Talk about detail! Some scholars have spent their lives researching and understanding the significance of every part of the tabernacle and how it was put together.
The Ark of the Covenant is an excellent example of God using something very practical and culturally significant to communicate something spiritual and eternally true. Such receptacles were used in other cultic practices of the time. For Israel, the Ark was the place where Moses put the two tablets containing the law God had given the people (25:16,21; called the ‘covenant stipulations’) and also a pot of manna and Aaron’s rod (See Heb. 9:4,5). The Ark served as a symbol of the divine presence of God that was guiding his people. It marked the meeting place in the inner sanctuary where God revealed his will to his servants. Thus, the Ark was a visible symbol of the invisible and divine presence of God living with and guiding his people.
The significance of the Ark in representing God’s presence with the people can be seen in the following events of scripture:
Crossing the Jordan Jos. 3-4
Fall of Jericho Jos. 6
Remembering the Covenant Jos. 8
With the judges at Shiloh 1 Sa. 1:3; 3:3
Plagues on the Philistines 1 Sa. 4ff
Tent of Jerusalem 2 Sa.6 and 15:24-29
Dedication of Temple 1 Ki. 8:1ff
Sanctuary during Josiah 2Chron. 35:3
Jeremiah’s view Jer. 3:16
The story of the Ark is the story of God using ordinary people and ordinary things to accomplish extraordinary and eternal goals. So, don’t get bogged down in the details. Be in awe of the great and wonderful God they reveal!