God Provided an Ark

 There was a time when the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. God judged the world for it's corruption and violence but He also provided an ark. There was a time when the Pharaoh commanded all his people that, "Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast into the Nile..." (Exodus 1:22) But  before Moses was cast into the Nile he was first placed into an Ark which is the Hebrew word for basket. In the holy of holies the mercy seat was placed upon the ark of Lord.

The Ark of the Covenant contained the two unbroken tablets of stone. There had been two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God but when Moses had seen the sin of the people he had thrown the tablets down and broken them at the foot of the mountain. The unbroken tablets of stone represented the grace of God. In the ark was a golden pot containing an omer of manna. Manna was a memorial of God's provision. The third item in the ark was Aaron's rod that budded showing once and for all that Aaron was God's choice for the priesthood.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son..." (John 3:16) How did God respond to the wickedness of man? Yes, there was judgment but there was also an ark. At the same time the punishment for sin was proclaimed there was also the promise of a savior. The Ark of the Covenant represents Jesus. The unbroken tablets reflect what the Bible says about Him; He "committed no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth." The manna speaks of Jesus as the bread of life. When Aaron's rod budded something that had died was supernaturally brought back to life this points to Jesus' resurrection. God's response to a sinful world was to provide an ark.

For several nights I have been thinking about this ark and the role it plays in my own worship. God provided the ark and the promise that, "whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." Jesus said that He came to give abundant life but He didn't say it would be an easy life. In fact He said, "In this life you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."(John 16:33)

Lord Jesus, I am so grateful that God provided an ark and a refuge agianst the storms of life . In You I find strength for today and hope for tomorrow.