The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1911-08-26

upon their heads" 1t is known I'll
Kings Is, A. that King Hezehah
brake in pieces the brazen serpent
that Moses had made; for unto those
days tie children of Israel did burn
incense unto it."
Before the beginning of our era
Jewish scholars began to seek expla
nations for the disappearance of the
Ark. thus proving that it had previous
ly vanished
One legend of the Talmud is that
Solomon constructed a secret cave in,
to which the national fetish was to
be borne in time of peril. and that II
was there concealed by King Josiah
before he was defeated and slain by
King Pharoah-nechoh of Egypt. Some
of the rabbis held that the Ark would
reappear with the advent of. the Mes
siah. and others that it had been mira.
culously taken up into heaven. The
latter belief is reflected in the Appeal
ypse of John. The Mohammedan doc.
tors believe the sacred chest was
thrown into Lake Tiberias and that
on the day of the last judgment it will
swim to the surface.
Adopting for a moment the improb
! able conjecture that the Ark survived
the restoration and was placed in the
second temple, it would not be diff
cult to conceive what was its final
fate, If one recalls the number of
| times Jerusalem was sacked between
! the rebuilding of the walls and the
complete razing of the Jewish capital
by the Romans.
1t is certain that the Ark was no
longer in Jerusalem when the city
ended its long agony by the Roman
sword and firebrand in 70 A. D.
Neither is it credible that the Ark was
hidden in any of the secret chambers
and caves which honeycombed the
ground beneath the city. Nor is It
probable that the Ark. had it still been
in existence, could have escaped the
| pious curiosity of the Christians when
they became the rulers of Jerusalem
under Constantine. in the fourth cen.
| fury of our era.
No Trace of Ark In 1000 Years.
For AGO years the Moslems held the
city, but, with this prolonged oppor
tunity, did not recover the Ark which
was almost as holy to them as to q
Jew. Godfrey of Bouillon, the Cru
sader captured Jerusalem in 1899, pu,
| 10000 Moslems to the sword, burned
the Jews in their synagogue and plum
dered the Mosque of Omar. For 81
years the Christians held the Holy
City. until Saladin retook it in 1887
During none of these revolutions wa.
trace of the Ark discovered No
has 1t been found during the eight cen
turtles that the Turks have been mas
tiers OF the Holy Land
All Sunday school pupils know tn.
story of the Ark 1t was built unde
the supervision of Moses. on plans an,
specifications minutely.supplied by Je
hovah himself. 1t seems at times t
have acquired the power of locomc
ton, and to have flown as a guide be
fore the 1sraelites in their wanderings
THE Ark of the Covenant went be
fore them in the three days journey t
search out resting place for then
: And 1t came to pass, when the Ar
set forward, that Moses said Rise vi
Lord, and let thine enemies be sea-
: tered. And when 1t rested, he sale
Return, 0 Lord, to the many thou.
ands of Israeli" Mum 10. 33-35-36.)
| fbn -.
set their feet in the River Jordan, tn
waters parted and the Israelites jou
neyed over dryshod Carried about tn
/ walls of Jericho, its magic influenc
: undermined the Notifications unit
! they crumbled at the blast of trun
pet Captured by the Philstines an
! set up beside their god, Dagcn, tn
Ark compelled the stone image to bo
: before it and fall shattered to til
' earth. while Dagons worshipers wei
: smitten with plaques of bubonic feve
( and mice
David. one of the most astute
: politicians recovered the chest frol
s the Philistines. In his joy and De
1 haps in his desire to impress his SUI
! jects with the sanctity OF the fetis
the King danced before it with all h
t might" Michal. his wife and til
3 daughter of Saul, saw King Davi
e dancing and leaping before the Lor
/. and she despised him in her heart
e For this impiety she was condeIAne
: to sterility. David's son, Solomon, 9.
Y the Ark in honor of his new tempt
d and from that day to this. save for Il
e passage in II Maccabees quoted abov
. the holy chest has disappeared fro
I history.