What does the old Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark have to do with Marian typology? Well, let’s dig a bit deeper and find out.

First of all, the Ark they refer to in the movies was the lost Ark of the Covenant that served as the “seat of God” while the Hebrews wandered around the desert for 40 years and was placed in the “Holy of Holies” in the Temple as that was where God’s presence was located.

Surprisingly, the movie got a few things right about the Ark – it said that the Ark contained the original tablets of the 10 Commandments and armies that had the Ark with them could not be defeated. The movie said a bunch of other things, but these two are the ones they got correct.

There were also a couple of other things in the Ark along with the tablets: (1) A container holding some of the manna that came down from heaven to feed the Jews in the desert and (2) the staff of Aaron that had blossomed and marked him as the High Priest of Israel. Here are a few other notable facts about the Ark:

Anyone who touched the Ark, died. Even when King David was bringing the Ark out of the hill country of Judah to his city, when the oxen were tipping the cart carrying it and Uzzah reached out a hand to steady it, he was instantly struck dead. No man was able to touch the Ark and live (2 Sam 6:7).

When David saw Uzzah die, he was afraid to bring the Ark into the city and he left it at the house of Obed-edom in the hill country of Judea for 3 months.

So what does all of this have to do with Mary? Simple – the Ark of the Covenant was the “type” – or foreshadowing – of our Blessed Mother. Here are the parallels that show Mary to be the fulfilment or perfection of the Ark:

1. The Ark contained the 10 Commandments – the Word of God. Mary’s womb contained the Word made Flesh.
2. The Ark contained the manna from Heaven – Mary’s womb contained the Bread of Life.
3. The Ark contained the staff of the High Priest – Mary’s womb contained the True High Priest.
4. When Mary went to visit her cousin Elizabeth (who was also pregnant – with John the Baptist), the baby inside Elizabeth “jumped for joy” when Mary came near. The only other time in Scripture that word “jumped” is used is when David was “jumping and dancing before the Lord” as he brought the Ark into the City of David.
5. When Mary went to see Elizabeth, she went to the high country of Judea, which is where Elizabeth lived – the same area that the Ark was in when at the house of Obed-edom.
6. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for 3 months – the same amount of time the Ark was in the house of Obed-edom.
7. Mary’s womb contained God made flesh – the physical location of God on Earth. The Ark was the physical location where God took up residence during the Exodus and when leading Israel to the Promised Land.
8. No man could touch the Ark and live – it was too pure and holy for human hands once God had consecrated it. Mary was immaculate – the only human person ever born without the stain of original sin. She was also ever-virgin – pure in all ways at all times – untouched by human hands.
9. Finally, we look to the fact that the Ark, which had been the primary focus and artifact of the Jewish faith for hundreds of years, disappeared from history about 600 years before the birth of Christ. And yet, in Revelation 11:19, John is given a vision of the Ark of the Covenant in the Temple in Heaven. One would think that upon seeing the most important artifact of Jewish history – arguably, the most important artifact of all time – which had been lost for 600 years, that John would say a few words about it. However, in the very next verse, Revelation 12:1, John describes a “woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars”. This woman is the Virgin Mary. John saw the REAL Ark of the Covenant – the one perfected in the person of Mary – and that’s what he wrote about.