The Living Ark Poem by Theodore Zendarski

The First Ark: Exodus 25: 10 You shall make an ark of acacia wood, two and a half cubits long, one and a half cubits wide, and one and a half cubits high.11 Plate it inside and outside with pure gold, and put a molding of gold around the top of it. This cover you shall then place on top of the ark. In the ark itself you are to put the covenant which I will give you. There I will meet you and there, from above the cover, between the two cherubim on the ark of the covenant, I will tell you all that I command you regarding the Israelites. In Exodus 35: 30-35, God gives Bezalel the Spirit of God, "skill, ability, and knowledge in all kinds of crafts" to enable him to create the Tabernacle and its furnishings, including the Ark. Bezalel's expertise and craftsmanship are emphasized throughout the biblical account, highlighting his role as the master craftsman responsible for building the Ark. God also decreed what was to be placed in or near the ark, how it was to be transported and by whom. To disobey resulted in consequences. The Second Ark: Isaiah 43: 18-19 ‘Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it. I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.' Jeremiah 31: 22 How long will you continue to hesitate, rebellious daughter? The LORD has created a new thing upon the earth: woman encompasses man. Is that not the blessed Virgin Mary, the "Living" Ark of the New Covenant? Think about how special the first Ark was to God. And He only hovered above it. Now His Divine Son Jesus, the second person of the Holy Trinity, was to add to Himself the growing form of a human being inside that new ark. How special must this life nourishing ark be? Sinless for sure. Humble as well to accept that mission. During pregnancy, some of the baby's cells leave the womb, traveling through the placenta and into the mother's bloodstream, where they end up in various parts of her body. Mary therefore had the body and blood of Jesus within her in a way that no other human can possess. For that to be possible she must have been created in accordance with God's exacting specifications. In John 19: 26-27, Jesus, as he hangs on the cross, makes a poignant request to his mother, Mary. He says, "Woman, behold your son! " and then turns to the beloved disciple, John, saying, "Behold, your mother! " A generic "son" (and implied "daughter") to all beloved disciples. Do we all fill the shoes of being one of the beloved? At the end of our earthly existence is there a consequence as to how we regarded the second Ark?