The Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament was venerated by the Israelites as it was the dwelling place of God’s presence on earth. So in the New Testament, is there a dwelling place for God’s presence on earth?  The answer is Mother Mary, the womb which carried the divine word made flesh is indeed the Ark of the New Covenant. Let us look at the many similarities in the Bible between the old and new Ark of the covenants.

Glory cloud of the Lord, Shekinah

When Moses & the people of Israel completed the ark, the glory cloud of the Lord covered the tent of meeting and filled the tabernacle in which the ark was placed.

“Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. Moses could not enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud settled down upon it and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34-35)

In the Gospel of Luke, during the Annunciation Angel Gabriel uses the same choice of words to Mary. “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

Just like the Glory of God overshadows the Ark of the Covenant which was the dwelling place of God in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit will overshadow Mary to conceive Jesus Christ, the Son of God in her womb.

The contents of the Ark

God specifically instructed Moses to build the Ark with Acacia wood and it had to be overlaid with gold inside and outside (Exodus 25:10). Acacia wood is resistant to decay and gold signifies purity and holiness. The Ark of the Covenant was made of incorruptible and holy materials as it was the dwelling place of God on Earth. Similarly the womb which conceived the Son of God by the power of the Holy Spirit should definitely be flawless and without sin.

Inside the Ark of the Covenant were placed the stone tablets inscribed with the word of God  (Ten Commandments), a golden jar consisting of Manna and Aaron’s rod which budded (Hebrews 9:4). Similarly inside Mary is Jesus Christ who is the Word of God made flesh (John 1:14), is the bread of life from heaven (John 6:51) and is the great High Priest (Hebrews 5:10).

King David retrieving the Ark and Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth

The Philistines who had captured the Ark, sent it back to the Israelites as it had caused problems for them. King David retrieved the Ark of the Covenant from them and there are many similarities between this event and Mary’s visitation to Elizabeth.

David and his people set out to bring the ark to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:2).During the Ark’s journey to Jerusalem, the ark resided in the house of Obed-edom (2 Sam. 6:10). Similarly Mary also travelled to the house of Elizabeth (Luke 1: 39-40). Here both the ark and Mary are on a journey.

David on seeing the ark proclaims, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Sam. 6:9). When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, she proclaims, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43)

When David saw the ark, he danced and rejoiced (2 Sam. 6:14) and so did the infant (baby John) in Elizabeth’s womb leaped for joy when they heard Mary’s greeting (Luke 1:44).

The Ark of the Covenant stayed at the House of Obed-edom for three months and the Lord blessed the Obed-edom and his household (2 Sam. 6:11). Likewise Mary also stayed with Elizabeth for three months (Luke 1:56) and certainly Elizabeth and her family were blessed by the presence of Mary and Jesus.

The Ark of the Covenant was taken to city of David (i.e. Jerusalem) (2 Sam. 6:12). Mary also travels to Jerusalem to present child Jesus to the Lord. (Luke 2:22)

The Ark of the Covenant and Woman in Revelation

John the gospel writer saw the Ark of the Covenant in the visions which he writes about in the Book of Revelation. The verse in Rev 11:19 is “Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant could be seen in the temple.” The very next verse is Rev 12:1 “A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.” Remember when the Bible was first written, it was not separated into chapters and hence these verses should be interpreted as continuous.  The chapter further gives information about this woman. “She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne” (Revelation 12:5).

The woman clothed in the glory of the sun and who brought forth a child caught up to God is Mother Mary. Mother Mary is revealed to be both the Queen of Heaven as she wears a crown of twelve stars as well as the Ark of the New Covenant. The great battle which is then described in this chapter is a fulfillment of the battle described in Genesis, the battle between Jesus, Mother Mary’s seed and the Dragon. Therefore Mother Mary is indeed the Ark of the New Covenant!