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The history of the tabernacle with the Ark is vitally important if we would realize God’s desire concerning His building. In the previous chapter we saw that when the tabernacle was completed, six major things followed. First, the glory of God Himself appeared on this earth and filled the tabernacle. The glory of God’s presence was clearly seen by His people—this is no small matter. Second, God spoke from the tabernacle. To receive God’s word, we must come to the building of God. Third, a priestly service, or a priesthood, was formed. Fourth, this priesthood was also an army to fight the battle for God. Fifth, all the battles were won with the purpose of gaining the ground for God’s building. And sixth, the tabernacle was set up as a worship center in a place called Shiloh (Josh. 18:1). From that time, any person seeking the Lord, such as Samuel’s parents (1 Sam. 1:3-9), had a definite place to go. How wonderful the situation was! But it did not last long.
During the time of Eli the priest, the people of Israel failed God. They were sinful in the eyes of God. They were wrong with God, yet they still went on to fight the battle. Of course, they were defeated (4:1-2). We must realize that whenever the children of God are defeated by the enemy, it is proof that they are wrong with God. If we are rightly related to God, we can never be defeated. When we are wrong with Him, we must be defeated, for the ground is lost. We must learn this vital lesson.
Although the Israelites were defeated, they would not learn their lesson; they would not be judged and dealt with by the Lord. Rather, they developed a certain superstitious attitude concerning the power of the Ark of God. Because they were wrong with God, they misused the Ark. They superstitiously planned to let the Ark fight the battle for them (vv. 3-9).
The Ark did not help the Israelites. They were defeated, the Ark was captured, and the two sons of Eli the priest, the two leaders, were killed (vv. 10-11). The glory of God departed from Israel (vv. 19-22), and the tabernacle was left empty. Israel retained the outward expression, but the tabernacle was an empty vessel; the content was gone. The Ark failed to protect them, for they had not learned their lesson.
In a sense, the Israelites were not completely superstitious in depending on the Ark to win their battle. The Ark was indeed powerful, for it did protect itself. After defeating the people of Israel in battle, the Philistines placed the captured Ark in their own temple, and in so doing their idol was defeated. Eventually, the Ark even defeated and subdued the Philistines (ch. 5). The Philistines had vanquished thousands of the Israelites in battle, but they could not vanquish the little Ark. They simply did not know how to handle it or what to do with it. Eventually they decided to send the troublesome Ark back to the Israelites and did so (6:1-16), sending it to Beth-shemesh. Upon receiving the Ark, the people of Beth-shemesh dealt carelessly with it, and many of them were struck by the Lord. The Beth-shemeshites then sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, asking them to take the Ark to their place. Hence, the men of Kiriath-jearim fetched the Ark and brought it into the house of a priest named Abinadab, where it remained for twenty years (6:12—7:2).
The situation was indeed abnormal: the tabernacle with the altar was in Shiloh, but the Ark was in Kiriath-jearim. The content was separated from the vessel, and the vessel was left empty. This situation prevailed until a full recovery was realized by the people of Israel. The Ark must be in the tabernacle. If we would have a normal church life, we must have Christ, the Ark, in the church, the tabernacle. All these events in the history of Samuel, Saul, and David occurred with only one object and purpose in view—God’s building.
The abnormal state of Ark and tabernacle in separation lasted for at least twenty years. God suffered long because His Ark was not in the tabernacle. The desire of God’s heart was for His building. Finally, God found David, a man according to the desire of His own heart (1 Sam. 13:14). Saul was not such a man. Saul walked according to his flesh, his lusts, his own aims. Thus, God raised up David as king over Israel.
Upon taking the throne as king, practically the first thing in David’s heart was to care for the Ark. It was in relation to this that Psalm 132 was written. “He [David] swore to Jehovah / And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob: / I shall not go into the tent of my house; / I shall not go up onto the couch of my bed; / I shall not give sleep to my eyes, / Slumber to my eyelids; / Until I find a place for Jehovah, / A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob. / Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; / We found it in the fields of Jaar [a short form in poetry for Kiriath-jearim]. / We will go into His tabernacle; / We will worship at His footstool. / Arise, O Jehovah, unto Your resting place, / You and the Ark of Your strength... / Jehovah has sworn unto David in truth... / For Jehovah has chosen Zion; / He has desired it for His habitation. / This is My resting place forever; / Here will I dwell, for I have desired it” (2-8, 11, 13-14). Psalm 132 reveals the Ark and the Lord, which are identified as one. The Ark cannot be separated from the Lord Himself. The Lord’s presence is always with the Ark, for the Ark is the very embodiment of the Lord and the testimony of the Lord.
David was such a man according to God’s heart, yet before he ascended to the throne, he had no authority to act. Once on the throne, however, he had the ground to accomplish God’s will and attempted to bring the Ark from Kiriath-jearim to Zion (1 Chron. 13:5). Zion was the choicest location in Jerusalem, and Jerusalem was the best place in the entire land of Canaan. This means that David prepared the first and highest place, the choicest spot, for God’s Ark. David’s heart was really for God’s dwelling place. He was a man according to God’s heart, the kind of man God is seeking for His building. May we be such men today. May we seek God’s desire that His dwelling place may be realized among His people even on this earth today!
David followed God with a sincere heart, but when he sent for the Ark, he lacked enlightenment. He had a heart for God but not the light from God, so he acted wrongly. The Philistines had previously used a cart to return the Ark to Israel. David thought that this was quite suitable, so he used a new cart to bring the Ark to Zion. God tolerated the ignorant Gentiles, but David had to learn the lesson. He had to learn not to do things according to the way of worldly people but according to the way of God’s holiness. While transporting the Ark, one of David’s men met with an accident. The oxen pulling the cart stumbled, and the Ark began to fall, whereupon Uzzah, one of the men, stretched out his hand to steady the Ark. The fleshly hand tried its best to help, but God never needs such help. If God wants something to fall, we must never attempt to hold it. We had better let it fall; then we will be blessed. Uzzah tried to keep the Ark from falling; however, not only did the Ark fall but Uzzah himself fell dead. By this death the move of the Ark was frustrated, and David was greatly disturbed. He became fearful of the Ark and abandoned his attempt to transport it by a cart.
David was indeed wrong in moving the Ark according to the worldly way, and he was also mistaken in his human opinion. We must not touch Christ according to the worldly way; we must never touch the testimony of God according to the Philistines’ way. To do so is spiritual death. We must learn to abandon the worldly system and keep our hands off. David should have been enlightened by reading the record of God’s Word. He should have seen the revelation of God and learned the divine way rather than use the way of the world. We must always touch Christ, the testimony of God, by the divine way that is revealed in the Word. We should never move on the basis of good in relation to the Ark, attempting to do something good for God, even with a good motive or a sincere heart. We must be extremely careful, lest we bring in spiritual death. May we be faithful to God and learn to fear God, not going along with the worldly way, not exercising our human efforts, but rather learning God’s Word, God’s commandment, to do the right thing in the right way. It is not sufficient simply to know the right thing; we must also have the right way. Praise the Lord for the good intentions and motives, but is your way by “the cart,” or by the priests carrying the Ark? Are you proceeding according to the worldly system, or according to God’s revelation?
The practice of Christmas affords an example of how Christians attempt to do good for God in a worldly way. Many argue in favor of this holiday. They claim that sending Christmas cards will help others to know Christ. They “preach the gospel” by Christmas cards. But that is doing things in the Philistine way. The card is like the cart. We need a living testimony to preach the gospel of Christ. We need the living priests to bring Christ to people. Then the issue will be life and not death. We may use many things to illustrate the same principle.
Christianity today loves to take advantage of so many worldly, Philistine systems. They argue, “What is wrong with carrying the Ark by a cart?” It may be all right for the world, but it is not all right for us. If we would be men according to God’s heart, then we must also be men according to God’s mind, according to God’s way, not using our minds or our way. We should not have the mind or the way of the people of this world. The cart issues in death.
Upon the incident of Uzzah and the resulting frustration, David left the Ark with a man named Obed-edom (2 Sam. 6:1-10). He thought that he had nicely settled his dilemma and would now be at peace. But after a short time, he was informed that God had greatly blessed Obed-edom. David was moved, so much so that he proceeded to bring the Ark from the house of Obed-edom into his own city (vv. 11-12). It is always like this with spiritual blessings: people discover where the blessing of the Lord is, and they want a share in it. David had now learned his lesson with God. This time he realized that the Ark should not be borne by a cart but by living persons. And it was not to be carried by just anyone but by those who were designated, separated, and holy. Only the priests could bear the Ark (1 Chron. 15:1-15), several priests together in a coordinated way. One priest alone could not bear the Ark on his shoulder; he must carry it in coordination with others. If one priest was short in stature, he must stretch up a bit; if another was tall, he must stoop a little. If another was fast, he must slow down; if another moved too slowly, he must quicken his pace. If they could not coordinate together, they could not bear the responsibility of carrying the Ark. David realized this lesson of responsibility. Living persons, the priests, must carry the Ark in coordination to its destination. David finally succeeded in bringing the Ark to Mount Zion, the choicest spot in Jerusalem (v. 25; 16:1).
On Mount Zion David had prepared a tent to contain the Ark. Was this all right? No, it was not absolutely right. With this arrangement there was not yet complete satisfaction. One day David realized the need of a proper and established temple to be built up to house the Ark of the Lord.
Many times we desire to do something for God. In our first endeavor we are totally wrong. Then we learn our lesson and begin again. Yet in our second attempt we are only half right; fifty percent of what we are doing is still wrong. But God is a tolerating God. He tolerated David’s shortcoming in bringing the Ark into a tent of his own choosing in Zion. David should have put the Ark in the tabernacle originally made according to the pattern revealed by God. Therefore, he still did not have settled peace. Many times after accomplishing something for God, we do not have full peace and rest; we do not have full satisfaction. The reason is that we did not act in an absolutely right way.
David then conceived to build a temple for God. This was indeed good, but God’s answer to him was no. God’s reason in so replying was first that David had been a man of war (28:3). Only a man of peace could build the house of God. Second, God promised David that He would give full peace to the people of Israel. It is only in peace that the house of God can be built up. Third, God told David that He would first build a house for David, and from that house God would raise up a son to build a house for Himself (2 Sam. 7:1-13; 1 Chron. 28:5-6). God would not give man any ground to boast of doing something first for God. The testimony must be that man can do something for God only out of that which God has first done for him. Thus, David did not build a house for God; rather, he prepared the materials (v. 2; 29:1-9) and the ground (21:18-30; 2 Chron. 3:1). Finally, he prepared Solomon, the builder, and all the helpers (1 Chron. 28:9-11, 20-21). Eventually, after all these preparations, Solomon received the authority on the throne and built the temple (1 Kings 6:1-2).
The temple built by Solomon was not according to any human design, for God had clearly shown David the pattern of the building (1 Chron. 28:11-19). In the same way, on the mount of Sinai, God showed Moses the pattern of the tabernacle. Both the tabernacle and the temple were built according to the design given by God. Thus, Solomon built the temple on the proper ground according to the pattern revealed to his father David.
The temple was much larger in size than the tabernacle. The tabernacle was thirty cubits long by ten cubits wide, but the temple was sixty cubits long and twenty cubits wide, double the size of the tabernacle. The tabernacle was ten cubits high, but the temple was thirty cubits high (1 Kings 6:2). Everything in the temple was much enlarged and increased. Furthermore, the tabernacle was made of wood overlaid with gold, whereas the temple was built with stones and wood overlaid with gold. The tabernacle was portable and lacked a floor, but the temple had a strong foundation and a floor of wood overlaid with gold. Not only was acacia wood used in the temple, such as was used in the tabernacle, but there was also cypress (fir), cedar, and olive wood. These three different kinds of wood signify the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Everything in the temple was more solid, more stable, and more established (vv. 7-22, 29-36). Finally, the Ark and the entire tabernacle as well, including the bronze altar and all the other vessels, were brought to the temple (8:1-4). Everything of the old tabernacle was brought to the temple to be mingled with it as one.
Then the glory of God filled the temple just as it did the tabernacle (vv. 10-11). Again the glory of God’s presence was seen on this earth, but this time it was in an increased portion. God’s doing is victorious! God moves on in steady progress. Regardless of how much the enemy would and could do to damage and frustrate God’s building on this earth, God brings forth something better, something larger than what has been damaged and frustrated. The enemy damaged the tabernacle and frustrated the recovery of its normal condition, but eventually God built a larger dwelling, the temple, in a more normal condition. God can never be defeated in His purpose!
The history of the tabernacle with the Ark is a prefigure of church history, giving us a full portrait of the course and situation of the church from the very beginning to the present time. There are five main aspects of church history.
In the beginning the tabernacle contained the Ark. As God’s dwelling place, the two were one. That was normal. The tabernacle was the very expression, and the Ark was the content. This prefigures the first stage of the church. Christ was contained in the church; the church was the expression of Christ, and Christ was the very content of the church. On the day of Pentecost Christ was in the church. On that day Christ was the Ark, and the church was the tabernacle. That is the absolutely normal condition.
History reveals that this wonderful situation, this pleasant condition of the Ark contained in the tabernacle, did not last long. The Ark was captured because of the failure of the people of God. The Ark was separated from the tabernacle, and the tabernacle became empty. This portrays the failures of the Christians causing the church to lose the reality and presence of Christ. This is the second aspect, the second situation. Christ as the very content was separated from the church, and the church became an empty vessel, merely an outward expression with no inward reality. In principle, this sort of abnormal situation has been existing for many centuries. Even today, many so-called Christian churches are empty tabernacles without Christ in them as the reality. The biggest problem today is the so-called church without Christ’s presence within it. How much of Christ do you sense when you attend some “church” services? When I was young, I attended two different kinds of so-called churches, and I must confess that not once did I have the sense of meeting Christ in their services. Because of the sins of Christians and the failures of churches, Christ has departed from many so-called churches. All that remains is an empty tabernacle.
The third situation prefigured in the Old Testament is that of the Ark without the tabernacle. First, in the house of Abinadab at Kiriath-jearim for twenty years (1 Sam. 7:1-2) and then in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months (2 Sam. 6:10-12), the Ark was apart from the tabernacle. The blessing of God came upon Obed-edom’s house because of the Ark’s presence, yet the tabernacle was still in Shiloh, separated from the Ark. This third condition when compared with the second is much better. However, it is still not normal. Church history reveals that from the second century to the present time there have been many Obed-edoms. There have been many persons with the reality and presence of Christ in their personal lives. The Ark was with them, but this was not the normal state. Throughout church history there have consistently been these two conditions. There has always been the situation of Shiloh, that of the tabernacle without the Ark. That is the condition of the so-called formal churches—they are the tabernacle without the reality, without Christ. And there have also been so many dear Obed-edoms, people with Christ in their lives and Christ in their homes.
If you were confronted with these two conditions, which would you choose? Would you go to Shiloh, to the empty tabernacle? Or would you take the Ark? When Solomon was a young king, he thought that if he would worship by offering his offerings to the Lord, he must do it at the tabernacle. Thus, he went to Gibeon (which possibly was another name for Shiloh) with his people to offer sacrifices to God. He was using his natural understanding apart from revelation or vision. At Gibeon (Shiloh) the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and asked him what he desired. Solomon requested wisdom from the Lord, and the Lord truly answered him. The next morning when Solomon awakened, he had the wisdom; he became clear that he was not in the right place. He had to return to the Ark. He had received wisdom in a vision (2 Chron. 1:3-13; 1 Kings 3:15).
Both conditions, the tabernacle without the Ark and the Ark apart from the tabernacle are abnormal. But comparatively speaking, the first is worse than the second. When you are confronted by these two conditions, you must go to the Ark rather than to the empty tabernacle. However, the Ark alone will not give full satisfaction, for it is only half of the total picture. The best, normal, and satisfying situation is that of the Ark within the tabernacle. Many Christians readily agree to go to Obed-edom’s house, to the place where Christ is. They think that as long as they have Christ, everything is all right. But this is not completely right. You have the content, but you do not have the vessel; you have the reality without the expression. You still need a proper church, a proper tabernacle. The Ark is important, but you still need a tabernacle. Christ is the reality, but you still need the church as the expression of Christ. If Christ is separated from the church, it is better to choose Christ, but this is still an abnormal situation. We must have the church with Christ within it.
The fourth position is that of the Ark in an improper, inadequate tabernacle. King David had prepared a tabernacle in Zion, but it was not according to the pattern revealed by God on the mount. It was a tent pitched according to David’s opinion. Church history is full of such incidents. So many faithful Christians do have the Ark—Christ alone. Then, later, they sense the need of the church life to express Christ, just as David sensed the need of a tabernacle to contain the Ark. Thus, they “pitch a tabernacle”; they set up a meeting according to their own understanding, according to the same principle practiced by David. Some Christians pitch a tabernacle on their “Zion,” and others pitch another tabernacle on the ground of their choosing. Is not this the situation today? There are many, many “Zions.” All say that their place is Zion, the highest and the best. Some Christians have even relinquished their family life and their jobs in order to pitch a little tent for the Ark. Many have meetings in their homes. “What is wrong with this?” you may ask. “Is this not good?” Yes, David also did something good with a good heart and good intentions. But it was not according to the Lord’s revelation, so it did not bring full satisfaction. It was good, but it was inadequate; it fell short of God’s full purpose.
We must be exceedingly clear concerning the principles of these four conditions of history. The first is the normal condition of the church with Christ within it. The second is that of the church without Christ—a completely abnormal situation. The third condition is that of Christ without the church. That is better, but it is still abnormal. There are many people today in this third condition. They are disgusted with the empty church life, so they abandon the thought of having any kind of church life. After a certain time, however, they sense the need of meeting together and begin a certain kind of church according to their own wisdom and choice. This is not proper. This is the fourth condition—Christ in an improper “church.” This situation is only half right. Such Christians know deeply within themselves that they do not have full satisfaction. Yes, they are doing good, helping people, and trying to meet together to glorify the Lord, but they do not have full satisfaction in their way of practice. They still have a deep sense that they need something more proper. They have a certain kind of church life but not the proper church life, the proper tabernacle. Although they do not know the proper way, they sense that what they have is not so proper. They lack the full assurance that what they are practicing is completely right. There is no need of argument or debate concerning this matter: if we feel peaceful concerning the way of our church practice, let us continue; however, most people in this poor condition do not have full peace or satisfaction, because in fact they have fallen short of the full purpose of God concerning the church life.
The fifth condition is that of the Ark with the proper tabernacle, enlarged and increased. It is in this situation, of Christ with a proper church to express Himself, that we feel completely at home. Praise the Lord, I have been at home for more than thirty years now! People may try to criticize or argue, but I know that most of them have some degree of emptiness within them. I can say with full assurance that I am at home; I know that I am in the church containing Christ, and I know that I have Christ with a proper church life. We will see more concerning the proper church life in the following chapters.
We must all be clear concerning these five positions in history. The first is completely right, whereas the second is completely empty; the third position is good but abnormal, and the fourth position is one of half-satisfaction; the fifth position is that of Christ as the reality with a proper church as the expression. We will never be fully satisfied until we come to the fifth position. I believe that in these last days the Lord is not only going to recover the original, normal condition, but He is also going to enlarge the church life and make it more solid. There are many attacks from the enemy, but the Lord is faithful; the faithfulness of the Lord will see to it—He cannot deny Himself. He is victorious, He can never be defeated! Eventually, He will accomplish whatever is necessary to fulfill His purpose in a more solid and full way. Let us praise Him!
