Ark of the Covenant

When the Temple was built on Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the altar, placed in the Holy of Holies, contained a piece of furniture referred to as the Ark of  the Covenant (ark meaning container, such as a coffin, chest or box). Precise instructions were given as to how it was to have been constructed. It was to be built of shittim (acacia wood), which is still growing in Sinai and widely used today. It was to be an oblong box 2.5 cubits by 1.5 cubits, (3’9” x 2’3”) that within and without was to be overlaid, and inlaid on the lid with gold, and edged all around with gold. 2 golden cherubim were to kneel on the cover facing each other with their wings outstretched to overshadow the throne of mercy which was the top of the Ark. It was to be fitted with rings at each of the four corners, through which staves could be passed for carriage. These were also to be acacia and inlaid with gold.

”You place the throne of mercy on top of the Ark... there I shall come to meet you: there from above the throne of mercy, from between the two cherubim”.  

Between the cherubim arose a cloud that had the power to kill!  Ones heard a voice speak to him from this place (beneath the centre of the cherubim, known as the Mercy Seat). The Ark could produce fire which could destroy nearby objects. The carrying poles could be seen in the Holy of Holies to show the Ark had not been removed. When transported, it was to be covered with a veil of badger skins, and a blue cloth so it would not be seen. The Kohathites and the sons of Levi carried it through the wilderness years and over the river Jordan. It contained the 2 stone tablets with the 10 Commandments written by the hand of God, known as  the ‘covenant’ which was given to Moses. The first time he descended from the mountain with the tablets of stone, he broke one. The second time he descended, ‘his face shone’ and he always wore a veil over his face from that time onwards. The Ark of the Covenant was almost 1000 years old at the birth of Jesus, and was greatly feared in the time of the Biblical patriarchs, Samuel and Saul, Elijah and Elisha, David and Solomon. 

King David captured Jerusalem, and brought the Ark of the Covenant from Kiribati-Jearim to Jerusalem‘s Rock of Shetiyyah - a sacred place where Araunah the Jebusite threshed his corn, separating the wheat from the chaff.  David insisted on buying the plot, even though it was offered to him as a gift. There the Ark was placed in a tent and became the oracle of the people. This Tabernacle bound the tribes together and became their religious centre, and represented the very presence of God. The Ark became the collective identity of the Jews, an oracle of advice where God guided his people, and the Ark defended Israel against enemies and supported them during the wilderness years and beyond. It could defeat armies, strike people dead, cause tumours and major illness, even counteract gravity! The two stones which were inserted were 6 hands long, and 6 hands wide, made of extremely heavy sapphire like stone but flexible and transparent written on both sides by the hand of God with his commandments. 

Rabbi Shelomo Yitshaki, wrote about the Ark in the twelfth century from his home in Troyes which was also home of the Grail poet Chretien. The early Knights Templar’s rule was devised at this ancient town, and it was home of the builders of Chartres Cathedral. The rabbi stated that the Ark’s mercy seat (the lid) was covered in nine inches of solid gold (one hand’s breadth). 

... For almost a year, they were on Mt Sinai. Heading North for Canaan, Kadesh, a 150 mile journey was the next landmark in the desert through which the children of Israel wandered. The route was along the Gulf of Aqabah to the wilderness of loneliness known as Paran now called 'Badiet et-Tin and then continued along its eastern edge. As they travelled, the miracle of the quails occurred. This is where the quails on their migration still to this day stop to rest before their longest flight. "And there went forth a wind, that brought the quails from the sea, and let them fall into the camp". It is also said that the Ark provided sustainance to the people during this time, and was also used as an oracle.

The Philistines, 587/586BC in their battles against Israelis captured the Ark of the Covenant (1. Sam 6) which had become a symbol of great power and collective identity. They sent it to the temple of Shiloh, built a temple for it but were unsuccessful and the temple was burnt to the ground. Recent excavations in the area of Shiloh have discovered in the time of approx 1050BC that Shiloh was a ruin. There was no Ark mentioned from this time onwards and none described in the building of the second Temple. Was it destroyed? Crosser said he took photos of the Ark but there was no evidence he ever really saw it. 

When the Roman army destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple and treasures in a siege of AD70, they took the sacred gold 7 branched candle holder, the menorah to Rome, now lost. Josephus listed the looted treasures but the Ark is not mentioned. 

The first Templar preceptory outside the Holy Land was in Scotland on the St Clair estate. In 1128, Hugh met with King David of Scotland and was given land in Ballantradoch, Lothian, Aberdeen, Ayr and W Scotland. Hughes de Payens was married to Catherine St Clair and many are intrigued to know whether the Templars found the Ark and took it to Scotland and placed it in Rosslyn Chapel. From the time of a Robert the Bruce, each Bruce and Stewart heir was said to be of Templar blood. Is it buried under Roslyn Chapel?

I am always perplexed as I wonder why anyone wants to find the box, even though it was said to possess special powers. We have the knowledge that the box contained, the 10 Commandments that Moses received upon the holy mountain, written by the hand of God upon two stones. This is where the value lies and fortunately this instruction from God for our world was not lost. However, there is a mystery about this strange magic box. It would seem that Moses was permanently scarred from his second visit to the mountain of God to bring down replacement tablets for the original breakages. 

Jerusalem was defeated many times, and the Ark could have been destroyed to prevent it getting into enemy hands. Shishak, Jehoash and Nebuchadnezzah do not report on it. There is a story that Menelik I, the Queen of Sheba’s son by King Solomon, took the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia, where it is guarded by a priest day and night. Every Ethiopian church contains a replica, kept in the holy of holies. The British Museum has some examples, kept in a repository in Hackney, but are not on show and are difficult to view and photograph. Graham Hancock’s moving account of his search for the Ark is described in his book ‘The Sign and the Seal’. He suggests that Chartres Cathedral reveals the true history of the Ark. is it in Chartres, or some say another French cathedral? Did Wolfram Von Eschenbach’s story of the Holy Grail, where it is described as a stone, show that the Grail and the Ark are one? Both have a dove as their emblem. The Templars were the relic hunters of the C12 and C13 for the newly built cathedrals to entice pilgrims, and they would have known of the Ark of the Covenant and its extraordinary powers to win in battle, a matter of highest importance! They probably followed up the stories of its whereabouts, following the Nile to its source as the ancients were said to have done, visiting Ethiopia and leaving their croix pattee on the church of St George in lalibella and on the walls of the caverns beneath King Kaleb’s palace. The Ark is still said to be in St Mary of Zion church is Axum and taken out for processions on high days and holidays, covered with coloured cloths! It would be at least 3,000 years old! 

Mary, the Mother of Jesus has been called The Ark of the Covenant, referring to her pregnancy with Jesus who fulfilled the prophecy of the messiah as given in the Old Testament. 

Wendy Stokes https://Wendystokes.co.uk