26 Bible Verses about Ark Of The Covenant, Function

Then I turned and came down from the mountain and put the tablets in the ark which I had made; and they are there, just as the Lord commanded me.”

He took the Testimony [the stones inscribed with the Ten Commandments] and put it into the ark [of the covenant], and placed the poles [through the rings] on the ark, and put the mercy seat on top of the ark.

And when Moses completely finished writing the words of this law in a book, he commanded the Levites who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, “Take this Book of the Law and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, so that it may remain there as a witness against you.

There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone which Moses put there at Horeb (Sinai), where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites when they came out of the land of Egypt.

having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered entirely with gold. This contained a golden jar which held the manna, and the rod of Aaron that sprouted, and the [two stone] tablets of the covenant [inscribed with the Ten Commandments];

As the Lord commanded Moses, so Aaron [eventually] placed it in the presence of the Testimony, to be kept.

But the Lord said to Moses, “Put Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony [in the ark], to be kept as a [warning] sign for the rebellious and contentious, so that you may put an end to their murmurings [of discontent] against Me, so that they do not die.”

Now when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat (the gold cover) that was on the ark of the Testimony from between the two cherubim; and He spoke [by special revelation] to him.

There I will meet with you; from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, I will speak [intimately] with you regarding every commandment that I will give you for the Israelites.

The Lord said to Moses,

“Tell Aaron your brother that he must not enter at any time into the Holy Place inside the veil (the Holy of Holies), before the mercy seat which is on the ark, or he will die, for I will appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.

So they set out from the mountain of the Lord (Sinai) three days’ journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord went in front of them during the three days’ journey to seek out a resting place for them. The cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp. Whenever the ark set out, Moses said,

“Rise up, O Lord!
Let Your enemies be scattered;
And let those who hate You flee before You.” read more.
And when the ark rested, Moses said,

“Return, O Lord,
To the myriad (many) thousands of Israel.”

Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell face downward on the ground before the ark of the Lord until evening, he and the elders of Israel; and [with great sorrow] they put dust on their heads.

And the sons of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there [at Bethel] in those days,

the king said to Nathan the prophet, “See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains.”

As David sat in his house (palace), he said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold, I live in a house of cedars, while the ark of the covenant of the Lord is under tent curtains.”

“Now then arise, O Lord God, [and come] to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength and power. Let Your priests, O Lord God, be clothed with salvation and let Your godly ones rejoice in [Your] goodness.

Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,
You and the ark [the symbol] of Your strength.

and put the incense on the fire [in the censer] before the Lord, so that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is on [the ark of] the Testimony, otherwise he will die. He shall take some of the bull’s blood and sprinkle it with his finger on the east side of the mercy seat; also in front of the mercy seat he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. “Then he shall kill the goat of the sin offering that is for [the sins of] the people and bring its blood within the veil [into the Most Holy Place] and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it on the mercy seat and in front of the mercy seat.

When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out [with his hand] to the ark of God and took hold of it, because the oxen [stumbled and] nearly overturned it. And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.

When they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put out his hand to hold and steady the ark, for the oxen [that were drawing the cart] nearly overturned it. The anger of the Lord burned against Uzza, and He struck him down because he touched the ark; and there he died before God.

However, there shall be a distance between you and it of about 2,000 cubits (3,000 ft.) by measurement. Do not come near it, so that you may [be able to see the ark and] know the way you are to go, for you have not passed this way before.”

Then the Philistines took the ark of God, and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. They took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it beside [the image of] Dagon [their chief idol]. When the people of Ashdod got up early the next day, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord. So they took Dagon and returned him to his place. read more.
But when they got up early the next morning, behold, Dagon had [again] fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord, and his head and both palms of his hands were [lying] cut off on the threshold; only the trunk [portion] of [the idol of] Dagon was left on him.

The Lord struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord. He struck down 50,070 men among the people, and the people mourned because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.

So the ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite for three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household (family).

So the ark of God remained with the family of Obed-edom in his house three months; and the Lord blessed the house of Obed-edom and all that he had.

It will be in those days when you have [repented and] multiplied and increased in the land,” says the Lord, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will not come to mind, nor will they [seriously] remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again [for instead of the ark, which symbolized My presence, I will be present].