It was a new thing that the ark should become the guide of the people.
All through the wilderness, according to the history, it had been
carried in the centre of the march, and had had no share in the
direction of the course. That had been done by the pillar of cloud.
But, just as the manna ceased when the tribes got across the Jordan and
could eat the bread of the land, the miracle ending and they being left
to trust to ordinary means of supply at the earliest possible moment,
so there ensued an approximation to ordinary guidance, which is none
the less real because it is granted without miracle. The pillar of
cloud ceased to move before the people in the crossing of the Jordan,
and its place was taken by the material symbol of the presence of God,
which contained the tables of the law as the basis of the covenant. And
that ark moved at the commandment of the leader Joshua, for he was the
mouthpiece of the divine will in the matter. And so when the ark moved
at the bidding of the leader, and became the guide of the people, there
was a kind of a drop down from the pure supernatural of the guiding
pillar.
For us a similar thing is true. Jesus Christ is the true Ark of God.
For what was the ark? the symbol of the divine Presence; and Christ is
the reality of the divine Presence with men. The whole content of that
ark was the 'law of the Lord,' and Jesus Christ is the embodied law of
the present God. The ark was the sign that God had entered into this
covenant with these people, and that they had a right to say to Him,
'Thou art our God, and we are Thy people,' and the same double
assurance of reciprocal possession and mutual delight in possession is
granted to us in and through Jesus Christ our Lord.
So He becomes the guiding Ark, the Shepherd of Israel. His presence and
will are our directors. The law, which is contained and incorporated in
Him, is that by which we are to walk. The covenant which He has
established in His own blood between God and man contains in itself not
only the direction for conduct, but also the motives which will impel
us to walk where and as He enjoins.
And so, every way we may say, by His providences which He appoints, by
His example which He sets us, by His gracious word in which He sums up
all human duties in the one sweet obligation, 'Follow Me,' and even
more by His Spirit that dwells in us, and whispers in our ears, 'This
is the way; walk ye in it,' and enlightens every perplexity, and
strengthens all feebleness, and directs our footsteps into the way of
peace; that living and personal Ark of the covenant of the Lord of the
whole earth is still the guide of waiting and docile hearts. Jesus
Christ's one word to us is, 'If any man serve Me, let him follow Me.
And where I am'--of course, seeing he is a follower--'there shall also
My servant be.'
The one Pattern for us, the one Example that we need to follow, the one
Strength in our perplexities, the true Director of our feet, is that
dear Lord, if we will only listen to Him. And that direction will be
given to us in regard to the trifles, as in regard to the great things
of our lives.