Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood—two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high. – Exodus 37:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 16, 2018): Exodus 37

The Ark of the Covenant continues to capture our imaginations. The Ark was essentially a box that was forty-five inches long and twenty-seven inches wide and high. In recent culture, and to some extent early understanding, the box possessed magical powers, although in reality probably nothing like that given to it by Steven Spielberg in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” It was essential to the Temple worship because it was believed to be the seat of God here on the earth.

I have discussed in this blog some of the theories that exist around whether the Ark still exists, hidden away in some corner of our world. Traditions exist that argue that the ark was stolen by the Babylonians at the time of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Or the Ark was hidden in the caves below the Temple on Temple Mount by Jeremiah just before the destruction of Jerusalem. Or maybe it was spirited away by Solomon to what is now Ethiopia and given as an inheritance to Menelik I, the supposed child of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and replaced in Jerusalem by a clever forgery.

What we sometimes miss is that there is also a biblical passage, sort of, that describes exactly what happened to the Ark. The biblical passage is found in the deuterocanonical book of “2 Maccabees.” According to Maccabees, a report existed at the time of the Maccabean revolt that described Jeremiah’s instructions to those who were leaving Jerusalem just before the fall of the city.

'The same document also describes how the prophet, warned by an oracle, gave orders for the tent and the ark to go with him, when he set out for the mountain which Moses had climbed to survey God's heritage. On his arrival, Jeremiah found a cave-dwelling, into which he put the tent, the ark and the altar of incense, afterwards blocking up the entrance. Some of his companions went back later to mark out the path but were unable to find it. When Jeremiah learned this, he reproached them, "The place is to remain unknown," he said, "until God gathers his people together again and shows them his mercy.”

                                                2 Maccabees 2:4-7

Deciphering the passage, according to the author of Maccabees, the Ark of the Covenant was taken by the Prophet, Jeremiah, along with the tent, which we believe is the original Tabernacle. But Jeremiah did not hide them on Temple Mount. Instead, spirited everything away from the city and hid it on the mountain that Moses died on, which would be Mount Nebo in present-day Jordan.

According to Maccabees, there is also a warning and promise to treasure hunters about this sacred box of Israel. The Ark is hidden, and it will never be found until the time when “God gathers his people together again.” And we can interpret these words to mean that the Ark will not reappear until the Temple is once again built on Temple Mount although, in the context of Maccabees, the original author probably meant that the Ark would be revealed when Israel became independent and Zerubbabel’s Temple was once again consecrated.

But the Ark was not found during the Maccabean independence, and we are still waiting for the appearance of the sacred box of Israel. Waiting for the day when God gathers his people and re-establishes his Temple in Jerusalem.        

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Exodus 38