We Are The Ark of the New Covenant

Hebrews 9: 1-4 Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place, which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant . This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.

These key verses from Hebrews reflect on the first covenant God had established with His people. This covenant had an earthly sanctuary; a place where the very presence of God could dwell on earth. The Ark of the Covenant would carry that presence before them. The Israelites would go forth with the Ark before them and God would deliver them. When faced with the Jordan River at flood stage, they simply followed the Ark:

Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. Joshua 3: 15-17

And so the presence of God in our lives will also part the raging waters we face and we can proceed on dry ground into the territories God has laid out for us to conquer! Anything is possible when God goes before us! But unlike the first covenant, we have direct access to God now. The new covenant was fulfilled through Jesus Christ and the best part is that we are the new earthly sanctuary!

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colossians 1:27

Christ is in us. We are no longer separated from God. When His blood was shed for the remission of our sins on Calvary's hill, there was a passing from the first covenant into the new covenant:

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. Matthew 27: 50-51

With the temple curtain being torn, the separation between God and His people was likewise rent asunder. We are now the Ark that carries the covenant. People should be able to see the presence of God within us as we go forth. But the enemy is so good at distracting us. He is so crafty at beguiling us. His strategy is to get us to take our eyes off of God and onto something in this world. To detour us in our walk; so people cannot see the glory of God within us. To damage our witness for Christ. We must be prepared to combat this by making sure we have in our Ark the same things our key verses teach us were in the original earthly sanctuary.

First of all, we need to make sure that we have the gold jar of manna in our Ark. When Moses was leading the Israelites for forty years there were many times the people grumbled against him. One such time was when they were concerned about what they would eat. They somehow remembered their slavery with fondness because of the "pots of meat" they had. We were slaves to the world as well when God set us free. Like the Israelites, we too can start to think too fondly of the slavery we were in. But God provided for the Israelites by literally raining bread down upon them. They called it manna and it kept the people fed for forty years. Every day without fail, God would provide.

Then Moses said, "This is what the L ord has commanded: Fill a two-quart container with manna to preserve it for your descendants. Then later generations will be able to see the food I gave you in the wilderness when I set you free from Egypt." Moses said to Aaron, "Get a jar and fill it with two quarts of manna. Then put it in a sacred place before the L ord to preserve it for all future generations." Aaron did just as the L ord had commanded Moses. He eventually placed it in the Ark of the Covenant--in front of the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant. Exodus 16: 32-34 (NLT)

We too must place manna in our Ark. It must serve us as a reminder that God alone is our provider. The enemy will constantly show you everything you do not have so you cannot possibly appreciate what God has given you. Keeping the manna in our Ark will protect us against this scheme. Remember:

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

Now, we may often disagree with God about what our needs are but that is usually because we blur our wants and our needs together. What you want is an opinion, what you need is a fact. God deals with the facts of your life beloved. Every day for forty years he provided manna from heaven for the Israelites and every day we have lived He also has provided the manna we have needed to get through the day. We need to always remember that our provider is God. Keep a jar of that manna in your Ark and you will not forget.

Secondly, we need to make sure we have the budded staff of Aaron in our Ark as well. During the travels of Moses and the Israelites, there arose a rebellion:

Korah son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites--Dathan and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth--became insolent and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men, well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council. They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them, "You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?" Numbers 16: 1-3

The insolent spirit of Korah exists in all of us. It is the natural tendency of man to be rebellious. Rebellion is simply disobeying God and we have been doing that since Adam and Eve in the Garden. The insolent spirit of rebellion will come at you with fine sounding arguments, mixing some truth in with some lies. It will seek 250 other people to prop up its failed arguments. Man will always support man. But no amount of agreement amongst others and the persuasiveness of their arguments will change the fact that it is still rebellion. The Lord would have the very earth swallow up Korah and the 250 followers were likewise destroyed by God. God then instructs Moses to gather a staff from each tribal leader and place them before Him in the Tent of Meeting. Whichever staff sprouts would be the one the Lord has chosen.

The next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff, which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds. Then Moses brought out all the staffs from the LORD's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and each man took his own staff. The LORD said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die." Moses did just as the LORD commanded him. Numbers 17: 8-11

We need the budded staff of Aaron in our own Ark as a reminder to the natural rebellious nature within us to trust in God only. That insolent spirit of Korah is still lurking and we need to be vigilant against it. There will be many well-crafted and fine sounding arguments that will present themselves to us and we need to look to the budded staff of Aaron in our Ark as our reminder that the rebellious do not prosper. It is also what can protect us against being led astray. Korah was trying to lead the people of Israel astray from the direction God was leading them. Likewise, there will be forces in this world and even claiming to be from within the realm of believers that will seek to lead you astray as well. From within our own camp!

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8

The budded staff of Aaron reminds us to say no to the fine-sounding philosophies of this world and keep our eyes focused on God; even when the insolent spirit of Korah might be rising up within us.

Lastly, we need to have the stone tablets of the covenant within our Ark. Some have confused the coming of Christ as an elimination of the law, but Jesus Himself clarified that:

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Matthew 5: 17-18

Jesus fulfilled the law. If anything, He raised the bar even higher. He demanded a code above and beyond the law. He demanded turning the other cheek, and loving your enemies. But these do not eliminate the law. They perfect it. As believers we still need to have the bar set at the level Jesus proclaimed it to be. We need to remember the law of God because it still serves as our guide in a world that will continually try and lead us off course.

The law is the Word of God and it is the measuring stick for anything we face in this life. It is meant to provide life into the dead situations we find ourselves in during our walk. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness each time He answered the devil with, "It is written..." That is how we need to respond today as well when the enemy comes in like a flood. For every lie the enemy whispers into your life there is a corresponding truth in the Word of God. We have a choice every day. We either believe the lies of the enemy or we believe what saith the Lord!

Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1: 8-9

Has not the Lord commanded you? Be strong and courageous today beloved. Prosperity and success, as defined by God, await those who recognize these truths. We are the earthly sanctuary of the new covenant God lives within us now! We are the new Ark of that covenant! When we go out, we go out before the Lord. People should see His glory in us as go out. The seas should part before us as we carry the very presence of God with us. We just need to make sure that we carry with us the manna to remind us of His provision, the budded staff of Aaron to quell the spirit of rebellion within us, and the Word of God in our hearts to guide our way:

clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart. 2Corinthians 3: 3 (NKJV)

We are to be that living epistle carrying the glorious presence of God into a fallen and dark world. What does your letter say to the world today?

Reverend Anthony Wade February 26, 2010