Message 127
(12)
Scripture Reading: Exo. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8-10; Ezra 2:63; 1 Sam. 23:6, 9-12; 28:6
In this message we shall continue our study of the Urim and the Thummim. Exodus 28:30 says, “And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart when he goes in before Jehovah, and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the sons of Israel upon his heart before Jehovah continually.” I believe that the Urim and the Thummim are the most mysterious parts of the garments worn by the high priest. If we would understand the Urim and the Thummim, we should study the Old Testament and also consider our spiritual experience.
In studying the Urim and the Thummim, we need to follow the principle that the types in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are types of Christ. In these books there are types of the individual Christ and also of the corporate Christ, the church. This means that in the Pentateuch there are types of Christ Himself and types of Christ with the church. For example, we have the ark typifying Christ, and the tabernacle, made of forty-eight boards, typifying the church. Furthermore, with the priestly garments we have types of Christ and the church. The ephod typifies the expression of Christ, and the breastplate worn by the high priest typifies the church. Therefore, the breastplate on the ephod is a type of the church borne by Christ.
I would encourage the saints to take the time necessary to study the types of Christ with the church in the Pentateuch. I am very grateful to the Lord that during the years I was with the Brethren I learned biblical typology. Many of the types are not new to me. However, understanding the application of these types to our experience requires further study. In this message let us study the Urim and the Thummim according to the Old Testament and also try to apply this type to our experience according to today’s need.
In addition to 28:30, there are a number of references to the Urim and the Thummim in the Old Testament. Leviticus 8:8 says, “And he put the breastplate upon him: also he put in the breastplate the Urim and the Thummim.” According to Numbers 27:21, the Lord said to Moses concerning Joshua, “And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the Lord: at his word shall they go out, and at his word shall they come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.” Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65 speak of the Urim and the Thummim with respect to the same historical situation. Ezra 2:63 says, “And the Tir-shatha said unto them, that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim.” The Urim and the Thummim are also referred to in Deuteronomy 33:8-10 and in 1 Samuel 23:6, 9-12 and 28:6.
Concerning the Urim and the Thummim, we have been helped by an appendix in David Baron’s book The Ancient Scriptures and the Modern Jew.The Urim and the Thummim were two items placed into the breastplate in addition to the twelve precious stones. In Hebrew the word Urim means lights, illuminators, and Thummim means completers, perfecters. The placing of the Urim and the Thummim into the breastplate caused the breastplate to become the breastplate of judgment.
According to the history in the Old Testament, the Urim and the Thummim were placed upon a number of different persons. The first application was to Aaron (Lev. 8:8). Although Aaron bore the breastplate with the Urim and the Thummim, it is doubtful that he ever made use of the Urim and Thummim. During the time Aaron was high priest, Moses was still alive. Moses was an extraordinary person, and the Bible tells us that God spoke to him directly, without any means, instrument, or intermediary. Exodus 33:11 says, “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend.” Numbers 12:8 indicates that the Lord spoke with Moses “mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches.” Because the Lord spoke to Moses in such a direct and intimate way, there was no need during his lifetime for the Lord to make His will known to Aaron by means of the Urim and the Thummim. Aaron died before Moses did. Hence, even though Aaron wore the ephod with the breastplate and the Urim and the Thummim, he did not use them. In other words, during the time of Aaron’s priesthood, God did not speak to His people through the Urim and the Thummim, for He had a person, Moses, with whom He spoke face to face.
The Urim and Thummim were later applied to Eleazar, the son of Aaron. After Aaron and Moses died, Joshua came into the position to lead the children of Israel. God, however, did not speak to him as He spoke to Moses. Instead, God asked Moses to tell Joshua that if he wanted to know God’s will or leading, he had to go to the priest (Num. 27:21). At that time, the high priest was Eleazar. Therefore, Joshua had to go to Eleazar to receive the revelation of God’s will by means of the Urim and the Thummim.
According to the appendix in David Baron’s book, it was through the Urim and Thummim that it was made known that Achan was the one whose sin had caused the defeat of the children of Israel at Ai. This is recorded in Joshua 7:16-21. Through the Urim and the Thummim the tribe, the family, and the individual were singled out.
After Eleazar, the Urim and the Thummim were applied to each of the high priests of Levi for Israel (Deut. 33:8-10; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65). In Deuteronomy 33:8-10 we see what kind of person is qualified to obtain revelation through the Urim and the Thummim. This person must be not only holy but also godly. To be godly is to exhibit godliness, that is, to be one with God. A godly person is not only for God; he is also one with God. Someone who is merely holy may be for God, but someone who is godly is also one with God. Deuteronomy 33:8 and 9 say, “And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with thy godly one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah; who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they have observed thy word, and kept thy covenant” (lit.). Verse 9 indicates that between these godly ones and God there was no separation. Not even the members of their families separated them from God. This is very similar to what the Lord Jesus says in the Gospels: “He who loves father or mother above Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter above Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:37). The Lord Jesus also said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Even in the Old Testament times Moses taught something the same in principle as what was taught by the Lord Jesus: not even our relationship with our family can be allowed to separate us from the Lord.
Deuteronomy 33:10 goes on to say, “They shall teach Jacob thy judgments, and Israel thy law: they shall put incense before thee, and whole burnt sacrifice upon thine altar.” According to this verse, those who are qualified to use the Urim and the Thummim are also those who offer the burnt offerings and burn incense. Both the burnt offering and the incense were a sweet-smelling savor to the Lord. In typology only two things gave such a pleasant fragrance to God. God smelled the fragrance from the burnt offering, and He especially delighted in the fragrance from the incense within the tabernacle. Both the burnt offering and the incense are types of Christ. Thus, the godly ones offer Christ to God as the burnt offering and as the sweet incense. To burn incense is to offer Christ to God as the fragrant incense. If we are truly one with God, we must offer the burnt offering and burn the incense so that He may enjoy their sweet fragrance.
Now we can see the qualifications of the priests, those who have the function to use the Urim and the Thummim for God to speak to His people. The priests were godly ones, they maintained a direct relationship with God, and they offered the burnt offering and the incense to God. This enabled them to use the Urim and the Thummim.
In the book of 1 Samuel we see that the situation among God’s people had become abnormal. Most of the priests were destroyed by King Saul, and Abiathar the priest fled to David. First Samuel 23:6 says, “And it came to pass, when Abiathar the son of Abimelech fled to David to Keilah, that he came down with an ephod in his hand.” No doubt the Urim and the Thummim were attached to the ephod. Verses 9 through 12 of 1 Samuel 23 indicate that Abiathar used the Urim and Thummim to reveal the Lord’s answers to David’s questions concerning Saul. After telling Abiathar the priest to bring the ephod, David said, “O Lord God of Israel, thy servant hath certainly heard that Saul seeketh to come to Keilah, to destroy the city for my sake. Will the men of Keilah deliver me up into his hand? will Saul come down, as thy servant hath heard? O Lord God of Israel, I beseech thee, tell thy servant” (vv. 10-11). The Lord, by means of the Urim and the Thummim, told David that Saul would come down and that the men of Keilah would deliver David into Saul’s hand. Therefore, David received answers to two practical questions through the Urim and the Thummim used by Abiathar the priest. David was given a clear answer through the heavenly typewriter of the Urim and the Thummim.
Because David was a godly person, the Lord answered him through the Urim and the Thummim. King Saul, however, was not godly, and he could not receive any answers through the Urim and the Thummim. Thus, the Urim and the Thummim worked for David, but not for Saul. David was a godly one, but Saul was not godly. In fact, the time came when God would no longer have anything to do with him. First Samuel 28:6 says, “And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” This verse clearly indicates that the Urim and the Thummim were not available to Saul.
First Samuel 28:6 gives three ways for God to reveal matters: dreams, the Urim, and prophets. Which of these ways do you prefer? I do not prefer the way of dreams. I would rather have God speak something to me directly instead of through a dream. (I know from experience, however, that some dreams are of God and that He does reveal certain matters through dreams.) Do you prefer to have God speak to you through a prophet? The reason the prophets were raised up is that the priests and the kings failed God. Because God had no way to go on with the priests and the kings, the prophets were raised up by Him. This is the reason in the Old Testament we have first the priests, then the kings, and then the prophets. Nevertheless, some Christians like to hear someone speak in the way of the Old Testament prophets and declare, “Thus saith the Lord.” If you enjoy this kind of speaking and prefer God’s speaking through the prophets, this may be an indication that you are not close to the Lord. If you are a person who is intimate with the Lord, you will be a priest with the Urim and the Thummim. We should prefer God’s speaking not through dreams or through prophets, but through the Urim and the Thummim. We are not dreamers or prophets; we are priests with the Urim and the Thummim.
The Urim and the Thummim are types of Christ. It is significant that two items, not one or three, were added into the breastplate. Two is the number of testimony, and these two items, the Urim and the Thummim, indicate that Christ is the witness, the testimony. He is both the Urim and the Thummim. As the means for God to speak to us, Christ is a testimony. He is a living witness. In Revelation 3:14 He refers to Himself as a faithful and true witness. From our experience we know and understand that Christ surely is God’s witness, God’s testimony.
The Urim typifies Christ as lights, illuminators. No doubt, Christ is the light, and He is also the true illuminator. This is easy to understand, for in the New Testament Christ says of Himself, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Furthermore, Paul declares that Christ shines upon us and enlightens us: “Wherefore He says, Awake, sleeper, and arise from among the dead, and Christ shall shine on you” (Eph. 5:14).
The appendix in The Ancient Scriptures and the Modern Jew says that the Urim contained oil that was burned with fire from the altar. That fire came from God. Hence, it was a divine fire, a heavenly fire, that burned the oil in the Urim to give light. This is very significant. The oil typifies the Spirit, and the fire comes from the altar, which typifies the cross. As the illuminator, Christ surely has the oil, the Spirit. This Spirit burns through the cross. Today Christ the illuminator is shining through the burning Spirit.
I would ask you to consider the significance of the Urim according to your spiritual experience. Even though your experience may be limited, you certainly have had some experience of Christ shining in you. Do you not realize that this shining Christ works through the Spirit and also through the cross? We may not have the words to explain it, but in our experience we realize that as Christ shines within us, the life-giving Spirit is burning and the cross is working. In our experience of Christ as the illuminator, the shining One, we have the cross, the Spirit, and Christ Himself.
