CORRESPONDENCE. FINDING OF THE ARK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 35, 4 August 1911, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE.

FINDING OF THE ARK.

To the Editor. J Sir; —All honest people will rest cer--1 tain that any treasure which certain unscrupulous pirates have token away from : the vicinity of the Mosque of Omar will be restored to the custody of the Turkish Government, which, whether otherwise admirable or not, is certainly at present the "man in possession" of the Holy Land, and has proved through cenJ turies a faithful custodian of the sacred places of the Old Testament. The Moslem, at least, holds the grave sacred and still calls Abraham "The Friend." If the graves of those kings who disobeyed Jehovah by having their threshold set by His threshold with but the wall between His house and their carcases (Ezekial xliii., 7-8), are now rifled by the treasure hunters, it is but a fitting sequel. The sepulchre of David is not of these. But to speak of the Ark of the Covenant as a possible loot is to evince utter ignorance of history. In the 11. Book of Kings, xxv., 13-17, is , an account of the articles carried away | by Nebuzaradaz, captain of the guard, | whom the King of Babylon deputed to I clear away the conquered people and their possesions. Jeremiah, an eyewitness, whom he had set free, repeats the list in chapter ii., 17-23. In the reign of the previous king, Nebuachadnezzar, had reduced the city and taken great spoil of gold, '"all the treasures of the House of the Lord and the King's house" (11. Kings, xxiv., 13). Daniel v., 1-4, informs us that the golden vessels of the Lord's house were brought out and used as drinking cups at Belshazzar's feast. The first chapter of Ezra contains tho decree of Cyrus, King of Persia, setting the captives free to return and build the temple, and restoring to its use all those gold and Bilver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had taken to place in the house of his gods—a decree revived and confirmed by one of his successors, Darius. These were carefully weighed by Ezra before delivering them to the custody of the priests, and as carefully re-weighed on their arrival in Jerusalem. (Ezra viii., 20-33). In all this no mention is made of ths Ark of

Covenant, which was the very heart of the Lord's house, and would undoubtedly have been named first of all the treasures had it been neither removed nor restored. It held the crown jewels of the kingdom, i.e., the two tablets of the law written by the iinger of God, Aaron's rod that budded and the golden pot which held the manna in perpetual pre-

sorvation—a standing miracle. Only once had it been permitted to fall into an enemy's hand, and then it had brought such terror to the enemy that it was speedily restored. Had it gone to Babylon we may be sure the Jews would have catalogued it in advance of all basons and snuffers," etc., and would have certainly expected miracles to at- ; tend it, and its return would have been a triumphal march. Wo know from Nehemiah vii., 85, that the one other necessary of complete worship was admitted to be missing-the breast-plate of the high priest. The priests whose genealogy was doubtful were forbidden to eat of the most holy things until there stood up a priest with Urim and Inurmmies, two words which are said to denote "light" and "perfection."' inese whatever their vehicle, were inserted m the breastplate which Aaron and his successors wore when they went mto the holy place before the Lord, rhese were the insignia of the Lord's royalty and not to be handed over to pretenders. T he high priests of our Lord s tune, and long before, were not of the sacred line, mere political upstarts and puppets of the ruling factions. I here is no mention of the Ark in the gospels as part of temple worship. Nor in Jewish history after the return of the two tnhos and of a portion of Scir. But in the second chapter of the second Book of Maccabees, which is good histoiv thoii ? l, wo count it not inspired, is a detailed account of 11,0 hiding of the Ark by Jeremiah, the prophet, attended by miraculous assistance, as might have been expected. That he hid the sacred fire and the ark in a cave of Mount

Nebo, saying "An for the place, it shall bo unknown until the time that God gather His people again together and receive them unto mercy. Then shall the Lord show them these things, and the glory of the Lord shall appear and the cloud ulso, as it was shewed under Moses and as when Solomon prayed that the plaee might be honorably sanctified." Is it likely that a posse of grave robbers, exploiting the tolerations of the Sultan's Government, which they owe to its reliance on British honesty, will be permitted by the Almighty to diacovei the hiding place of His ancient symbols! Whenever the right time comes to reveal their place of security, whether they still rest in Nebo or whether the prophet was empowered to transfer them elsewhere—for his commission at his first call was not only to "pluck up and break down, to destroy and overthrow," but also afterwards "to build *nd to plant" (Jeremiah i., 10) they are not left without a witness. From primeval time comes down the great Order of Freemasons, a factor in the days of Solomon as now. It is an open secret that one of their perennial ceremonies refers to the finding of the Ark. They penetrate a system of arches and re- \ hearse the matter from year to year, through all these ages. A time comes—how soon we know not —when "they shall say no more, 'The Ark of the Coveriant of the Lord, neither shall it come to mind, neither shall they visit it, neither shall that be done any more.'" Who have done this through the years but the Freemasons? But once found, their mission is ended, for earth holds it net much longer; its resting place is in the heavens. (Rev. xi., 19).—1 am, I etc.,'' ■- h.R.