Exodus 25:22,  “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”

“There I will meet with thee!” The Ark of the Covenant was the most important piece of furniture in the tabernacle, for it was the meeting place of God. Everything begins with God — “In the beginning God.”  Out of the fifty chapters of instruction given regarding the tabernacle, the first commandments pertained to the construction of the Ark.  This is because the tabernacle, like our lives, without God’s presence would have been nothing but an empty tent, making it pointless.

Every aspect of this piece pointed to sinful man’s only possible Meeting Place with God,  the Lord Jesus Christ.

• The Construction of the Ark.

Constructed of Shittim wood.  This common tree in the desert area is a picture for us of Christ’s humanity.

Isaiah 53:2, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”

Covered With Gold. The desert wood was covered with gold, a picture of deity. A golden crown around the top of the ark pointed to the fact that we serve a Sovereign King.

Philippians 2:8-10, “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;”

• The Contents of The Ark.

Like the other arks of the Bible, God’s Ark functioned as a container. Noah’s ark contained Noah, his family, and all the animals; an ark of bulrushes contained Moses; and the Ark of the Covenant contained Aaron’s rod, the pot of manna, and the Ten Commandments. (Heb. 9:4)

“And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.” Exodus 25:16

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines testimony as, “a solemn declaration or affirmation made for the purpose of establishing or proving some fact. Such affirmation in judicial proceedings may be under oath.”

a.) The Manna Testified of Jesus the Word of God and the Bread of Life.

Deuteronomy 8:3, “And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”

John 6:35, “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

John 6:41, “The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.”

b.) Aaron’s Rod Testified of Jesus Our Great High Priest.  When the high priest Aaron’s rod “budded,” it was resurrecting or coming back to life from the dead. Jesus, our High Priest, rose again from the grave, finishing His redemptive work and is our eternal High Priest (Hebrews 8:1). He sits at the right hand of the Father on our behalf.

c.) The Ten Commandments Testified of the sinfulness of man and his need of redemption. They also spoke of our Perfect Savior, the One who was able to bear the full weight of the law.

Matthew 5:17 ,”Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”

Galatians 4:4-5, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

• The Carrying of the Ark.

God never followed His people around, they followed Him. Across the wilderness, through the Jordan, and around the walls of Jericho, the Ark of God led the way. The Children of Israel’s duty was to seek and follow God’s presence.

Jeremiah 29:13, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

Luke 11:9-10, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.'”