What was kept inside the Ark of the Covenant?
Inside the Ark of the Covenant were the tables of the Ten Commandments, a sampling of the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. The Ark was a small box overlaid with gold, and its cover was the mercy seat, where God's presence and mercy were signified.
Les explains that the Ark of the Covenant was a little box overlaid with gold. Inside it were the tables of the Ten Commandments, a sampling of the manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. Above the Ark was the mercy seat, the place of mercy. When the tabernacle worship was ready to begin, the Shekinah glory cloud set itself right above the Ark in the Holy of Holies, signifying God's presence and mercy. That same piece of furniture was to lead the children of Israel, and they were to keep a space of about 2,000 cubits—about 3,000 feet, a little over half a mile—between themselves and the Ark, so they might know the way they must go.