Put limits for the people around the mountain and tell them, ‘Be careful that you do not approach the mountain or touch the foot of it. Whoever touches the mountain is to be put to death. – Exodus 19:12

Today’s Scripture Reading (August 29, 2018): Exodus 19

While Indiana Jones chased after the Ark of the Covenant in “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” the location of the real Ark is a bit of a mystery. At least to some. Most believe that the Ark was removed from the Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians just before they leveled the structure. But others are not so sure. One persistent rumor states that the Prophet Jeremiah got into the Holy of Holies, the area of the Temple where the Ark was kept and removed it into one of the series tunnels and caves that exist below Temple Mount. According to the legend, the Ark is still there today. Unfortunately, because the Temple Mount is under Islamic control, no one is allowed to go searching for it.

Another rumor states that the location of the Ark of the Covenant is actually known. According to this rumor, Solomon and the Queen of Sheba had a relationship that resulted in a son, Menelik I, who was also called the “Son of the Wise.” Solomon apparently decided to give the Ark of the Covenant to Menelik, who took it to what is now Ethiopia. And there the Ark has remained. A forgery was made and placed in the Temple to fool The High Priest on the one day each year when he would encounter it, the Day of Atonement, and made sacrifices before the Ark for the nation. But today, the real Ark of the Covenant can be found at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion at Axum, Ethiopia. Here, one patriarch has dedicated his life to the care of it. And he is the only one who can see it.

Or maybe the Babylonians took it and melted it down, discarding what they did not want and the Ark is not lost. The Ark of the Covenant has been, like the Temple that held it, destroyed. Which theory holds the truth about the Ark? To be honest, while the theories that the Ark is hidden on Temple Mount or that it resides in a Church in Ethiopia are both intriguing and exciting, I suspect that the Ark has been destroyed and, like many other artifacts, it is lost in the pages of history.

And part of the problem with both the theory that Solomon gave it to Menelik and the theory that Jeremiah had taken it and hidden it under Temple Mount is that access to the Ark of the Covenant was highly restricted. God had placed a boundary around the Ark. No one, except the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, was allowed into the Holy of Holies. Remarkable stories are told about those who dared to treat the Ark without the respect that it deserved. The Ark was not a relic to be displayed, nor was it an idol to be worshiped. It was believed to be the Presence of God on the earth. Solomon might have been King of Israel, but he was not the High Priest, and he was not welcome in the “Holy of Holies.” Jeremiah might have been the foremost prophet of his time, but he was not the High Priest, and he had no access to the Holy of Holies, and therefore, no access to the Ark of the Covenant.

And because the Ethiopian Church maintains the tradition, allowing only the Patriarch to minister in front of what they believe is the Ark of Covenant, we have no idea what is truly inside the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion. But whatever it is, and I do think that something very old is there, I don’t think it is the Ark.

A boundary was placed around Mount Horeb because this was to be the meeting place between God and Moses. No one was allowed even to touch the foot of the mountain. It was sacred. What went on there was between the deity and the prophet, and there would be no witnesses. This was a sacred moment.

And a moment over which the people would have to trust Moses. And that is part of the fundamental problem with our attempts to prove God and our faith. The reality is that God has set a boundary around him and us. And our journey toward God must always start with a step of faith. There is no other way to get to God than to put one foot in front of the other an begin to walk in faith. Without faith, God can never be found. Without faith, Moses would have stayed away from the mountain, or he would have invited someone else to come and witness the event. And in either case, God would not have shown up.

We walk by faith.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 20