The story of the ark of the covenant

96 Pages·2014·1.2 MB·English

by  Hugo Bouter

THE STORYOF
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT
from Mount Sinai to Mount Moriah
The Story of the Ark of the Covenant by Hugo Bouter
Cover illustration: The Tabernacle in the Wilderness
Copyright © 2002 Chapter Two Trust, London
Originally published in Dutch in 1984
First English edition - 1988
Second edition - 1993
Third, revised edition - 2002
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or storage in any information
retrieval system, without written permission from Chapter Two.
ISBN 1 85307 191 9 hardback
Printed in the Netherlands
Bible quotations are from the New King James Version
HUGO BOUTER
T S
HE TORY OF
A
THE RK
C
OF THE OVENANT
from Mount Sinai to Mount Moriah
CHAPTER TWO
FOUNTAINHOUSE- CONDUITMEWS, LONDON
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“Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place,
You and the ark of Your strength”.
Psalm 132:8

CONTENTS
PREFACETOTHETHIRDEDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The construction of the ark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The ark - the throne of the LORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
The different names of the ark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The transportation of the ark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The ark - a type of Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2. FROMMOUNTSINAITOSHILOH(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
At the mountain of God . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
The Church as a spiritual house . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
The journey through the wilderness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Israel’s failure in the wilderness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
3. FROMMOUNTSINAITOSHILOH(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Israel crosses the Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
The river of death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
The conquest of Jericho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
The ark finds a resting place at Shiloh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4. FROMSHILOHTOMOUNTZION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Samuel and the ark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
The ark captured by the Philistines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
The ark in the country of the Philistines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
The ark returned to Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
The ark at Beth Shemesh and at Kirjath Jearim . . . . . . . . . . . 68
The ark brought up to Mount Zion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
5. FROMMOUNTZIONTOMOUNTMORIAH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The worship before the ark on Mount Zion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The ark and the temple site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Other references to the ark in Second Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
The ark brought into the temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
The final part of the ark’s story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION
T
he reason why the story of the ark of the covenant is so
important is that the ark was the throne of God, His dwelling
place in the midst of His people Israel from which He exercised
His authority and His administration over them. Indissolubly
connected with the ark is therefore the fact of God’s presence
in the midst of His chosen people.
The eventful story of the ark from Mount Sinai through the
wilderness to the Promised Land, its crossing of the river
Jordan, its wanderings in the land of Canaan, searching for its
final resting place – all these events contain many important
lessons and not least for the people of God in the present
dispensation of grace. For it is here we are shown how the
people of God behaved in the presence of God and also how
God’s enemies experienced His presence when they came in
contact with it (and one especially thinks of the Philistines, who
are a type of nominal Christians).
The events surrounding the ark present the following
questions to us as Christians: What is our attitude towards
God’s presence amongst His own? Do we recognize His rights,
and do we grant Him the central place that is due to Him?
Apart from a number of technical and textual changes this
third edition is largely similar to the previous revised edition.
May God graciously use the reading of this book for His own
glory and the benefit of His children.
London, Spring 2002
9
“Amere journey from Egypt to Canaan would not have constituted
true pilgrimage. Many a one had travelled that road without being a
stranger and pilgrim with God... Amerely toilsome, self-denying life,
even though endued with that moral courage which becomes God’s
strangers on earth, will not do.
In order to make that journey the journey of God’s Israel, the ark must
be in their company, borne by a people ransomed by blood out of
Egypt, and tending, in their faith of a promise, to Canaan... And what
ark is in the midst of the saints now for safe and holy and honourable
conduct through the desert world, if not the name of the Son of God?
What mystery is committed to our stewardship and testimony, if not
that?”
J.G. Bellett in ‘The Son of God’.