Image from chapelofhopestories.com
[First posted in 2012; examines a gospel text that Sinaites never questioned when we were Christians because well, what ‘believer’ dares question “Gospel Truth”? However, as we started reading the Hebrew Scriptures, some passages in the Newer Testament stood out as ‘questionable’. For another such passage, check this link:
Revisit: What?! There were resurrected saints at Jesus’ resurrection? — Admin 1.]
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Matthew 27:50
And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom . . . .
Sinaites have never questioned this NT claim before; it was part of the gospel narrative, one of many verses linking the second Person of the Christian Trinitarian God, Jesus Christ, to a piece of furniture that had centrality in the Sanctuary, not only because it was located in the Holy of Holies behind the curtain but mainly because it represented the very Presence of the God of Israel, YHWH, Who resided in the midst of His chosen people, according Torah accounts.. By the time of Jesus, the text presumes that the Ark was in the Temple in Jerusalem. Well, was it?
From the time the Ark was first constructed according to the instructions given to Moses, the Ark was situated in the Holy of Holies, behind the curtain [veil] in the Tabernacle in the wilderness. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter once a year at Yom Kippur [Day of Atonement] to sprinkle the blood of the goat upon the mercy seat.
It remained in the Temple built by Solomon until the Babylonians came, destroyed the Temple, and carried off the Temple artifacts as part of their spoils. There is no mention of the Ark of the Covenant thereafter; whatever happened to it is the subject of much speculation.
With that in mind, the logical progression of thought: was there an Ark in the existing Temple at the time Jesus was crucified?
- If there was no Ark in the rebuilt Temple,
- why would the “veil of the temple be torn in two from top to bottom” according to the gospel of Matthew?
- It has been taught that “Jesus is the Way, and that nobody comes to the Father except through him”.
- This tearing of the temple curtain is supposed to be the sign
- that the Way has been opened by the sacrifice/shedding of blood/death of Jesus
- which is the only payment for sin
- acceptable to the Father.
Really? A human sacrifice? What does the God of Israel, the Revelator on Sinai, YHWH, say about that?
Where in the Tanach does it say that YHWH is pleased with human sacrifices? On the contrary it is an abomination to Him! More of this in: Q: Where in the original revelation of God does He ever express His demand for human sacrifice?
Think about it — if the Ark is not even at the Temple, and the Glory of Adonai withdrew from the Temple before the Babylonians came (as per one of the visions described by the prophet Ezekiel 10:17-18), this verse and the NT interpretation of it just does not make sense!
God’s Glory Exits the Temple
17 When the cherubim stood still, the wheels would stand still; and when they rose up, the wheels would rise with them, for the spirit of the living beings was in them.
18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.
19 When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’S house, and the glory of the God of Israel hovered over them.…
Please read the rest of Ezekiel to understand the context of why YHWH’s Glory departed and withdrew from the very place where He has emphasized will bear His Name. and where His Presence would dwell among His chosen people in the Land of Promise and specifically the city of Yerushalayim/Jerusalem.
Image from st-takla.org
Let us therefore try to understand what the Ark of the Covenant was all about in the Tanach. Some verses refer to it as the Ark of the Testimony because the 2nd set of tablets (10 commandments) as well as the Book of the Law were placed in the Ark.
Please note when you read the Hebrew Scriptures that there is something consistent you might almost miss : you will find no trace of anything related to or representing YHWH that might be turned into an object of worship. Why? Because man is so inclined to venerate material “sacred” things! Even the bronze serpent [Numbers 21:4-9 ] had to be destroyed because it became an idol to Israelites [2 Kings 18:1-6]. Thankfully, only God knows where Moses was buried or that would have turned into another shrine.
Worse, just look at the idolatry relating to Jesus since Christianity decided YHWH was human-divine in His Son, the second person of the Trinity. Once that Pandora’s box was opened, a church-tolerated idolatry was unleashed! People are so prone to idolizing man-made representations of not only Jesus, but his mother, step-father, apostles, or anyone else remotely related, who was a devout worshipper, died and then canonized as a saint . . . who all are imagined to be omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent enough to answer prayers of anyone at anytime, anywhere, just like OmniPresent-OmniPotent-Omniscient Almighty God YHWH Himself!
We have emphasized over and over that Truth-quest is a personal journey each seeker must undertake for himself. Self-study is ideal, and bible study with other like-minded independent thinkers is even better because a healthy exchange of diverse ideas provides balance.
This website simply offers alternatives to centuries-old teachings to open up other possibilities from the traditional or unquestioned way of interpreting verses . Also, reading the Hebrew-English Translation is better than the Christian Old Testament version; the Jewish translation here is ArtScroll Tanach [AST]. [Note: We are in the process of adding the translation of Robert Alter; and still awaiting ,Everett Fox to finish his translation of the whole TNK.].
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1 Chronicles 16:6 – and Benaiah and Jahaziel, the Kohanim, always being with the trumpets before the Ark of the Covenant of God.
1 Chronicles 16:37 – [David] left Asaph and his kinsmen there before the Ark of the Covenant of HASHEM to minister before the Ark permanently, each day according to what was appropriate on that day, 1 Chron. 16:37 – So he left Asaph and his relatives there before the ark of the covenant of the Lord to minister before the ark continually, as every day’s work required;
1 Chronicles 17:1 –It happened after David was settled into his home that David said to Nathan the prophet, “Behold I am living in a house of cedar while the Ark of the Covenant of HASHEM dwells under curtains!”
1 Chronicles 22:19 – Now apply your heart and soul to seek HASHEM, your God; get up and build the Sanctuary of HASHEM, God, to bring the Ark of the Covenant of HASHEM and the sacred vessels of God into the Temple that will be built for the sake of HASHEM.
1 Chronicles 28:18 – and refined gold for the Altar of Incense by weight; and for the image of the Chariot, the golden Cherubim that spread out [their wings] and covered the Ark of the Covenant of HASHEM.
2 Chronicles 5:2 – Then Solomon gathered together the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the leaders of the ancestral families of the Children of Israel to Jerusalem, to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of HASHEM from the City of David, which is Zion.
THE NEW TESTAMENT
Hebrews 9:4 – having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron’s rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant;
Revelation 11:19 – And the temple of God which is in heaven was opened; and at the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple, and there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder and an earthquake and a great hailstorm.