Ark Meaning Spiritually

The ark or “Noah’s Ark” to be more precise is perhaps the most obvious Old Testament symbol of salvation.

If the flood was intended as justice and punishment – washing the Earth clean of sinners, the ark was the means by which God might save the righteous. These obedient chosen were saved from both the literal flood waters and the symbolic “sea of Godlessness”. Psychoanalysis generally interprets the ark as representative of the womb. When coupled with the rainbow (God’s promise to man), it creates a sign of unity; the ark below and the rainbow above, two halves of the world egg.

The ark has been used in the Old Testament especially among the Israelites. In the bible in the Book of Samuel, we find that there was a time when the Israelites went to war and unfortunately were defeated by the Philistines, as a result, the prophet Samuel told them to go to the battlefield with the ark that contained the ten commandments of God. Luckily with the presence of the covenant ark, they defeated them. It was believed that that the ark was a sign of God’s presence among them.

As long as the Israelites believed that the covenant ark had a lot of supernatural powers, it was similarly common believe among the philistines that the covenant ark had powers that were beyond human understanding. This was demonstrated in the time when the philistines had succeeded to take the covenant ark from the Israelites, In that whenever they went to war while the covenant ark was still in their land, they always won and as a result believed that the ark had powers that were able to make them victorious at war.

The ark however was treated with a lot of reverence and fear. It was a sign of God’s divine presence and power among the children of Israel and the prophets sometimes offered prayers and sacrifices at the ark to facilitate the cleansing and atonement of those that had committed sin before the eyes of God. It was believed to be holy and nobody would ever touch it apart from the priests and after they had sought forgiveness from God. That is why during the day that they had delivered it from the philistines, one of the people that were escorting it, touched it yet had committed sin and had not sought forgiveness from God through the priests and as a result died on the spot.

The philistines upon realizing the covenant ark had lot of superstitions especially by bringing victory, they decided to bring their god beside the covenant ark in belief that it could offer them guaranteed victory; however in the following morning they found out that their god was facing upside down beside the ark. The philistines would not believe that their god would not reign and offer them victory if placed by the ark. They went further to put it back next to the ark, but unfortunately, the following morning it was in disbelief when they found out that the head and hands were completely broken and detached from their god. This was clearly revealed and later came to believe that the ark had powers that were far beyond their understanding and as a result could not be matched with their god.