In a normal situation the Ark and the tabernacle should always be joined together and never separated from each other. This means that under normal circumstances Christ and His outward form and expression should not be separated. However, something abnormal happened in the Old Testament—God’s children failed and the Israelites became desolate and degraded. As a consequence, the Ark was captured by the Philistines and carried away (1 Sam. 4:1-11). The captivity of the Ark is a well-known story in the history of God’s children. The captivity of the Ark signifies the loss of God’s testimony due to the fall of God’s children. This is true according to typology in the Old Testament and also according to the reality in the New Testament. As the church began to be degraded and defeated, God’s testimony in Christ was captured and lost. This separated the Ark from the tabernacle so that the tabernacle was in one place and the Ark was in another. Although the tabernacle moved from Shiloh to Gibeon (Josh. 18:1; 2 Chron. 1:3), the Ark was not in the tabernacle (1 Sam. 4:3).
In the beginning, the situation of God’s children was normal because the tabernacle was among them, and the Ark was in the tabernacle. The tabernacle with the Ark inside was the center of the service of the children of God, and they kept God’s testimony on the earth. God’s presence was upon the Ark in the tabernacle. When their general condition declined, the Ark was captured. From that time forward the Ark and the tabernacle were separated, and even though the majority of the Israelites focused on the tabernacle, the Ark was in another place. The majority of the Israelites saw the outward tabernacle, and they continued to offer sacrifices and serve God there. However, there was a small group of people who loved God and were in God. Their eyes were not focused on the tabernacle but on God’s Ark.
We must pay attention to three points. We need to ask where the Ark was during the time it was separated from the tabernacle. The Ark was in David’s hand, and it eventually stayed in a tent that David pitched in the city of David (2 Sam. 6:16-17). David was not only a king; he was also a person who knew God’s heart. Although the majority of God’s children were in desolation, paying attention only to the outward tabernacle, there were a few people who knew God’s heart and paid attention to the Ark rather than the outward tabernacle merely. David represents these ones. He was different from the thousands of Israelites who offered sacrifices at the tabernacle in Gibeon. David did not focus on the tabernacle, because he knew God; instead, he brought the Ark back and placed it in the city of David. This is the first point.
When God’s children are in a proper condition, the Ark and the tabernacle are never separated. Furthermore, there should have been no distinction between the house of the Israelites and the house of David; all God’s children should worship and serve God together so that the Ark is in the tabernacle, and God is with them. When the children of Israel became abnormal, fallen, and desolated, the Ark was captured and separated from the tabernacle. At that time there was only the outward tabernacle, but there was no Ark inside of it. In other words, when God’s children are in desolation, they may have an outward form without the inward reality. In terms of today’s situation, we may also have the church outwardly without Christ as the reality. This is the second point.
During the period of desolation, the majority of God’s children served God at the location of the tabernacle at Gibeon. Nevertheless, they served in a careless way, having only an outward form of service related to the physical tabernacle. Only a small group of people—like David, who knew God, who was according to God, and who was pleasing to God—paid attention to the Ark. This means that they did not focus on the appearance of the church but on Christ, the reality. Their eyes were not focused on outward things but on Christ. This is the third point. I hope we can all firmly grasp these three points.
When David passed away, his son Solomon became the king; however, like a child, he did not know God adequately. After he became king, he was thankful to God. However, he took oxen and sheep and all the leaders to offer sacrifices to God at Gibeon (2 Chron. 1:3). He chose the tabernacle that was far from him instead of the Ark that was near to him; he did not realize that his house was in Jerusalem and that the Ark was also in Jerusalem. He went to Gibeon because Jehovah’s tabernacle and the bronze altar were there.
Outwardly, the tabernacle looked exactly the same as it did when Moses was alive. Solomon took all the leaders to Gibeon and offered thousands of sacrifices. Interestingly, according to the record in the Bible, God came to Solomon that evening and gave him a vision and a dream. God spoke to Solomon in the dream, and Solomon asked God for wisdom; thus, God granted him wisdom. After Solomon received wisdom, he immediately went back to Jerusalem, the place where the Ark was, and he worshipped God there (v. 13). Before he met God, he had an ordinary view of serving God according to an outward form. This is the reason he went to Gibeon to offer sacrifices. After he received wisdom and a vision from God, he immediately went back to the Ark in Jerusalem and offered sacrifices there. From that point forward, the Bible does not speak any more concerning the relationship between Solomon and the tabernacle; it speaks only of matters related to Solomon and the Ark.
We need to see that when the church is in a normal condition, Christ, the inward reality, and the church, the outward form, are one; the inward Christ is expressed through the outward church. However, the church became desolate and God’s testimony was lost. As a result, the tabernacle and the Ark were separated. From that moment forward, those who do not have a vision, which constitutes the majority of the people, look only at the outward appearance of the church and neglect the reality of Christ. Only a few people like David do not focus on the outward form and appearance of the tabernacle but care only for the Ark, for Christ. God’s eyes similarly are not on the outward form but on the reality; God does not look on the tabernacle but on the Ark. He does not regard the outward appearance of the church but the reality of Christ. From the beginning of Israel’s degradation, God was interested in the Ark and its location, not the tabernacle. Similarly, God is interested in where Christ can be found, not in the outward appearance of the church.
May God be merciful to us and show us that whenever we speak concerning the matter of the church, we cannot neglect Christ. We cannot do things in a proper way according to the tabernacle but be without the Ark within. We cannot merely have an outward appearance of the church that is according to the Bible but not have Christ within. We must consider the church in our locality. Based on outward form and appearance, it may seem that it is a complete tabernacle that does not deviate in any way from the Scriptures. It may have nothing of the world, organization, and man. It also may not have a special name, special belief, or special fellowship. Additionally, the truth of Christ’s death on the cross may be present, and the gospel may be spread quite effectively. Nevertheless, it may not have the Ark, Christ, within. This is similar to the situation at Gibeon, where there was a tabernacle and a bronze altar but not the reality of the Ark. This is a very serious problem. The tabernacle, the bronze altar, and the Ark were equally important.