By Jerry D. Ousley
It was just a box, a wooden box. It wasn’t valuable, and it contained nothing of value. But to me, it was priceless.
My wife, Rose, had made it for me. She, her daughter and her granddaughters had held a craft night and each had decorated a box for someone special. I was her “special.” So, I saved it and put it away, not to hide it but to save it. I love it because it came from her.
In the Bible there are three “boxes” spoken of. Each was very special and carried a mission. These three “boxes” were called “arks.” The Hebrew word used for “ark” is “tebah,” and literally means “a box.” In Greek, “kibotos’” still means “box,” but also denoting a sacred box.
The first of these three “boxes” was Noah’s Ark, found in Genesis 6. It took Noah roughly 100 years to build. It was built in a wilderness area in a time before it had ever rained. Noah warned the people that it was going to rain and this ark was the only escape. But he was mocked and ridiculed.
This “box” measured roughly 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. In it, all animal life was preserved by taking on two of each kind, a male and female, and seven each of those considered “clean” for sacrifices. It also carried enough food storage for Noah and his family and all those creatures for more than a year.
Mankind had become so evil that God made the decision to destroy all life on the Earth and to “start over” with Noah and his family. It did rain for 40 days and nights and the flood covered the entire Earth for approximately one year and ten days. This big “box” saved life on planet Earth.
The second “box” was much smaller but still was made to float. It was the “box” that held the infant Moses, floating him in the Nile River until Pharoah’s daughter found him and took him in as her own. This box also was one of salvation. It saved the one God had chosen to bring the nation of Israel out of slavery and back to the land God had promised Abraham 400 years before.
The third “box” wasn’t made for water. This “box” was called, “The Ark of the Covenant.” It was a “box” considered to be holy. It was overlaid in pure gold and topped with a “Mercy Seat” that was also made of pure gold, and sported two angels with their wings extended so that they faced each other with their wings touching.
During their 40-year time of wandering in the wilderness, there were three things placed inside this ark. The first was the stone tablet on which God had written the 10 commandments. The second was a pot of manna as an example of what God fed them with during this period. Incidentally, the manna only lasted one day, two when it came to the Sabbath. But this pot of manna remained unspoiled in the ark. The final item placed in the ark was the rod of Aaron that had budded. It’s an interesting story and in a nutshell, was a proof of God’s chosen leadership for the Israeli people.
This ark disappeared after Judah had been taken into captivity. No one seems to know what happened to it. However, it is interesting to note that we see it once again in the Book of Revelation (see Revelation 11:19). So, it seems to me that God took it to Heaven. I’d say, knowing what is in man’s heart, that it was a logical move.
The first two arks saved mankind. The first saved the human race. The second saved a nation. But the third shows man’s rejection of God by the three items placed in it. The tables of the Law show man’s rejection of God’s rules. The manna shows man’s rejection of God’s provision, and the third, the rejection of God’s leadership.
Because of that, a fourth “ark” was needed. It wasn’t a box, but it was in a man – A man described as “God with us” (see Matthew 1:23).
Jesus Christ became the “Last Ark on Earth.” He didn’t come just to save a race or to save a nation, but to rescue for eternity men and women and to redeem all of creation. He took our rejection of God, His leadership, His provision and His Law, and paid the penalty for our rejection.
It was a mighty high price because the payment was His very life. He died the cruelest death ever devised by man, and then was resurrected on the third day. His death paid for our sin and in Him we were buried. His resurrection conquered death, hell and destruction and allowed us to have eternal life. Oh, our physical body dies, but our soul goes on forever with Him.
But it requires us to give up ourselves. We accept His provision, and thus it frees us from what we deserve – eternal death in hell.
All these facts about arks and “boxes” shows us that we do have a chance. God is going to finally and once for all, save mankind from eternal destruction. But it can only come in accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior.
So, I ask, do you want to take a ride in the “Last Ark on Earth?”
—————
Jerry D. Ousley is the author of “Soul Challenge”, “Soul Journey”, “Ordeal”, “The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional” and his first novel “The Shoe Tree.” Newer books include “Finality” and “Dividing God’s Church.”
It was just a box, a wooden box. It wasn’t valuable, and it contained nothing of value. But to me, it was priceless.
My wife, Rose, had made it for me. She, her daughter and her granddaughters had held a craft night and each had decorated a box for someone special. I was her “special.” So, I saved it and put it away, not to hide it but to save it. I love it because it came from her.
In the Bible there are three “boxes” spoken of. Each was very special and carried a mission. These three “boxes” were called “arks.” The Hebrew word used for “ark” is “tebah,” and literally means “a box.” In Greek, “kibotos’” still means “box,” but also denoting a sacred box.
The first of these three “boxes” was Noah’s Ark, found in Genesis 6. It took Noah roughly 100 years to build. It was built in a wilderness area in a time before it had ever rained. Noah warned the people that it was going to rain and this ark was the only escape. But he was mocked and ridiculed.
This “box” measured roughly 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. In it, all animal life was preserved by taking on two of each kind, a male and female, and seven each of those considered “clean” for sacrifices. It also carried enough food storage for Noah and his family and all those creatures for more than a year.
Mankind had become so evil that God made the decision to destroy all life on the Earth and to “start over” with Noah and his family. It did rain for 40 days and nights and the flood covered the entire Earth for approximately one year and ten days. This big “box” saved life on planet Earth.
The second “box” was much smaller but still was made to float. It was the “box” that held the infant Moses, floating him in the Nile River until Pharoah’s daughter found him and took him in as her own. This box also was one of salvation. It saved the one God had chosen to bring the nation of Israel out of slavery and back to the land God had promised Abraham 400 years before.
The third “box” wasn’t made for water. This “box” was called, “The Ark of the Covenant.” It was a “box” considered to be holy. It was overlaid in pure gold and topped with a “Mercy Seat” that was also made of pure gold, and sported two angels with their wings extended so that they faced each other with their wings touching.
During their 40-year time of wandering in the wilderness, there were three things placed inside this ark. The first was the stone tablet on which God had written the 10 commandments. The second was a pot of manna as an example of what God fed them with during this period. Incidentally, the manna only lasted one day, two when it came to the Sabbath. But this pot of manna remained unspoiled in the ark. The final item placed in the ark was the rod of Aaron that had budded. It’s an interesting story and in a nutshell, was a proof of God’s chosen leadership for the Israeli people.
This ark disappeared after Judah had been taken into captivity. No one seems to know what happened to it. However, it is interesting to note that we see it once again in the Book of Revelation (see Revelation 11:19). So, it seems to me that God took it to Heaven. I’d say, knowing what is in man’s heart, that it was a logical move.
The first two arks saved mankind. The first saved the human race. The second saved a nation. But the third shows man’s rejection of God by the three items placed in it. The tables of the Law show man’s rejection of God’s rules. The manna shows man’s rejection of God’s provision, and the third, the rejection of God’s leadership.
Because of that, a fourth “ark” was needed. It wasn’t a box, but it was in a man – A man described as “God with us” (see Matthew 1:23).
Jesus Christ became the “Last Ark on Earth.” He didn’t come just to save a race or to save a nation, but to rescue for eternity men and women and to redeem all of creation. He took our rejection of God, His leadership, His provision and His Law, and paid the penalty for our rejection.
It was a mighty high price because the payment was His very life. He died the cruelest death ever devised by man, and then was resurrected on the third day. His death paid for our sin and in Him we were buried. His resurrection conquered death, hell and destruction and allowed us to have eternal life. Oh, our physical body dies, but our soul goes on forever with Him.
But it requires us to give up ourselves. We accept His provision, and thus it frees us from what we deserve – eternal death in hell.
All these facts about arks and “boxes” shows us that we do have a chance. God is going to finally and once for all, save mankind from eternal destruction. But it can only come in accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior.
So, I ask, do you want to take a ride in the “Last Ark on Earth?”
—————
Jerry D. Ousley is the author of “Soul Challenge”, “Soul Journey”, “Ordeal”, “The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional” and his first novel “The Shoe Tree.” Newer books include “Finality” and “Dividing God’s Church.”
