From the Craftsman, Dennis Ferrigno

Why I Constructed a Full-scale Rendition of the Ark of the Covenant

In October 2024, during my daily Bible reading and prayer time, I was studying Exodus chapters 25–31. As I reflected on these passages over several days, I was struck in a new way by God's detailed instructions to Moses and by His intentional gifting of Bezalel and the other artisans. God not only provided the design for the Ark of the Covenant and the furnishings of the Tabernacle, but He also equipped specific people with the skills needed to create them for His glory and for the worship of His people.

As I continued studying God's desire to dwell among His people, I became deeply moved by the significance of the Ark of the Covenant. To me, it became a powerful symbol of God's promise, His mercy, and His unchanging desire to be present with humanity—from the Garden of Eden, through Israel's wilderness journey, to the present day as the Holy Spirit dwells within believers.

During that season of prayer, I became convinced that God was calling me to build a full-scale rendition of the Ark of the Covenant, based on the biblical dimensions described in Exodus (2½ cubits long, 1½ cubits wide, and 1½ cubits high). My immediate question was, "What purpose could this serve today?" I was both excited and cautious, wanting to be certain this was God's direction rather than my own ambition.

To seek wise counsel, I called my pastor. Normally, when I called, I would leave a message and wait for him to return it. This time, he answered after the first ring. When I shared my idea, we both laughed at the thought of building a full-scale Ark. Two days later, however, he called back with a different response: "If you build it, I will preach it." He committed not only to using it as a visual teaching tool but also to building a sermon series around it.

With that encouragement, I began designing and building the Ark. The cherubim were created by a craftsman in Serbia, and my brother in Florida used his CNC machine to carve a relief of Mount Moriah for the project. Before the Ark was painted and finished, my pastor and his wife came to see it. After viewing it, he said that instead of preaching a single sermon, he would devote an entire series to it.

Then everything changed.

In January 2025, just one week after that visit, I was diagnosed with lymphoma. Within two weeks I had begun chemotherapy and was confined to bed, unable to return to my workshop to complete the project.

What happened next became one of the clearest demonstrations of God's provision that I have experienced. A close friend, who had retired after a career managing automotive paint products, offered to complete the painting of the Ark. His craftsmanship far exceeded my own, and he finished it beautifully.

The carved relief of Mount Moriah also needed to be painted. A friend of my daughter's agreed to do the work after spending time in prayer. She later shared something remarkable with me: during her own prayer time in October 2024—the very month I first felt called to build the Ark—she believed God had impressed upon her heart that she would one day paint Mount Moriah. Neither of us knew then how those separate callings would come together.

Through these events, it became evident to me that this project was never mine alone. God had been preparing and calling others to participate long before I understood what He was doing. Even my cancer diagnosis could not stop His purposes. Instead, He raised up others to complete what I could no longer do myself. It reminded me of how God equipped Bezalel and the artisans in Exodus to accomplish His work through the gifts He had given them.

The completed Ark became the centerpiece of a five-week sermon series at our church. It helped people visualize the biblical story and God's redemptive plan, and it became a meaningful tool for teaching about God's presence, mercy, and covenant. Throughout the series, we witnessed renewed faith, professions of salvation, deeper spiritual understanding, and great joy as people reflected on God's desire to dwell with His people.

Looking back, I see this project not simply as the construction of a biblical artifact, but as a testimony to God's faithfulness. He calls ordinary people, equips them for His purposes, and accomplishes His work even through seasons of weakness and suffering. I am deeply grateful to everyone God brought alongside this journey, and I look forward to seeing how He continues to use this rendition of the Ark of the Covenant for His glory.

—Dennis Ferrigno