The Treasure in the Gold Box
The Ark of the Covenant
In the Old Testament, God commanded the Israelites to make a box and cover it with gold. This box was called the Ark of the Covenant. While this gold covered box possessed great value, it could not compare to the value of what was contained inside of the box. The contents consisted of the Ten Commandments which were engraved on stone by the finger of God. It also contained a jar of manna and Arron’s rod that had budded, but the value of these things was small in comparison to the greatest treasure of all, which was God’s presence that the Israelites beheld as God’s glory.
The people of Israel knew that the glory of God was the empowering force that helped them escape from Egypt. The glory cloud led them through the dessert and provided the miraculous daily provision of manna and the water that came from a rock. No enemy could come against the Israelites without being rebuked by disaster. The Israelites knew that the reason for all of this was the visible presence of the glory of God that was with them everywhere they went. The ark was the holy dwelling place that was reserved for God who’s presence brought immeasurable blessing to the Israelites. It was the greatest treasure in Israel and the greatest treasure in the world.
The Glory Departed, the Treasure was Gone
There came a time when the Israelites forsook God, and his glory departed from the temple where the ark was kept. The temple was destroyed by enemies and the ark was removed from its intended dwelling place. Israel had lost its greatest treasure, but God had a greater plan than to dwell within a golden box. He sent his son, who was both the temple and the dwelling place of God’s Spirit.
Why do I say that Jesus was the temple for the dwelling of God’s glory? Because the bible tells of an occasion when Jesus drove away the marketers and money changers who were selling over-priced animals for sacrifices and they questioned him saying, ‘“What sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?”’ Jesus answered them, “’Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days’” But the temple he had spoken of was his body. After he was raise from the dead, his disciples recalled what he had said. Then they believed the scripture and the words that Jesus had spoken (John 2:18-22).”
The Treasure in Jesus, the Treasure in Us
Not only was Jesus the temple of God, he was God. God dwelt within him. Jesus said in John 10:14, “I and the Father are one.” He prayed to his Father, God, for his disciples and all believers in John 17:21, saying, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” We also know that when he was baptized by John in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit came to rest upon him in the form of a dove. This was the anointing, or rubbing of God’s presence upon him that qualified him to be known as “Christ,” which means “the anointed one.” This anointing was God’s glory resting upon him to enable him to heal the sick, drive out demons, raise the dead, and do all miracles that he performed in a Spirit of love.
As wonderful as this is, Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, and then ascended into heaven. His body is no longer on earth to be the temple and the ark that provides a dwelling place for the presence of God. God still wants this glorious treasure of his presence to be with us on earth, but without a holy temple, or an ark, or Jesus Christ to dwell in, where can this awesome treasure of God’s presence dwell? I’m hoping you already guessed the answer, God dwells in believers, those who put their faith in his Son, Jesus Christ. We are the dwelling place of God’s Spirit, He put this great treasure in us that it may overflow as a blessing into the world.
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