God spoke to the Israelites from the space between the angels atop the Propitiatory. It was like our tabernacles.

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Monday, 2/8/16

The ark of the covenant was a four by two, by two foot box of acacia wood that Moses constructed in his desert years. A plate of gold, known as the Propitiatory was laid across its top cover, and two golden angels faced each other on its top. 

In Exodus, Twenty-Five God promises to speak to the people from between the angels on the Propitiatory. That space, like our tabernacle was honored as the place where God resides.

When Moses had finished the construction, and had placed the ark in its tent, a mist filled the tent. That cloud of God’s presence was known as the Shekhina.

After the Israelites conquered the Holy Land, a shrine for the ark was constructed at a place named Shiloh, and put in the care of a priest named Eli. Then, Eli’s sons, trusting in the ark’s magic, carried it into battle, only to have it captured by the Philistines. 

The Philistines found that disasters fell on them wherever they lodged the ark; so they sent it back to the Israelites, where it rested for years on the property of an Israelite named Obed Edom.

When David became king, he brought the ark to Jerusalem, amidst great celebrations. He planned to build a fitting temple for the ark, but God restrained him, saying that the temple’s construction would be let to his son Solomon.

Today’s reading tells us that after Solomon, with greater celebrations, lodged the ark in the holy of holies the space was filled with the Shekhina, the clolud of God’s presence.