What was inside the ark of the covenant? | GotQuestions.org

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What was inside the Ark of the Covenant? We're going to answer that question. You can also discover more on GotQuestions .org.

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Interestingly, the most complete inventory of the contents of the Ark of the Covenant is found in the New Testament.

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Hebrews 9 .4 says that the most holy place had the gold -covered Ark of the Covenant. This Ark contained the gold jar of manna,

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Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the Covenant. At various times in Israel's history, it seems that various items were in the

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Ark of the Covenant. When God first gave Moses the instructions on building the Ark, He said,

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Put in the Ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I will give you. Sometime during the wilderness wanderings,

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God commanded that a container of manna be added to the Ark's cargo. Moses said to Aaron, Take a jar and put an omer of manna in it.

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Then place it before the Lord to be kept for generations to come. As the Lord commanded

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Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved.

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After the rebellion of Korah, God commanded the leader of each tribe of Israel to bring a staff to the tabernacle.

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The tribe of Levi bore Aaron's name. God instructed that the staffs be placed in the tabernacle overnight.

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The next morning Aaron's rod had not only sprouted, but had budded, blossomed, and produced almonds.

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As a sign of God's blessing on the Levitical priesthood. God then said, Put back

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Aaron's staff in front of the Ark of the Covenant law, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious.

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So by the time Israel reached the promised land, the Ark was associated with the items mentioned in Hebrews.

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The stone tablets, the jar of manna, and the staff of Aaron. When King Solomon's temple was finished, the king had the

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Ark of the Covenant, along with other tabernacle furnishings, brought to the new temple's dedication.

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At that time, the biblical historian notes that there was nothing in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb.

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There are two possible ways to reconcile 1 Kings 8 -9 with Hebrews 9 -4.

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One is that the Ark in Moses' time contained all three items mentioned in Hebrews. But by Solomon's time, hundreds of years later, only the stone tablets remained.

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The other items could have been removed in Elias' time by the men of Beth Shemesh, or by the

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Philistines before them, or by Solomon himself during the dedication of the temple. Another possibility is that the manna and the staff were not usually inside the

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Ark of the Covenant, but rather beside it. Moses placed the manna before the Lord, or in a sacred place before the

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Lord. Similarly, the staff was to be placed before the testimony, or permanently before the

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Ark of the Covenant. So it's possible they were not, strictly speaking, inside the

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Ark. It's also quite possible that the jar of manna and Aaron's staff were carried inside the

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Ark every time the Ark was moved. When the Ark was at rest in the most holy place, the manna and staff were placed beside or in front of the

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Ark. But while the Ark was in transit, the most practical place to carry the manna and the rod was inside the

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Ark. That answers the question, what was inside the Ark of the Covenant? On our website, GotQuestions .org,

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