Exodus 37:1 And Bezaleel made the ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half was the length of it, and a cubit and a half the breadth of it, and a cubit and a half the height of it:
2 And he overlaid it with pure gold within and without, and made a crown of gold to it round about.
3 And he cast for it four rings of gold, to be set by the four corners of it; even two rings upon the one side of it, and two rings upon the other side of it.
4 And he made staves of shittim wood, and overlaid them with gold.
5 And he put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, to bear the ark.
6 And he made the mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half was the length thereof, and one cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
7 And he made two cherubims of gold, beaten out of one piece made he them, on the two ends of the mercy seat;
8 One cherub on the end on this side, and another cherub on the other end on that side: out of the mercy seat made he the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
9 And the cherubims spread out their wings on high, and covered with their wings over the mercy seat, with their faces one to another; even to the mercy seatward were the faces of the cherubims.
Exodus 36 deals with God’s chosen men assembling the Tabernacle. That structure was central to the life of the nation of Israel. As we mentioned it would eventually be replaced with the Temple. We have stated several times that all of this was leading up to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Jesus Christ is the Temple. He is the place to go to seek forgiveness of sin. His blood alone can remove sin. His life is the reason why His blood can forgive sins. He is the Bread of life. He is the Light of the world. He is the Good Shepherd. Jesus Christ is all that matters. Without His salvation there is no life. He embodies the Word.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Our world is screaming towards destruction. The reason being that the world has rejected God and His salvation. We talked about that in the Remembrance Day message I gave yesterday. We will talk about it again today in the Remembrance Day message that I will be giving.
World War II was about stopping a dictator who had two major objectives. He wanted to destroy the Jews and he wanted to destroy Christianity. He worked with two groups that are equally intent on doing the same thing — the Catholics and the Muslims. The reason the Catholics tolerate being called Christians is because they are using deception to paint themselves as Christians and the majority of people are willing to buy into that deception. The reason being that those people do not want to accept the fact that God has given us the absolute Truth and that He has preserved that absolute Truth for all generations.
In chapter 37, God directed Moses to record other important matters regarding the religious life that He required for the children of Israel. Again, in verse 1 Bezaleel is the chief man involved in the work. He was chosen by God and equipped by God for the important work of the vessels of the Tabernacle. Bezaleel had to submit to God in order to be used by Him. In our text for today, we read of his work in making the ark.
The ark was the central part of the holiest place. In the ark would be the Ten Commandments and the bowl of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded. The cover for the ark would be the mercy seat. On top of that would be the cherubims.
We see that the ark was made of shittim wood. It was then overlaid with gold. The size of this ark was exact. It had a crown round about it. It was not just a plain looking rectangular box. Not many people would ever see this ark, but it still needed to be built according to God’s specifications. It was overlaid in gold because it was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The high priest would sprinkle the blood of bulls and goats on that ark and on the mercy seat once a year. That blood would be an atonement for the sins of the people. Jesus’ blood would be shed once and His blood would be presented at the mercy seat in heaven. That blood is the only way for anyone to be forgiven of their sin.
In our text we read that this ark needed to be made in such a way that it could be transported from one place to another, as God would direct the nation to travel. There was a specific way it needed to be transported. It could not be put on a cart. It needed to be carried from place to place. God’s appointed men needed to carry that ark from place to place.
The mercy seat, which covered the ark needed to be made of pure gold. This depicted the purity and holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gold also reminded the priest of the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. God set very clear and detailed instructions for the high priest to be able to enter the holiest place and offer an atonement for the nation.
Above that mercy seat were the two cherubims, made of beaten gold. These two cherubims represent God’s angelic messengers. We know that on several occasions, angels ministered unto the Lord Jesus Christ. In Isaiah 6 we read of the Seraphim. They are closely related to the Cherubim. Ezekiel also recorded a scene in heaven that involved cherubim. The high priest would be given a constant reminder of the special place he was entering and how important it was for him to be in a right relationship with God to be able to enter that place.
We know that later on in the life of the nation of Israel, the ark lost its meaning. Eli’s two sons stole that ark from the holiest place and they took it into battle with them. They assumed they could drag God wherever they wanted Him to be. The ark was still covered in gold and the mercy seat was still made of pure gold and the cherubims were still there made of beaten gold. However, God removed His presence from the ark and He allowed the Philistines to capture it.
He could have killed Hophni and Phinehas instantly for stealing that ark from its designated place. He chose to kill them another way. He would use the ungodly Philistines to kill them. The Philistines needed to learn that the God of Israel was holy. He wanted to be their God, but they did not want Him. They needed to know that He could not be manipulated like their false gods were.
In our text, Bezaleel prepared that ark exactly as God demanded. He did not adjust the measurements or the design in any way. He knew the fear of the LORD and was not about to interfere with the will of God. It would be wise for people today to understand the importance of submitting to the will of God, rather than trying to make Him into something He is not. No one has the ability to change God. The many imaginary gods of today will all be cast aside at the great white throne judgment. Thousands of people will appear there in shock and dreadful fear. It will be too late for them. Today those reading this have the opportunity of examining their belief system. There are some who are born again. There are others who are curious but so far, unwilling to submit to the will of God. Our prayer is that those people will repent toward God and be saved while they still have the opportunity. Soon it will be too late.
Pastor Bartel
