In exploring the concept of the Ark of the New
Testament (የአዲስ ኪዳን ታቦት )
from the perspective of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), it
is essential to understand why these sacred tablets (ጽላት) are replicated. While some argue that Moses was
given only two tablets, the EOTC teaches that the authority to replicate and
multiply these tablets has been passed down through generations, reflecting
God's enduring covenant with His people supported by biblical evidence. This
essay explores the biblical foundations and theological implications of this
belief, examining how the EOTC honors the holy flesh and blood of our Lord
Jesus Christ through the sacred tradition of the New Testament Ark.
Where did all these Arks come from?
Referring to verses like Deuteronomy 31:18, 32:16, 13:4, and 2 Chronicles 5:10, some argue that God gave Moses only two tablets, but, where does the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church get its thousands of Arks or tablets?
In Exodus 32:19, it is written: “ እንዲህም ሆነ፤ ወደ ሰፈሩ ሲቀርብ ጥጃውንም ዘፈኑንም አየ፤ የሙሴም ቍጣ ተቃጠለ፥ ጽላቶቹንም ከእጁ ጥሎ ከተራራው በታች ሰበራቸው። የሠሩትንም ጥጃ ወስዶ በእሳት አቀለጠው፥ እንደ ትቢያም እስኪሆን ድረስ ፈጨው፥ በውኃውም ላይ በተነው፥ ለእስራኤልም ልጆች አጠጣው።”
Some people argue that Moses was only instructed to make two tablets and
that there is no biblical reference supporting the creation of additional ones.
The response lies in the fact that, in the Old Testament, the system of
tablets, the temple, and the sacrificial incense service were confined to
Jerusalem alone. People in other nations followed idolatrous practices rather
than the system given to Moses. As a result, the tablets were not multiplied or
distributed to other nations. God Himself did not permit this practice outside
of Jerusalem, as He did not want the idolatrous nations to defile (ማርከስ) the sacred services
(Deuteronomy 12:13-14, 2 Kings 17:32-34). Therefore, worship, prostration (ስግደት), and temple
services (የቤተ
መቅደስ አገልግሎት) were
restricted to Jerusalem. This was further confirmed in John 4:19-21: “ሴቲቱ፦ ጌታ ሆይ፥ አንተ ነቢይ እንደ ሆንህ አያለሁ። አባቶቻችን በዚህ ተራራ ሰገዱ፤ እናንተም፦ ሰው ሊሰግድበት የሚገባው ስፍራ በኢየሩሳሌም ነው ትላላችሁ አለችው። ኢየሱስም እንዲህ አላት፦ አንቺ ሴት፥ እመኚኝ፥ በዚህ ተራራ ወይም በኢየሩሳሌም ለአብ የማትሰግዱበት ጊዜ ይመጣል።”
But, in the New Testament, the children of God who
believe and are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are
given the authority to multiply the arks or tablets from sunrise to sunset so
that the clean Eucharist (ቁርባን)
can be consecrated on them and incense can be burned to the glory of God’s name.
The Holy Bible testifies to this: “ከፀሐይ መውጫ ጀምሮ እስከ መግቢያዋ ድረስ ስሜ በአሕዛብ ዘንድ ታላቅ ይሆናልና፤ በየስፍራውም ለስሜ ዕጣን ያጥናሉ፥ ንጹሕም ቍርባን ያቀርባሉ፤ ስሜ በአሕዛብ ዘንድ ታላቅ ይሆናልና፥ ይላል የሠራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር፡፡”
(Malachi 1:11). The "Clean Eucharist" (ንጹሕ ቁርባን) mentioned in this verse refers to what is stated in
Matthew 26:26-28: “ሲበሉም ኢየሱስ እንጀራን አንሥቶ ባረከ ቈርሶም ለደቀ መዛሙርቱ ሰጠና፦ እንካችሁ፥ ብሉ ይህ ሥጋዬ ነው አለ።ጽዋንም አንሥቶ አመስግኖም ሰጣቸው እንዲህም አለ፦ ሁላችሁ ከእርሱ ጠጡ፤ ስለ ብዙዎች ለኃጢአት ይቅርታ የሚፈስ የአዲስ ኪዳን ደሜ ይህ ነው።”
It is called "clean" because the Lord, who is pure by nature,
cleanses us from our sins.
If the temple services, incense, and similar
practices that were practiced solely in Jerusalem during the Old Testament
have been transformed into Christian traditions through the blood of Christ
for New Testament Christians, who now live a renewed life and follow a new
order, then it is clear that the two tablets, once kept in Jerusalem, can
also be transformed into Christian tradition. These tablets can be reproduced
and used by Christians dispersed from sunrise to sunset, to consecrate the
holy flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in every temple to honor and
worship Him. Additionally, the Holy Bible states, “ቤቴ ለአሕዛብ
ሁሉ የጸሎት ቤት
ትባላለች ተብሎ የተጻፈ
አይደለምን? እናንተ ግን
የወንበዶች ዋሻ አደረጋችኋት
አላቸው።” (Mark 11፥17፤
Isaiah 56፥7፤ Jeremiah 7፥11).
This verse reveals that our Lord drove out those who were buying and selling
in the temple, affirming that temple services, which are inseparable from the
Ark, tablets, incense, and other related practices, will continue. It is clear that the above verses are intended for
New Testament Christians. In the Old Testament, temple services, incense, and
communion (ቁርባን) were restricted to
Jerusalem. They were not permitted even to Israel’s neighboring regions, let
alone “from sunrise to sunset” as stated in Malachi 1:11. Therefore, Malachi
1:11 is clearly directed towards New Testament Christians. The “clean
incense” (ንጹሕ ዕጣን) mentioned by Malachi refers to the holy incense
offered by the wise men (ሰብዓ
ሰገል) to Christ in the cave
of Bethlehem, as described in Matthew 2:11. It also represents the holy
incense that Christians worldwide continue to offer to Christ in the temple (ቤተ መቅደስ)
to this day. |
Thus, the EOTC transforms the Old Testament Ark into
the New Testament Ark or tablets, multiplying and utilizing them to honor the
holy flesh and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and worship Him from sunrise to
sunset.
In conclusion, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
uniquely understands the transformation of the Old Testament Ark into the New
Testament Ark, emphasizing the continuity of worship and the multiplication of
sacred tablets. Rooted in profound biblical foundations, this practice reflects
the EOTC’s deep reverence for the Eucharist (የጌታ ሥጋና ደም)
and the sanctity (ቅድስና)
of temple services. By multiplying and utilizing these holy tablets, the Church
not only venerates the holy flesh and blood of Christ but also embodies a
timeless commitment to worshiping Him from sunrise to sunset.
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