Exodus 25:7 “onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate.”
Exodus 28:30 “And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the Lord. So, Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually.”
The second of the primary methods that God used to lead the old covenant saints was put in place after the priesthood of Aaron was established. This method of guidance used what was called the Urim and Thummim. As we can see in the above quoted passages of scripture, the Urim and Thummim were specific stones that were set in the breastplate as part of the ephod (priestly garment) which the high priest wore. Although all old covenant priests wore an ephod as part of their priestly garments, only the high priest could wear the ephod that contained the Urim and Thummim. And so God’s leading of the children of Israel using this method was very limited, because the Lord could only use one man at a time to give guidance using the ephod. Because access to this method of God’s leading was so limited, it was usually only the king or the leader of Israel that made use of this method to enquire from the Lord.
1 Samuel 30:7-8 “Then David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech's son, "Please bring the ephod here to me." And Abiathar brought the ephod to David. (8) So, David inquired of the Lord, saying, "Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them?" And He answered him, "Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.”
We saw earlier that King Saul sought guidance from the Lord using this method of consulting the ephod. If you study scripture you will see that King David also made extensive use of this method to seek guidance from the Lord. In the above quoted account we see David asking the Lord what he should do about the Amalekites that had attacked his home base while he and his men were away. The Amalekites had taken their families as prisoners and taken all of their possessions. And so David called for Abiathar to bring him the ephod so that he could inquire from the Lord. We know that Abiathar was the high priest at the time because Jesus said he was (Mark 2:26). When inquiry was made before the Lord using the Urim and Thummim, then only a “yes” or “no” reply would be forthcoming. In other words, the individual would ask the Lord if they should go or not go. If the one stone lighted up, then that meant “yes” go. If the other stone lighted up, then that meant “no” do not go. And so in the account that we looked at when David inquired of the Lord, David would have asked the Lord, “Shall I pursue this troop?” and the ephod would have responded in the positive. David would then have asked the Lord, “Shall I overtake them?” and again, the ephod would have responded in the positive. David then would have asked the Lord, “Shall I without fail recover all?” and again, the ephod would have responded in the positive.
Ezra 2:62-63 “These sought their listing among those who were registered by genealogy, but they were not found; therefore, they were excluded from the priesthood as defiled. (63) And the governor said to them that they should not eat of the most holy things till a priest could consult with the Urim and Thummim.”
In the next account quoted above we see Israel’s governor making use of this method of seeking the Lord’s guidance. After the exiles were brought back into Israel when the second temple was built, they wanted to establish which of the Levites qualified to serve as priests. Only those who could be traced back through their genealogy could serve. Those who could not be traced in the registers were initially not able to serve. The registers were not completely up to date however because of the exile, and so it was possible that some of the Levites were entitled to serve even though they were not found in the registers. They resolved the problem of determining who was a genuine Levite (one that had not become defiled through mixed marriages), by consulting the Urim and Thummim.
Michael E.B. Maher
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