89_Ark- A meeting place of God and man Ex 25:10-22 “They shall make an ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half shall be its length, a cubit and a half its breadth, and a cubit and a half its height. 11 You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it, and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. 12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it, and two rings on the other side of it. 13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark by them. 15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. 16 And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you. 17 “You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold on the two ends of the mercy seat. Of one piece with the mercy seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. 20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another. 21 And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 22 There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the ark of the testimony, I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel. If you were a builder, tasked with constructing a magnificent building, you would naturally begin with a strong and secure foundation and build upwards. The house would be up before the furnishings were specified. However, the building of the Tabernacle began with the Ark of the Covenant, the innermost object in the structure, and the most holy. This was not an oversight or a random decision. It reveals God's priorities and represents his way of bringing his people near. The Ark was not just another piece of furniture; it was the very heart of the Tabernacle, the place where God met with the Israelites in the person of their high priest. If we are to understand what it means to be in fellowship with God, we must start where He started: with the Ark, the meeting place of God and man. The Ark was placed in the Most Holy Place, a room with three walls of wood overlaid with gold. On the fourth side was the thick veil that separated it from the Holy Place. This veil was woven with images of cherubim, who guarded the way to paradise from fallen man and woman. They reminded everyone of the fall, and of man’s separation from God. Sin had created this barrier