What happened to the Ark of the Covenant during the Babylonian invasion?
The Ark of the Covenant was still present at the time of the Babylonian invasion, but the biblical record does not show that the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar took it away with them. Its disappearance from view remains an unanswered question in the text.
Les explains that the Ark of the Covenant was still in existence at the time of the Babylonian invasion, yet he cannot find anything in the record indicating that the Babylonians, under Nebuchadnezzar, took the Ark with them. He raises this as an open question: when did the Ark disappear from view? He invites listeners to search the Scriptures for an answer. The context also notes that the Ark originally contained the tables of the Ten Commandments, Aaron's rod that budded, and a sample of manna, though later only the tables of stone remained inside it, with the mercy seat above.