When the camp is to move, Aaron and his sons are to go in and take down the shielding curtain and put it over the ark of the covenant law. Then they are to cover the curtain with a durable leather, spread a cloth of solid blue over that and put the poles in place. – Numbers 4:5-6

Today’s Scripture Reading (October 20, 2018): Numbers 4

There are many places that none of us will ever see. Some places we will never see because they no longer exist. I mourn the artifacts that we have lost. One such place is the Amber Room, a room constructed of amber or fossilized tree resin in 1701 and originally built to be placed in Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin. But in 1716, the room was gifted to the Russian Tsar, Peter the Great, and it was placed in the Catherine Palace near St Petersburg, Russia. During World War II, the Amber Room was taken away from the Russians, dismantled, and brought back to Germany to be displayed back in the land of its creation. And it is here that the mystery begins. The Amber Room was lost. Many believe that it lies on the bottom of the Ocean, having been placed on a torpedoed ship. Others believe that it is hidden in an abandoned mine, or buried somewhere. What we know is that it has never been found. A room of historical significance has been lost and likely destroyed by those who lusted after it, depriving the generations that followed of its beauty.

I would love to visit Varosha, Cyprus, but while the city exists, it remains a forbidden place on the earth. When Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, Varosha was abandoned. The Turkish army placed a fence around the city and ever since then the city has existed abandoned and stuck in time. It is likely that if we could get back into Varosha, we would find much of what it meant to live in the city in 1974. Car Dealerships would still have the new 1974 car models sitting on their showroom floors. Of course, nature is beginning to reclaim Varosha. Buildings are beginning to fall, and the streets are being reclaimed by plant life, but the city is still a place stuck in time and forbidden to any who might want to walk her streets.

The tabernacle of Israel was filled with forbidden sights, such as the Ark of the Covenant. While the Kohathites were charged with the care of the most holy things, even they were not allowed to see it or touch it. Before the Ark of the Covenant could be moved, the sons of Aaron, the High Priest, were charged with the task of removing the curtain and separated the Most Holy Place from the rest of the Tabernacle and placing it over the Ark, wrapping the Ark so that it was shielded from curious eyes that might want to see it as it was moved with the rest of the Temple furnishings. Once the curtain was placed around the Ark, the sons of the High Priest would wrap it in leather and then finish off the procedure wrapping it one more time with a blue cloth. And then they would put the poles in by which the sons of Korah would carry the Ark.

The people would recognize the Ark as it was carried because of the blue cloth. They would see the wrapped up package, but never the Ark itself. It was Holy, and the sight of the Ark was reserved for the High Priest, and the High Priest alone.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Numbers 5