Anyone want to share your insights on the Ark of the Covenant and its contents….
Sure, the Ark of the Covenant had a golden lid, it was 45 inches by 27 inches of solid gold as the lid and you also had two Cherubim made of gold as well. If the lid is one inch thick that would be about 850 pounds of gold. Suffice it to say that whatever the thickness, it was a very heavy lid on top of the Ark of the Covenant that covered the Ark.
Now in the Bible the word of God is likened to fine gold.
This gives us an amazing picture which Paul refers to in Romans 4:
Romans 4:6 Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works,
No verse is of its own interpretation. Paul quoted verses about Abraham in Genesis, now he is going to Psalms and quoting David. It is significant that he focuses on both Abraham and David because the Bible promises that the Messiah will be descended from these two. That is according to the flesh. But Paul is showing us how their experiences match and confirm the gospel of salvation to all of us. These two men are very important to Jews for a confirmation of the gospel, but having the same experiences as Abraham and David is how the uncircumcision will also be saved through faith.
7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Now Paul goes to a description of the ark of the covenant. The blood of the atoning sacrifice is sprinkled on the mercy seat, the lid, of the ark. That blood is what pays the price for our iniquities and by that blood we are forgiven. All of Christianity emphasizes that our sins are forgiven. Iniquities are the things we have done. These are forgiven and forgotten, the same way a stain on your shirt is washed away and then forgotten. However, we are still sinners, that is our nature. So then beneath the blood is this very heavy covering of pure gold that covers our sins. In the previous post I described "covering" my sins with four hours a day in the word of God, in fellowship, and in prayer. When I first got saved I attended six meetings a week and in addition to that usually went to someones house for a meal and fellowship each week. Wednesday was the prayer meeting, Friday was a Bible study, Saturday morning was a service meeting to take care of the meeting hall, Saturday night was a young people's meeting for college kids, Sunday morning was the main meeting and Sunday night was the Lord's table where everyone shared testimonies of the things that happened that week. All of this time spent in the word and in fellowship was like a very heavy lid on my sin nature. We understood either the mind is on the flesh or it is on the Spirit. It is up to me, I can place my mind on the Spirit by going to one of these meetings, or by reading the Bible or by listening to worship music, or by praying. Or I can place my mind on the flesh by watching TV, going on the computer, etc. Regardless of what choice a person makes both people have the sin nature, one has put a heavy lid on it and one has released the sin nature to roam free. The picture of our being baptized into the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is also pointing out that we are to be immersed into God. Our receiving Jesus' forgiveness is to be followed by being immersed into God. Four hours a day seems extreme until you learn that the average screen time for an American is seven hours. People can sit in front of a screen for seven hours a day, but spend four hours a day with Jesus Christ in fellowship, prayer, worship or study and that is "too extreme". But that is why 54% of Christian men confess to spending time in pornography. They have not put a heavy lid on their spirit.
Now to "impute" sin is to reckon like an accountant who keeps a tally of assets and liabilities. This is what is rarely if ever taught in Christianity. The Lord imputes sin. That is what the bible says. If you spend four hours a day on the TV there is a record of that. It is not on a "naughty list" no, the record is kept in your brain. Those four hours will give you an unredeemed brain. In Romans 8 Paul calls that "the mind of the flesh". Ultimately it becomes a habit. You will walk in the house and without even thinking about it the TV is turned on or the computer is turned on. That is "the mind set on the flesh". Likewise if you spend four hours in fellowship with the Lord then that is "the mind of the spirit" and ultimately that can become a habit and so it is "the mind set on the spirit". Not only so but we have a promise "whatever a man sows that shall he reap". If you spend four hours watching TV you are sowing seeds that will spring up. On the flip side if you spend four hours in fellowship with the Lord you are also sowing seeds that will spring up.
When you get "saved" you should realize your mind is like this field. It is overrun with noxious weeds and poisonous things. Get to work. Turn the soil, dig up the rocks, and sow seeds to the spirit. By flooding your field with seeds from the spirit they will choke out and overwhelm all the seeds from the flesh. You can't prevent these seeds from blowing into your field, just driving down the street or talking to someone at work. But you can overwhelm them. The goal is to have a very long list of spiritual assets and minimize the list of sinful liabilities.
