A strange word is used in the Old Testament that is very likely a mystery to many who read it – it is the word “ark.” Noah built an ark, and we have heard that story since we were children. Moses as a baby was placed in a tiny ark and set afloat in a river where an Egyptian princess found him and carried him home with her to the royal palace.
But what is that other ark – the “Ark of the Covenant”? It was a chest or box about three feet long by one and one-half feet wide and two and one-half feet high. It was kept in the Jewish tabernacle and later in the temple. Its cover was in the form of a seat – which in the New Testament is called “the mercy seat.” It was the place where God met His people. In this box was: (1) a sample of the manna which fell from heaven during the desert wanderings; (2) Aaron’s rod that had budded as a sign of God’s approval and; (3) the table on which God had written the Ten Commandments.
The Ark of the Covenant was very sacred to the Israelites for it represented God’s presence. When the Israelite people entered the Promised Land, the Ark of the Covenant was taken in first. When the Battle of Jericho was fought it was carried around the city . . . and, “the walls tumbled down!”
Many years later when the Israelites were soundly defeated by the Philistines, the Ark of the Covenant was captured and taken away. God’s people had believed this would never happen. The reason God allowed it to happen is that the sons of Eli – the priests and judges of Israel – were corrupt. They thought they had God in a box, that they had control of Him. But God showed them He cannot be put in a box!
Many years later the Israelites built another box that was much larger than the Ark of the Covenant: One hundred fifty feet wide and ninety feet high. It was the temple at Jerusalem. Built by Solomon, it was a thing of beauty and majesty. It was the place where the Israelite nation met God, the place where sacrifices were made for the people. They thought nothing bad would ever happen to them. The presence of God in His temple would guarantee that.
However, Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, said, “Will you stand before God in His house and say we are safe? When you steal and murder and commit adultery and lie and follow false gods – you oppress the stranger, the orphan and the widow” (Jeremiah 7:9-12). Just as Jeremiah had prophesied, Jerusalem was conquered in 587 BC and the Jews were dragged off to Babylonia like so many cattle! They had thought they had God in a box. They had thought they could do anything they wanted – because God would not let His temple fall into the hands of the enemy. But they discovered that God was more concerned about integrity than institutions.
Maybe you have tried to put God in a box. Maybe you have said, “I am a member of the church. I attend Sunday School and worship services regularly. I give my tithes and offerings to support my church. I carry my Bible to church with me. I do all these things in a box-shaped building. Therefore, God must bless me!” But have you neglected God’s demands for holiness and purity? Have you been careless about honesty and truth? Do love your neighbor? Do you harbor prejudice in your heart? Do you judge people by the color of their skin or by the way they spell their last name?
Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). What He was saying is that you cannot lock God into a box, or a chest, or a temple, or a church, or a denomination, or a specific nationality, or a certain race. When you try to put God in a box you do not limit Him, you only limit yourself.
Did you know that John in the Book of Revelation describes heaven as a box? He is using picture language, of course, when he describes heaven as being 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high. That is quite a city! You need to know that God invites you to live forever in that heavenly “four-square” city with Him. You can do that by opening your whole heart to Him, by letting Him control you rather than by trying to control Him.
The Paper Pulpit 
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