"Then put in the ark the tablets of the covenant law, which I give you." Exodus 25:16
This might seem like a strange verse to get a message from God about, but I did get one as I read it. Also, the message had such far reaching parts that I could never write them all down here. Hopefully this post will finish one thought fully and speak to you.
As I read this verse, I heard God say that we are like the Ark of the Covenant. In us He wants to place all that He has to give us, commands yes, but also love, redemption, fellowship, etc. Of course, we have to be willing to have all of this placed in us. He doesn't force it on us, He gives it willingly and wishes for us to accepted the same way.
In the Old Testament the Ark of the Covenant held the laws that God gave to them. The covenant law to be precise. Not every law was put in the Ark. It wasn't like new laws were added, as they were, and the top was lifted and in they went. No, these were the covenant laws. The laws given that explained what He would do for His people, and what they must do in return. A covenant is an agreement, so these laws were the ones that govern that agreement.
Today, if we accept Him into our lives, then we have a covenant too. This one is a bit different, it isn't full of must dos and don'ts like the original one. (Not that we are free to just whatever, well sort of we are, but we're not. That's confusing and not for today.) We are in a covenant relationship but this time instead of us making sacrifices, which were required in the Old Testament covenant, He made The Sacrifice. We accept His sacrifice and are saved, and He places all that He has given in us.
This covenant is up close and personal. He wants to be in relationship with us. In the Old Testament covenant, you couldn't touch the Ark. If you did you would die. Even though He was found in the Ark (not that He was bottled up inside of it) people could only get so close to it. We have no such barrier now. Remember when Christ died the curtain was torn from the top to the bottom. The curtain that separated the very presence of God from the people. He torn it from the top down to show that there was no longer a need for a separation. He now didn't need to live in a temple, behind a curtain, or in an ark. He can now live within us.
We aren't boxes intricately carved and holding a distant God. We are however, made new in Him and He dwells within us, when we accept Him. As He dwells within us and shows us all that He is and does, we change. We become more intricate, more beautiful, more like Him. We let Him shine through us, and those around us see Him. They don't have to stay away from us or Him in us. Hopefully, they will see how He makes us beautiful and see Him in us and desire it as well.
We are like arks that He dwells in and makes beautiful.
