የአዲስ ኪዳን ታቦት (The Ark of the New Testament): EOTC Perspective – Part IV

The Ark of the New Testament in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) holds profound spiritual significance. However, some mistakenly equate the Ark with idols, misinterpreting biblical texts that warn against the worship of false gods. This essay will address this misconception by clearly distinguishing the Ark from idols, drawing on biblical references and insights from the EOTC tradition.

Is the Ark an idol? - ታቦት ጣኦት ነው?

Some confuse the Ark with an idol, and cite verses like  “ከእኔ በቀር ሌሎች አማልክት አይሁኑልህ። በላይ በሰማይ ካለው፥ በታችም በምድር ካለው፥ ከምድርም በታች በውኃ ካለው ነገር የማናቸውንም ምሳሌ፥ የተቀረጸውንም ምስል ለአንተ አታድርግ፡አትስገድላቸው፡ (Exodus 20፡3-5).

In Exodus 32:1-20, it is written: “…የሠሩትንም ጥጃ ወስዶ በእሳት አቀለጠው፥ እንደ ትቢያም እስኪሆን ድረስ ፈጨው፥ በውኃውም ላይ በተነው፥ ለእስራኤልም ልጆች አጠጣው።” If the Ark and an idol are the same, why would Moses go to such lengths to destroy the idol made by Aaron and the Israelites?

Similarly, in Exodus 34:1, it is written: “እግዚአብሔርም ሙሴን አለው፦ ሁለት የድንጋይ ጽላቶች እንደ ፊተኞች አድርገህ ጥረብ፤ በሰበርኻቸው በፊተኞቹ ጽላቶች የነበሩትን ቃሎች እጽፍባቸዋለሁ።” If the Ark were an idol, why would God instruct Moses to carve two stone tablets? Moreover, why would Moses go on to craft the Ark after being commanded, “ከእኔ በቀር ሌሎች አማልክት አይሁኑልህ…”?

Furthermore, if the Ark is considered a god, as some claim, isn't it God Himself who designed it and gave it to Moses? As it is written: “እግዚአብሔርም ከሙሴ ጋር በሲና ተራራ የተናገረውን በፈጸመ ጊዜ በእግዚአብሔር ጣት የተጻፈባቸውን ከድንጋይ የሆኑ ሁለቱን የምስክር ጽላቶች ሰጠው::” (Exodus 31:18). If God Himself shaped and handed the Ark to Moses, how can one equate it with an idol?

Additionally, in Exodus 32:35, it is written, “አሮን የሠራውን ጥጃ ስለ ሠሩ እግዚአብሔር ሕዝቡን ቀሠፈ።” If an idol were the same as the Ark, why would God punish the people for creating and worshiping idols? Those who claim the Ark is an idol should address these questions.

While the Tablet (ጽላት) of the Torah (ኦሪት) served as the throne (ዙፋን ) where God appeared in a cloud to guide Moses and Aaron, the Ark of the New Testament has become the altar of mercy (የምሕረት መሰዊያ) upon which the priest consecrates the holy bread and wine, transforming them into the true (አማናዊ) body and blood of Christ.

The Holy Bible distinguishes between an Ark and an idol in 1 Samuel 5:1-6:

“ፍልስጥኤማውያንም የእግዚአብሔርን ታቦት ወሰዱ፤ ከአቤንኤዘርም ወደ አዛጦን ይዘውት መጡ።ፍልስጥኤማውያንም የእግዚአብሔርን ታቦት ወስደው ወደ ዳጎን ቤት አገቡት፥ በዳጎንም አጠገብ አኖሩት። በነጋውም የአዛጦን ሰዎች ማለዱ፥ እነሆም፥ ዳጎን በእግዚአብሔር ታቦት ፊት በምድር ላይ በግምባሩ ወድቆ ነበር፤ ዳጎንንም አንሥተው ወደ ስፍራው መለሱት። በነጋውም ማለዱ፥ እነሆም፥ ዳጎን በእግዚአብሔር ታቦት ፊት በምድር ላይ በግምባሩ ወድቆ ነበር፤ የዳጎንም ራስ እጆቹም ተቈርጠው በመድረኩ ላይ ወድቀው ነበር፤ የዳጎንም ደረት ብቻውን ቀርቶ ነበር። ስለዚህም የዳጎን ካህናት ወደ ዳጎንም ቤት የሚገቡት ሁሉ በአዛጦን ያለውን የዳጎንን መድረክ እስከ ዛሬ ድረስ አይረግጡም። የእግዚአብሔርም እጅ በአዛጦን ሰዎች ላይ ከበደች፥ አጠፋቸውም፥ አዛጦንንና ድንበራቸውንም በእባጭ መታቸው።”

Those who argue that the Ark and an idol are the same should consider the following questions: If the Ark and Dagon were truly one, why did they not coexist peacefully? Why did disaster befall Dagon, leading to the cutting of his hands, feet, and neck? The disaster did not stop with Dagon; it spread to Ashdod (አዛጦን) and its surrounding areas, resulting in painful boils (እባጭ). Witnessing this, the people of Ashdod declared, "Let not the Ark of the God of Israel remain with us, for His hand is harsh against us and against our god, Dagon." In response, they sent the Ark of the God of Israel to Gath (ጌት). “…እነርሱም፦ የእስራኤል አምላክ ታቦት ወደ ጌት ይዙር ብለው መለሱ። የእስራኤልንም አምላክ ታቦት ወደዚያ ተሸከሙት።” (1 Samuel 5:8). These events clearly show the distinction between the Ark of God and idols.

In 2 Corinthians 6:15-16, St. Paul challenges those who assert that the Ark is an idol by asking, “ክርስቶስ ከቤልሆር ጋር ምን መስማማት አለው? ወይስ የሚያምን ከማያምን ጋር ምን ክፍል አለው? ለእግዚአብሔር ቤተ መቅደስም ከጣዖት ጋር ምን መጋጠም አለው?”

Therefore, it is essential to recognize that the Ark and an idol are as distant from each other as the sky is from the earth, with no connection whatsoever.

In conclusion, the Ark and idols are not comparable. The Ark signifies God's presence and His covenant with His people, while idols are lifeless creations that provoke God's wrath (ቁጣ). The Bible clearly distinguishes between the two through various passages, emphasizing that the Ark is far from being an idol. Both the Old and New Testaments affirm the sanctity of the Ark and its rightful place in the worship of God, completely separating it from any form of idol worship.