THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #170 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #151
Pastor Christopher Choo,
Lesson 3856
THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #170
THE LIFE OF MOSES #151
MOSES AT MT.SINAI #50
THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES ( Part 9 )
THE URIM AND THUMMIM OF THE HIGH PRIEST
When the judges and kings of Israel wanted to consult God for a yes or no answer, they asked the High Priest to use the Urim and Thummim to find out God's answer.
The tantalising question remains - what exactly are the Urim and Thummim?
Some say it was a pair of dices with yes or no written on either dice which the High Priest kept in his robe, some say beside his breastplate.
But the Jewish consensus of the Urim ("lights") and Thummim ("perfections") were that they were gemstones that were carried by the high priest of Israel on the ephod / priestly garments.
They were used by the high priest to determine God’s will in some situations.
Some propose that God would cause the Urim and Thummim to light up in varying patterns to reveal His decision.
Others propose that the Urim and Thummim were kept in a pouch and were engraved with symbols identifying yes / no and true/false.
It is unclear whether the Urim and Thummim were on, by, or in the high priest’s ephod.
No one knows the precise nature of the Urim and Thummim or exactly how they were used.
The Bible simply does not give us enough information.
References to the Urim and Thummim are rare in the Bible.
They are first mentioned in the description of the breastplate of judgment (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8).
When Joshua succeeded Moses as leader over Israel, he was to receive answers from God by means of the Urim through Eleazar the high priest (Numbers 27:21).
The Urim and Thummim are next mentioned in Moses’ dying blessing upon Levi (Deuteronomy 33:8).
The following Scriptures likely also speak of the Urim and Thummim: Joshua 7:14-18; 1 Samuel 14:37-45; and 2 Samuel 21:1.
The Urim and Thummin were established by God to be used only by the High Priest and that its counsel had the same authority as other forms of revelation--it was always absolutely true. In contrast, any form of divination established by man is an abomination to the Lord (Deuteronomy 18:10; 2 Kings 17:17; Acts 16:16).
But now that we have Jesus as our Great High Priest and Intercessor who gave us the Holy Spirit of Truth to guide us, the Old Testament Urim and Thummin are no longer relevant as such.
