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Ark of the Covenant
The sacred
box made of
shittim wood covered with gold
that was borne by the Hebrews in their journey in the desert. As recounted
in the
Book of Exodus, the ark was about four
feet long, two feet wide, and two feet high, and plated with pure gold. Its lid, the
'mercy seat', was of solid gold and had two cherubs with outstretched wings.
The Ark was carried on two gold-plated poles inserted through four gold
rings fastened to its four feet.
The ark contained the tablets of the
Law (Deuteronomy 10:2),
a pot of manna and Aaron's rod
(Hebrews 9:4),
and was the focal point of the presence of God. In fact it was believed to
be the literal manifestation of God on Earth.
The Ark of the Covenant
was also one of the most
terrifying artifacts illustrated in all of biblical
history. A golden chest with the power to clobber men
dead, to the ancient Hebrews the Ark was both a
divine expression and a amulet so powerful that
they carried it with them into battle — a weapon of
God.
The Ark was kept at
Shiloh until it was captured by the
Philistines and set up in their temple at
Ashdod. It eventually found a resting-place in
the Temple of Solomon, where it remained until the fall of Jerusalem, when
(2 Maccabees 2)
Jeremiah hid it in a cave until God should gather his people again. By New Testament times
apparently it no longer existed (Hebrews 9:4-5).
Other sources say that Menelik, son of Solomon and the
Ethiopian queen Makeda, managed to bring the holy Ark to Ethiopia, but
scholars believe that this legend was originated by the kings of Ethiopia
themselves, in a deliberate attempt to assert their right to the throne
through their descent from Solomon.
So potent was the Ark as an emblem to the Jewish
nation, its rediscovery would shake the world, wrote American explorer
Antonia Futterer in 1927. Furthermore, finding the Ark would "change the
belief of millions of people of all nations for the better; be the greatest
blow skeptics ever received; and perhaps be the greatest modern proof of the
authenticity of Holy Writ."
See King Solomon,
Casting Black Magic Spells,
Commanding Spirits,
The Tarot Store and
Divination & Scrying Tools and
Supplies.
Sources: (1)
Quest For The Past,
Reader's Digest Association, Inc; (2)
Mysteries of the Unknown Series, Mystic Quests,
Time-Life Books.
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