The end of the Old Testament period brought a different world to the
Jewish people than what they had been used to experiencing. Not the
least of these changes involved the loss of their independence and the
destruction of their Temple. As we begin our consideration of the
Messianic promise during the time between the testaments, it is good to
pause and attempt to answer a question that I am often asked—the
whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant. The problem is that the Bible is
silent about what happened to it before or after the destruction of the
Temple in 586 B.C. While the issue is not directly related to the
subject of the Messiah, it will serve to introduce the next period that
will concern us—the Intertestamental age and how the Messianic idea
underwent change and even caused some of that change!
The Ark of the Covenant was the central furnishing both in the
Tabernacle and also later in the Temple of Solomon. It was a chest made
of acacia wood covered by gold, 3 3/4 feet in length and 2 1/4 feet wide
and high. Within were the two tables of the Law. It was from above this
Ark, between the cherubim attached to the mercy seat resting upon the
Ark, that Yahweh communed with Israel (cf. Ex. 25:22).
In the 1980's, reports surfaced that an American group had discovered
the Ark of the Covenant on Mount Nebo in Jordan. Although no reliable
pictures of the Ark were released and no qualified archaeologists ever
confirmed the discovery, the rumor spread quickly and caused many to
wonder and ask questions. There are also reports that rabbis have "seen"
the ark under the Temple Mount. The attitude of any sensible person
ought to be that until solid evidence of the Ark's discovery is revealed
and confirmed by competent authorities, a skeptical opinion must be
held. The reason for this is evident when some basic historical and
biblical facts about the Ark are understood.
FACT ONE
The Bible simply does not reveal what happened to the Ark when the
Solomonic Temple was destroyed in 586 B.C. Although it may have been
carried off to Babylon as a trophy of war, there is no mention of its
being among the confiscated Temple items in 2 Kings 25. The explanation
offered in the movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark, is that it was carried
off by the Egyptian Pharaoh Shishak when he plundered the "treasures" of
the Temple in 925 B.C. (1 Ki. 14:25-26). It is not clear at all,
however, that the Ark was among those "treasures." As a matter of fact,
the Bible teaches that the ark was still in Jerusalem during the time of
Josiah, three hundred years after the attack by Shishak (2 Chron. 35:3).
So we know that it did not disappear into Egypt at that time. This is
particularly important in light of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church claim
to have the ark in an underground temple in Northern Ethiopia. The
Biblical statement cited above contradicts any idea that the ark was
carried away to Africa in the tenth century B.C. as the Ethiopians
claim. Further complicating this claim is the fact that no outsider has
ever seen this ark in Ethiopia. How then can such a claim ever possibly
be substantiated?
FACT TWO
An apocryphal book written during the century prior to Jesus' birth
records an interesting idea about the fate of the Ark. 2 Maccabees 2:4-7
reads:
"It was also in the writing that the prophet [Jeremiah], in obedience to
a revelation, gave orders that the tent and the ark should accompany
him, and that he went up and beheld God's inheritance. And Jeremiah came
and found a cave-dwelling, and he took the tent and the ark and the
incense altar into it, and he blocked up the door. And some of those who
followed him came up to mark the road, and they could not find it. But
when Jeremiah found it out, he blamed them and said, "The place shall be
unknown until God gathers the congregation of his people together and
shows his mercy."
It is this reference that some ark-hunters used in their "discovery" of
the Ark on Mount Nebo in Jordan. The following should be kept in mind,
however, concerning this passage. While scholars acknowledge that 1
Maccabees is a very reliable source of historical information, 2
Maccabees is marred by many legendary and miraculous tales recorded
nowhere else. For example, it is in 2 Maccabees 12:43-46 where the
offering of prayers and sacrifices for the dead is mentioned, a practice
which is nowhere mentioned in the canonical Scriptures. It is highly
doubtful, therefore, that Jeremiah did what the above account declares
he did. There is no such reference to Jeremiah's action in either Kings,
Chronicles or in his very autobiographical prophetic book that goes by
his name. Again we must ask, "Why did not the Scriptures record this
very important deed if it really happened?"
Furthermore, if we are going to consider information from non-scriptural
sources, why not accept the following simple statement in an apocryphal
work from the first century? In 4 Esdras 10:22, the Jewish author
bemoans the idea that, among other tragedies befalling his people, "the
ark of our covenant has been plundered."
FACT THREE
A Jewish tradition exists that the Ark had been buried under the
"Chamber of Wood" in the Temple prior to the Babylonian destruction in
586 BC. We should note, however, that this tradition appeared hundreds
of years later than the destruction of the Temple. Furthermore, the
rabbi that mentioned this tradition was opposed by other rabbis in the
Talmudic discussion on this subject in Yoma 53b. The fact that this
discussion took place in approximately 160 A.D. and that such an act of
burying was not recorded either in the Bible or in previous apocryphal
books makes this tradition questionable. This does not prevent, however,
some orthodox rabbis in Jerusalem today from believing that the Ark is
still underneath the Temple Mount and will be recovered someday by
archaeologists or Jewish religious leaders. It is often overlooked,
however, that the subterranean sections of the Temple Mount have been
dug up or explored a number of times since 586 B.C. People like Herod
the Great (37-4 B.C.), the Moslem conquerors (640 A.D. ff.), the
Crusaders (1199 AD ff.), the Turks (1540 AD ff.), and the British
explorer Charles Warren (1850-70) dug up or explored all the
subterranean regions of the Temple Mount and no one claimed to have
found the ark. It is often forgotten that Warren was a dedicated Free
Mason who was actually searching for the ark! Rabbinic "reports" about a
so-called ark-sighting after the '67 War are purely apocryphal and have
no independent confirmation or photographs. While the remote possibility
still exists that it is in a hidden chamber under the mount, only time
will tell and skepticism about its presence there is highly advisable.
FACT FOUR
Modern ark-hunters often defend their efforts by saying that the
discovery of the Ark is necessary for the rebuilding of the Temple. They
forget, however, an important established fact of history. It was not
necessary for the Ark to be present in either Zerubbabel's Temple or in
the later, greatly enlarged Temple of Herod. Josephus records that when
Pompey entered the Temple in 63 B.C., he did not find the Ark in the
Holy of Holies (Antiquities XIV, IV, 4). Furthermore, it was
acknowledged by later rabbis that after the Ark had been taken away by
the Babylonians, the only thing that remained in the Holy of Holies was
a "foundation stone." On this stone the high priest sprinkled the blood
on the Day of Atonement that he formerly sprinkled on the Ark during the
days of the first Temple (Mishna Yoma 5:2-3). The point to be noticed is
that although the ark was not present in the Second Temple, its absence
did not prevent the Temple from being very active during that time.
Although the discovery of the Ark would be an astounding event, its
discovery is not necessary for the rebuilding of the Temple prophesied
in Daniel 9:26-27; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:4; and Revelation
11:1-2.
FACT FIVE
An amazing prophetic statement by Jeremiah should be carefully noted:
"And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days,
declares the LORD, they shall no more say, 'The ark of the covenant of
the LORD.' It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it
shall not be made again" (Jer. 3:16).
Jeremiah is prophesying of the future millennial restoration of Israel.
He clearly states the lack of necessity for an Ark during this time of
future blessing. Moreover, it is highly significant to note that Ezekiel
40-44 describes the millennial Temple and makes no mention of the Ark,
although many other details of its gates, chambers, furniture, and
ritual are given.
All of the above information should cause each of us to be very careful
in evaluating any stories about the supposed discovery of the Ark of the
Covenant. Let us labor to study what God has clearly revealed, and not
get caught up with extra-biblical ideas and teachings. We have enough in
God's Word to keep us busy—let's not get sidetracked by sensational "arkaeology"!
"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are
revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all
the words of this law" (Deut. 29:29).