The Heart Is The Ark of The Covenant

The heart is the storage box of the soul, as it holds a person’s emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. In  worship, the heart represents the ark of the covenant. 

The ark of the covenant, also referred to as “the ark of God” (1 Sam. 3:3); “the ark of might” (Psalm 78:61), and “the holy ark” (2 Chron. 35:3) was a symbol of God’s presence on the earth. It rested in the Most Holy Place (the Holy of Holies), the innermost section of the Tabernacle and Temple that only the High Priest could enter once a year (Lev. 16; Heb. 9:7). It is introduced in the Bible narrative in Exodus 25, when God instituted the Tabernacle. He told Moses: 

8 “Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. 9 You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you. 10 “Have the people make an Ark…” ~Exodus 25:8-10 (NLT). 

The ark was a sacred chest made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold. Per God’s instructions, it stored the tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. He told Moses:

When the Ark is finished, place inside it the stone tablets inscribed with the terms of the covenant, which I will give to you. 

~Exodus 25:16 (NLT) 

Moses detailed this event while retelling Israel’s history before the Israelites entered the Promised Land. He said:

“At that time the Lord said to me, ‘Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones. Also make a wooden Ark—a sacred chest to store them in. Come up to me on the mountain, 2 and I will write on the tablets the same words that were on the ones you smashed. Then place the tablets in the Ark.’ … Then I turned and came down the mountain and placed the tablets in the Ark of the Covenant, which I had made, just as the Lord commanded me. And the tablets are still there in the Ark.” 

~Deut. 10:1-5 (NLT) 

When worship moved from the Tabernacle to the Temple, the ark and the tablets moved with it. 

6 Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim… 9 Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt. 

~1 Kings 8:6-9 (NLT) 

The heart (nonmaterial part of the soul) is likened to the ark of the covenant because it too stores things. It holds rumors (Prov. 18:8), deep thoughts (Luke 2:35); sin (Psalm 36:1), and instruction (Prov. 4:20-21). And like the ark of the covenant, it holds the word of God as well. As Moses told the Israelites: 

… the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it. 

~Deut. 30:14 (NLT) 

Now, because of the New Covenant, the word of God no longer needs to be written down on stone. Now it is written and lives in the heart of each believer. This is what Jeremiah foretold as one of God’s spokesmen:

“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 

~Jer. 31:33 (NLT) 

Because the word is written on the heart, a person of faith will be convicted when they do wrong, even if they have never read a particular portion of Scripture that specifically deals with that sin. This is because the Holy Spirit lives in the heart (2 Cor. 1:22) and teaches believers how to be godly (1 John 2:27). This is also what Paul spoke of when writing about the Gentile believers, who were not the recipients of the Mosaic Law. He wrote:

14 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. 15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. ~Romans 2:14-15 (NLT) 

With God’s words in their heart, believers are empowered to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12) and confidently fight the spiritual battle that Jesus has already won for them when He was resurrected (Eph. 1:19-22; 6:10-17). As the Apostle John wrote: 

I have written to you who are God’s children because you know the Father. I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God’s word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one. 

~1 John 2:14 (NLT)