Chapter 7. 11
Urim & Thummim
Passed
down through the Patriarchs - Produced state of Ecstasy
Supernatural
Illumination - Answered Yes, No or no comment
Discontinued
by God
First Word
Urim and Thummim (pronounced YOU rim & THUME em) signifying
lights and perfection are something that very little is known or written about,
therefore I must go outside of the Bible to other writings to fill in the
blanks such as was handed down by tradition, the Apocrypha and Josephus
the 2,000 year old Jewish Historian who was a contemporary of the
Apostle John.
There has been an attempt down through the
ages to disregard the supernatural of the Bible and LABEL IT AS A FABLE. If you DO NOT believe in the SUPERNATURAL, then this Word
Study will be useless to you and so will be your faith.
Construction
No record has ever been found of a command
that the Urim
& Thummim be constructed;
made or otherwise be required like the Priestly garments were. There has been No valid tradition that has survived from the time of their use as
to their shape or material used.
It is thought that these two items were PASSED DOWN through the
Patriarchs, Priest to Priest to be officially incorporated into the people’s
worship.[1] They were thought to be precious stones that
were of some material like gems which the Tetragrammaton; (YHWH) the Sacred Name of God had been engraved upon.
It is highly likely that both stones were
the same; the front side would be the Urim and the reverse side would be the
Thummim. They were possibly flat and
connected by a small chain with swivels. I must confess that some students of the Word believe that there were two independent stones
which could be drawn out individually, not both; giving Yes or No answer. This seems highly unlikely to me if a decision
could also come up as “undecided” or “neither”. [2]
Their Use
The
High Priest wore the breast piece of judgement (decision) over the front
of the Ephod which formed a pouch in which the Urim and Thummim were placed.[3] They were LINKED to the
breastplate and used
to discover the Will of God concerning
a matter,[4]
giving a Yes
or No
answer to their prayers. (The Ephod carried the breastplate which carried the Urim & Thummim.)
NOTE: Apparently the
Urim & Thummim is sometimes assumed when the term Ephod is used; also there
are no examples of negative answers recorded anywhere. Some students of the Word believe the land was
divided up among the 12 tribes by the use of the Urim and Thummim;[5]
others disagree since the larger portions of land went to the larger tribes,
and the smaller portions to the smaller tribes.
When tossed out of the pouch, if both came
up with the Urim
(which means to
curse) then the answer was negative. If they both came up with the Thummim
(which means to
be perfect) then the answer was Affirmative.[6] If
there was one of each, then God’s answer was inconclusive at this time. Sounds like Chance doesn’t it, a roll of the dice; casting lots; stay Tuned
The Supernatural
Tradition has it that the 12
stones on the Breast Plate which represented the twelve tribes of Israel were
capable of SUPERNATURAL
ILLUMINATION to
give Divine guidance in conjunction with the Urim & Thummim. You may recall that Urim means “LIGHT”. I hesitate to say that they would light up,
but more like “shine”; a reflection of light. The Oracular powers of the Breastplate came
from the Urim and Thummim.
It gets better: The
Breastplate stones were engraved with the 12 tribal names and in addition to
those stones could be added stones representing Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jeshurun which completed the HEBREW ALPHABET. They would illuminate or shine “in turn” or “in succession” to give Divine
pronouncements. In my pea brain mind, I
can see the Shekinah Glory of God reflecting off
of them.[7] (Just saying) You may recall the Thummim means “PERFECTION”.
Jeshurun means the “upright” and was a symbolic
name for the people of Israel. The name
is used when God confronts Israel with warnings of judgment or promises of
blessings.[8]
I must say that some students of the Bible
believe the glow of the Urim and Thummim caused the High Priest to go into a state of
ecstasy or a trance in which God would speak
to them. I must also say that no one
knows the exact nature of the Urim and Thummim nor
even how to use them.
Josephus – 3.7.5.163 -
The Breastplate was the ORACLE
163 – But in the void
place of this garment there was inserted a piece of the bigness of a span,
embroidered with gold and the other colors of the ephod,
and was called Essen (the Breastplate), which in the Greek language
signifies the ORACLE.
Their Disappearance
It is believed that because of
the increase of the number of sanctuaries and perhaps at Saul’s
insistence, COUNTERFEIT STONES were reproduced and used locally as a matter of
convenience where travel to seek answers at the central sanctuary might be
impossible. Therefore there was a tendency to
doubt the validity of their findings; thus their non-use.
That coupled with two evil priest named Hophni
and Phinehas,
the sons of the Prophet Eli; there was the
belief that the outcome of the stones might be manipulated by them.
Maccabees in the
Apocrypha is the last mention of the use of the Urim &
Thummim when the temple altar was desecrated and the stones were removed from
the Altar to a place in the mountains where they awaited a prophet, to tell how
God would like to disposed of them.
Their use was discontinued
around the time of the destruction of Solomon’s Temple just after the Hebrews
returned from exile in Babylon and at the death of the former prophets. The Breastplate LEFT OFF
SHINING and
became just a memory as God was displeased at the transgressions of his laws by
His chosen people. Interest had already
fallen off because the Rabbis were already reading the Torah placing the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WORD on the same
level of the Urim
and
Thummim; thus they could know God’s will for them and His people
anytime.
Today, the Christian has been filled with
the Holy Spirit and has the ability “within” to be able to discern God’s
will in their everyday life through the reading of the Bible; His Word as well
as attending Adult Bible Studies and Church.
Go thou and do likewise; do not forsake gathering with other believers
in the Church.[9]
Ezra 2:63 – Out of Exile; Last “use”
reference Urim & Thummim
63 The governor told them that they
were not to partake of the most holy food, until THERE
SHOULD BE A PRIEST
TO CONSULT URIM AND THUMMIM.
(ESV)
1 Maccabees 4:46
– Last “mention” of the Urim & Thummim
So they took down the altar, and deposited the
stones in the temple mountain, in a
suitable place, until a prophet should come and declare what should be done
with them.
Apocrypha
Josephus – Book 3.8.9.21-22 – The
Breastplate; QUIT shining
21 For as to those stones,
22 which we told you before, the high
priest bare on his shoulders, which were sardonyxes, (and I think it needless
to describe their nature, they being known to everybody,) the one of them SHINED OUT when God was
present at their sacrifices; I mean that which was in the nature of a button on
his right shoulder, BRIGHT RAYS darting out thence, and being seen even by those that
were most remote; which splendor yet was not before natural to the
stone. This has appeared a wonderful thing to such as have not so far indulged
themselves in philosophy, as to despise Divine revelation. Yet will I mention what is
still more wonderful than this: for God declared beforehand, by those twelve stones which the high priest bare on his breast, and
which were inserted
into his breastplate, when they should be victorious in battle; for
so great a SPLENDOR SHONE FORTH from them before the army began to march,
that all the people were sensible of God's being present for their assistance.
Whence it came to pass that those Greeks, who had a veneration for our laws,
because they could not possibly contradict this, called that breastplate THE ORACLE.
Now this breastplate, and this sardonyx, LEFT OFF
SHINING two hundred years before I composed this book, God having
been displeased at the transgressions of his laws. Of which things we shall
further discourse on a fitter opportunity; but I will now go on with my
proposed narration. (The Works of Flavius Josephus)
The Take Away
Urim is to curse, the answer is in the
negative; Guilt, pronounces Error.
Thummim is to be perfect or perfection,
the answer is in the Affirmative; Innocence, pronounces Truth.
The details of the Urim and Thummim have been kept secret
for a reason. Today some NUT CASE
would try to make them and sell them on TV
to folks seeking the Will of God in their life.
If you want to know the will of God in
your life, He has left a letter for you in the Bible. The question is; are you willing to tithe some time to find the pearl of
great value.[10]
God wants us to come to the Him, the CREATOR for answers, not to a CREATION.
[1] Numbers 20:28 – Passed down Priest to Priest; Aaron to Eleazar
[2] 1 Samuel 28:6 – Urim came up undecided; God did not answer
[3] Exodus 28:30 - Urim & Thummim placed
inside the breast piece -- 1 Samuel 23:9 – Bring
the Ephod here containing the Urim and Thummim
[4] Numbers 27:21 – Urim and Thummim used to discover God’s Will for His people
[5] Numbers 26:55-56 – Land divided up by CASTING LOTS
-- Numbers 33:54 – You shall
inherit the land BY LOT according
to your clans Large tribe, large land;
small tribe, small land
[6] 1 Samuel 14:41 – Determine guilt or innocence; guilt Urim, innocence
Thummim
[7] Exodus 24:17 - Shekinah Glory of God
[8] Deuteronomy 33:5 – Jeshurun; the People;
tribes of Israel -- Deuteronomy
32:15 – Jeshurun; the People were warned
-- Deuteronomy 33:26 – Jeshurun; promises of blessings -- Isaiah 44:2 – Jeshurun;
promises of blessings
[9] Hebrews 10:24-25 – Don’t forsake assembling together in Church -- Luke
10:37 - Go, and do thou likewise; STUDY THE BIBLE
[10] Matthew 13:45-46 - The kingdom of
heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had
and bought it.
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