Ark of the Covenant

The Ark of the Covenant was an ornate, gold-plated wooden chest that in biblical times housed the two tablets of the Law given to Moses by God. The Ark rested in the Holy of Holies inside the Tabernacle and later within the ancient Temple of Jerusalem. It was seen only by the high priest of the Israelites on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

The Levites carried the Ark with them during the Hebrews’ wanderings in the wilderness. Then, following the conquest of Canaan, the Ark sat at Shiloh, from where it was occasionally carried into battle by the Israelites. Ultimately, the Ark was taken to Jerusalem by King David, and was eventually placed in the Temple built by King Solomon.

In Exodus 25:10, Moses receives the command to build an ark of acacia wood. Within this ark were to be placed the tables of the law, and upon the top of the ark was to be placed a golden plate upon which would sit two cherubim with raised wings, facing each other, and covering the ark. From the place between the two cherubim, God promised to speak to Moses and give him commands in reference to the Israelites.

The Ark was built by the Israelites shortly after they fled Egypt during the Exodus, which is traditionally dated around 1446 BC by biblical chronology. Exact dates vary among scholars due to different interpretations of ancient texts and archaeological evidence. The construction of the Ark occurred after the Israelites reached Mount Sinai, where Moses received the commandments and other laws from God.

The detailed instructions for building the Ark are found in the Book of Exodus, and were given as part of an effort to establish a worship system and a covenant relationship between God and the Israelites. The ark was designed to be a symbol of the presence of God in the midst of His people. An area on the lid was referred to as the “Mercy Seat,” and it was onto this, once a year, that a priest who entered the holy tent would sprinkle blood from a sacrificed animal to atone for the sins of Israel. Along with the tables of the law, other contents believed to have been placed in the ark were a pot of Manna from Israel's time in the wilderness and the rod of Aaron. According to tradition, the sacred ark was built at Mount Sinai and was taken by the Israelites along with them to Canaan.

When Israel was conquered by the Philistines, the ark was taken from Shiloh in order that Yahweh should aid His people. When Philistines triumphed again, they captured the ark. However, the many misfortunes that overtook them made them think that the possession of the ark was a curse to them and they sent it back. The ark settled in a holy tent for priests until King Solomon placed it in the Holy of Holies of this temple. The ark is believed by many to have been destroyed with the destruction of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar.

Where is the Ark?

The whereabouts of the ark of the covenant is unclear. The last mention of the ark in Scripture is when King Josiah commands it be returned to the temple in Jerusalem in as part of honoring the Passover, ( 2 Chron. 35:3).

Subsequently, Jerusalem was invaded twice by Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar. We read of his second siege, around 600BC, in 2 Kings: "At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold."

The location of the Ark of the Covenant remains a great mystery and has inspired numerous theories and numerous explorations. Among the speculations are the following:

1. Some scholars believe that the Ark was destroyed during the numerous conquests of Jerusalem, particularly the Babylonian conquest in 586 BCE. They argue that such an important artifact would have been mentioned if it had survived or been relocated.
2. Some traditions suggest that the Ark was hidden somewhere beneath the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to protect it from being captured during the numerous invasions of the city. This theory is popular among those who believe the Ark remains in the Holy Land.
3. One of the best known theories is that the Ark resides in the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims that the Ark was brought to Ethiopia by Menelik I, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.
4. Another theory suggests that the Ark was hidden in Egypt, specifically in tunnels beneath the ancient temple complex at Tanis. That theory was popularized by the fictional film "Raiders of the Lost Ark," although there is no historical evidence to support this claim.
5. Some speculations suggest that the Knights Templar or the Crusaders might have found the Ark and taken it to Europe. According to these notions, it could be hidden in France or possibly transported to the UK. There is no concrete evidence to back up such claims.
6. According to the apocryphal book of 2 Maccabees, the prophet Jeremiah hid the Ark in a cave on Mount Nebo, (in modern-day Jordan), as the Babylonians approached Jerusalem. This account is not considered canonical within Judaism or Christianity.
7. A mystical view held by some religious groups is that the Ark is hidden and will not be revealed until a prophesied time in the future, possibly linked to messianic expectations.

Ultimately, we will likely never know the fate of the ark because the Lord does not want Israel and the world to remain focused on it now that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, has appeared to fulfill everything the ark represented.

Jer. 3:16 “It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the LORD, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the LORD.’And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again."

The Apostle John writes later of an ark in Heaven, ( Revelation 11:19), and as we can read earlier in Hebrews 9:23, the earthly temple and ark are only a "copy of the heavenly things". So this ark in heaven is the true original version from which Moses modeled his construction, which one day we as believers will see with all the majesty of heaven.