Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant

Here we shall consider how the Ark of the Covenant was a prefigure of Our Lady in her role as Mother of God, Theotokos, the God-bearing one. This will be done by putting together the Old Testament types and the New Testament realities.

The Holy Spirit overshadows both the Ark of the Old Covenant and Our Lady

Sacred Scripture tells us that the Shekinah (the cloud of glory that indicated God’s presence) overshadowed the holy place where the Ark was, both in the desert and in the Temple of Solomon.

In the desert, “After all things were perfected, the cloud covered [overshadowed] the tabernacle of the testimony, and the glory of the Lord filled it…and the majesty of the Lord shining, for the cloud had covered it all” (Exod. 40:1-36).

When Solomon dedicated the Temple, the same majestic scene took place:

“And the priests brought in the Ark of the Covenant into its place…. And…when the priests were come out of the sanctuary, a cloud filled the house of the Lord” (3 Kings 8:6,10).

It is important to notice here that the only time in which the word overshadow is used in the Greek version of the Old Testament (in the Septuagint, the version used by the Apostles) is in reference to the cloud of glory, the Shekinah, covering the tabernacle enclosing the Ark. This overshadowing indicated the very presence of God both in the Ark and the Temple.

The beautiful detail is that overshadow is the very verb the Evangelist Saint Luke used to describe the way in which the Son of the Most High would descend into the sacred womb of His Mother. Saint Gabriel said to her:

“Behold, thou shall conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son, and shalt call His Name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High.… The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee” (Luke 1:31-32,35).

The Ark of the Covenant was overshadowed by God’s power, and He became present. Mary was overshadowed by the power of the Holy Spirit, and He became present in her.

Here is the first Biblical typology: The Ark was the sacred dwelling place of the Word of God in stone. Mary was the sacred dwelling of the Word of God made flesh— "and the Word was made flesh, and dwelt amongst us."

David and the Ark of the Covenant

Immediately after Osa imprudently touched the Ark on its way to Jerusalem, God Our Lord struck him dead. David was afraid. He felt he was not worthy to receive the Ark of the Lord in his house in Jerusalem. “And David was…afraid of the Lord that day, saying: ‘How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?’” (2 Kings 6:9).

So David had the Ark delivered to the care of a man called Obededom, the Gethite, where it remained for three months. As a result of the presence of the sacred Ark, God blessed Obededom and his house (2 Kings 6:10-11).

It should be noted that the house of Obededom was situated in Cariathiarim, in the region of the Gabaa, or the hill country of Judea. Make a mental note of that. “And the men of Cariathiarim came and fetched up the ark of the Lord and carried it into the house of Obededom in Gabaa [the hill country]” (1 Kings 7:1).

The word bless in Hebrew in kindred to ‘knee,’ barach, and is used often in Scripture as a euphemism to indicate the birth of children (who are born “between the knees,” as it were). Thus the presence of the Ark in Obededom’s house brought God’s blessings on the women who were with child and who safely gave birth to beautiful, healthy children. In this context, “being blessed” and “being a mother” are kindred concepts, just as when the angel announced to Our Lady that she was going to be the Mother of God’s Son: “Blessed art thou amongst women” (Luke 1:28).

Thus in those days, in that Hebrew culture, if you were to wish that someone be “blessed,” it essentially meant that you wanted the person to have many healthy and beautiful children. Remember that in those days barrenness was viewed as something of a curse, for every woman’s dream was to be the ancestor of the expected Messias.

Now it happened that word of the blessing of children at Obededom’s household came to the knowledge of King David. Probably remembering his first child, who had died because of his sin, he wanted to receive the same blessings. He then organized a great procession to bring the Ark from the house of Obededom in Cariathiarim down to Jerusalem. And David made a holy party out of it, in pure Middle Eastern style, with dancing, music, shouting, and jumping.

And it was told to King David, that the Lord had blessed Obededom, and all that he had, because of the ark of God. So David went, and brought away the ark of God out of the house of Obededom into the city of David with joy…. And David danced with all his might before the Lord.… And David and the house of Israel brought the ark of the Covenant of the Lord with joyful shouting, and with sound of trumpet” (2 Kings 6:12).

Both Arks bring the blessing of children

Readers may be intrigued about this sequence of events and ask themselves what it has to do with Our Lady.

In the first chapter of Luke’s Gospel we see that after the angel announced to Our Lady that she was going to conceive and be the Mother of the Son of God, she carried the Word made flesh in her sacred womb, just as the Ark carried the Word of God in stone.

Then, “In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, into a city of Juda” (Luke 1:39).

Interesting: She went to the same place where, one thousand years before, the first Ark had been kept, the hill country of Judea.

We must bear in mind that for a woman in Elizabeth’s old age to give birth was a very unusual thing, and it was reasonable to suppose that the family was concerned about possible complications in the delivery of the child. But the Ark of the New Covenant came to the rescue and brought to the house of Zacharias the same blessing, barach, that the first Ark had brought to the house of Obededom a thousand years before, that is, the birth of a healthy child, John the Baptist.

Further similarities between the two Arks

Both Arks were greeted in the hill country of Judea with amazement, joyful shouts, and leaping.

David said: “How shall the ark of the Lord come to me?” (2 Kings 6:9).

Elizabeth said: “How have I deserved that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43).

Note the similarity of expression: “The Ark of the Lord come to me,” and “The Mother of my Lord should come to me.”

What did both David and John the Baptist do before the respective Arks?

David “danced with all his might before the Lord” (2 Kings 6:14). John the Baptist “leapt for joy” (Luke 1:44).

More: “David brought in the ark of God…with joyful shouting” (2 Kings 6:15), and “Elizabeth…cried out,” or “spoke with a loud voice” (Luke 1:42).

How long did both Arks stay in the hill country?

The angel told Our Lady that her cousin Elizabeth—who had been barren all her life—was in the sixth month of her pregnancy. There were exactly three months between the Annunciation and the birth of Saint John the Baptist.

Thus, the time Our lady stayed in the house of Zacharias in the hill country was the duration that the Ark remained in the house of Obededom, and the result was the same: the birth of a healthy child.

“And the ark of the Lord abode in the house of Obededom the Gethite three months, and the Lord blessed Obededom, and his household” (2 Kings 6:11). Elizabeth was six months pregnant (Luke 1:36), and Mary stayed with her three months till the babe was born.

David and Mary’s prayers of thanksgiving

“And David went in, and sat before the Lord [the Ark], and said: Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house, that Thou has brought me thus far?” (2 Kings 7:18). A full prayer of thanksgiving follows.

First David calls himself the “servant” of the Lord God;

And Mary calls Herself the handmaid, the servant, of the Lord;

David says, “…therefore thou art magnified, O Lord God.”

Mary says, “My soul magnifies the Lord.”

David: “For Thou hast confirmed to Thyself Thy people Israel, to be an everlasting people.”

Mary: “He has received Israel His servant…. And He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his seed for ever.”

David: “Thou, O Lord God, hast spoken it, and with thy blessing let the house of thy servant be blessed for ever.”

Mary: “From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.”

The Biblical typology is evident

The Ark is holy. God overshadows the Ark. The Ark is the sign of His presence among His people. The Ark carried within it the word of God in stone. Those who receive the Ark are blessed.

Likewise, Mary is holy. God overshadows her. She becomes the sign of God’s true presence for the sanctification of His people. Mary carried within herself the Word of God made flesh. She is blessed by all generations of God’s children.

The early Church referred to Our Lady as the Theotokos, the God-bearing one, the Mother of God, precisely because she is the Ark of the New Covenant, who carried in her sacred womb the Word of God made flesh, just as the Ark of the Old Covenant bore the word of God in stone.

Thus we see how the divine maternity was implicit in the Ark of the Covenant. Hence we invoke her intercession in the Litany by calling her “Foederis Arca,” Ark of the Covenant.

Mary, Ark of the New Covenant, pray for us!

Note: As seen in Crusade Magazine July / August 2002