Raiders of the Lost Art

First of all, no, I didn’t misspell the title.  Nearly everyone is familiar with the movie hinted at by the title, or at least they’re familiar with the object of the movie – the Ark of the Covenant.  What exactly was the Ark?  It was a boxy device designed to carry the promise of God’s love for mankind.  Though that description might sound like the ark that Noah and his family used to escape the flood that decimated the earth, this is a different ark, but designated for the same purpose.  And God was pretty specific about how He wanted it made. 

“They are to make an ark of acacia wood, 45 inches long, 27 inches wide, and 27 inches high.  Overlay it with pure gold; overlay it both inside and out. Also make a gold molding all around it.  Cast four gold rings for it and place them on its four feet, two rings on one side and two rings on the other side. Make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. Insert the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark in order to carry the ark with them. The poles are to remain in the rings of the ark; they must not be removed from it. Put the tablets of the testimony that I will give you into the ark. Make a mercy seat of pure gold…Make two cherubim of gold; make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat…At its two ends, make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat. The cherubim are to have wings spread out above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and are to face one another. The faces of the cherubim should be toward the mercy seat. Set the mercy seat on top of the ark and…I will meet with you there above the mercy seat, between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the testimony; I will speak with you from there about all that I command you regarding the Israelites.”  (Exodus 25:10-22)

If you read all that, it sounds just like the Ark pictured in the Raiders movie.  Instead of people, this Ark was filled with the symbols of God’s perfection, His provision, and His power.  “The tablets” mentioned in the passage refer to the stone tablets that contained the 10 Commandments delivered to Moses at Mount Sinai.  Later, two other items were added to the Ark (see Hebrews 9:4).  The second item in the Ark was a golden jar containing the manna that was delivered to the wandering Israelites every morning during all four decades of their desert journey.  The third item was the staff that belonged to Aaron, Moses’ brother.  This staff, the same old piece of gnarly wood that Aaron had toted around for years, had actually bloomed and bore fruit (Numbers 17:8).  Life and fruitfulness from something that was once dead.  Doesn’t that sound like a lot like the faithful believers who follow Christ?

So this amazingly beautiful, gold-wrapped box was filled with the symbol of God’s perfect character, the sign of His constant provision for our needs, and a stick that showed He can make dead things alive and fruitful.  If YOU could put together a “boxy device designed to carry the promise of God’s love for mankind”, what could you have possibly chosen that would have better pictured the amazing truth of what Jesus does for you each day? 

So why not try this today?  Instead of staring at your computer screen until your eyes glaze over, or watching the “idiot box” for hours, commercials and all, try to picture in your mind’s eye the contents of that sacred box.  Use your imagination to look over each one carefully, considering the love and power behind each item.  And then thank the One who makes the power of the Ark real in your own life.  Because if you can master the art of reflection and worship, then nothing has really been lost….

Jacob