The Ark of the Covenant was a chest originally constructed by Moses at God's command. It held the two tables of stone on which were engraved the ten commandments. It also contained a golden pot filled with manna, Aaron's rod and the tables of the covenant. The Ark was placed in the Sanctum Sanctorum or Holly of Hollies of King Solomon's Temple. The Ark and all it contained was lost when the Chaldeans from Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
The Ark was three feet nine inches long, two feet three inches wide, and two feet three inches deep. The ark was made of shittim wood overlaid with pure gold inside and out. On either side was placed two rings of gold for carrying. On the sides were two cherubim with out stretched wings covering the Ark. Over it rested a mist which was the Divine Presence and the voice of God.
The Ark is said be a conduit for the purpose of talking to God. King Solomon would sit on the ark and talk to the Divine Presence. He would receive guidance and insight through his conversations.
When the first temple was destroyed the Ark was lost. The temple was rebuilt and a new Ark constructed, but the mist did not appear in the second temple.
Rumors still persist about what happen to the Ark, but no one has discovered it, if it still exist. Again in the 1990's a new rumors has started that the Ark still exist and is being protected and watched over but no one has seen it.
Cherubim - A creature of gold facing each other on the Ark. Head and breast of a man, wings of an eagle, and belly of a lion.
[ Back to Masonic Short Talks ] [ Previous ] [ Next ]
