Shemesh were struck down. Uzza died because he touched the ark.
David brought the ark back into Zion with sacrifices and shouts of tri-
umph. Later on Solomon brought the ark into the Temple in Jerusalem
where he had made a sanctuary for it; and so on. All these things make it
clear that the Ten Commandments were the holiest thing in the Israelite
church.284 The points just made about the delivery, holiness, and power of this
law are found in the following passages in the Word: Jehovah came down
on Mount Sinai in fire, and then the mountain smoked and quaked, and
there was much thunder and lightning, a thick cloud, and the sound of a
trumpet (Exodus 19 : 16 – 18 ; Deuteronomy 4 : 11 ; 5 : 22 – 26 ). Before Jehovah
came down, the people prepared and sanctified themselves for three days
(Exodus 19 : 10 , 11 , 15 ). The mountain was fenced all around to prevent
anyone from dying as a result of approaching it. Not even priests went
up; only Moses (Exodus 19 : 12 , 13 , 20 – 23 ; 24 : 1 , 2 ). The law was delivered
on Mount Sinai (Exodus 20 : 2 – 14 ; Deuteronomy 5 : 6 – 21 ). The law was
engraved on two tablets of stone and was written by the finger of God
(Exodus 31 : 18 ; 32 : 15 , 16 ; Deuteronomy 9 : 10 ). When Moses carried the
tablets down the mountain for the second time, his face was glowing so
much that he covered it with a veil while he was speaking to the people
(Exodus 34 : 29 – 35 ). The tablets were stored in the ark (Exodus 25 : 16 ;
40 : 20 ; Deuteronomy 10 : 5 ; 1 Kings 8 : 9 ). The mercy seat was placed on
top of the ark, and angel guardians made of gold were placed on top of
the mercy seat (Exodus 25 : 17 – 21 ). The ark with its mercy seat and angel
guardians was put in the tabernacle and constituted the primary and
inmost part of it. The table covered with gold for the showbread, the
golden altar for incense, and the golden lampstand with its lamps consti-
tuted an outer part of the tabernacle. The ten curtains made of [threads
of ] fine linen and of purple and scarlet [yarn] constituted the taberna-
cle’s outermost part (Exodus 25 : 1 – 40 ; 26 : 1 – 37 ; 40 : 17 – 28 ). The place
where the ark was kept was called the most holy place (Exodus 26 : 33 ).
The entire Israelite population camped around the tabernacle tribe by
tribe in a specific arrangement and traveled in a specific sequence behind
it (Numbers 2 : 1 – 34 ). At those times there was a cloud over the tabernacle
by day and a fire by night (Exodus 40 : 38 ; Numbers 9 : 15 , 16 – 23 ; 14 : 14 ;
Deuteronomy 1 : 33 ). Jehovah spoke to Moses from a place on top of the
ark between the angel guardians (Exodus 25 : 22 ; Numbers 7 : 89 ). Because
of the law that was inside it, the ark was called “Jehovah” there. When
the ark would set out, Moses would say, “Arise, Jehovah.” When it would
rest, he would say, “Return, Jehovah” (Numbers 10 : 35 , 36 ; also 2 Samuel