BACKGROUND
What is the Ark of the Covenant?
God made a covenant (a conditional covenant) with the children of Israel through His servant Moses. He promised good to them and their children for generations if they obeyed Him and His laws; but He always warned of despair, punishment, and dispersion if they were to disobey. As a sign of His covenant He had the Israelites make a box according to His own design, in which to place the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. This box, or chest, was called an “ark” and was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. The Ark was to be housed in the inner sanctum of the tabernacle in the desert (also referred to as the Tabernacle of Moses or the Tent of Meeting) and eventually in the Temple when it was built in Jerusalem. This chest is known as the Ark of the Covenant.
Journey of the Ark
addresses what happened when the philistines returned the ark and Israel sent to Abnidab
https://globalchristiancenter.com/christian-living/lesser-known-bible-people/31309-the-house-of-abinadab-and-the-ark-of-god
https://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/abinadab.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AAbinadab
CONTINUE SEARCHING THESE REFERENCES
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_version=NIV&quicksearch=Ark+of+the+Covenant&startnumber=26
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_version=NIV&quicksearch=ark&begin=5&end=5
During Moses
Samuel
Up to this time in Scripture, we see that the arc of the covenant was present to lead the Israelites and where they "inquired of God." But my favorite references are those that indicate that they "sat before God", for an afternoon or evening. Their times with God were intentional and full of expectation that they would be heard and that God would answer.
"The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly" Judges 21:2.
This particular incident in Israelite history is not one of my favorites and is actually a hard read and study. Although during this time in their history, going before God was probably more reverential and even fearful; but on this side of grace, where God calls us friends, sitting before God is more like keeping company with Him. I love the idea of sitting before God and pouring my heart out in praise, weeping and conversing about His word and things impressed upon my heart. I desire to be more aware of His presence and desire to be with me as well. I know that He speaks to me through His word but expressing my heart through prayer, going before Him, lifting my head and bowing my heart, is a time of expectation of knowing that I have been heard and that God will answer.
House of Eli
- "Eli's sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:12)
- "The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, and you will see distress in my dwelling." (1 Samuel 2:31)
Additional Backdrop:
Judges 2:16-23
16 Then the Lord raised up judges,[a] who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
20 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
Judges 3:1, 5
1These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experieneced any of the wars in Canaan - 5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
SaulDavid
Solomon
References for further study:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant
https://theisraelbible.com/journey-aron-ark-covenant/
What is the Ark of the Covenant?
God made a covenant (a conditional covenant) with the children of Israel through His servant Moses. He promised good to them and their children for generations if they obeyed Him and His laws; but He always warned of despair, punishment, and dispersion if they were to disobey. As a sign of His covenant He had the Israelites make a box according to His own design, in which to place the stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments. This box, or chest, was called an “ark” and was made of acacia wood overlaid with gold. The Ark was to be housed in the inner sanctum of the tabernacle in the desert (also referred to as the Tabernacle of Moses or the Tent of Meeting) and eventually in the Temple when it was built in Jerusalem. This chest is known as the Ark of the Covenant.
Journey of the Ark
addresses what happened when the philistines returned the ark and Israel sent to Abnidab
https://globalchristiancenter.com/christian-living/lesser-known-bible-people/31309-the-house-of-abinadab-and-the-ark-of-god
https://www.biblestudytools.com/encyclopedias/isbe/abinadab.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk%3AAbinadab
CONTINUE SEARCHING THESE REFERENCES
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_version=NIV&quicksearch=Ark+of+the+Covenant&startnumber=26
https://www.biblegateway.com/quicksearch/?qs_version=NIV&quicksearch=ark&begin=5&end=5
During Moses
- The biblical account continues that, after its creation by Moses, the Ark was carried by the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering in the desert. Whenever the Israelites camped, the Ark was placed in a separate room in the Tent of Meeting.
Numbers 7:89
When Moses entered the tent of meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the covenant law. In this way the LORD spoke to him.
Instructions the care and moving the Ark
Deuteronomy 10:8
At that time the Lord set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister and to pronounce blessings in his name, as they still do today.
Numbers 4:5
When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and put it over the ark of the covenant law.
Numbers 10:11-13, 21, 33-35 (This was the first time Israel marched as an organized, prepared nation.)
Now in the second year, in the second month, on the twentieth of the month, the cloud was lifted from over the tabernacle of the covenant law; and the sons of Israel set out on their journeys from the wilderness of Sinai. Then the cloud settled down in the wilderness of Paran. So they moved out for the first time according to the commandment of the LORD through Moses.
Then the Kohathites set out, carrying the holy objects; and the tabernacle was set up before their arrival. (The Kohathites were one of the sons of Levite who was responsible for the care and moving of the Arc - see Numbers 4)
So they set out from the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days. The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them during those three days to find them a place to rest. The cloud of the Lord was over tehm by day when they set out from the camp.
- When the Israelites, led by Joshua toward the Promised Land, arrived at the banks of the Jordan river, the Ark was carried in the lead preceding the people and was the signal for their advance (Joshua 3:3-17; 4:7-18). During the crossing, the river grew dry as soon as the feet of the priests carrying the Ark touched its waters, and remained so until the priests—with the Ark—left the river after the people had passed over. As memorials, twelve stones were taken from the Jordan at the place where the priests had stood.
- In the Battle of Jericho, the Ark was carried round the city once a day for six days, preceded by the armed men and seven priests sounding seven trumpets of rams' horns. (Joshua 6:4-16)
- When Joshuah renewed the covenant at Mount Ebal by reading "all the words of the law...just as it is wwritten in the Book of the Law", all the people were standing on both sides of the ark of the covenant of the Lord (Joshua 8:30-34)
- Joshuah 18:1 "The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there."
- Jephthah was a warrior and judge. It appears that the arc of the covenant may have been at Mizpah where Jephthah lived. Judges 11:11 "....and he repeated all his words before the Lord in Mizpah".
- We next hear of the Ark in Bethel where it was being cared for by the priest Phineas the grandson of Aaron (where 'Bethel' is translated 'the House of God' in the King James Version). (Judges 20:18, 26-28)
Samuel
- Later, we see that the Ark is again kept at Shiloh, another religious centre some 16 km (10 mi) north of Bethel (Judges 21:19), at the time of the prophet Samuel's apprenticeship (1 Samuel 3:3) , where it was cared for by Hophni and Phinehas, two sons of Eli. The Tent of Meeting was first brought to Shiloh (Joshua 18:1).
Samuel's mother was Hannah and had been dedicated to the Lord's service as a young boy.
- After the boy is weaned, I will take him and present him before the Lord, and he will live there always (1 Samuel 1:22)
- After he was weaned, she took the boy with her, young as he was, along with a three-year-old bull,[a] an ephah[b] of flour and a skin of wine, and brought him to the house of the Lord at Shiloh. 25 When the bull had been sacrificed, they brought the boy to Eli, 26 and she said to him, “Pardon me, my lord. As surely as you live, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the Lord. 27 I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there. (1 Samuel 1:24-28)
- Then Elkanah (Samuel's dad) went home to Ramah, but the boy ministered before the Lord under Eli the priest (1 Samuel 2:11)
- ...the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord (1 Samuel 2:21)
- And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people (1 Samuel 2:26)
- I will raise up for myself a faithful priest; who will do according to what is in my heart and mind (1 Samuel 2:35)
- The boy Samuel ministered before teh Lord under Eli. In those days the word of he Lord was rare; there were not many visions (1 Samuel 3:1)
- One night....Samuel was lying downi in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was. then the Lord called Samuel. (1 Samuel 3:3-4)
- Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. (1 Samuel 3:7)
- The Lord cam and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel, Samuel"
- The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel's word fall to the ground.....The Lord cootinued to appear at Shilooh, and there He revealed Himself to Samuel through His word. (1 Samuel 3:19-21)
Up to this time in Scripture, we see that the arc of the covenant was present to lead the Israelites and where they "inquired of God." But my favorite references are those that indicate that they "sat before God", for an afternoon or evening. Their times with God were intentional and full of expectation that they would be heard and that God would answer.
"The people went to Bethel, where they sat before God until evening, raising their voices and weeping bitterly" Judges 21:2.
This particular incident in Israelite history is not one of my favorites and is actually a hard read and study. Although during this time in their history, going before God was probably more reverential and even fearful; but on this side of grace, where God calls us friends, sitting before God is more like keeping company with Him. I love the idea of sitting before God and pouring my heart out in praise, weeping and conversing about His word and things impressed upon my heart. I desire to be more aware of His presence and desire to be with me as well. I know that He speaks to me through His word but expressing my heart through prayer, going before Him, lifting my head and bowing my heart, is a time of expectation of knowing that I have been heard and that God will answer.
House of Eli
- "Eli's sons were scoundrels; they had no regard for the Lord" (1 Samuel 2:12)
- "The time is coming when I will cut short your strength and the strength of your priestly house, so that no one in it will reach old age, and you will see distress in my dwelling." (1 Samuel 2:31)
Additional Backdrop:
Judges 2:16-23
16 Then the Lord raised up judges,[a] who saved them out of the hands of these raiders. 17 Yet they would not listen to their judges but prostituted themselves to other gods and worshiped them. They quickly turned from the ways of their ancestors, who had been obedient to the Lord’s commands. 18 Whenever the Lord raised up a judge for them, he was with the judge and saved them out of the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived; for the Lord relented because of their groaning under those who oppressed and afflicted them. 19 But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.
20 Therefore the Lord was very angry with Israel and said, “Because this nation has violated the covenant I ordained for their ancestors and has not listened to me, 21 I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations Joshua left when he died. 22 I will use them to test Israel and see whether they will keep the way of the Lord and walk in it as their ancestors did.” 23 The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua.
Judges 3:1, 5
1These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experieneced any of the wars in Canaan - 5 The Israelites lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.
- The Ark Taken Into Battle -'Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines.....The Philistines deployed their forces to meet Israel, and as the battle spread, Israel was defeated by the Philistines.... When the soldiers returned to camp, the eldes of Israel asked, "Why did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the Lord's covenenant from Shiloh, so that He may go with us and save us from the hand of our enemies." (1 Samuel 4:1 -3)
Backdrop: Whenever the Israelites "did evil in the eyes of the Lord", they would not have God's favor or hand of protection. Whenever they went out to fight, they would be defeated (Judges 2:15). When the people had been exploring Canaan, and had grumbled and rebelled, the Lord told them they would not see Canaan. But they tried to force the original promise and go and take the land. Here is what happened:
Number 14:41-45
41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and the Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.”
44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah. - The Ark Captured by the Philistines
Circling back to 1 Samuel 4:1-3, we saw that the Israelites were again doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and Eli's sons were dispicable. Although they were not commanded to do so, they went out to fight the Philistines and were being defeated. This time, they tried to force the protection of God. The people went to Shiloh and brought the ark of the covenant back to their camp. Eli's two sons also came to the camp with the ark (1 Samuel 4:4). When the Philistines first heard that the ark had been brought to the camp, they were afraid. But they attacked the Israelites anyway and captured the ark of God and killed Eli's two sons. (1 Samuel 4:6-11)
Dagon's temple at Ashdod
"After the PHilistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer [where the Israelites had camped] to Ashdod. then they carried the ark into Dagon's temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early they next day, there was Dagon,fallen on the ground before he ark of the Lord....." The people sat Dagon back up but this occured again the next night and Dagon's head and hands had been broken off. In addition the people were afflicted with tumors. The people responded: "The ark of the god of Israel must not stay here with us, because his hand isheavy on us and on Dagon ou god". So the leaders of the Philistines were called and it was decided that the rk would be move to Gath. (1 Samuel 5:1-8)
At Gath
The people of Gath were also afflicted with tumors so the ark was sent to Ekron (1 Samuel 5:10)
At Ekron
But news had already spread to Ekron and the people did not want the ark. So they again called the Philistine leaders and they decided that the ark would be sent back to the people of Israel. In the mean time, the people of Ekron were also inflicted with tumors. All-in-all, the ark was in Philistine territory for seven months (1 Samuel 5:10-6:1) - The Ark Returned to Israel
- first the people decided to return the ark iwth a gift. They made gold molds representing their tumors as a guilt offering.
- they also got a new cart ready, wit two cows that have claved and had never been yoked. The cart was hitched to the cows adn the ark placed on top of the new cart. 1 Samuel 6:3-7
- the people were to send it on its way but were to "keep watching it. If it goes up to its own territory, toward Beth Shenmesh, then the Lord has brought this great disaster on us. But if it does not, then we will know that it ws not his hand that struck us but that it happened to us by chance" (1 Samuel 6:9)
- the cows went straight toward Beth-Shemesh
The Ark arrives at Beth Shemesh and then sent to Kiriath Jearin
- "when they looked up and saw the ark, they rejoiced at the sight" (1 Samuel 6:13)
- the Levites took down the ark of the Lord (1 Samuel 6:15)
- 70 people of Beth Shemesh were put to death by God because they looked into the ark of the Lord. Thinking God was too harsh and fearful that they would be further punished, the people sent message to Kiriath Jearin to come and get the ark.
Note: when the Kohathites were assigned to care for the ark, they were strictly forbiden to look inside at the holy things "even for a moment, or they will die" (Numbers 4:20)
1 So the men of Kiriath Jearim came and took up the ark of the Lord. They brought it to Abinadab’s house on the hill and consecrated Eleazar his son to guard the ark of the Lord. 2 The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time—twenty years in all. (1 Samuel 7:1-2)
The record is that the men of Kiriath-jearim were summoned to take charge of the ark at a time when no one else dared to have it (1 Samuel 6:20,21); and the implication seems to be that they had no option to refuse. Possibly this was due to their being Gibeonites, and hereditary "bondmen" of "the house of my God" (Joshua 9:17,23). However this may be, they "sanctified" Abinadab's son Eleazar to have charge of the ark.
SaulDavid
Solomon
References for further study:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ark_of_the_Covenant
https://theisraelbible.com/journey-aron-ark-covenant/