Bundeslade

The sacred gold-covered chest containing the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments, a jar of manna, and Aaron's budding staff (Hebrews 9:4). God commanded Moses to build it (Exodus 25:10-22) and promised to meet with Israel above its mercy seat between the two cherubim. The ark led Israel through the Jordan (Joshua 3), circled Jericho (Joshua 6), and eventually rested in Solomon's temple (1 Kings 8:1-9). It represented God's presence among his people. The ark disappeared before the Babylonian exile and was never recovered. Jeremiah 3:16 prophesied a time when it would no longer be needed.