"ALL THAT MATTERS" (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 4/14/26

“There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.” (I Kings 8:9)

At this point in the book of I Kings, the dedication of the Temple built by Solomon is detailed. Earlier, Solomon made clear his desire to build the house his father, David, had intended to build for the Lord. David was unable to construct this house because of the wars of his time, but thanks to the peace of Solomon’s time, he planned to make it happen - as God intended. Now it’s finished, and it’s time to use it. Before opening it to the public, important religious relics were to be brought in, starting with the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant, perhaps the most important symbol of all, was a sacred object described as a wooden chest covered with gold. It was built at God's command by the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness (Exo. 25) and was seen as a symbol of God’s presence among them. They carried it with them during their journeys, where it was associated with many miraculous events, such as the parting of the Red Sea and the collapse of the walls of Jericho. Its significance in the history and theology of Judaism and Christianity remains a subject of scholarly and religious study. I will now summarize the events so that you can see how far it traveled:

            ● Israelites traveled with it for 40 years (Num. 10)

            ● Brought to the Promised Land (Jos. 3)

            ● Shiloh Tabernacle housed the Ark (Jos. 18)

            ● Lost to Philistines following the battle of Ebenezer, where it changed locations a lot (I Sam. 4-6)

            ● The Philistines found it dangerous, so they set to return it to the Israelites

(I Sam. 6-II Sam. 6)

            ● When David became king, he brought the Ark back to Jerusalem (II Sam. 6)

            ● The Babylonians captured the city in 587 BC. The Ark vanished after this conquest (II Kings)

The fate of the Ark after the conquest is unknown. The Temple holding it was destroyed by Babylon, which plundered and carried away its treasures, but the Ark isn’t specifically mentioned.

Various theories exist about what may have happened to the Ark after the destruction of the Temple, but what’s important is the journey it went on. From the time of Exodus to the reign of the Kings, it had been one of the most vital objects to the Israelites. As I said many times, it was a symbolic representation of God’s presence, and it was important enough to lug around and worry about for years. But why?

It was essentially a treasure chest, but instead of being filled with gold and jewels, it held a more valuable prize. It contained the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments that Moses delivered on Mount Sinai. God commanded their deposit in the Ark in Exodus 25, and they were actually deposited in Exodus 40. This is remarkable and seems intended to make it clear that the various things laid up “before the testimony”- the pot of manna (Exo. 16), rod of Aaron (Num. 17), copy of the Law (Deut. 31) - were not in the Ark, but (as in the last case is actually stated), in “the side of the ark.” Barring any change afterward (highly improbable), this is how it had been since the conception of the Ark.

The Ark without its contents probably weighed roughly the same as it did with them. A whole lot of time and energy went into making a carrying case that had only two pieces of stone in it. However, there is something impressive in the especial hallowing of the granite tables of the Law of Righteousness as the most sacred of all the revelations of God. Religion and morality were joined upon their inscription, showing that God is best known to man, not in His omnipotence or wisdom, but in His moral nature or the very Truth and Righteousness that all of His children reflect.

The Ark housed all that matters. These two tablets may not seem like much, but these were the things God commanded to be put in there for a reason. They were ten important rules for living given directly by God, and most importantly, were the most accurate realization of God’s presence.