Quoting Commentary for I Samuel 4:4

AND MAKE THEE AN ARK OF WOOD. The meaning thereof is that you put the Tablets into this ark when you descend [the mountain]. Now this ark, including its cover, is to be entirely from wood [and not overlaid with gold], like all arks, and the Tablets should remain there until the Tabernacle is made. [Only] then, they made the ark which was covered with gold and the ark-cover upon it of pure gold.¹⁶⁶Ibid., 37:1-6. — In order to understand the text, it is necessary to recall that the affairs of the golden calf, the breaking of the first Tablets, and the giving of the second Tablets, all took place in the summer of the first year after the exodus, while the building of the Tabernacle, the making of the ark, etc., were not completed until the spring of the second year after the exodus. Now, since the command about making an ark for the second Tablets was given to Moses immediately upon his receiving them on the tenth day of Tishri — the Day of Atonement — this ark was obviously not the ark made by Bezalel for the Tabernacle during the following winter. Ramban will further on present a different solution to the problem. He did not tell Moses [to make an ark] for the first Tablets because it was manifest before Him that he would break them [immediately upon coming down the mountain]. And the meaning of the verse, and there they were, as the Eternal commanded me¹⁶⁷Further, Verse 5. is that the Tablets were there [in the ark] until the Tabernacle was made concerning which He commanded me, And thou shalt put the ark-cover above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the Testimony that I shall give thee.¹⁶⁸Exodus 25:21. This is the good and correct [interpretation] of these verses.
And Rashi wrote: “Now, this was not the ark which Bezalel made [for the Tabernacle], because they did not occupy themselves in the making of the Tabernacle until after the Day of Atonement, for it was only when he came down from the mountain that he commanded them concerning the construction of the Tabernacle, and it was Bezalel who made, first the Tabernacle, and afterwards the ark¹⁶⁹See Vol. II, p. 606, Note 72. and the vessels. Thus it follows that this [ark mentioned here] was a different one, and it was this [ark] that went forth with them to battle, while the one that Bezalel made did not go forth to battle except in the days of Eli¹⁷⁰I Samuel 4:4. and they were punished for this and it was captured [by the Philistines].”¹⁷¹Ibid., Verse 17. This is the Rabbi’s language, quoting words of Agadah which he found written in the Tanchuma.¹⁷²Tanchuma, Eikev 10.
Now one may ask: “And after they removed the Tablets from this ark and placed them in the ark which Bezalel made, what happened to this ark? And why did this one go forth with the people to battle [since it was empty, the Tablets having been removed]?” Some say that the broken Tablets lay in that ark, and so in fact it is found in the Agadah, but these are the words of a single Sage, for thus we learned in Tractate Shekalim:¹⁷³Yerushalmi Shekalim VI, 1. “We are taught [in a Beraitha]: Rabbi Yehudah the son of Rabbi Ilai says: Israel had two arks in the wilderness, one in which the broken Tablets lay etc. But the Rabbis say: there was only one, and once it went forth [to battle] in the days of Eli and it was captured [by the Philistines].” The opinion of our Rabbis throughout the Talmud is also not so [that there were two arks]; but that [both] the whole Tablets and the broken Tablets lay in the [same] ark. Besides, where was this ark containing the first [broken] Tablets to stay all the years in the wilderness? For in the Tabernacle, in the Holy of Holies beyond the Veil, there were no two arks, and Solomon also brought but one ark into the Holy of Holies [of the Sanctuary]!¹⁷⁴I Kings 8:7. Rather, [we must say] that this ark of Moses was stored away upon the completion of the ark of Bezalel, as is the law of implements of holiness [which must be stored away after having served their purpose].¹⁷⁵Megillah 26b.
This is the correct interpretation in accordance with the opinion of our Rabbis, for, in line with the plain meaning of Scripture, it is possible that the verse here, and make thee an ark of wood, refers to the ark which Bezalel made. This [could be explained as follows]: First Moses was commanded regarding the making of the Tabernacle and its vessels, the first command being And they shall make an ark of acacia-wood,¹⁷⁶Exodus 25:10. for this [to contain the Tablets] was the main purpose of the entire Tabernacle — that the Eternal that sitteth upon the cherubim¹⁷⁷II Samuel 6:2. be there. Afterwards they made the calf and when G-d was reconciled with Moses and told him that He would write on these Tablets according to the first writing,¹⁷⁸Verse 4 here. He commanded him briefly that he should make for these [second] Tablets an ark of wood, this being the same one concerning which he was commanded for the first Tablets. Thus He mentioned to Moses [as narrated by Moses in the verse before us] the primary commandment regarding the Tabernacle, and [the one] upon which everything depended. It was from this [charge to build the ark] that Moses deduced [that he was] to make the Tabernacle and its vessels, as he had been commanded earlier. And in that case the interpretation of the phrase, and there they were, as the Eternal command me¹⁶⁷Further, Verse 5. is that they be there forever as the Eternal commanded me originally: and in the ark thou shalt put the Testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will speak with thee etc.¹⁷⁹Exodus 25:21-22. Now when Moses came down from the mountain he placed the Tablets in [his personal] tent of meeting¹⁸⁰Ibid., 33:7. until he made the ark and the Tabernacle.¹⁸¹In the Tur: “the Tabernacle and the ark.” For had he not broken the first Tablets, they would have been in [his] tent of meeting¹⁸⁰Ibid., 33:7. until Bezalel had made the ark. And so perforce we must also say that the broken tablets were there [in his tent of meeting], for he did not return them with him when he ascended the mountain. Proof for this [i.e., that the command for making the ark mentioned here is identical with the command mentioned in the Book of Exodus with the instructions to build the Tabernacle] is the fact that Moses did not mention this command in the section of Ki Thisa,¹⁸²There, in the chapter after the affair of the golden calf, we are told that Moses was commanded concerning the second Tablets (Exodus 34:1-5), but nothing is said there about the making of an ark for those Tablets, such as is mentioned here. Now, if the ark cited here was a different one than Bezalel’s, the question arises why is that command not referred to in the Book of Exodus, where the subject of the second Tablets is mentioned? If, however, we say that the ark here, is the same as that made by Bezalel, then there was no need to discuss it in Exodus, for Moses had already ordered its construction in Exodus 31:7. for there He mentioned the ark of Bezalel expressly.¹⁸³Ibid., 31:7. — The section begins: See, I have called by name Bezalel (Verse 2). Now here he did not mention the Tabernacle and its vessels for the people saw it before them, and therefore he mentioned it only briefly [through the first command concerning the ark].
Now, do not consider it difficult that he said, So I made an ark of acacia-wood, and hewed two Tablets of stone¹⁸⁴Verse 3 here. [which would seem to indicate that Moses made the ark at once and then hewed the two Tablets of stone, and, if so, this could not be the ark of Bezalel], for he completed the narration of the subject of the ark at one time. For G-d had commanded him, Hew thee two Tablets of stone etc., and come up unto Me into the mount; and make thee an ark of wood, meaning that he should first come up with the Tablets and afterwards he should make an ark of wood; but He prolonged [the subject of the Tablets] in order to say, And I will write on the Tablets the words that were on the first Tablets which thou didst break, and thou shalt put them in the ark,¹⁸⁵Verse 2. that is to say that these second Tablets will be identical to the first ones in writing and, therefore, it is proper that they, like the first ones, be in the [previously] commanded ark, where I will meet with the children of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by My glory.¹⁸⁶Exodus 29:43. Therefore Moses finished the account by stating, So I made an ark,¹⁸⁴Verse 3 here. in order to briefly complete the commandment and the deed. Afterwards he returned to speak at length on the subject mentioned before.

TAKE AARON. “This section [concerning the seven days of consecration of the priests] was said seven days before the [final] erection of the Tabernacle [which took place on the first day of Nisan],¹⁶⁷During each of the seven days of consecration Moses set the Tabernacle up and then dismantled it. But on the eighth day [which was the first of Nisan] the final erection took place, and it was no longer dismantled until they journeyed from Mount Sinai. for there is no strict chronological order in the narrative of the Torah.”¹⁶⁸Since the final erection of the Tabernacle is already mentioned at the end of the Book of Exodus (40:17), and the section before us, according to Rashi, was said seven days before the final erection, we must perforce say that there is no strict chronological order in the narrative of the Torah. In other words, chronologically the proper place of this section here in the Book of Leviticus is before Exodus, Chapter 40! Ramban will strongly dissent to this interpretation of Rashi. Thus the language of Rashi. But why should we invert the words of the living G-d! Moreover, in the section of On the first day of the first month,¹⁶⁹Exodus 40:2. He commanded concerning the erection of the whole Tabernacle, the clothing of Aaron and his sons and the anointing of all of them, and there He narrated Moses’ deeds in the matter of the erection of the Tabernacle,¹⁷⁰Ibid., Verse 17-33. but did not mention anything concerning Aaron and his sons till here. And how could it be that He separated one subject into two sections, [as follows from Rashi], placing the later one [i.e., the final erection of the Tabernacle which took place on the first of Nisan, as recorded in the Book of Exodus], before the earlier one [i.e., the seven days of consecration that began on the twenty-third of Adar which He placed here in the Book of Leviticus]!
Rather, the correct interpretation is that we say that Moses was commanded about the erection of the Tabernacle on the twenty-third day of Adar, and he erected it [on that day]. As soon as the Tabernacle stood in its position G-d, blessed be He, Who sitteth upon the cherubim¹⁷¹I Samuel 4:4. called Moses and commanded him about the actions involved in the bringing of the offerings — all those sections from the beginning of the Book of Vayikra until here. [This was because] He wanted to teach him the actions and statutes of all the offerings before he offered up any of them, since among the initiation-offerings were the sin-offering, burnt-offering and peace-offering, and they could only know all their laws from these sections with which He preceded [to command him]. Afterwards He said to him, Take Aaron and his sons with him etc., to urge him on when the time came for performing what He had told him at first — And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto Me etc.,¹⁷²Exodus 29:1. adding here, And assemble thou all the congregation at the door of the Tent of Meeting,¹⁷³Verse 3 here. so that it should be done in the presence of all of them, that they should know that G-d, blessed be He, chose Aaron and his sons [to minister unto Him].
By way of the proper interpretation of Scripture, Moses was commanded about the building of the Tabernacle prior to the incident of the golden calf [as is the order of these chapters in the Book of Exodus],¹⁷⁴The commandment concerning the building of the Tabernacle is in Seder Terumah (Chapters 25-27), and the story of the golden calf is in Seder Ki Thisa (Chapter 32). — This is unlike Rashi’s statement (ibid., 31:18) that the incident of the golden calf happened a considerable time before the command regarding the work of the Tabernacle. Hence Ramban preceded this discussion with the expression, “by way of the proper interpretation …” in order to indicate that his view is different than that stated elsewhere in Rashi’s commentary. and when the Holy One, blessed be He, became reconciled to him and promised him that He would cause His Divine Glory to dwell among them, Moses understood of his own accord that the command concerning the Tabernacle remained valid as before, and he then commanded Israel regarding it, as I have explained in the section of Vayakheil.¹⁷⁵Ibid., 35:1. After they had completed the work, he was then told the section of On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting,¹⁷⁶Ibid., 40:2. and he was then told, And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons unto the door of the Tent of Meeting etc.¹⁷⁷Ibid., Verse 12. Thus Moses knew that Aaron and his sons also remained in their esteemed and beloved position before G-d. Here He urged them again on the first day of the consecration, at the time of performing the command [And thou shalt bring Aaron and his sons etc.]¹⁷⁷Ibid., Verse 12. Thus all the sections of the Torah are in chronological order, except that He placed before its sequence the verse, And the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting,¹⁷⁸Ibid., Verse 34. which in the opinion of our Rabbis¹⁷⁹Torath Kohanim, at the beginning of Seder Shemini. was on the eighth day of the initiation, in order to arrange in order the whole matter of the erection of the Tabernacle, it being the customary way of Scripture in all places to finish a subject that it has started to explain.¹⁸⁰See Vol. I, p. 431, for a similar instance.

Zu Wächtern des Weges zum Baume des Lebens werden Bereschit 3, 24. כרובים bestellt. "את כרוב, du bist ein Cherub", lautet Jechesk. 28, 14 f. das Wort an die tyrische Königsmacht, "du bist ein Cherub, ממשח הסוכך, durch Salbung zum Schirmer!" und wird sie sofort auch "schützender Cherub!" genannt. Die Bedeutung der Cherubim als Wächter und Schützer dürfte somit unzweifelhaft sein. Nicht minder sicher ist auch diejenige als Träger der göttlichen Herrlichkeit. Auf Cherub getragen eilt Gott Ps. 18, 11 welterschütternd zu Davids Rettung herbei. Jechesk. 9 u. 10 erscheinen Cherubim als Träger der göttlichen Herrlichkeit. Insbesondere aber ists das (Ps. 80, 2 u. 99, 1; Sam. I. 4, 4; Sam. II. 6, 2; Kön. II. 19, 15; Chron. I. 13, 6; Jes. 37, 16) stereotype Attribut יושב הכרובים, das den Cherubim diese Bestimmung vindiziert. Indem es nicht יושב בכרובים oder על הכרובים, sondern יושב הכרובים heißt, so ist, wie die Vergleichung der Ausdrücke יושב בארץ und יושב הארץ, sowie aller der Stellen, in welchen יושב mit oder ohne Präposition vorkommt, lehrt, nicht eine vorübergehende, sondern eine bleibende Gegenwart, ein Wohnen bezeichnet, und bezieht sich demnach wohl das הכרובים nur auf die Cherubim im Heiligtume.