This is the third book

ARK, the ARK of the COVENANTand THE CROSS

In Scripture there are many things which are seemingly insignificant, yet they are all important in our understanding of our God and life.In the animal world we have their names used, there is The Lion of the tribe of Judah', The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world' and a colt, the foal of an ass on which Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.I understand the breed of this ass was.........., its coat was white, that colour for this type of ass indicated in that area at those timesthe one who was ridingcame in peace, Jesus rode on it and He was the Prince of Peace.It was a beast of burden, so Jesus came in humility and carried our sins. With birds there are pigeons, dovesand� eagles referred to.Thereare metals as we read of gold, silver also brass but for this discourse we will observe the reference to gopher, acacia and olive woods, all these things have their place in the Word of our God

Many of the stories in the Old Testament are discounted by some people as not being factual, but we know that many of them have been proved to be correct through archaeology.Many folk think that the stories of the Crossing of the Red Sea, Daniels Fiery Furnace and Lion's Den are just nice stories for the use of Sunday School Teachers, that is not so,With some of the miracles of Jesus a number of folk have even tried to explain them away.But as we accept the Word of our God as inspired, then we know it is correct.In this writing today, I am recording some interesting information in connection with Noah's Ark in particular

I still have a news item print from The Birmingham Post of 22nd February, 1974, it reads as follows:

Noah's Ark clue' from satellite

A speck on a photograph taken from an American space satellite may

be a picture of Noah's Ark, Senator Frank S Moss said yesterday.

He told a meetingat theAmericanCongresson surveying and mapping

that photographs from the Earth Technology Satellite supported evidence

that an object about 14,000ft up Iran's Mount Ararat is the Ark.

�The photographs taken from450miles above the earth, show aformation

which appears to be foreign to other materials found on the mountain�, said

Senator Moss who is chairman of the Senate Space Committee.

�It's about the right size and shape to be the Ark, Skylab photographs being

processednoware expected to improve theARTSpicturesofthearea.

Senator Mos�s said the location of the Ark-like object was in a canyon

filled with ice and was consistent with other sightings

In the late 1960's when I worked as a representative for Wheatley Davis Limited, a company manufacturing cardboard boxes, cartons and cases.One of my customers in Birmingham was Walker & Woodward Limited who were brass founders, it took me a long time to open the account with this company for the supply of cardboardcases,that was good as I kept it until the company closed down in the 1980's.In the 1970's Amy and myself got to know David & Eunice Woodward who were the directors of the said company, they were Christians.David was organising an expedition to Mount Ararat to investigate the possibility of Noah's Ark still being in existence

During training David fell off his horse, broke a leg which put an end to him personally going on this adventure, but the rest of the team went ahead.From what I now remember, in visiting Ararat there were political problems to be overcome, ri�sks for their safety and the visit could only effectively take place during a short period because of the weather conditions.During the expedition, photographs were taken of the foreign' object, measurements recorded and after considerable difficulties a piece of the wood was obtained from this vessel for examination

From what could be observed on the photographs of this object the same shape, a flat vessel just made to float, its size about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide and the same structure as the Biblical Noah's Ark quoted in the Bible.The piece of wood obtained from this vessel, was carbon dated to the period of Noah's Ark by a university in England.Part of this piece of wood I actually held in my own hand.Noah's Ark was a flat vessel with three decks, constructed just to float on water and it rained forty days and forty nights.Please note that in November, 2000 we had considerable flooding in England and Wales when it rained for only a few days, just imagine the �amount of water after a down pour for forty days and nights

Noah's Ark was made of gopher wood which was hard, it was pitched on both sides and has been preserved by nature in ice as the report printed inThe Birmingham Post, 1974 indicated

I find all this very interesting, but from it what do we observe?The answer being that the records inthe Scriptures are correct, it is the Word of our God.The peoples of the world were very wicked indeed at the time of the flood, as a result the judgment of our God fell upon mankind.Our God did provide a way of escape forthe Godly, this was salvation on Noah's Ark from God's judgment by the floodThose in the Ark being obedient toGod were safe, I understand that millions lost their lives in the flood and the remains of the ark which Noah built seem to be still in existence.Our God is holy, righteous and just, the penalty for sin has to be paid �because of His justice, He did this by the floods in Noah's time, our God cannot break His divine laws, Godly Noah and his family were saved in the Ark

ARK of the COVENANT

The Ark of the Covenant was made by Moses of acacia wood and gold as directed by God.The Ark was to contain the tablets of stone on which God Himself had written the Ten Commandments,also Aaron's Rod which budded, the Golden Jar of manna and on top of the Ark was the Mercy Seat

It was to be 45ins long, 27ins wide & 27ins deep,four rings were made and fixed to thecorners and rods of acacia wood were permanently left in position for transportation.This ark was lined inside and covered on the outside with gold, into the ark was placed the two tablets of stone on which were written the Ten Commandments, this writing was done by God on Mount Sinai, also in the Ark was Aaron's Rod which budded and the Golden Jar with manna

The lid of the Ark, correctly known as the Mercy Seat was made of pure go�ld, cherubims of the same material were placed in position. When everything had been completed according to the instructions given by God,He said, And there I will commune with thee'.What does all this mean?

The Ark of the Covenant contained the original commandment tablets,this being God's standard of righteousness, His commands must be obeyed.As these laws, in the understanding God intended for them, were broken, the penalty had to be paid and we know the divine law is, The wages of sin is death'.God's�laws do not change, they still hold good today, as broken the penalty of death must be paid, that of death bothspiritual and physical.We sin, break the law of God and the penalty of death has not changed.The only person who could pay the price which was acceptable to God was our Lord Jesus Christ the perfect Son of God.Jesus said, Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets, I am not come to destroy but to fulfil', He effectively did this, even to t-he point of death and beyond.Our Lord Jesus Christ also is the only one who can correctly, completely, continuously keep the all Ten Commandments.So the Ark and its contents speak of the standard of righteousness and judgment of our God

The ark was covered with gold.This metal is heavy, dense, pure, ductile and the most valuable of all metals.God's Word is compared to gold on account of its inestimable worth (Psalm c19 v10), so are tried Godly saints (Job c23 v10), true Godly love (Rev c1 v13), true Godly riches and purity (Rev c3 v18) and sound Godly evangelical doctrine &obedience (1 Corinthians c3 v12)

In the Ark of the Covenant was placed, Aaron's Rod that budded'.Aaron was the first High Priest, his rod was to indicate his authority, a normal rod has no new life in it�self, but the one of Aaron's budded and was in the Ark with the tablets of stone, under the Mercy Seat.A stone has no life, it speaks of death this being God's judgment for sin, we need life as understood by Priest Aaron's Rod that Budded.So we need the life of our God as supremely expressed in Christ Jesus His Son.Through Him there is life, yes the rod budded (life), blossomed(beauty), yielded almonds(fruit).This was as we are told for a sign, this is how our lives should be in and through our dear Lord Jesus Christ

Also in this same Ark of the Covenant was the Golden Pot of Manna, this manna was white, round like a corianda seed and tasted like wafers made of honey.The children of Israel ate this in the wilderness, the folk were also instructed to, Lay it before the Lord'

This herb seed was white', it speaks of purity in and through Christ, it was round', not rough this speaking of perfection (in Christ Jesus and tasted like wafers made of honey, very delicate and nourishing

The manna had to be collected every day except the Sabbath, on the day before the Sabbath enough had to be gathered for two days and always it would keep fresh if done in accordance with instructions.This is how the discipline of our lives should be regarding our Personal Devotions, we should daily feed on the bread from heaven, Godly manner, the Word of God

When the complaining Children of Israel ate it, they said, What is it?'.As we become believers our manna is the Word of God, we know what it is, therefore do not ask, What is it?'Remember Jesus once said, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from the mouth of The Father', this is indeed Manna'.The worldling considers� that in our dear Lord Jesus, There is no beauty that we should desire of Him', but as we are Christians there is in our Lord JesusEvery beauty that we should desire of Him'

God gave instruction how the Ark was to be carried, this was by rods permanently positioned in the rings, this teaches an important lesson, the people of God do not have their citizenship in this world, no we do not,our citizenship is in heaven, so we should always be ready to move to our heavenly home.In stating this, one could come up with that silly quote,So heavenly minded butno earthly use', but the truth so often is that,Weare so earthly minded but no heavenly use'.In the days of Samuel )the Ark was moved on one occasion, they did not comply to the instructions our God had given, what happened?TheArk shook, Uzzah tried to steady it with his hand and he died.This in itself teaches that the work of our God must be done God's way, not the way of the world, neither the Philistine's way, nor that of the flesh, or the way of a lottery and certainly not for political correctness that is not God's spiritual economy either in Old or New Testimonies.The Kingdom of our God will not be extended by like for like, there is only one way, the way of The Cross, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto The Father but by Me'

I have recently been told that it was probably an acacia tree on which Judas Iscariot committee suicide.Remember the Ark, made of acacia wood contained the original record of the Ten Commandments, the one reads, Thou shalt not kill', this means both physically and even thinking of the action - Judas Iscariot sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver - it was the price given for the death for Jesus

Some years ago the BBC did a documentary about a group of Ethiopians who maintain they still have some of the remains of the original Ark of the Covenant.Details were given how it was taken from Jerusalem to their country.This ancient edifice, whatever it might be, is secure in a constantly guarded building and only one person is allowed inside every year

Finally, when the Ark of the Covenant was complete and set in the Holy of Holies in the temple, it was covered by the cloud of The Shekinah Glory', as Isr�ael were disobedient the glory of our Lord departed, a state of Ichabad'

As we meet in the name of Jesus, forUnto Him, (the Shiloh, that word refers to our Lord Jesus) shall the gathering of the peoplesbe' our dear Lord will be with us.Jesus said, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst'.When the Ark of the Covenant was in position and everything in order, God said, And there I will meet with thee'.For us all in our own Personal Devotions or public worship it is either Shekinah' or Ickabad?'

THE CROSS of CHRIST

There has been some debate regarding the structure of ancient crosses and type of wood from which The Cross of our Lord Jesus was made.Some say He was crucified on an olive tree, others consider it was the trunk of the olive tree in its natural position, with the cross member fixed to it.But I keep to what has been understood for centuries, that two pieces of wood were tak�en, fixed together and our dear Lord Jesus was crucified.The wood for The Cross might have been that of an olive tree, even as I write this, I feel something the horror of it all, so whatever does the type of structure or wood matter?

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of The Father was crucified for my, for our sins, no other sacrifice could be acceptable, our Lord Jesus was without sin of Himself, but He became sin for me, for us.That truth must be fully understood in my life andyours.The law of God, the Ten Commandments were established by our God, we cannot keep them, they are broken in the lives of every one of us and the penalty of death must be paid.Our Jesus paid the penalty of deathon The Cross, so through Him, we know forgiveness for our sins and peace with God.That expresses the judgment of God and mercy through Christ Jesus, just reflect on salvation through Noah's Ark, the Mercy Seat in the time of Moses and The Cross of Christ, the teaching throu�gh these is so consistent

Just one final point before I rest my hand.It is ironic that our Lord Jesus who was with His Father God in the creation of the world and all that cometh from it including the trees, one was taken, made into a cross and Jesus, the Lord of light and glory was crucified - I say no more but just give thanks

In completing this script on the flood in Noah's life, the Mercy Seat during the experience of Moses and The Cross of Christ, I finish in making one very important observation

We cannot become Christians by keeping the Laws of God,

but in being Christians we should endeavour to keep them

The Ten Commandments are God's standard of righteousness in its fullest sense, they also express His glory.Our Lord desires our obedience, to help us He gave ten rules written by His finger on the mount, they must be important.Before your breath is taken away by that statement, just dwell on these words from Scripture,All have sinned and come short of the glory of God'

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This is the third book