Ark of Covenant
Exodus 25:10-11 (CJB)
10 “They are to make an ark of acacia-wood three-and-three-quarters feet long, two-and-a-quarter feet wide and two-and-a-quarter feet high. 11 You are to overlay it with pure gold — overlay it both inside and outside — and put a molding of gold around the top of it.
Exodus 25:22 (CJB)
22 There I will meet with you. I will speak with you from above the ark-cover, from between the two k’ruvim which are on the ark for the testimony, about all the orders I am giving you for the people of Isra’el.
The Ark of the Covenant was made of wooden boards which were overlaid with pure gold inside and out. The wood speaks of the sacrifice of God’s Son Jesus upon the wooden cross and being overlaid with pure gold speaks of the glorification of Jesus after his Resurrection as the Risen Lord in all of his Glory!
The ark cover or lid was made with two figures of cherubim or angelic beings facing the center of the cover with their faces bowed down. This speaks of angelic reverence for the covenant of God as written on the two stone tablets placed inside of the ark.
1 Kings 8:9 (NIV)
9 There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt.
The two-stone tablets were written with the finger of God on Mount Horeb (Sinai) in Arabia. Here God made an eternal covenant with the Israelites as represented by the words written in stone! God has bound himself by this everlasting covenant and this covenant governs God’s relations with humans upon the earth.
Exodus 31:18 (NIV)
18 When the LORD finished speaking to Moses on Mount Sinai, he gave him the two tablets of the Testimony, the tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God.
What makes the tablets sacred is the fact that they were written by the finger of God and this covenant originated in God. Jesus fulfilled this covenant by walking a blameless life on earth as a human and thus fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law on behalf of sinful humanity.
Exodus 34:28-29 (NLT2)
28 Moses remained there on the mountain with the LORD forty days and forty nights. In all that time he ate no bread and drank no water. And the LORD wrote the terms of the covenant—the Ten Commandments—on the stone tablets.
29 When Moses came down Mount Sinai carrying the two stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, he wasn’t aware that his face had become radiant because he had spoken to the LORD.
The face of Moses was radiant with the glory of God as he carried the tablets of the covenant down from Mount Horeb after meeting with God. This radiance speaks of the glory of God contained in this contractual covenant with humanity.
Although sinful humans were unable to keep the terms of the covenant with God this was later fulfilled by God’s Son Jesus who came to earth in the form of a man and defeated sin by walking blamelessly and perfect before God. Jesus fulfilled the terms of the covenant on behalf of sinful humanity (who were unable to do so of their own power).
Inner Circle With God
Exodus 33:17-23 (NIV)
17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
19 And the LORD said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
21 Then the LORD said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock.
22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”
God spoke to Moses and said to him that he was pleased with Moses and knew him by name. This means that Moses was a friend of God.
Deuteronomy 34:10 (NIV)
10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
Moses attained to the sacred level of being friends with God. Entering into the holy of holies speaks of believers entering into the presence of God through the atoning work of Christ which purified them from all sin.
Exodus 33:11 (NLT2)
11 Inside the Tent of Meeting, the LORD would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Afterward Moses would return to the camp, but the young man who assisted him, Joshua son of Nun, would remain behind in the Tent of Meeting.
Moses would enter into the tent of meeting and he then entered into the holy of holies and there he spoke with God face to face as a man speaks to his friend.
Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Entering the holy of holies and standing before the Ark of the Covenant speaks entering into friendship with God. Believers are authorized to come boldly into the presence of God because they were made worthy by the sacrifice of Jesus. They can approach the throne of grace and find mercy and grace and help in time of need.
Exodus 34:5-8 (NIV)
5 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD.
6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,
7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.
Once the believer has passed all of the stages necessary before entering the holy of holies then the last step is to come before God as a friend and here the believer will engage in worship before the Lord. The Lord is compassionate and gracious and slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness for all those who are believers and comply with his covenant.
But at the same time God is not to be trifled with in flippant or careless manner because the wrath of God goes out toward those who refuse to accept the free gift of eternal life found only in his Son Jesus and God will punish those who refuse lordship and want to live in their unrepentant sin and rebellion against God.
Exodus 25:22 (NIV)
22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
The voice of the Lord would be manifest between the two cherubim that were on the ark cover. Here the voice of God would speak to Moses and give him all of the commands to be passed onto the Israelites.
Entering into the holy of holies is a time for the believer to listen to the voice of God and receive any directions or commands from the Lord. But at this point the believer will be in the right state of mind and will have already completed his prayer petitions and now they can just spend time in the presence of God to receive direction and to minister to the Lord.
During their time of fellowship with God the believer can busy themselves with the things that are dear to the Lord’s heart. All of the previous steps prior to entering the holy of holies were all meant to prepare the heart and mind of the believer to meet with God.
When the believer occupies themselves with the things dear to the Lord’s heart then they can ask whatever they will and it will be done for them.
Exodus 33:17-18 (NIV)
17 And the LORD said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.”
18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”
Moses was a friend of God and dared to ask God to show him his glory! A friend is on the inner circle with God and can ask whatever they want and it will be done for them.
John 15:7 (NIV)
7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
When a believer is abiding in God and enters into friendship with God then they can ask whatever they want from God and it will be granted to them. This is how a believer can write their own ticket with God by entering into friendship with God just as Moses did.
Entering the holy of holies and standing before the Ark of the Covenant is a time of fellowship with God and a time to hear God’s voice and receive directions from the Lord. It is also a time of worship and being close to God within his inner circle as a friend of God.