A Memory Box (Part 2)

Understanding God’s reminders

Welcome! I hope the month is starting well for you. For many, May marks the end of school and the beginning of summer–a time to look both backward and forward. We will do a bit of that today, as well. If you missed the last devotion about remembering God’s works, you may want to read it first. Then return here as we continue the series with today’s devotion: A Memory Box (Part 2), Understanding God’s reminders. As always, thank you for sharing your time with me.

My physical memory box 

I was completing my second year of teaching high school math in Seminole, Texas in May 2003. As I worked for a few minutes after school, a student strolled into my classroom with a beaming grin and presented a gift he had made: the box pictured below. I marveled at the different woods, the elevated center, the mitered corners. The exterior reflected a significant investment of time, effort, and skill. 

At the student’s encouragement, I lifted the hinged lid. Royal blue felt lined the inside. A folded note lay perfectly flat, trimmed to fit without bent edges. His care was unmistakable…as was the request:  

Who could resist such a kind invitation? I unfolded the hand-written note and took in every thoughtful word about how he and other students could see Jesus in me–their math teacher. 

I had struggled with going back into teaching after staying home with my children. I didn’t want to teach; I wanted a ministry. But I yielded, and God showed me teaching was my ministry. In His hands, it was more than I could have imagined.

The letter still rests on the blue felt lining of the beautiful box. I have never placed anything else inside. The letter and its meaning fill the space to capacity.

The need for reminders 

Around 1445 BC¹, the Israelites camped in the wilderness of Sinai, following two to three months of miraculous events: the Passover and rescue from Egypt (Ex. 12), the continuous leading by a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night (Ex. 13), crossing the Red Sea on dry land (Ex. 14), experiencing the daily provision of manna (Ex. 16), drinking water freely from a rock in the desert and defeating the Amalekites (Ex. 17), then hearing God speak the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20, Deut. 5:4). Despite this, the people grumbled, struggling to follow God and be aware of His Presence. 

So, God gave Moses instructions to build a tabernacle–a physical place to meet with God and a reminder of His presence (Ex. 25-31). He also directed Moses on the construction of several items of furniture within the tabernacle. The ark of the covenant headed the list:

“They shall make an ark of acacia wood…You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside…And you shall put into the ark the testimony that I shall give you. And you shall make a mercy seat of pure gold…and you shall make two cherubim of gold;…make the cherubim on its two ends. The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat…, their faces one to another;…And you shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark…There I will meet with you” (Ex. 25:10-11, 17-22).

God’s memory box

For the next 40 years, the ark either led the way as the Israelites meandered through the wilderness or rested in its sanctified position within the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle. It offered a quiet invitation for those who would hear: 

Previously, we noted God’s messages and reminders stored inside the box: love Him and love others (the Ten Commandments), trust His provision (a jar of manna), and yield to His sovereignty (Aaron’s rod that budded). But what about the lid? What purpose did its ornate design serve?

You know, I have used a memory box as a metaphor (albeit an inadequate one) to help us better understand the ark of the covenant; to provide a point of connection. But here, the metaphor fails. Memory boxes can hold treasures and help you remember, but they cannot make you holy.

Only God can do that–and He used the lid of the ark to do so. For the Israelites, the ceremony for holiness from unintentional sins occurred one day each year. On the day of atonement, the high priest served as the intermediary for the people so God could make them holy. Between the angels, God met the high priest as he sprinkled the blood of a sacrificed goat and bull on the mercy seat to represent cleansing. Then the high priest sent a scapegoat into the desert to represent the sins of the people being removed (Lev. 16). As a result, the people stood before God with renewed holiness.

Although we better understand another purpose of the ark now, we’re still missing something. Why were the angels there?

A humbling reminder

As is often the case, what we don’t understand in the Old Testament becomes clear in the New. 1 Peter 1:8-9 talks about our faith in Christ and its outcome–the salvation of our souls. Peter goes on in vv. 10-12 to tell us that the prophets had tried to determine when Christ would come, and “it was revealed to them” that their searching was not for them, but for us. We have received the good news, “things into which angels long to look” (1:12). 

In addition, Hebrews 2:16 states: “For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.” The golden angels on the ark faced the mercy seat and spread their wings toward it. Looked, but didn’t touch. Truly, they are a visual reminder to you and me–not the Israelites–that Jesus died for us. They send a piercing message: The angels in heaven look and long to understand–but can never experience–the salvation we sometimes take for granted. 

So much more than a memory box

The ark of the covenant disappeared after about 800 years. Through a New Testament lens, though, we see its clear foreshadowing. Jesus is Immanuel, “God with us” (Matt. 1:23), and He fulfills the law written on tablets of stone (Matt. 5:17). He is “the bread of God…who comes down from heaven” (John 6:30-35), and He is Christ, our eternal and sovereign High Priest (Heb. 4:14-15, 5:9-10, 6:19-20, 7:23-27). Inside the ark and out, we see Jesus.

If you want to know Him, just come to the “mercy seat”–the cross sprinkled with His blood. He will make you holy. 

If you do know Him, don’t take your salvation for granted. God “chose us in [Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him” (Eph. 1:4). 

Either way, take action. Pray to receive Christ or pray to thank Him for salvation. 

Then forward this to someone else to remind them of the treasure we have in Jesus. God loves it when we understand His reminders!

©2026 Catherine L Hill. All rights reserved.

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