The Ark of the Covenant, Is You!

Isaiah 58 Ministries                                                   Valentine’s Day, 2014

Pastor Leah Svensson

Teaching Text

1 Kings 8:1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the fathers’ houses of the people of Israel, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 And all the men of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. 4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the LORD to its place in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the Most Holy Place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim overshadowed the ark and its poles. 8 And the poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the Holy Place before the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside. And they are there to this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone(a) that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the Holy Place, a cloud filled the house of the LORD, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD. 

(a) Ten Commandments

1 Kings 8:27-39“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that may be open night and day your eyes toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

31 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 33 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and acknowledge your name and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

35 “When heaven is shut up and there is no rain because they have sinned against you, if they pray toward this place and acknowledge your name and turn from their sin, when you afflict them, 36 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel, when you teach them the good way in which they should walk, and grant rain upon your land, which you have given to your people as an inheritance.

37 “If there is famine in the land, if there is pestilence or blight or mildew or locust or caterpillar, if their enemy besieges them in the land at their gates, whatever plague, whatever sickness there is, 38 whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house,39 then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways (for you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind), 40 that they may bless you all the days that they live in the land that you gave to our fathers.

The hearts and minds of men are in the hands of God.

                                   

      
                The Ark of the Covenant

God's Law

    Old Testament was made between men and God. Blood was shed to seal this covenant. Men sacrificed many animals on an altar as a symbol of their agreement with God. Men agreed to have Yahweh only as their God and to obey his Ten Commandments written by God on Stone Tablets.
         
    New Testament was made between men and God. Blood was shed to seal this covenant. God sacrificed his only Son, Jesus, on the cross as a symbol of his agreement with men to forgive their sins, heal them, write his Ten Commandments on their hearts. God will be their Father and men will be transformed by the Power of the Holy Spirit, born again by the seed of Almighty God, to be Saints, Children of God.

  In the Old Testament Solomon built a temple for God to live in.  Of course God doesn’t live in a temple for the heavens are his throne and the earth his footstool.  To testify that God did live amongst them God had Solomon build a temple.  Within the Temple was the ”Most Holy Place”. This is where they placed “The Ark of the Covenant.”

  _{Exodus29: 46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who brought them out of the land of Egypt that I might dwell among them. I am the LORD their God.}

  In Exodus19 God established his covenant with men.  God set them free from oppression, (Egypt), and healed them.  Then God established his kingdom, his laws, The Ten Commandments. God became King. He wrote Ten Commandments for his chosen people to obey in order to a “good” King. God’s laws are the same for everyone and the punishments for breaking those laws are the same for everyone. God had established his government with men. As King he will protect them, provide for them and bless their labors. God made these men “priests” and the whole nation “Holy”.

_{Exodus19:1 On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. 2 They set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, and they encamped in the wilderness. There Israel encamped before the mountain, 3 while Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”}

_{“The Ark of the Covenant” is also called the Ark of the testimony.}
Exodus 30: 6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above the ark of the testimony, in front of the mercy seat that is above the testimony, where I will meet with you.

    
    The “testimony” or “Covenant” is “The Ten Commandments”.  “The Ten Commandments” are God’s agreement with man and they are very, very holy.  The Ten Commandments are the essence of God; who he is, what he does, how he rules the Universe.

    Moses met with God in the presence of the “Covenant”, “Testimony”, “The Ten Commandments.”   The High Priests who had the responsibility of praying once a year for the forgiveness of sin for the people did so in the Presence of “The Ten Commandments.”

  God promised that the people could turn to God by looking towards the “Temple, The Ark of the Covenant”.

Justice  Teaching text: 1 Kings 8:32 then hear in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the guilty by bringing his conduct on his own head, and vindicating the righteous by rewarding him according to his righteousness.

Forgiveness 1 Kings 8:27-39“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! 28 Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O LORD my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, 29 that may be open night and day your eyes toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. 30 And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

Restoration 1 Kings 8:31 “If a man sins against his neighbor and is made to take an oath and comes and swears his oath before your altar in this house, 33 “When your people Israel are defeated before the enemy because they have sinned against you, and if they turn again to you and “acknowledge your name” and pray and plead with you in this house, 34 then hear in heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them again to the land that you gave to their fathers.

     

God’s name rests upon The Ten Commandments. If you are thinking about God, praying to God, looking for God you cannot help but think about The Ten Commandments.  The Ten Commandments are God’s agreement with mankind; God’s testament, Covenant in both the old and new “Testament”, “Covenant”.

Old & New Testament
The whole Bible in one sentence.

    

           

Face to Face with God

In the New Testament God’s presence, God’s “name”, God’s Ten Commandments becomes man born of a woman, in the form of a baby in a manager.                              

                  

                                        “Jesus”

  Jesus in the form of a human body is the “temple”. Deep within is the “Most Holy Place” where the “Ark of the Covenant”, “The Ten Commandments” are placed.   God’s name now lives in a temple, a body. Jesus testifies that God lives amongst men. 

    See Hebrews, 1 Timothy below for scripture references

     

You!  The Ark of the Covenant  

  What is so fantastic about the New Testament - that the Old Testament did not give man- is the “Holy Spirit” within.  Jesus calls it the “Kingdom” inside.   God, through the power of the Holy Spirit puts “The Ark of the Covenant” within those who turn to him. He places “his laws”, his covenant, his Testimony, “The Ten Commandments” in us, written in our hearts, in ”the most Holy Place”. We are no  longer named “sinners”, but “saints”, having God’s name, “Jesus”, we are forgiven, empowered not to sin, and lead by the Holy Spirit every second in “a calling”, “vocation”.

       

The presence of God with Man

The New Testament says over and over again be “Holy”.  Christians are “Holy” Men and Women, Children. Christians are not supposed to sin anymore. Christians are to be pure, clean, gentle, kind, “exposing sin”, destroying the violence and the harm it does. Christians are to heal those oppressed by the devil. See what happens to a Christian who sins in 1 Timothy  below.  God’s wrath, his vengeance!  This is why so many who have come to know salvation get sick and have terrible things happen.

  





             It takes “faith” in God to have his protection and to know the “tricks” of the devil to avoid falling or being “pushed and shoved” into sin.  Continue to Part II; Shhhh......God is speaking to see “Great News”, build up, strengthen and restore your “faith.” Continue to Part III for all scripture references.

P.S. The secret of the Ten Commandments is honesty. Not from us, or others. God talks to us, we hear and then we speak what God has told us. Jesus is the "truth". The anointing is the truth. We can believe something is the truth but until Jesus says it is true we don't know for sure.  All truth comes from asking God what is the truth? The just shall live by faith, not by what we can see, hear or even feel. For our flesh can be blind,  not perceive the "whole truth". We would say someone is dead. Jesus says they are only sleeping. Jesus can resurrect Lazarus from the grave, we say his body now stinks.  Peter said, no Jesus you will not die. Jesus says I came for that very reason: to die.  Don't believe what you think is being honest until you have talked to God.