Like Noah's ark in Genesis, God gave instructions on how The Ark of the Covenant was to be made. Exodus 25 and 26 explain how the ark was to be built and what it contained. Hebrews 9 also highlights God's glory within the ark, and how the Israelites were to worship. The ark was to be made with the finest wood, covered in pure gold, and be a particular size and shape. As we know, gold, in particular, is something special. It cannot be tarnished. This symbolises the purity of God. It shows the beauty and loyalty that God has on earth. 

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The Ark of the Covenant brought God's goodness and power into the lives of the Israelites. It gave them strength in battle, and the Israelites carried the ark with them to the Holy Land. 

 

So how does all of this foreshadow Mary? To answer, we will need to look at some verses in particular. 

 

Firstly; one main feature that the Ark of the Covenant had were two cherubims (angels) on the top of the ark. This is beautiful symbolism as it is an angel of the Lord who appeared to Mary, telling her that she will be blessed by carrying the Saviour in her womb. Therefore she would become the New Ark of the Covenant.

 

It's beautiful to note that in Exodus 40 when the Ark of the Covenant was completed, it says that the cloud of the Lord overshadowed the tent of meeting and filled the tabernacle with the Lord's presence, (see Exodus 40:34). In the Gospel of Luke, when the angel of the Lord appears to Mary, the angel says to "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)

 

The Ark of the Covenant travelled through the land before reaching its final stop in the Jerusalem Temple. It made quite a few stops throughout its journey, one, in particular, was a place called Obed-edom. The time the ark spent at this place is essential to note, as it stayed in the house of Obed-edom for three months, the same time that Mary remained in Elizabeth's house. (see 2 Samuel 2:11).

 

In the book of 2 Samuel, we see an amazing foreshadowing when it is said that David danced in front of the ark when it came to Him. The author of 2 Samuel writes "'David was afraid of the Lord that day; he said, "How can the ark of the Lord come into my care?" (2 Samuel 6:9). Does some of these words sound familiar? In this verse, the last things that David says are very similar to what Mary's cousin Elizabeth says to Mary when she shows up to her house. At Mary's appearance, Elizabeth exclaims 'Why should this great thing happen to me, that my Lord's mother comes to visit me? '(Luke 1:43)

Amazingly we see two verses earlier in Luke it mentions, "When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:41). Just like what David did in 2 Samuel, He was filled with the Spirit, and danced in front of the Lord. 

 

One fundamental reason why Mary is the new Ark of the Covenant is that the ark contained three precious items. These are the Manna from Heaven, The rod of Aaron, and the stone tablets. Mary also carries these things within her womb, as Jesus is the true Manna from Heaven, the true Word of God, and the true miracle worker. 

 

Lastly, even though Mary is not mentioned by name as the new Ark of the Covenant, there is a very compelling verse in Revelation that suggests that Mary is the Ark of the Covenant. In Revelation 11-12, it reads "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his Covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail. A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." (Revelation 11:19-12:1) 

 

Catholics understand this "woman" to be Mary. In this verse of Revelation, John starts off this little event speaking about God's Ark of the Covenant being opened and seen in His temple, so what did John see? It's pretty amazing that the language that John expresses at the start of Revelation 12 suggests a connection between Mary and the ark, so we can see that John is continuing from the previous verse. It's not a whole new topic.