Where is the Ark of the Covenant?

Transcript

okay so um I wish I could get rid of x this Banner in front of me so where is x the Ark of the x Covenant and you know when we look at x the physical Arc of the x Covenant I have to start the class by x saying I don't know so class over we can x all go x home but you know when you look at at x obviously the movies you can go to x Raiders of the Lost Arc they say it's x lost in the bowels of the x Smithsonian um you can go to one of the x uh Christian churches it's offshoot of x the Copic Church in Ethiopia that says x actually they have the ark and they x guard it there's actually another x contingent down in Zimbabwe that says x they have the Ark of the x Covenant but I think tonight what I'd x like to do is actually go through and x see where is it what is what's the x meaning of this what do we why do we x even have to have this this conversation x and I hope you hold your comments till x the end because if not I won't be able x to make it through this I'll get x completely x befed so to to really understand this x and this concept where is the Ark of the x Covenant we need to go back to the start x we need to go back to Exodus and so in x Exodus 25 verses 10- 22 we have x god-given the schematic for the building x of the x Ark and so we know it was made of x shamwood and shamwood is a light wood x it's it's very dense but um but very x light and on this it was overlaid with x gold so if we just think about the kind x of the physical attributes of this the x fact that it was going to be carried x there had to be something to take away x some of the some of the weight of this x and so the shid andwood would do that x but it's overlaid with gold and on the x top of it we have a crown of gold and x with the four rings and remember the x four rings would be used for the staves x that would go through so that the x priests the coites could carry this arc x on their shoulders when they needed to x move from place to x place and those two staves were also x made of shamwood to be light and durable x but they were covered with x gold the cover or The Mercy Seat however x this was different this was made of pure x gold and would sit on top of this box x that was being x made and we have two cherubims on the x mercy seat with their wings touching x each other made of gold x again so if we look at some artist con x you know conceptions of this this is x what it might have looked like we don't x really know um we don't have any really x good picture of it they didn't have x iPhones back x then but what's more important is like I x say this was a x box and so what did this box have in it x and we know it contained three x things and the first thing it contained x were the tablets of the law and God said x this in Exodus x 25:16 to Moses thou shal put into the x the ark the testimony which I shall give x thee and these tablets of stone remember x were the ones that Moses had to make x himself and Hue out of the mountain x though God would write on them a copy of x the x law well the next thing that's that we x know that's in the ark it's actually x quite interesting because it was laid up x before the ark was even x considered and that's the pot of x mana and remember when when the children x of Israel come out of Egypt and theyve x crossed the Red Sea and they're now in x the wilderness of Si before they come to x the mountain they've run out of food and x they they murmur to God and God sends x mana and actually sends the x quail but God commands Moses to take the x pot and put an R full of Mana therein x and lay it up before the Lord to be kept x for your x generations and it was a reminder of x this time in the x wilderness and we also have Aaron's Rod x that budded in numbers 17:10 and and the x Lord said unto Moses bring Aaron's Rod x again before the testimony to be kept x for a token against the rebels and thou x shalt quite take away their murmurings x from me that they die not and remember x what happened at this time when we have x this budded Rod of aand well remember x that was that was given at the time of x the insurrection by cor Dayan and x Aon when that happens and they're x destroyed there another event had to x take place in order to cement Aaron as x the priesthood to show he was chosen by x God it wasn't something that was just x set up by Moses or somebody else God x directly does this and so remember he x has the Aaron as well as the the heads x of the tribes of Israel take their x staffs these dead pieces of wood and x write the name of their tribe on it and x so Aaron does this as well as the other x elders and Aaron writes Levi on this and x they lay it up before x God and in the morning they go back and x Aaron's Rod budded not only did it Bud x it brought forth leaves and brought x forth almonds this dead piece of wood x was now resurrected to x life and it would again cement Aaron as x being chosen by my God as that x priest but there's actually something x else and we know that these items were x in it we go to Hebrews 9 x 1-7 and in Hebrews 9 it says this then x verily the first Covenant had also x ordinances of divine service and a x worldly Sanctuary for there was a x tabernacle made the first wherein was x the Candlestick and the table and the x show bread which is called the sanctuary x and after the second Veil The Tabernacle x which is called the holiest of all which x had the golden sensor and the Ark of the x Covenant overlaid roundabout with gold x wherein was the golden pot that had mana x and Aaron's Rod that x budded and the tables of the Covenant x and over it the cherubims of Glory x shadowing The Mercy Seat of which we x cannot now speak particularly x now when these things were thus ordained x the priests went always into the first x Tabernacle accomplishing the service of x God but what did it represent brother x and sisters it wasn't just a pretty box x but x represented a physical place where God x would meet with his people as and also x the Covenant that he made with them at x Mount x Si it demonstrated that he holds the law x in his heart remember the law wasn't x something that God just made up out of x thin air these are the things that God x believes in these are the things that x are within him which he really wants us x to have also doesn't he he wants us to x have these things written in his heart x and so it represented this this these x this law that's written in God's heart x and it's within this in this x Arc it also demonstrated doesn't it that x he will provide for his people he had x that pot of Mana that was laid up and x should have been laid up forever before x the people to remind them that God would x provide for them to trust in God that x they had not to want for anything if x they would only do that and remember the x Covenant that he made with them it x demonstrated also that he chosen the x high priest didn't it we just went x through that with Aaron's Rod that x budded it is God that's going to choose x this it's not man it's not anybody else x God has his plan in x mind and this was the place of Mercy x reconciliation and atonement this was x the place where the high priest would go x in once a x year to make reconciliation and x atonement for the x people and the interesting thing brother x and sisters is x remember the people had to have faith x that the ark was there because they x couldn't see it could they they were x outside the the general population was x outside the Tabernacle and they were x outside the temple into the holy Place x went the priests and we just read that x in in Hebrews and Hebrews would also go x on to say that once a year the day of x atonement we'd have the high priest go x in who would stand before the Ark of the x of the Covenant of x God but even then he wouldn't go in x empty-handed he Andy with the sensor of x incense as that incense en clouded him x and enshrouded him so even what he saw x was somewhat clouded in front of him but x that incense representing the prayers of x the people going to x God and so we have the Ark of the x Covenant and in numbers 10:33 it says x and they departed from the Mount of the x Lord three days journey and the Ark of x the Covenant of the Lord went before x them in the three days journey to search x out a resting place for them and this is x the very first time brother and sisters x that it's called the Ark of the Covenant x and it's going to be noted that way x about four in about 45 verses in x scripture and it would seem for the most x part brother and sisters for the most x part most of these verses are in Exodus x Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua and x judges and then we're going to find a x good portion of them in Samuel in the x first book a little bit in 2 Samuel in x the Kings and in x Chronicles but we also find that as the x children of Israel went forward their x history and they go into the period of x the judges the symbol is started to be x lost and by the time we come to Samuel x and the birth of Samuel that that that x symbol is is really going to the x Wayside and so when we come to 1st x Samuel 3: 1-3 it says this and these are x verses that we know brother and sisters x and the CH child Samuel ministered unto x the Lord before Eli and the word of the x Lord was precious in those days there x was no open vision and the verse will go x on to give us a hint as to why that was x it says and it came to pass at that time x when El was laid down in his place his x eyes began to wax dim that he could not x see he's getting older and he does have x that physical ailment brother and x sisters where he truly physically can't x see that well but I would also say x brother and sisters there's a spiritual x blindness that's coming in there's a x spiritual blindness that's coming upon x Israel because we also know that Hof and x Phineas have desecrated the office what x should have the priesthood been doing x they should have been teaching the x children of Israel about this wonderful x Covenant about this wonderful law about x this wonderful God who could save them x from all x things but this isn't taking x place and air the lamp of God went out x in the temple of the Lord where the Ark x of God x was the lamp of God showing God's word x which is supposed to go on for all time x and there's there's um and and here it x says went out a lot of a lot of versions x actually say was going out there was x still a spark there brothers and sisters x there was still a spark there for God x and of course we see that in the child x Samuel and we're going to see that x actually in some other x people but the symbol is lost brother x and x sisters but the the symbol is x lost in 1st Samuel x 4 we find what is going to happen here x and what is what is so x devastating says now Israel went out x against the Philistines to battle and x pitched in beside Ebenezer and the x Philistines pitched in AEK and the x Philistines put themselves in Array x against Israel and when they joined x battle Israel was smitten before the is x the Philistines and they slew the Army x in the field about x 4,000 men now I want you to just stop x there for a minute and think about this x and think about what's taking place here x because it's really quite interesting x and we're giving some great x details when this battle takes place x Israel is put to the x worst and they Retreat back to their to x their camp and the question actually x come that you should be thinking if you x really look at this verse is with this x this happening and the the advantage to x the Philistines why didn't they just x immediately go into the camp and x completely destroy the the x Israelites and I think it's because God x stops it brother and sisters he has x something else in x mind because the people have fallen so x badly we're going to see how this is x this what where they have come to it x says and when the people were coming x into the camp the Elders of Israel said x wherefore hath the Lord smitten us today x before the Philistines this is why right x here let us fetch the Ark of the x Covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto x us that when it cometh Among Us it may x save us out of the hand of our x enemies where does it say they actually x went back to God and said what should we x do they've taken it upon themselves to x think that they have the answer and it's x the elders that are doing this notice x it's not being driven by the priests x though the priests are going to go along x with it let us fetch the Ark of the x Covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto x us and notice that when it cometh Among x Us it may save x us they've completely lost what this x means they think that the ark has some x magical x power that when it's there in their x presence they can do x anything but of course we know that's x not true Wiz x it it was a representation it was a x symbol and so the outcome of this x brother and sisters we x know that symbol now was completely lost x the ark was taken by the x Philistines the prospective High priests x were slain that was ha th and Phineas x who brought x it and Eli the high priest the last x judge of x Israel also x dies and so the ark goes into the hand x of the x Philistines the Ark of the x Covenant and so what was the Philistine x experience well the interesting thing x brothers and sisters is what they do x with the ark so we know when they take x the ark they take it back to ashdod and x they place it in the temple of deeon x before their false god and when they do x this more likely than not they bring it x in in through the doorway and place it x down and it's in front of their their x statue of deeon so it looks like the Ark x of God is doing obeses to x deeon but we also know what happens x doesn't it brother and x sisters when they come in in the morning x the statue of Deon falls on his face x before the x ark the statue of Deon their God is x doing obeses to the god of Israel x his but this is the whole statue that x fell down and so you can also you can x almost think of what they're thinking x well somebody must have tipped it it x must have been unstable maybe there was x a little earthquake Tremor and the whole x thing fell over so they set it back up x in into its place and the next morning x they come in and what do they find it x says the statue falls again before the x ark and breaks off the head and the x hands and I'd like to read though that x verse brothers and sisters because it's x really quite interesting because it says x in 1 Samuel 5:4 and when they arose x early on the tomorrow morning behold x deeon was Fallen upon his face to the x ground before the Ark of the Lord and x the head of deeon and both the palms of x his hands were cut off upon the x threshold only the stump of Deon was x left to x him and so we need to think about this x whole x picture we see that the majority of this x this statue has fallen down and indeed x the head has broken off they can they x can they can pray to Deon all they want x but Deon cannot hear them he doesn't x think he no knowledge he has no power x his hands break off there's nothing that x deeon can do for them he's just a god of x stone but did you see that little x reference here that that little detail x only the stump of Deon was left to him x the whole statue hadn't fallen down it x had broken x off and what this would show was this x was not a mere x coincidence this was by the hand of God x God the god that they were desecrating x brother and sisters and and and x completely going not worshiping even x though even though they've got a chance x to do x this because that's what the what the x Israelites were doing in the land x weren't they we know that they're there x for an example they're there to teach x the people but the people around them x don't want to x hear and so what's x the next thing that happens while the x Philistines are x plagued and so the Philistine remedy for x this is to do something if we really x look at the Timeline it's in their hands x for about seven months and they plan to x send it back but they truly stack the x deck so what they do is x this they put it on a cart drawn by two x mil cows and the other detail about x these mil cows is they've they've never x drawn on any carts before in their life x they have not x worked and what's more is the two milk x cows have calves and they leave them in x the x Stalls so the next thing they do is they x take the the the the the milk cows in x this Arc with or in this cart with the x Ark on x it and they take it out to the road and x they let it go to see if it will go to x Beth shemes or some other x place and actually the verse verse um uh x eight of 1st Samuel 6 says this um take x the Ark of the Lord and lay it upon the x card and put the jewels of gold which he x returned for him for a trespass offering x and a coffer by the by the side thereof x and send it away that it may go and see x if it goeth up by the way of his own x Coast to Beth sheemish then he God have x done us this great evil but if not he x shall know it is not his hand that x smoted us it was by chance that it x happened to us just a coincidence that x these things x happened but think about this brothers x and x sisters what would these two milk cows x really want to x do even beyond the fact that they've x never worked a day in their lives would x they know what to do with this card x would they know how to pull it they x weren't trained to do this but what they x want to do is go back to their to their x calves that are Lo for them in the x Stalls that's what the what what a x mother wants to x do but it but they x don't and they go on and they go to Beth x shemes and we'll find that there the x symbol is still x lost because the reason why it goes to x Beth x sheemish is Beth sheemish was aity city x of the priests of the line of Aaron the x high priest we find that in Joshua x 21 the this was a a of the family of the x high Priests of the Aaron's line who x should know what to do with this x Ark but what do they x do they're even worse than the x Philistines they desecrate the symbol x they open it up they look inside and it x says 53,000 of them die are destroyed x and there's there's some different x thoughts on what this number could x actually represent and it's beyond what x we're going to do x tonight but the fact that they did this x breth and sisters and God's Wrath come x upon comes upon them that's what's x important for us to see here and so what x do the men of Beth sheemish do does the x city of x priests they send it away they send it a x little to the Northwest to kurath jir x and this was a gentile city and what x this city was was this was one of the x four confederate confederate cities with x gibian and remember the story of x gibian the story of gibian was at the x time of Joshua when these men begin to x see the Israelites coming in and x destroying the the people around them x and destroying the cities they don't x want this to happen to them and so they x send ambassadors x with their with their moldy bread and x their bottles of wine that have been x rent and their clothes with holes in x them saying Oh we've come from a far x country make a league with us and of x course Joshua and the Elders of Israel x instead of Consulting God do this and a x few days later when they come to x gibian what x happens well when he comes to when they x come to gibian they find out that yes x yes this was the the um cities that they x were supposed to D x destroy but they x didn't and because of that because of x that brothers and x sisters they know that they can't x destroy these these these people because x they made a league with them but what do x they x do well in Joshua 9 if we actually went x down to the to uh verse 22 it says and x Joshua called for them and spake unto x them saying wherefore have you beguiled x us saying we are very far from you when x you dwell Among Us now therefore you are x cursed and there shall none of you be x freed from being bondmen and hewers of x wood and drawers of water for the house x of my God so they're put into the into x the service of the x Tabernacle and so here they are and they x will serve the Tabernacle and they will x serve God more than the priests do they x were in the city of Beth x shemes so it goes into the house of x abinadab and ab x POS possibly was not in the priesthood x he possibly was but possibly not and x remains there for 20 years and the 20 x years wasn't really the time that it x that it stayed there completely but it x was probably the 20 years until the time x of the great Reformation that's going to x be held by x Samuel but the next time we really come x to know about x it this a time when the meaning of the x symbol is is slowly being regained we x have a great Reformation that takes x place with Samuel he brings the people x back to their God they begin to learn x about their God again and know what x their God can do the Philistines are x routed once x again and we go through the time of Saul x and we know there's waxing and waning x and Saul himself really doesn't doesn't x really follow his God but there is a man x that does isn't it we have The Man David x coming upon the x throne and David wants to bring the ark x to Jerusalem but the first time he does x it he really doesn't do this properly at x all he follows the example of the x Philistines remember they put it on a x card that's drawn by oxen and as it's x going down the road it begins to shake x and oza feels that the ark is going to x fall off the off the cart and he puts x forth his hand and touches it and of x course he x dies and it puts the whole procession x and to x disarray and David said how shall shall x the Ark of the Lord come to me and I x think brother and sisters that this x wasn't just something he said I think x this is put into the record to show that x this was a prayer that he that he that x he said but it it goes into the house of x Obed Edom who is a levite of the x division of x Kath and there it x remains until David realizes what needs x to be done x and at that point in time what does he x do now he prepares for it that prayer is x answered how sh the ark the Lord come to x me and I think it's probably through x some of the the teachings of that he x learns from OED Edom that it's supposed x to be carried on the shoulders of the x coites but not just carried and put into x the into the town for all to see it's x supposed to be put into the Tabernacle x and so David does this and there's a x tabernacle set up in Jerusalem for x it and so we see the the symbol slowly x being regained as to what it was what it x represented the Ark of the Covenant of x the the at Mount Si given to the x people and so we have the meaning being x regained but also there's a physical x change that's happened with this Ark x and we learn about this actually at the x time of of excuse me of Solomon and we x know that Solomon builds the temple and x brings in the x ark the interesting thing brothers and x sisters is in verse 10 where it actually x talks about the change that took place x it says there was nothing in the ark sa x the two tables which Moses put therein x at horror when the Lord made a covenant x with the children of Israel when they x came out of Egypt so what happened to x the pot of Mana what happened to Aaron's x Rod that bued they were lost did the x Philistines take them or possibly x possibly what's even worse is this is is x this some of the ways that the priests x and Beth schemes had desecrated the x ark well the last record of the physical x Arc of the x Covenant at during the time of the king x happens at the time of Josiah and in 2 x Chronicles 35: 1-3 at the time when x Josiah is making his great reformation x and bringing the the children of of x Judah back from the brink of x disaster and he begins to bring the ark x back and he begins to have a Passover x which it says and we're read about this x actually in a few days in our readings a x Passover which there was n the like of x this ever before it was so x great and so it says this moreover x Josiah kept a Passover unto the Lord in x Jerusalem and they killed a Passover on x the 14th day of the first month and he x set the priests in their charges and x encouraged them to the service of the x house of the Lord and he sent unto the x Levites that taught all Israel and see x here they're doing their job again which x were holy unto the Lord put the holy Ark x in the house which Solomon the son of x David King of Israel did build it shall x not be a burden upon your shoulders x serve now the Lord your God and His x People Israel the priesthood is brought x back to what they should be doing Israel x is coming x back and it seems like at this point in x time the Tabernacle was being moved from x place to place and Josiah brings it back x to that place that Solomon had built for x it and not that Solomon had done this on x his own but other under the opes and and x direction of x God and so it comes back in but what x happens soon after this brother and x sisters we know we go through the last x few Kings of of x Judah and Judah is overrun by x Babylon and the house of God the temple x that Solomon built is destroyed the x vessels are taken away and we learn x nothing more about the ark x of the x Covenant this is where it passes out of x the annals of History brothers and x sisters but we have something x amazing in prophecies given to to x Jeremiah by God where he begins to talk x about what is about the ark at the time x when the children of Israel would be x brought back into the land and in x Jeremiah 3:1 16-19 x it says this and it shall come to pass x when you be multiplied and increased in x the land in those days sayth the Lord x they shall no more they shall say no x more the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord x neither shall it come to mind neither x shall they remember it neither shall x they visit it neither shall that be done x anymore something is going to happen x there's not going to be a need for this x anymore he goes go on to say at that x time they shall call Jerusalem the x Throne of the Lord and All Nations shall x be gathered unto it to the name of the x Lord to Jerusalem neither shall they x walk anymore after the imagination of x their evil heart in those days the house x of Judah shall walk with the house of x Israel and they shall come together out x of the land of the North to the land x that I have given them for an x inheritance unto your fathers but I said x how shall I put thee among the children x and give thee a pleasant land a goodly x Heritage of the host of Nations and I x said x Thou shalt call me my x father and shall not turn away from x me a change was going to be taking x place this time the god of Israel would x now be their father and isn't this what x we pray brother and sisters we call him x our our heavenly x father this is the x name that God wanted the children of x Israel to call x him in Jeremiah 31: 30 31 through 34 it x says this behold the days come SE the x Lord of gank a New Covenant with the x house of Israel with the house of Judah x not the Covenant that I made with their x fathers in the day that I took them by x the hand to bring them out of the land x of Egypt which my Covenant they break x although I was in husband unto them say x the Lord but this shall be the Covenant x that I will make with the house of x Israel after those days say the Lord I x will put my law in their inward parts x and write it in their hearts and will be x their God and they shall be no my my x people they shall teach no more every x man as neighbor and every man as brother x saying know the Lord for they shall all x know me from the least of them even to x the greatest of them Seth the Lord for I x will forgive their iniquity and I will x remember their sin no x more and so brother and sisters is that x first Covenant begins to pass away we x find a new Focus emerging and what's x that new x Focus we have x Mary giving birth to the Son of God and x we have four gospels that detail his x character his mission in his life and we x can see it even more so in the writings x of the x Apostles but let's look at some details x that describe Jesus because these are x astounding brothers sisters in John 1 x 1-24 and 17 it says in the beginning was x the word and the Word was with God and x the Word was x God the same was in the beginning with x God and now x notice and the Word was made flesh and x dwelt among us and we beheld his glory x the glory as of the only begotten of the x father Full of Grace and Truth for the x law was given by x Moses but Grace and Truth came by Jesus x Christ those tablets now now gone not x needed because we have that word that x God had hold in his heart now made flesh x in Jesus Christ who would live that word x before us all it's a great example for x all x time where more details come out in John x 6 vers 30 through 58 we're going to only x hone in on a few of those Jesus x describes himself as this he says I'm x the bread of life your fathers that eat x man in the wilderness and are dead this x is the bread which cometh down from x heaven that a man may eat thereof and x not die I am the living bread which came x down from heaven If any man eat of this x bread he shall live forever and the x bread that I will give is my x flesh which I will give for the life of x the x world this isn't that Mana that was laid x up in the x ark this is that living bread the bread x of x life well Paul goes on to describe him x even more in Hebrews 6 and in Hebrews 7 x even Jesus made an high priest Forever x After the order of MDC that New Order x not of the ironic line x anymore but that New Order of high x priest without beginning Without x End not passed down from father to son x anymore but ordained by x God the the the title and the office x given to Jesus Christ the son of x God well we have some more descriptions x that we need to understand that happened x his death and his x Resurrection so when Jesus is on the x cross at the very end in Matthew 27 it x says Jesus when he had cried again with x a loud voice yielded up the spirit and x behold the veil of the temple was rent x in Twain From the top to the bottom the x Earth did quake and the Rocks rent and x the graves were open and many bodies of x the Saints which slept x arose so this place in the temple this x place of the holiest of holies was now x rent open for all to see not just for x the one person to go in there once a x year but now everyone had access to this x through the death of x Jesus well there's more we learn in John x 20 verses 1 through about Mary Magdalene x coming to the Tomb at the first day of x the week and finding the tomb the stone x rolled away from the mouth of the Tomb x she ran back for Peter help thinking x that someone had taken away the body of x Jesus and Jesus and probably John run to x the x tomb and John at first doesn't enter x into the into the tomb but Peter does x and then John goes in and after they see x the sight in the x Tomb they return x home and they see something that also x Mary x Witnesses and in John 20 11 and 12 were x told this but Mary stood without at the x supper weeping and as she wept she x stooped down and looked into the seler x and seeing the two angels in white x sitting one at the head the other at the x feet where the body of Jesus that x laid so brother and sisters when we put x all this together what has been x described it's a living description of x the Ark of the Covenant now made x manifest by a better x testimony and we know what that x testimony is it's Jesus Christ so let's x look at this then in detail so we if we x start to compare these things we see the x tablets of the law God's word Jesus is x the embodiment of the word made flesh x the Mana brother and sisters God x provision for sustaining the lives of x his people in the wilderness Jesus the x manifestation of that token and that x provision for the promise of eternal x life given for x us Aaron's robit but it God's x Declaration of his chosen high priest x Jesus declared by his x father excuse me to be high priest after x the order of MDC x forever well the comparison continue x brother and x sisters the ark residing in the holy of x holies only seen by the high x priest the veil of the temple x dramatically ripped in half exposing the x way in for all to x see the ark with the cherubim closed x remember the The Mercy Seat sat on top x now the SR completely open and empty x with the angel sitting one on each x end and with this also consider the x significance of Peter and John entering x that empty Tom they've entered into the x holiest of holies as did x Mary because that was accomplished now x in x Jesus that resurrection that takes place x Jesus x the Jesus the mediator of the New x Covenant in Hebrews Paul wrote for this x is the Covenant that I will make with x the house of Israel and again is echoing x the words of Jeremiah after those days x so the Lord I will put my laws into x their mind and write them in their x hearts and I will be to them a God and x they shall be to me a people and that he x Seth A New Covenant he hath made the x first x old now that which decayeth and waxeth x old is ready to vanish x away we have Jesus the mediator of that x new x covenant and the blood of sprinkling x that speaketh better things than that of x Abel the Ark of the Covenant not needed x anymore because there's a new covenant x and all of these things had pointed to x Jesus and Jesus now makes them manifest x for all time and also brother and x sisters we have some insight into some x words in Revelation in Revelation 11:19 x it talks and the temple of God was open x in heaven and there was seen in the x temple the Ark of his testimony and x there were Lightnings and voices and x thunderings and an earthquak and great x hail because that was the representation x of Jesus and all can see him so brother x and sisters we have the first Ark of the x Covenant being replaced with Jesus the x mediator and x representation of the New x Covenant and so brother and x sisters the next time we sing hymn x 238 think of the words in that first x verse Oh God in highest x Heaven Our God that hearest prayer x through Christ whom thou Hast given our x Advocate thine x Heir now strong and hope United around x thy Feast we x meet receive from him our incense he is x thy mercy x seat