What’s In Your Ark?

Hebrews 9:3-5 After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, having a golden altar of incense, and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, of which things we can’t speak now in detail.
A fedora, a leather jacket, a (toy) revolver, and a (Dad-gineered) bull whip, and my son had his favorite Halloween costume of all time. He wore it “trick-or-treating" at least twice and would have worn it more but he out grew it. He still has the hat.
We were all big fans of the first Indiana Jones movie, wore out at least one VHS tape, but it was not a great place to get your Biblical history fix. For the record, there were no laser beams or face-melting angels associated with the Ark in the Bible - or any other piece of literature prior to the movie. That was all Hollywood.
But the Ark was real, and it had a real purpose, one worth knowing about today.
Take the jar of manna. They were to remember for all generations that God had miraculously provided sustenance for them in the harshest of environments - and not just survival food, but delicious and nutritious never seen before or since prosperity food. The honey-and-wafers taste was a hint of the milk-and-honey promise, and God fed over a million of them for 40 years in a desert. Seeing that, we ought to know that our piddling little problems are no match for His incredible power.
Then there was Aaron’s budding rod. When fearful and jealous people grumbled against Moses and Aaron, God demonstrated His calling by making Aaron’s rod - a dry stick that he had most likely been carrying for years - sprout with leaves, flowers, and almonds. Two things about that. One, the God who appoints a leader is able and willing to support that leader, and ‘B’, it’s never a good idea to bad-mouth God’s chosen ones.
And of course, there were the stone Tablets of the Law. Written on them were the Ten Commandments that expressed the heart of God’s covenant - His responsibilities and promises and those of His people. Oh, and He wrote it Himself with His finger, you might say His Signature, that He would do what He said. Now follow that up with the miracles He worked as the Ark went before the people - the River Jordan standing up to let them pass, the walls of Jericho falling down, and you begin to see its power and value, that it represented not only what God could do, but what He had done, and more than that, His active presence working and defending His own.
Don’t you wish you had one of those? Well, you can, and you don’t even need acacia wood to build it. For the believer, we carry the Ark of God in our hearts, as we remember the good things He has done for us, the times He has rescued us, and the times He has forgiven us. Our Ark is the Cross, covered in the precious blood of Christ, marking the once-for-all sacrifice that leads us into the Land of His Promise and Provision. What He has done before, He is still doing. Remember that, and let this new Ark go before you to bless your way!