As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron placed the jar of manna in front of the Testimony, where it was kept. The Testimony — the tablets of the law — had not yet been given when this verse describes the jar being placed before them. The placement before the Testimony is a prospective description, written from the perspective of the tabernacle's completion, when the jar, the tablets, and Aaron's staff were all together in the ark. Hebrews 9:4 describes the contents of the ark as these three: the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant. The three objects in the ark together tell the story of the wilderness: God's provision (manna), God's choice of priesthood (Aaron's staff), God's law (the tablets). The ark is a three-dimensional synopsis of the covenant relationship.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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