yeowch

The Ark of the Covenant

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow- Philippians 2:9-10

It's incredible what can be brought to remembrance, verses from the holy scriptures, as i go about my daily life. Very small things serve as triggers usually: a picture or a song, a person or a thought, a record or a relic. And as I watched the classic Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark yesterday, one of its scenes triggered the above verse to mind. Where the ark of the covenant was opened. What caught my eye was that as the people who looked upon it died they were brought to a kneeling position. Every one of them looked like they were kneeling in death. It was amazing and powerful and dreadful.
It's one of those moments which bring so many messages home. That we cannot underestimate God- yet unconsciously do so everytime we trust in our own ability or knowledge to bring us through something rather than rely on him. That we should seek his will (in that case to leave the ark alone) but usually don't. That although he IS love, he is also righteous and not to be tempted.

After watching the movie, i really want to go back and re-read the first 5 books of the Old testament, to try and comprehend the power of the Ark, what it meant to Israel then and what it might mean for present day believers. Since this is the first time I am going through the bible systematically instead of skipping everywhere (and am only up to 1 Samuel as a result of my slowness) it'll be a while before that happens. I'm afraid that when i read through the section about making the Ark and the Tabernacle, i wasn't as appreciative as i could be. I was innately frustrated by my own inability to picture the ark or anything really, despite quite detailed descriptions. But Indiana provides a way of looking at it and for that i'm grateful. It sorta awakened a zest in me to peruse thru history again. *edit* here's the first link i clicked when i googled 'Ark of the Covenant' -->http://www.domini.org/tabern/arkcovnt.htm for interest's sake.

Other good texts I've been watching/reading these past few days include: October Sky - i love this movie.
Cleopatra (the Liz Taylor one)- a movie you might wanna watch once in your life but maybe not again. Over 4 hours mate!!!
The Scarlet Pimpernel: Very good. I loved the style of the language. Read this online and you'll get thru it waay faster than if you held the book form.
On the Banks of Plum Creek: Sequel to Little House on the Prairie. An absolute treasure, the whole series. And knowing that its based on a true story -priceless!!

So it's been a calm few days, just the sort of thing i like. I have to get ready for work, but i don't know how many kids i'm getting or their age range or anything so that makes it a bit testy. Ah well, things will happen.

posted by "/umin @ 11:27 AM