I disagree with the statement "The two tablets of the Ten Commandments represented man’s rejection of God’s standards." The tablets created by God spelled out His covenant with His people. The Manna was His provision. The budded Rod showed His approval of Aaron.

But I agree that the Mercy seat covered the fact that the Israelites continually violated the terms of God's covenant with them, subjecting themselves to His judgment instead of His blessings. Thus He from the beginning caused the Mercy seat to be made, and a covering of blood from a sin sacrifice made yearly to renew the Mercy which covered over their failure to abide by the covenant agreed to by their ancestors to be kept for all time.

I agreed that they were not to look into the Ark in accordance with Numbers 4:20 lest they be struck down as in 1Samuel 6:19. If it is disrespectful to touch the Ark, how much more so to violate it's Holiness by prying open the lid to peer inside. This besides the fact that the covenant made with Israel was too great for mankind without being tempered by God's mercy. No one can survive the terms of the Law without His mercy; because all sin, all deserve to die.

But I must confess I've always wanted to see inside the Ark myself. I want to see the pot of Manna, the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the budded rod of Aaron so that I could worship God and praise Him for His faithfulness. But I think I'll let Him open the lid and show me if He is willing. And if by the time I'm there with Him, if I still even desire this. Are the buds still fresh after thousands of years? Is the manna still intact after all this time? Are the tablets really three dimensional cubes or are they slabs? Once we are changed to incorruptible bodies, will it be permissible to look?

TX Thom, what I got immediately in my spirit ~ when you asked if the buds were still fresh, is ... They are fresher than fresh. Now that is KEWL! Nothing about the manna, :~(

[attachment=109459,1028]

Heather-Jayne, the last mention of The Ark Of The Covenant in the Bible was when it was in the first/Soloman's Temple. Some believe it was taken away during the Egyptian (925BC) or Babylonian (586BC) captivities. It is not listed with the many spoils of those conquests; The Bible is silent on this matter.

Many believe the temple priests saw the decline of Israel before these conquests and hid the Ark; perhaps in the Dead Sea desert area or under the temple mount complex - there is an entirely other thread of thought that it is in an Ethiopian Church. It is highly likely that in the future when the anti-christ causes the sacrifices to cease and he sets himself up to be worshipped as God in the rebuilt temple, that The Ark of The Covenant (which was the central most fixture of the temple) will somehow be returned to it's rightful place in the Holy of Hollies. We however, will not be here to see this!

[attachment=109533,1030]