for seven months.

That gives a different lesson here. This is three months. Let’s go A little bit further, I would suggest that this again represents the Jewish harvest and the rejection of Israel very similar to what we saw already. Jesus presented himself to Israel in 33 AD but the nation touched him, the holiest possession of God and murdered him. They touched something holy.

As a result, God’s presence and favor with the with the Israelites was put off, it was abandoned, it was delayed for the whole gospel age. I went to Isaiah chapter 30 and and I found some interesting parallels. I don’t know that this chapter is intended to be related to what happened to Uzzah, but there’s some similar some similar verbiage here. Verse 9. For it is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of Jehovah.

The touching of the ark broke the law. Verses 12 and 13 wherefore thus saith the Holy One of Israel, because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely there on therefore this iniquity shall be to you as a breach ready to fall suddenly coming out of a high wall, whose breaking coming cometh suddenly in an instant. The word breach was the was the word that David used about the breach breaking upon upon us.

Verse 15. For thus said the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in returning and rest shall ye be saved in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. Jose and you would not they did not accept Jesus. Verses 18 through 21 Therefore will Jehovah wait. How long did he wait the whole gospel age, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted and he that he may have mercy upon you For Jehovah God is is a God of justice.

Blessed are all him that wait for him. For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem, and shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry. When he hear, he will answer thee. So this is that waiting period again, just as the ark was waiting for three months before it could come into Jerusalem.

And lastly, verses 18 through 21 and though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and water of affliction, this is the experience of Israel through the whole time of their period of disfavor. Yet shall not thy teachers be hidden anymore at the end of that but thine eyes shall see thy teachers, and thine ears shall hear a word behind me, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, and when you turn to the right, and when you turn to the left. There’s some further details in this account too. That I think lend a little more credence to this idea that it can be applied as a an application of the Jewish harvest.

And they’re being set aside for a while. Second Samuel, chapter 6, verses 10 through 12. So David would not remove the ark of Jehovah unto him into the city of David, but David carried it aside into the house of Obed Edom the Gittite, and the Ark of the covenant remained in the house of Obedidam to get tight three months, and Jehovah blessed Obedidom and all his house.

So this is pretty interesting. Here’s a second time now where the Ark is residing in a private home. This time in the home of Obedidum, and I won’t ask the question again, where, where in his house would he put it? We just don’t know the answer to that.

But this guy Obed Edom is very interesting. He’s called Obed Edom the Gittite. What city do Gittites come from? Anyone remember Gath? It’s a Philistine city.

Obed Edom the Gittite. Now Obed Edom must have been a Levite. They couldn’t have had the Ark without that having that. But he must have been living in Gath sometime after the Philistines were defeated by David. So he’s living in this Gentile city.

Here’s a little excerpt from the Jewish Encyclopedia regarding the name.

From 1st Chronicles 26:4 8 where Obedim is mentioned together with the Levites, it is concluded that he himself was a Levite. His name is interpreted thus. Obed, the servant who honors God in the right way. Edom, literally red, the one who causes to blush. He made David blush for shame because the latter was at first afraid to receive the ark, whereas Obed Edom took it into his house without hesitation.

Interesting, huh? The servant who honors God in the right way. Who do you think Obed Edom would represent here? We suggest he represents the Church. Remember, the ark was with Obed Edom during the time that it was delayed from going into Israel or prevented or prohibited from going into Israel because of the death of Uzzah.

So here it is in the house of Obedidom the Gittite. As we mentioned. The fact that he’s called a get tight in the gentle city is very appropriate because most of the church has been gathered from the Gentiles themselves. Incidentally, he had eight sons. Remember I mentioned earlier about the number 8?

8 is a number that befits new life, new resurrection life. What day was Jesus Raised on the eighth day. You say the first day. Well, that’s right. But the first day is after the seventh day, which makes it the eighth day.

There’s many other examples of eight like that. Another detail. Remember the first mentioned son of Abinadab, Eliezer. Do you find it strange that he’s not mentioned here at all? He was trusted as the consecrated guard of the ark.

Now when you think of the name Eliezer, our minds go all the way back to the time of Abraham. Remember, it was eleazar in Genesis 22 that was responsible for finding a wife for Isaac, and incidentally, his name is never mentioned in Genesis 22. It’s only given one time previously. But there’s almost no question that it was Eliezer.

And do you remember what Eliezer represented in that picture with Abraham? Genesis 22, Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit guiding and directing so that antitypically the church, you and I could be procured.

Isn’t it curious that Eliezer, the son of Abinadad is not mentioned here? Here’s the guy that was entrusted with guarding the ark. Well, all of a sudden he’s off the scene. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Why?

Well, his absence may parallel Jesus rejection of the nation when he said, your house is abandoned to you. If we take Eliezer here is also representing the Holy Spirit. God removed his Holy Spirit from Israel during the time of their disfavor. Perhaps that’s why he’s not mentioned here. One last detail.

After David saw that the Ark of the Covenant was in Obed Edom’s house, he was told something. 1st Samuel 6:12, and it was told King David saying, jehovah have blessed the house of Obed Edom and all that pertaineth unto him. Because of the Ark of God. David went and brought up the Ark of God from the house of Edom Obedim into the city of David.

With joy he was told, obedience being blessed. It doesn’t say how he’s being blessed. But you know, the blessings of the law were in basket in store, weren’t they? So there was some material blessing that obedient was getting, and David looked at that and he said, well, gotta have that too.

Here’s the connection. Romans 11:11. I say, Then did they stumble that they might fall, speaking of Israel, God forbid. But by their fall, salvation has come unto the Gentiles to provoke them to jealousy. Doesn’t that describe David?

Whoa. He’s getting that blessing. I want that. Let’s, let’s get it. I think that’s a Beautiful picture.

Again, you can contrast these two pictures here with the Ark lost to the Philistines in this one, and see, even though it’s a duplicate picture teaching the same thing, there are different elements in it.

Lastly, and we’re just about out of time here, so the Ark and the Great Pyramid. I’m just going to give you a couple of things of consideration. The stone coffer in the king’s chamber is the same volume as the Ark of the Covenant. That’s interesting, isn’t it? In addition, the king’s chamber is a perfect cube, just like the most holy of the Tabernacle.

And I don’t remember completely, but I think that that was the same size as the Most Holy in Solomon’s Temple. Solomon’s Temple’s holy was twice the size of the Tabernacle, and I think that’s the same as well. All right, let’s do a quick summary. Brethren, we looked at the rings of the Ark, and we saw that they were low, not high, and that lifted up the Ark of the Covenant even higher as they went. From time to time, we saw in the covering of the Ark a doctrinal teaching.

Nature is distinct, spiritual and human nature is distinct, and the flesh does not go beyond the veil. The Ark lost to the Philistines. A picture of God’s disfavor over Israel during the Gospel Age. The Ark’s relationship to the most holy.

We saw a mathematical relationship where exactly, exactly 144 arcs would fit into the most Holy. The trek of the Ark to Jerusalem. Basically a duplication of that other picture, but with some other interesting information there as well, and lastly, there does seem to be a connection between the Ark and the Great Pyramid. Brett and I present this to you for your consideration.

You know, we’re treading on some areas that we haven’t heard treaded on before, and the suggestions that we made are just that. If they’re a blessing to you, fine. If you see something better, let me know. You know, in giving talks through the years, brethren have given me feedback and they have enriched the lessons very much.

So we thank you very much and we pray the Lord’s blessing upon this lesson.

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