The Ark of the Covenant contained three things: a jar of manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the Ten Commandments (Hebrews 9:4). Each of these is connected to an incident of sin in Israel’s history.
The manna (Exodus 16) involved distrust of God’s provision.
The (broken) Ten Commandments (Exodus 32) involved distrust of God’s presence.
The rod of Aaron that budded (Numbers 16) involved distrust of God’s choice of leader.
-Manna = Lust of the Flesh
-Broken Commandment Stones = Lust of the Eyes (they lusted to “see” God, thus the golden calf)
-Aaron’s Rod = The Pride of Life
But they were all put IN the Ark of the Covenant, and on top of the Ark God placed The Mercy Seat (Hebrews 9:5). It is called “the covering in Hebrew. It is the same word as for “shelter”. The Greek word for “Mercy Seat” is a word that means “propitiation”.
God put representatives of mankind’s sin in the Ark of the Covenant – and then He put a lid on it!
Aren’t you glad He put a lid on it?
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