Words to Treasure
Send the ark of the god of Israel away. Let it go back to its own place. If you don’t, it will kill us and our people.
1 Samuel 5:11
Todd’s little brother sucked his root beer up and down inside his straw. “Does it really melt people’s faces off, and is it in a warehouse with dead rats?”
Todd raised an eyebrow, “Bobby, what are you talking about?”
“The ark. You know, the gold box thing in that movie. The telephone-to-God thing. Is it real?” Bobby slurped so loudly that people turned to stare.
“The ark? Of course, it’s real.” Todd slid down in his seat, embarrassed. “Stop slurping, will you?”
God told Moses to build a special chest called the ark. Inside this beautiful gold box, Moses put the Ten Commandments, a pot of manna, and Aaron’s shepherd’s rod. The ark was kept in the Israelites’ tent church, called the tabernacle, and later in the temple in Jerusalem. It was like God’s throne on earth — the most holy thing in the world.
Sometimes it was carried into battle by the Israelites. When the Philistines captured the ark, it caused so much sickness and death that they sent it back. The ark was powerful and holy.
Discovering Archaeology
Where is the ark today? Mystery time! After the Babylonians trashed Jerusalem, the ark disappeared from history. Some say the Babylonians destroyed it or that the Israelites hid it under Jerusalem somewhere. Some think the Israelites took it to Egypt or Africa for safety. Some think God took it away. But don’t expect to find it in a warehouse.