Exodus: Unity of Law and Grace

Urim and Thummim

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Pentateuch

Lesson: Urim and Thummim

Genre: Lessons with Q & A

Track: 99

Dictation Name: RR171BB99

Location/Venue:

Year: Early 70’s

Let us worship God. This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us. Having these promises, let us draw near to the throne of grace with true hearts with full assurance of faith. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee and will look up. Let us pray.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, we come to thee with joyful hearts, mindful of all thy past and present mercies and blessings. We pray, our Father, that thou wouldst empower us by thy word and by thy spirit to meet all our responsibilities, to be joyful in thee, to be more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, our Lord, and to know that we have been called to victory and to service. Grant us this, we beseech thee in Christ’s name. Amen.

Our scripture is Exodus 28:22-30. Our subject: Urim and Thummim. Exodus 28:22-30. “And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold. And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate. And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate. And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it. And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward. And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod. And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod. And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually. And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.”

We have now more specific instructions about the breastplate and the ephod. An age which is unwilling to follow directions in any of life and thought, such as ours, is not likely to be interested in these verses. The important and central concern here is the Urim and Thummim in verse 30. What they were specifically, we do not know. They were, in some way, a means of drawing lots, but not in any way familiar or even known to us. They were, however, obviously very important to the work and function of the high priest, and they have an importance in their significance to us.

The high priest has an important function in sacrifice, but more was involved in the work of the high priest, Together, with the Levites, instruction was basic to his vocation, as Deuteronomy 33:10 makes clear. He was to render judgments before God at the sanctuary as in Exodus 22:8-9, we are plainly told. The law of God was the necessary means whereby he was to render judgment. Yet, the Urim and Thummim, for which the breastplate was made, are called the instruments of judgment in Exodus 28:15.

There are only a few references to the Urim and Thummim in all the Bible. Both are referred to in Exodus 28:30 and Leviticus 8:8, and in Deuteronomy 33:8, Ezra 2:63, and Nehemiah 7:65. In 1 Samuel 28:6, and Ezra 2:63, we have references only to the Urim, so at times one was used without the other. In Ezra 2:63 and Nehemiah 7:65, we see the importance of the Urim and Thummim to the priesthood. Many have seen the Urim and Thummim as related to the casting of lots. There is clearly some similarity, but we have the fact of 1 Samuel 28:6 which says that at times, God refused to allow any verdict or word to come by way of the Urim and Thummim, so it was not like casting lots because there is always a result then.

Well, to gain some knowledge of the matter, let us look at it very closely. We know, first of all, the Urim and Thummim were connected with judgment. Clearly, therefore, their purpose was very closely tied to justice. Second, there was an element of judgment reserved to God, and so there is an analogy to the casting of lots. Here was an area, when nothing else worked, God alone was to judge and man had nothing to do with it. The use of lots to ascertain guilt we do see in the Bible in the episode of Aiken in Joshua 7:13-21. The last biblical use of lots is in Acts 1:26 when Matthias was chosen by lot to replace Judas as one of the twelve disciples, but there is a difference between the two episodes. In the one, a guilty man is located. In the other, a new leader is chosen. The biblical use of lots ended with Matthias choice. There was clearly a supernatural government over the use of lots in the Bible. Third, we definitely cannot say that the Urim and Thummim governed the administration of justice. Judgment and justice were and are the prerogatives of God, totally so. For that purpose and that end, God gave His law, which in virtually all cases, governed the administration of justice. The Bible makes clear that the Urim and Thummim were very rarely used. Referred to at times, but rarely used.

In addition to the law, and courts, and judges for the administration of justice, there were elders and fathers. The major administration of justice is in the hands of parents, the father in particular. The patriarchal father of scripture had great powers over the generations as Genesis indicates. So, in the overwhelming number of cases, the normal channels of justice prevailed throughout the Old Testament history. Kings, priests, judges, enders, prophets, fathers, and all God-ordained authorities, each and all in their own sphere have the duty to administer justice in terms of God’s law.

Well, what then was the meaning of the Urim and Thummim? Why were they so necessary to the office of high priest when apparently they were so rarely used? The meaning of the words, perhaps, can be of help, so let’s look at that. Urim means lights, and Thummim means perfections. Perhaps this pointed to the fact that true and full justice rests on God. These meanings, lights and perfections, are common knowledge to Christian scholars. However, according to some contemporary Jewish scholars in Israel, the Greek text of 1 Samuel 14:41 seems to indicate that Urim might derive from a word meaning curse, and Thummim from a word meaning be whole, but this is a conjecture. It’s not an established meaning. But to continue, fourth, it is clear by now that while the Urim and Thummim plainly invoked God’s judgment, we have no clear-cut instance of their definitive use anywhere in the Bible, so we have a paradox. Here is something that is the ultimate in judgment, standing for God’s judgment, but we cannot say in this text that here we have clear evidence of its usage. And yet, we are told it is very important, and the high priest is not a high priest without it.

But what is clear is that, while God provides a variety of spheres through which justice is to be administered, He reserves judgment to Himself in the final instance. The source of ultimate justice is the ultimate judge who is the final arbiter over all things, and this the Urim and Thummim set forth. They were carried before the high priest’s heart, always a witness to the fact that no human being had the ultimacy in justice.

So, we can say the high priest’s breastplate was an eloquent witness to two facts. First, the stones engraved with the names of the twelve tribes, then later the twelve apostles in Revelation, testify to the fact that, by God’s grace in the atonement, we are the judged, the justified, the redeemed of God and the freed, and we are carried by the high priest, Jesus Christ, on his breastplate. We are important to Him.

Second, the Urim and Thummim witness to the fact that while we who are judged have some part in judgment, each in our appointed place and with our authority, we must allow God to be the judge finally of all persons and things. Paul, therefore, rejects all personal judgment. He makes it clear that it is not our duty to go around passing judgment on one another. Our personal judgments are sinful, only God’s judgments are absolutely valid, and only the authorities He has established can pass judgment where they have authority. The Berkeley version of Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 4:3-5 makes this very clear. Paul says, “To me it is of least importance to be judged by you or by any human court. Nor do I even judge myself, for I am not cleared because I am unconscious of any wrong on my part. The one who judges me is the Lord, so do not you pass premature judgment before the Lord comes, who shall bring to light the things hidden by darkness and shall reveal the inner motives. Then shall each one experience his due approval from God.”

Now, many religions condemn gossip, backbiting speech and slander. The Bible is unique in its condemnation because among other things, first of all, it commends a charitable spirit pointing our as James does in James 3:2, “In many things we offended all.” But second, again in James 3:5-8, judgmental speech is called a sin and a destructive fire. The Urim and Thummim, thus tell us that judgment is God’s prerogative. We are given limited spheres of judgment as parents, as teachers, as workers, and workers in such spheres of church and state, and so on.

Now, this is of great importance, when so many acts today are by people acting as little gods, sitting in judgment over everyone including God himself. Currently, there is a work being prepared for the press. The new red letter edition of the five gospels. This will be out very soon. The fifth gospel, so called fifth gospel, is the Apocryphal Nag Hammadi manuscript discovered in Egypt in 1945. It is a Gnostic work, there is nothing historic about it. But this work, this new red letter edition of the five gospels, is being produced by a hundred and twenty-five scholars, Catholic and Protestant, and a few of them Jewish. All the words, supposedly attributed to Jesus, are subjected to a vote by these men. As one of them, Marcus Borg, of Oregon State University describes it, and I quote, “The question we vote upon with regard to each saying of Jesus is ultimately very simple. ‘Do I think Jesus said that?’ We vote by casting one of four differently colored balls; red, pink, grey, black, into a ballot box.” Well, how very thoughtful of these scholars to edit Jesus’ words. The red, by the way, means, “Jesus said it,” pink means, “It sounds like him,” grey, “well maybe,” and black, “no.” In an age of presumptuous scholars, it is not surprising that some have taken it upon themselves to correct God the Son with their editorial skills. But that’s logical. It’s a part of the temper of our age, because we are all so prone to passing judgment. That’s all we do most of the time when we open our mouths; to pass judgment.

This makes clear what the Urim and the Thummim are all about. They were always there whenever you saw the high priest, he was not to be seen as the high priest unless he carried the breastplate of judgment with the Urim and Thummim, which signified that judgment belongs entirely to God. He gives it to us each in our appointed sphere in terms of what we are, and there we are to exercise it under God, whatever our office, or as parents, or as teachers, whatever our function, but beyond that, it belongs to Him. He has, by His law word, given us the means of judging where He requires us to exercise Godly rule, but beyond our legitimate spheres of dominion, work and rightful authority, God reserves to Himself the power and right to judge. So, the Urim and Thummim are very important to our time. They are a witness to the fact that we are all caught up in the spirit of the modern age, to be little gods, to judge endlessly, to open our mouths with one thing: to pass judgment. Moses tells us plainly that certain spheres are reserved by God to himself. But those given to us require our obedience to all the words of His law. According to Deuteronomy 29:29, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Let us pray.

Our Father, we thank thee for thy word. Thy word is truth and thy word speaks plainly to the faults common to us all. Give us grace to hear and obey. Teach us day by day to serve thee with all our heart, mind and being, to know that we have been called to be faithful. We thank thee, our Father, that thou art merciful unto us, that thou art mindful of our frailties, that thou art He who, by thy sovereign grace and mercy, hast made us a new creation in Christ. Teach us to grow in Him, and make us joyful in the chastening, the comforting, and the joy of thy word. In Christ’s name, amen. Are there any questions now about our lesson? Yes?

[Audience] Your story about the colored balls and the fifth gospel is reminiscent of the story of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion. He claimed to have the Urim and Thummim, which were two stones that he placed in a hat that would shake around. Stick his face in the hat and determine revelation by that means.

[Rushdoony] Yes, and now these scholars are on the same level. They’re going to establish what is true and what is false in revelation. It’s not surprising that they were able to find a hundred and twenty-five scholars, from seminaries and universities who were happy to do that, to pass judgment on Jesus Christ. Yes?

[Audience] You mentioned that the word Urim might mean light. Is there any indication in scripture that they were used in terms of determining revelation?

[Rushdoony] In terms of determining?

[Audience] Revelation.

[Rushdoony] No. We have no clear-cut example of how they were used, but they were a witness. So here was something that was given tremendous importance and centrality and yet, and Josephus tells us that there could be no true priest, high priest without it, as well as other sources. No one could ever point to their clear-cut use. They were a witness to the fact that God is the judge, and we are judges under Him where His law gives us certain powers. The curious fact is that nobody bothers with the meaning of the Urim and Thummim. They spend all their time concentrating on “what were they specifically?” Well, if God wanted us to know, He would have told us. Yes?

[Audience] It seems to me that there’s a real spirit of permissiveness, and they take this passage about judgment and say, “Well, we’re not to judge one another,” and yet, are we to take God’s word, His law, and look at that and say, “This is the standard,” and when you see somebody who is not either one of our leaders, or our children, or whomever, who is not living up to that standard, are we to judge them, to know them by their {?} and say, “You’re not doing what God says you’re supposed to do.” Isn’t that judgment on our part?

[Rushdoony] Yes. A very good point. Our Lord makes two statements about judgment that are critical here. One, “Judge not lest ye be judged.” In other words, don’t apply your personal feelings and standards, and second, “Judge righteous judgment.” Righteous, having reference to judgment in terms of the word of God, and so we are to judge righteous judgment where we have the authority and a duty to do so, in terms of a particular context and situation. But, “Judge not lest ye be judged.” In other words, don’t go around taking authority upon yourself where you have none. So, the one doesn’t abolish the other. Each in its sphere. No judgment, judgment.

[Audience] So as long as we apply it within the sphere of authority that the Lord has given to us, then we need to do that.

[Rushdoony] Yes, we need to then. The sad fact is we are always judging in the wrong sphere. People back off where it requires righteous judgment because you might get into trouble, but in other spheres, no problem. Any other questions or comments? Well, if not, let us conclude with prayer.

Our Father, we thank thee for thy word and its correcting power. We need thee every hour to speak to us the word that we need, to correct us, to comfort and strengthen us. We thank thee that, by thy Holy Spirit, thou art ever near to do these things. Bless us mightily in faithfulness to thee and to thy kingdom. And now go in peace. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost bless you and keep you, guide and protect you this day and always. Amen.

End of tape.