He was chosen. He worked with wood and had other skills in creating items. He was one man in a nation of millions of people. He was called to the work. No other person in history accomplished the task that he alone could do. It was a sacred job. He was commissioned by God to create the place of mercy. His name was Bezalel.
Exodus 31:1-5
Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts.
The nation of Israel had been rescued from Egypt. In the wilderness, the Lord instructed Moses to build a tabernacle, a place of worship. Bezalel was to lead this sacred task of constructing the house of worship for the Lord. There were numerous holy items that were made.
Exodus 31:6b-9
…make everything I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, the ark of the covenant law with the atonement cover on it, and all the other furnishings of the tent— the table and its articles, the pure gold lampstand and all its accessories, the altar of incense, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, the basin with its stand…
The most holy object of them all would be the ark of the covenant. This box was the meeting place between God and the people. It would be housed in the section of the Tabernacle called the “Holy of Holies” or “The Most Holy Place”. Once a year, the High Priest was allowed to go behind the curtain and sprinkle blood on the ark. It was the time of forgiveness of sins for the people. It was Bezalel who would have the great honor of making the holy box.
Exodus 37:1
Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.
Bezalel had to take a rough tree, smooth it down, and fashion it into the shape of a box. The box was then covered with precious metal.
Exodus 37:2
He overlaid it with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it.
The Lord gave specific instructions about the lid of the ark. It would be adorned with angelic creatures looking downward at the top of the box.
Exodus 37:6-9
He made the atonement cover of pure gold—two and a half cubits long and a cubit and a half wide. Then he made two cherubim out of hammered gold at the ends of the cover. He made one cherub on one end and the second cherub on the other; at the two ends he made them of one piece with the cover. The cherubim had their wings spread upward, overshadowing the cover with them. The cherubim faced each other, looking toward the cover.
The ark was not empty but contained objects from the wilderness journey.
Hebrews 9:4
This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron’s staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
Bezalel completed his beautiful ark without the full understanding of how it would picture one of his relatives who would be born over fifteen hundred years later. Bezalel was from the tribe of Judah. Jesus, also from the tribe of Judah, fulfilled the purpose of the ark. The ark was the meeting place between God and His people.
Exodus 25:22
There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the covenant law, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.
However, the ark could only be approached with the blood sacrifice, and only once a year by the High Priest. The Lord wanted to meet with all of His people. The ark was the picture of what was to come.
Let us ponder the fulfillment of the ark from the inside out. First, inside the ark was the jar of manna. This was the miraculous bread that came from heaven for the daily provision of the people, to sustain them in the wilderness until they reached the Promised Land. Jesus declared Himself the true Manna from heaven.
John 6:32-35
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
Another object in the ark of the covenant was the ten commandments. This was the requirements for the people. However, everyone failed. Each one sinned until Jesus. He lived perfectly. Thus, He fulfilled all of the law.
Matthew 5:17-18
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
The last object in the ark was Aaron’s staff. There had been a dispute where Israelite leaders believed they deserved the high priesthood just as much as the descendants of Aaron. The Lord spoke to Moses on how to handle the dispute.
Numbers 17:1-4
The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff. On the staff of Levi write Aaron’s name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe. Place them in the tent of meeting in front of the ark of the covenant law, where I meet with you. The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout…
The following morning, the Lord miraculously showed His chosen tribe for the priesthood.
Numbers 17:8
The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.
This staff shows that only God’s chosen priest can serve before the Lord. Jesus, our High Priest, is chosen to approach God.
Hebrews 6:19
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
The High Priest, the one who is the Mediator between God and man, is Jesus. He approached heaven, not with the blood of an animal, but with His own blood. His precious blood was shed on a wooden cross. What was the ark fashioned out of? It was made of wood. Wood of the ark pictured the wood of the cross where the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of mankind was made. He took on the sin of the world. He was able to die for us because He was perfect, He was God in a human body. The wooden ark was covered with gold, representing the deity of Jesus. The God-man died for us, making atonement for our sins.
The word “ark” in Hebrew means “ark, or chest, or coffin.” The very name of the ark gives a picture of the final placement of a dead body, a coffin. After Jesus died on the cross, He was laid in a tomb. Also, recall the ark of the covenant had a lid with two cherubim looking downward at an empty space between them. Now picture the tomb of Jesus as it was discovered by the women on the third day.
Luke 24:2-4
They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
I think that those two angels had sat at each end of the body of Jesus, watching over his body until He rose from the dead. Then they enjoyed staring at the empty place and telling the people who came:
Luke 24:5b-7
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”
Jesus is the fulfillment of all the symbolism of the ark of the covenant. A distant relative, from the tribe of Judah, made a precious box that was a telling a story of what Jesus would do on behalf of His people. Bezalel created the ark, but he would never see it again. For the box was placed behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies. Only the High Priest could access this room and only one time a year. This changed, though, when our High Priest, Jesus, who was also our sacrifice, died on the cross.
Matthew 27:50-51a
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
The curtain which shielded the ark of the covenant from all the people, all the priest, and even the High Priest except one day a year, was miraculously torn! Access to God through Jesus, became available to anyone who would believe. That ark pictured Jesus and gave a picture of what He would do for us. We can now freely approach the mercy seat of God.
Hebrews 4:14-16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
We can approach God boldly today because of Jesus. In the past, the nation of Israel did not have complete access to the Lord. That is why Bezalel toiled in his labor. He completed the ark so that the nation of Israel could access the room of God through the High Priest once a year. Jesus completed His work so that every person could enter in the Holy place of the Lord at any time, for any reason. We have access to the true Ark of the Covenant, Jesus, at this very moment. May we all take the time to enter into His holy Presence today.