King Josiah in 621 B.C. said to the Levites who taught all Israel, who were holy to the Lord: ‘Put the Holy Ark in the house which Solomon the son of David, king of Israel built. It shall no longer be a burden on your shoulders. Now serve the Lord your God and His people Israel’ 2 Chronicles 35:3

This is the last historical reference found in connection to the whereabouts of the Ark of the Covenant

Approximately 3500 years ago, Moses was given the directions by God on the building of the Ark of the Covenant, while on Mount Sinai. For the next 40 years Moses would lead God’s chosen, the children of Israel, through the wilderness and the Ark of the Covenant would be carried with them to the Promised Land. There it would rest in Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem.

In 587 B.C. the Babylonian Empire was under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar and he commanded his armies to burn down the Temple at Jerusalem. At that time many of the Holy vessels were taken.

About 70 years later a new Temple was built by Zerubbabel. It is noted in Jewish History that there five things missing from the second Temple: The Spirit of Prophecy, The Holy Fire, The Shekinah Glory, The Urim and Thummin, and The Ark Of The Covenant. It is not mentioned what happened to the Ark of the Covenant, not even in the Bible.

It is surmised by Historian Joan Comay that the Ark of the Covenant may have disappeared before Solomon’s Temple burned down in 587 B.C. It may have been taken and hidden to keep it safe from the Babylonians. This conclusion came by way of no mention of it being carried off by the Babylonians and later restored by King Cyrus at the time of the return.

The importance of the Ark of the Covenant can not be overstated. It was the most Holy object that Israel possessed. It symbolized God’s presence among them in a special way. There is an ancient Jewish saying that helps to describe how important it is to the Jewish Religion (and it is just as important to Christians and Historians.)

Palestine is the center of the world.

Jerusalem is the center of Palestine.

The Temple is the center of Jerusalem.

The Holy of Holies is the center of the Temple.

The Ark is the center of the Holy of Holies.

In the center of the Ark rests the stone called,

“The Foundation Stone of the World.

The History of the Ark of the Covenant goes all the way back to Abram (Abraham). Now the Lord said to Abram; “Get out of your country, from your kindred and from your father’s house. To a land I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing; I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’ Genesis 12: 1-3

God had promised to bless Abraham’s descendants and make them a Great Nation. But God warned Abraham that before this would happen, they would live for 400 years as slaves in a foreign land. He also told them that they would be freed from that slavery with great possessions and that great judgment would come upon the offending land. (Ref: Genesis 15:13-14)

This was all fulfilled by their captivity in Egypt, the plagues on Egypt and Moses bringing them out of captivity. God allowed them to bring silver, gold and clothing with them from Egypt when they left. This fulfilled God’s promise to Abraham that Egypt would be judged and that they (Abraham’s descendants) would leave with great possessions. (Ref: 12:36)

The children of Israel arrived at the foot of Mt. Sinai (The Mountain, The Mountain of God, Mount Horeb, all Biblical names for Mt. Sinai) three months after leaving Egypt under the leadership of Moses and the God given supernatural pillar of fire at night to light their way and the pillar of cloud during the day to signal their way. God warned the people not to come too close to Mt.Sinai or they would die. So they set up barricades at the bottom of the mountain to keep the people from going to close.

God gave the people great signs, revealing His presence to them. The mountain smoked, lightening bolted from the sky and thundered roared. The children of God formed a close relationship with God.

If you will indeed obey My voice and keep my covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a Holy Nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel. Exodus 19:3-6

This event is important to understanding the History of the Nation of Israel. His people would become a kingdom of Priests to God on behalf of the nations. This would begin to fulfill part of the promise God made to Abraham.

In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. Genesis 12:3

A sacrificial alter was built at the foot of Mt.Sinai where blood sacrifices were made. The people agreed to the terms of the covenant. (Ref: Exodus 24:4, 7-8)

This covenant would signal a unique relationship between God and the nation of Israel.

Behold, I make a covenant, before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among whom you are shall see the work of the Lord; For it is an awesome thing that I will do with you… Then the Lord said to Moses, Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel. Exodus 34:10

God gave Moses the Ten Commandments up on Mt.Sinai. They were supernaturally written on stone tablets. (Ref: Exodus 24:12)

During the time that Moses was receiving the Ten Commandments from God he was away from his people for 40 days. The people were rebelling against God and had made a calf of gold to praise. When Moses returned with the stone tablets that had the commandments written on them he became angry at what he saw and he broke them.

God then instructed him to cut two more tablets made of stone and He would write the Ten Commandments on them again. (Ref: Exodus 34:1)

God’s people were instructed to obey these commandments.

The gold and silver were now to be used to construct certain Holy objects that God would command. One of these objects would house tablets that the Ten Commandments were written on---The Ark of the Covenant!

The Ark of the Covenant was built by Bezalel and Oholiab. The Lord gave them special wisdom in order to do the task, I have put wisdom in the hearts of all who are gifted artisans, that they make all that I have commanded you; the tabernacle of meeting, the Ark of the Testimony and the Mercy Seat that is on it. (Exodus 31:6-7)

The Ark of the Covenant is said to be made of Acacia wood. This wood was one of few trees that would grow in the hot dry climate desert climate. The Acacia tree is common in the Sinai Peninsula. It is a strong, durable, insect resistant wood that resists decay and moisture. Once the Ark was formed it was lined with pure gold, both inside and outside. “Ark” is a Hebrew word which means “box” or “chest” when translated. Around the top of the Ark was a gold rectangular plate known as the Mercy seat which was the same dimensions as the Ark itself. (Ref: Exodus 25:17-21)

The Mercy Seat was more than just a cover for the Ark, it was an atonement covering; the place where sins were covered up. God promised that He would speak to His people from above The Mercy Seat. (Ref: Exodus 25:22)

Two Cherubim faced each other at opposite ends of the Mercy Seatwhich were made out of hammered gold. Cherubim are heavenly beings in God’s service, guardians. These Cherubim covered The Mercy Seat with their wings. (Ref: Exodus 25:18:20)

Inside the finished Ark of the Covenant was placed The Ten Commandments (Ref: Deuteronomy 10:2-5), Aarons budded rod (Ref: Numbers17:10), A pot with an omer of manna in it, (Ref: Exodus 16:33-34). Later it is said that Moses put the complete book of the Law beside the Ark of the Covenant. (Ref: Deuteronomy 31:26)

The Ark of the Covenant is called by many different names throughout the Bible: Ark of God (I Samuel 3:3), Ark of Your Strength (Psalm 132:8), Ark of God the Lord ( I Chronicles 13:6), Ark of the Testimony (Exodus 25:22), Ark of the Covenant of the Lord (Deuteronomy 10:8), to name a few.

Where is the Ark?

There are several possible answers to this question.

1) The Ark of the Covenant is buried by the prophet Jeremiah on Mt.Nebo which is in present Day Jordan. This is an ancient Jewish belief.

2) An American named Tom Croster claimed to have found an object formed in the shape of a box and covered in gold. He says he found this while digging near Mt.Pisgah in Jordan. He announced on October 31, 1981 that he found the Ark of the Covenant. He states that he and his companion have taken several hundred pictures of this “Ark” but has chosen to only show them to a select few.

3) British Journalist Grahm Hancock wrote a book in March of 1992 called The Sign and the Seal: The Search for the Lost Ark of the Covenant.

He believes that the Ark of the Covenant was brought out of Israel in 650 B.C by King Manasseh during his reign, where it eventually ended up in Ethiopia. He goes on to say that it resides in a chapel in Axum, Ethiopia.

4) Rabbi Yehuda Goetz claimed in April of 1992 that the Ark of the Covenant is in a secret chamber underneath the TempleMount in Jerusalem and will be revealed when the time is right. Earlier in 1992, Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute told a similar story.

While any of these claims could be true, no one has shown any concrete evidence that the Ark of the Covenant has been found! So the question goes unanswered!

The Ten Commandments, or Decalogue, are a list of religious and moral imperatives that, according to Judeo-Christian tradition, were authored by God and given to Moses on the mountain referred to as "Mount Sinai" (Exodus 19:23) or "Horeb" (Deuteronomy 5:2) in the form of two stone tablets. They are recognized as a moral foundation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam.^[2]

In Biblical Hebrew, the commandments are called עשרת הדברים (transliterated Aseret ha-Dvarîm) and in Rabbinical Hebrew עשרת הדברות (transliterated Aseret ha-Dibrot), both translatable as "the ten terms." The English name "Decalogue" is derived from the Greek translation δεκάλογος dekalogos "ten terms", found in the Septuagint at Exodus 34:28 and Deuteronomy 10:4.

The phrase "Ten Commandments" is generally used to refer to similar passages in Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–21. Some scholars distinguish between this "Ethical Decalogue" and a different series of ten commandments in Exodus 34:11–27 that they call the "Ritual Decalogue". Although Exodus 34 contains ten imperative statements, the passages in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 contain fourteen or fifteen. However, the Bible assigns the count of ten to both lists.^[3] Various denominations divide these statements into ten in different ways, and may also translate the Commandments differently.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Commandments

Exodus 20:2–17

2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery;

3 Do not have any other gods before me.

4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject me,

6 but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments.

7 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.

8 Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

9 For six days you shall labour and do all your work.

10 But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns.

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and consecrated it.

12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 You shall not murder.

14 You shall not commit adultery.

15 You shall not steal.

16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.