Exodus 25:10  And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.
11  And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.
12  And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.
13  And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
14  And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
15  The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.
16  And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.
17  And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.
18  And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
Exo 25:19  And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.
Exo 25:20  And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
Exo 25:21  And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
Exo 25:22  And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

The Ark of the Covenant was an important item in the Tabernacle. It would be placed in the holiest place. The high priest would be the only one who would have access to that place after the Tabernacle was built. Inside that Ark would be the Ten Commandments. That was the basic moral law for the nation of Israel. The New Testament tells us that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of this law. The Ten Commandments were never designed to save anyone. The apostle Paul wrote:

Galatians 3:24  Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

As we look at God’s instructions to Moses regarding the making of this Ark, we need to keep in mind Its purpose. It was never designed to be worshipped. The nation of Israel would stray quite a ways from God’s way and in the time of Eli, his sons would take that Ark into battle against the Philistines, thinking they could use it as a “good luck charm” in battle. God showed them that He could remove His blessing from that Ark and it just became a fancy box. The Philistines learned that this was a “box” they should not play with. The nation of Israel was also reminded of this fact when that Ark came back into their camp. King David would later also learn that God had a specific manner in which that Ark needed to be transported. We need to keep in mind that this Ark was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are so many people today who have such a flippant attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ. They assume, because they are not being killed, God must approve of their abuses. God teaches us of His holiness often. He establishes the fact and then He gives man the opportunity to choose to either submit to Him or go their own way. Every so often, He reminds people in very strong ways of His holiness. He is always holy. He always requires holiness of His people. In fact He requires holiness of all people. Only those who turn to Him in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation will be able to know His peace and His blessing.
I heard a man, who is the head of a mission organization, praying today. I do not remember who he was addressing as he began his prayer. I know he ended his prayer without acknowledging the name of Jesus Christ. That prayer might have sounded good to some people, but it did not go anywhere. Those who truly know the Lord also understand the need to submit to the Lord. God is a God of order. He does not spoil any true child of God’s joy by being a God of order. In fact those who are truly saved, will appreciate His order and they will grow in their understanding of that order.
We read in our text that God gave specific measurements for this Ark. God also stated what type of wood needed to be used to make this Ark. After making this Ark, it needed to be overlaid with pure gold. This is where some of that offering that God had commanded of the children of Israel, would be used. Gold is used at times in the Bible to depict deity. As we mentioned, this Ark was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ. The gold is what the priest would see when he would enter that holiest place. He needed to be mindful of Who he was approaching in that place. It was not just a box with some angels on it. This “box” had a specific purpose that needed to be respected.
We notice as well that the Ten Commandments would be inside that Ark. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of the Law. That is why we read in Romans 10:4

Romans 10:4  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

No man can keep God’s law perfectly, yet that is God’s requirement for man. He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is perfect, to suffer and die on the cross of Calvary and to shed His blood there to pay for our sin. Salvation is never by works. It is by grace through faith. That grace is found in Christ and our faith must be in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we continue to read about the construction of this Ark we learn that there needed to be a way to transport It from place to place. The nation of Israel would spend forty years in the wilderness and they would be moving around in that wilderness. When they moved according to God’s direction, they needed to disassemble the Tabernacle and then assemble it again at the next location. This Ark also needed to be transported to the new location.
That Ark could only be carried by the priests. It was never to be put on a cart. The nation of Israel would be reminded of the importance of this further on. The staves, which were special poles made to slip through the four rings in this Ark, needed to be made of shittim wood and overlaid with gold as well.
On top of this Ark, was to be the mercy seat. This seat was also to be crafted by skilled men. It was to be made of pure gold. No one but God can forgive sins. He does that through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary has no part in that forgiveness. She is not the co-redemptrix with Jesus Christ. She is not the mother of God. She was a chosen vessel of the Lord for the purpose of giving flesh to the Son of God. Jesus declared:

Luke 11:27  And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
28  But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

The Catholics would be wise to read their Bibles instead of blindly following the lies of the Pope. I heard a man today talk about “evangelical Catholics”. I wonder what that might be. It certainly is not a saved Catholic. A saved Catholic would no longer be a Catholic. That person would renounce that wicked religion and cast down every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.
It is sad that people are so defiant against God’s Word and looking for ways to broaden the narrow way.
On top of this mercy seat, would be the cherubims, made of beaten gold. The Bible mentions the cherubims in Genesis 3:24 where they were assigned to guard the way to the tree of life; in Exodus 25:18-20; I Kings 6:23-28 they are a pattern of things in Heaven (Hebrews 8:5; 9:23); and in Ezekiel 10:1-22 they were seen by Ezekiel. They have a special place in God’s economy.
Moses was given clear and precise instructions on the making of this Ark and the mercy seat and the cherubims. None of this was to be used as an idol. The cost of making it was also not to be a hindrance. God is worthy of all that we have. We cannot pay our way into His presence. We can exalt Him when we show proper respect for Him.
Moses needed to be alert and pay attention to the instructions given to him. He needed to be able to pass this on to those who would do the work of making the various vessels. The finished product needed to carry the significance that God designed them for.
Again, God is not a mean God. He invites man to come into His presence. We must understand that He has designed the way in which we can come before Him. Those who turn to Him in repentance and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ have the privilege of fellowshipping with Him.
Pastor Bartel