Real Ark of the Covenant of Wood NOT Gilded!

When people think of the Ark of the Covenant they straight away think of a large golden casket with angels on top and more so often they start "extrapolating" how this chest was some kind of alien technology like a weapon or a communication device. Few know about the second Ark, the one that contained the actual slates God himself wrote the commandments upon, and not the two Moses broke when he saw Aaron had made the golden calf:

Deuteronomy 10:1ff At that time the LORD said unto me, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou brakest , and thou shalt put them in the ark.

My theory is that the golden Ark was made to be a decoy, while the REAL Ark was the wooden one, containing the original slates God wrote upon with his finger. Thieves want gold, not divine lectures in moral codes, so in order to keep the original tablets safe, they built a scaled up golden one as a decoy. Putting the OT under scrutiny will show you that the golden Ark was indeed stolen, presumably dissapeared or was destroyed and rebuilt several times, while the wooden Ark is hardly mentioned outside the Torah verse I quoted above.

In the quote above we see that Moses made this wooden Ark himself and brought it with him to the mountain where he met God for the second time, while the golden ark was made by a certain Bezaleel of Judah and Aholiab of Dan, and clad with millions worth of pure gold:

Exodus 25:10f And they shall make an ark of sjittim wood: [...] And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold

Exodus 31:2ff See , I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri [...] I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach [...] that they may make all that I have commanded thee; The tabernacle of the congregation, and the ark of the testimony

What will it be: More gold than you can carry, or the word of God, written by God himself?

Nobody said the Ark was made of gold entirely,but was inlaid with gold even the handles had gold inlaid in them ,nobody dispute the fact the Ark was of wood

jasmine23
Nobody said the Ark was made of gold entirely,but was inlaid with gold even the handles had gold inlaid in them ,nobody dispute the fact the Ark was of wood

That was the first Ark, made by two masters and clad with gold. Moses made the second smaller one in pure wood himself, without the help of anyone as the quoted texts show, and it was light enough for Moses to carry it up the mountain alone. Read it again

PS: Changed the title to show I mean the second Ark of the Covenant was NOT gilded i.e. clad with gold, or inlayed with gold or similar. It was made of wood only, no fancywork, just a simple box.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


You realise that you're reading two passages that are about EXACTLY THE SAME THING, yes?

Deuteronomy and Exodus overlap - they detail the same events and commands, at least in part. These verses are complementary, not isolated. There was just one ark - made of wood, overlaid with gold.

Awen24
reply to post by Utnapisjtim

 

You realise that you're reading two passages that are about EXACTLY THE SAME THING, yes?

Well, not really. Moses got two sets of two slates, the first pair hewn by God, he broke upon seeing Aaron had had an idol of a calf in gold. Moses is given instructions for the gilded Ark of Covenant in Exodus 25:10ff. In 31:1ff God orders two named masters of the craft to build it together with the Menorah and all the other things. Then in Exodus 32:1ff we see how Aaron had had a golden calf made, and when Moses saw it coming down from Mt. Sinai he destroyed the two original tablets, before God in chapter 33 sends them away from the place to another, second, mountain, Mt. Horeb. In Exodus 37 the two master craftsmen builds the golden Ark according to the design God had ordered, a wooden box frame clad in gold 2.5 ells long and one ell wide 1.5 ells wide and deep. On top of the chest was a lid of massive gold, complete with two cherubim in hammered gold. The weight would be quite impressive, and had to be carried by several people.

Now, fast forward to Deuteronomy the final book in the Pentateuch, the second, much simpler wooden Ark is described, and it's light enough so that Moses could carry it alone up on the mountain, together with two stone tablets. This Ark cannot be the same as the golden one, because of the weight and size alone.

Deuteronomy and Exodus overlap - they detail the same events and commands, at least in part. These verses are complementary, not isolated. There was just one ark - made of wood, overlaid with gold.

Deuteronomy is indeed a synopsis styled book, but as I have demonstrated above, there are two mountains Sinai and Horeb, two pairs of tablets: one pair hewn by God, the second pair hewn by Moses and two arks, the golden one and the wooden one.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


Yes, and almost nobody you meet knows that the next "ten commandments" that are actually in the ark have very little in common with the ten commandments we are taught in school and on courthouse lawns.

It still feels right that the real ark is in that church in Ethiopia. Why else would the one person selected to guard it seal themselves into the building and live in it for their entire life. They never leave until they die, and then the next one is selected to live in the tiny building for their entire life - and they do it!

Exodus XXV, 10 (God speaking to Moses) "And they shall make an ark of #tom wood" and then goes on to describe how it should be ...

Aleister
reply to post by Utnapisjtim

 

Yes, and almost nobody you meet knows that the next "ten commandments" that are actually in the ark have very little in common with the ten commandments we are taught in school and on courthouse lawns.

Had forgotten about the second 10 commandments, thanks for reminding me.

They can be found in Exodus 34:12-26

There are three versions of the Ten Commandments in the Bible. Two of them are very similar, Exodus 20:2-17[2] and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.[3]

The third version, in Exodus 34:12-26,[4] is radically different, and is the only one which the Bible refers to as "the Ten Commandments". This is the second set which were given to Moses following the destruction of the first tablets when he suffered from an anger management failure after witnessing the Israelites worshipping the golden calf. While it has a few similarities to the original set, it does not include well known rational commandments such as "Thou shalt not steal" and "Thou shalt not kill"; but has instead instructions about holy days, not cooking kids in their mothers' milk, and God expresses a distaste for sacrifices containing both blood and yeast (although either alone is apparently quite acceptable). God says (Exodus 34:1) that this second set was also written on the first pair of tablets, so the "Ten Commandments" from Exodus 20 are probably not the Ten Commandments at all.

Rationalwiki.org source

It still feels right that the real ark is in that church in Ethiopia. Why else would the one person selected to guard it seal themselves into the building and live in it for their entire life. They never leave until they die, and then the next one is selected to live in the tiny building for their entire life - and they do it!

I share that belief meself. The only social contact the poor guy who has to guard it is to speak to people through the bars of the fence around it. According to the myth surrounding it, it was either stolen from or given by king Solomon. As long as it's there it is safe I suppose. I would love being allowed to study it, or to read papers of the ones who would.

According to Revelation, the Ark of the Covenant is supposed to be revealed soon, after the seventh siren in Revelation 11:19 "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail."

overanocean
Exodus XXV, 10 (God speaking to Moses) "And they shall make an ark of #tom wood" and then goes on to describe how it should be ...

Ark #1: A big, heavy mother. About 1.5 meters long and nearly a meter wide and deep with a frame of wood and gold wrapped all around it, together with an extremely heavy 1.35 square meters and quite thick lid is made out of massive gold, complete with two winged cherubs in massive gold.... If Moses would be able to even move it an inch, I would be amazed. This golden ark was not made by Moses, and was not brought up on any mountain, but it was built near mt. Sinai.

Ark #2: The second ark was made by Moses alone and carried by Moses alone up mt. Horeb. It was made in the same type wood (which ATS defines as profane, how ironic), but was smaller and there was no gold on it.

So, basically what you're saying is ignore one part of the Bible because it's junk, but completely and totally believe another part of the Bible, because that's the real truth? What makes one part more or less truthful than the other?

Picking and choosing is against the rules, you know. It's either all or nothing.

Blue Shift
So, basically what you're saying is ignore one part of the Bible because it's junk, but completely and totally believe another part of the Bible, because that's the real truth? What makes one part more or less truthful than the other?

No. How on Earth did you reach that conclusion? I am saying there were two Arks of the Covenant and two sets of commandments written upon a total of four slates.

Picking and choosing is against the rules, you know. It's either all or nothing.

Are there rules for reading ancient literature? Enlighten me. I am not a preacher, but a researcher with faith in the Word of God who is possibly grooming the wings of his Pegasus as we speak....

Again: There were two arks. One in gold the aother in simple wood. One for display and one for safe-keeping.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


I Am Pinocchio...
Of Acacia Wood Was I Fashioned...
And With Sh!ttim For My Thoughts...
Adorned In Fine Gold...
BUT! But... I Am Not The Ark Of The Covenant! Hmph...

And now I know there were 2 arks.
TY! S&F...

The calf of gold is also a revelation...
Read it...

reply to post by Pinocchio


Is there a full moon today or something? Pinocchio is bloody talking to me! Time for bed I guess.

Is that a book you refer to? "The calf of gold" one?

I can't believe it. Now I'm talking to him too! Def'tly time for bed!

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


Im going to speculate for the moment until I have time to gather more info.

In the Book of Revelation, read the 5th Seal and the 7th vial. The 5th seal speaks of the martyred souls below the altar, and the 7th seal speaks of a temple in heaven.

Sinai was the holy mountain, so maybe the 2nd ark was constructed for the temple in heaven. That would make sense to me, and it follows the Dispensational rational of "Shadow Christology".

As for the claims of a second set of 10 Commandments, I will have to look deeper into that too.

reply to post by BELIEVERpriest


It's not really a second set, it's the real set, the one that was placed in the ark. Moses smashed the first ones after realizing that his people were honoring a bull (Michael Jordan?) and not God, and then he had to trudge up the mountain again so God could write the second set. God apparently had changed her mind in the meantime, and wrote up a very different version, which were placed in the ark and kept to this day. I think the real 10th commandment has to do with not boiling a baby goat in its mother's milk (darn, tonight's dinner plans have to change), and you can win bar bets with that one.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


This reply will focus on the alleged alternate set of the 10 Commandments. My next reply will be on the Ark(s).

First, in order to preserve the context of scripture, I recommend reading ALL of Exodus ch 20&34 and Deut ch 5. The claim of the different 10 Commandments is centered on Exodus 34.

Exo 34:1 " Now the LORD said to Moses, “Cut out for yourself two stone tablets like the former ones, and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the former tablets which you shattered"

This is Moses 2nd mountain conference with God during the Exodus. First item on the agenda; replace the 10 Commandments which Moses shattered. Notice how God say "the words that where on the former tablets".

Next item on the agenda: You and the Jews are preparing to take the Land, follow these instructions when you enter: do not make a covenant with the inhabitants of the Land, do not worship their gods or take up their traditions, follow these rules (detailed in Exo 34) to properly observe the Passover and Feast of Weeks, and dont boil lambs it their mothers' milk.

The replacement of the 10 Commandments happens in verses 1-6. Then the renewing of the Covenant of Israel was proposed in verses 6-10. Then the details for instituting the Covenant and its Feasts are in verses 11-27.

So basically Moses went to God to pettition the renewal of the Hebrew Covenant that the Hebrews almost threw away. This involved replacing the 10 Commandments and give instructions of entering the Land and observing the Feasts. The Covenant of Israel encompasses the Holy Days and all Codicies of the Law including the 10 Commandments. So God provided the generalized 10 Commandment copy, and specific Land entry commandments. Both where part of the Law, but not the same codex.

Notice the subtle hint:

Exodus 34:27&28
" 27 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” 28 So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. AND he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

Look at the word "and" in the middle of verse 28. He fasted for 40 days while taking God's instructions AND he transcribed the 10 Commandments.

In summary, God was re-issuing Moses the 10 Commandments and giving additional separate instructions.

reply to post by BELIEVERpriest


Great explanation!!!

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


After reading all of Exodus 25&31, and Deut 10, I have to agree with you. There where two arks. One Ark was wood over lain with gold for the purpose of the Holy rituals, and the other ark was a wooden storage unit. The word "ark" simply means storage unit or capsule.

See, the Israelites were not supposed to build and worship the Calf, so Moses was justified in shattering the 10 Commandments. The Israelites broke the Law so Moses broke the written codex to express it.

God gave the original copy for the Ark of the Covenant. Had the Israelites not broken the Law, there would only be one unbroken copy. But, the broken copy of the Law in the Ark was a poetic forshadowing Israel's (and mankind's) disability in keeping the Law. The second copy was generated for record keeping. Noone could touch the Ark of the Covenant, so for the sake of recording the Law, God gave Moses a copy too keep safe in his wooden box. Who knows what happened to it.

So, I dont view the Ark of the Covenant as a decoy, as it was the dwelling place of the Shakaina. Instead, one Ark was made for temple function and one for record keeping, but in the end, they were both vessels for the same document.

reply to post by BELIEVERpriest


Nice try, but no cigar. From the King James Bible, with the verses you left out of your explanation:

26 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.

27 And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.

28 And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him.

Two tablets of testimony, called "tables" in verse 28, which contain the words "and he wrote upon the tables the words of the convenant, the ten commandments."

Pretty clear there.

So I suggest, don't go boiling a young goat in its mother's milk, no Sir, because that is the commandment writ upon the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, the words of the convenant: the ten commandments.

reply to post by Utnapisjtim


Id like to thank you for raising the subject. I learned something new in researching it.

Great thread.