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The Tabernacle unbroken! Instead of the desert sands, there will be the streets of gold. Instead of sorrow and heartaches, there will be "no more tears." All heaven will be "filled with the glory of the Lord"; and "the Lamb is the light there- of." 6. Desecration in Nebuchadnezzar's Hands. The time came when Israel went into gross idolatry, when she per- secuted the prophets who warned her of the Babylonian captivity that was surely to come in judgment upon her wickedness. Then the time came when Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, took Judah into captivity, and "carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had said" (II Kings 24:11-13). Just what became of the ark of the covenant is not clear. Several passages of Scripture refer to the "vessels" from the house of the Lord. Nebuchadnezzar put them in the temple of his heathen god in Babylon (Dan. 1:2). Belshazzar and his heathen revellers drank wine from them, insulting the God of heaven (Dan. 5: 1-4). According to Jeremiah's prophecy, recorded in Jer. 27:18-22, Cyrus sent back to Jerusalem, under Zerubbabel, at least some of the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had put in the house of his god. (See Ezra 1:7-11; 7:19.) But the ark of the covenant is not specifically mentioned in Ezra or Nehemiah. Just what became of it, only God knows. Possibly He allowed it to be destroyed, rather than have it put in a heathen temple; for He can not be placed along with other gods. He is the only true God! ''The Ark of His Covenant" In "The Time of Jacob's Trouble," and Israel's Deliverance
268 The Tabernacle Another illustration of careless handling of the sacred ark of the covenant is seen in the sixth chapter of II Sam- uel. David wanted to take the ark to Jerusalem; that was not displeasing to God. But he did a good thing in the wrong way; for, instead of having the sacred ark car- ried by the priests, he put it "upon a new cart." Then when the oxen shook it, and when Uzzah put forth his hand to touch it, he was smitten dead for presuming to touch this sacred ark of the covenant. "The way into the holiest" had not yet been opened by the blood of Jesus; and the ark was the symbol of God's Presence. For man to treat it lightly was to sin against God, to disobey His commands. Even service for the Lord must be done in the Lord's way, if He is to be honored. 5. Glory in Solomon's Temple. When the ark of the covenant was placed in the Holy of Holies in Solomon's temple, the staves were drawn out; only the ten command- ments were left within; and "the glory of the Lord ... filled the house of God" (II Chron. 5: 14). As long as Israel had wandered in the wilderness, the staves were needed; yea, even until the beautiful temple was built for the ark of the Lord. But the wanderings over, the ark was placed upon the golden floor of the Most Holy Place. And Solomon's temple was just a prophetic pic- ture of the glory of heaven itself. When our pilgrimage is over, we shall no longer need the staves, as it were; we shall "hunger no more," for we shall be in the very Pres- ence of Him who is the Heavenly Manna; we shall not need a Mediator any more, for our risen Priest is our coming King. That, it seems, is why the golden pot of manna and Aaron's rod were not left in the ark when it was put in Solomon's temple. Only the tables of stone were there; and in heaven God's holy law will forever be
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