The ‘Ark of the Covenant’ also referred to as the ‘Ark of the Testimony’ or the ‘Ark of God,’ is regarded as the most revered artifact of the Israelites. It is described as a wooden chest that is covered in pure gold and has a lavishly carved lid called the mercy seat.
According to the ‘Book of Exodus,’ the two stone tablets that contained the ten commandments were placed inside the Ark. ‘The Book of Hebrews,’ one of the books of the ‘New Testament’ claims that it held a manna pot and the rod of Aaron.
The biblical account relates that approximately one year after the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, the Ark was created according to the pattern given to Moses by God when the Israelites were encamped at the foot of Mount Sinai.
Thereafter, the gold-plated acacia chest was carried by its staves by the Levites approximately 2,000 cubits (approximately 800 meters or 2,600 feet) in advance of the people when on the march or before the Israelite army, the host of fighting men. God spoke with Moses “from between the two cherubim” on the Ark’s cover.
While there are others who are adamant in their belief that the Ark of the Covenant was a technology for communication with unknown beings, the Israelites who were on their exodus believed it to be a means by which they might speak with God. While these theories are speculative at best, they are reasonably well–thought out, based on writings and accounts in various ancient texts, including the Bible.
It was believed that when the Ark was in use, an image of God would appear in the space between the two cherubs that live on the top of the Ark, which is also referred to as the Mercy Seat. There are a few different points of view regarding what this might have been in fact.
Some people believe that the appearances of God in the Bible, for instance, are frequently described as being similar to smoke, flames, or bright lights. Given that many believe the Ark to have been some kind of electrical device, it is possible that when it was “activated,” there would have been sparks and flashes that some may have taken as a sign of God.
One of the most extreme hypotheses is that the Ark was actually a holographic communication device that projected a hologram of the person who was on the other end of the line. To those who were not at all familiar with such technologies, the suggestion that this was, in fact, God would have made perfect sense to them.
To some, however, the Ark is far from mere legend and is not only very real but an object worth the time, money, and even ridicule to try to recover.
