IN%"tdm7695@geopsun.tamu.edu" 9-OCT-1990 03:32:05.61 (10/19/90)
THE ARK OF THE TESTIMONY Exodus 25:10 says, "And they shall make an ark of acacia wood." According to verse 22, this ark was called "the ark of the testimony." In the book of Exodus the testimony refers to the law. God regarded the law decreed through Moses on Mount Sinai as His testimony. The photograph of a person is a testimony of that person. Suppose I have never met a certain brother. When someone shows me a photograph of that brother, I see a testimony of what that brother is like. As a description of the brother, his photograph is his testimony. We know from the first chapter of Genesis that in His work of creation God accomplished many things. However, Genesis 1 does not reveal what kind of God our God is. We do not know from this chapter whether He is a God of love or of hate, a God of darkness or of light. We do not know whether He is holy or common, righteous or unrighteous. The law was given that we might have a portrait, a description, of God and thereby understand what He is. For this reason, God considers the law as His testimony. As a testimony of God, the law is a type of Christ. Christ is the living portrait of God, His living definition and description. Therefore, Christ is the real testimony of God. Just as Christ is the testimony of God, so is the church the testimony of Christ. The church is a portrait, a picture, of Christ and is therefore the testimony of Christ. We have seen that the ark is called the ark of testimony or the ark of the testimony. The meaning is the same whether or not the definite article is used. Furthermore, the tabernacle is called the tabernacle of the testimony (Exodus 38:21), because the testimony is in the ark, and the ark is in the tabernacle. In these messages on the last sixteen chapters of Exodus, when we speak of the ark of the testimony or the tabernacle of the testimony, we should understand that the word testimony refers to the law. However, it refers to the law was a definition of God, not as commandments for people to keep. In the previous messages on Exodus 19 and 20 we emphasized the fact that, contrary to the concept of the Jews and many Christians, the law was given not for us to keep, but to reveal what kind of God our God is. As the testimony of God, the law is indeed lovable. Romans 7:12 says, "So that the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good." In Romans 7:14 Paul says that "the law is spiritual." The law is holy, just, good, and spiritual because it is a portrait of God. We should love the law because it is a picture of our God. God's testimony, the law, was placed in the ark for safekeeping. The ark can be compared to a safe used to keep important documents or personal valuables. In the tabernacle of the testimony there was a "safe," a box, where the law, God's testimony, was kept. Thus, the ark of the testimony was a divine safe for the preservation of God's "photograph". I. THE FIRST ITEM OF THE FURNITURE OF THE TABERNACLE The ark of the testimony was the first item of the furniture of the tabernacle. The tabernacle had a number of important furnishings: the altar and the laver in the outer court; the showbread table, the lampstand, and the incense altar in the Holy Place; and the ark in the Holy of Holies, the inmost chamber of the tabernacle. The first of these furnishings was the ark. As the first item, it occupied the place of preeminence. We know from Exodus 40:2-3 that it was in the tabernacle, and from 40:20-21 that it was the Holy of Holies. To have a proper understanding of the tabernacle with its furnishings, we should have clearly in mind a diagram of the of the tabernacle including the altar and the laver in the outer court, the showbread table, the lampstand, and the incense altar in the Holy Place, and the ark of the Holy of the Holies. We need to have a clear understanding of the location of each item in relation to the tabernacle. II. TYPIFYING CHRIST A. As the Embodiment of God's Testimony The ark, the incense altar, the showbread table, and the lampstand are all types of Christ. Christ has many aspects, and these four items show forth different aspects of Him. As a type of Christ, the ark typifies Christ as the embodiment of God's testimony. Christ is the embodiment of God. The ark as the embodiment of God's testimony typifies Christ as the embodiment of God. All that God is, is embodied in Christ. Colossians 2:9 says that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily. Our use of the word embodiment is based on this verse. Because God is embodied in Christ, He is portrayed, defined, and explained by Christ. Christ is God's definition, His explanation. As God's testimony, Christ is typified by the ark of the testimony. In Colossians 2:9 we have a clear statement saying that the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ bodily. With the ark of the testimony we have a picture, a type, which corresponds to this direct statement. In teaching children to read, a teacher often shows a picture of an object with the word identifying it underneath. For example, there may be a picture of an airplane, and underneath the picture the word "airplane". In the Bible we have both pictures and words. Concerning Christ as the embodiment of God's testimony, we have the word in Colossians 2:9 and the picture of the ark in the book of Exodus. B. For God's Redeemed People to Contact Him and Enjoy Him God is in Christ. Apart from Christ we cannot meet God. Not only is God in Christ, but Christ Himself actually is God. John 1:1 says that the Word, which is Christ, was with God and was God. In Romans 9:5 Paul says that Christ is God blessed forever. Jesus, a carpenter from Nazareth, was the very God over all and blessed forever. The only way for us to contact God and enjoy Him is through Christ and in Christ. The ark as a type of Christ indicates that God's redeemed people can contact God and enjoy God in Christ and through Christ. Because the Jews do not contact God in Christ, they do not have genuine contact with God, and they certainly do not enjoy God, even though they may worship Him. It is doubtful that today's Jews even have the concept of enjoying God. Instead, they emphasize fearing God, worshipping God, exalting God, and and adoring God. They may wonder how we can speak of contacting God and enjoying Him. But the New Testament reveals that God has come in Christ that we may contact Him, receive Him, and enjoy Him. As the ark of the testimony, Christ is for us to contact God and enjoy God. ... ... ... -------------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpts from Message 84 of the Life Study of Exodus by Witness Lee, published by the Living Stream Ministry, P.O. Box 2121, Anaheim, CA 92804. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * Thomas Moriarty | Internet: * * 808 San Saba Dr., | tdm7695@geopsun.tamu.edu * * College Station, Texas USA | tdm7695@calvin.tamu.edu * * 77845 | Bitnet: * * | tdm7695@tamgeop.bitnet * * Home Telephone Number: | t1m7695@tamvenus.bitnet * * (409) 693-5829 | * ------------------------------------------------------------------------