What were the Urim and the Thummim?
This is a question I have struggled with on a personal level throughout half my life, so I decided to once again review the articles explaining it.
According to the glossary in the Revised New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, they were “objects used by the high priest in a manner similar to the use of lots to determine the divine will when questions of national importance needed an answer from Jehovah. The Urim and Thummim were put inside the high priest’s breastpiece when he entered the tabernacle.”
The reason I struggle with their use in Biblical times is that the Bible clearly condemns the practice of divination, that is, the practice of gaining secret knowledge of events through supernatural occult powers (Deut. 18:10).
What was the difference, then, between the Urim and Thummim and the practice of divination?
While divination was a practice originating in ancient Babylon and which relied upon the guidance of spirits other than God, the Urim and Thummim were only used by the High Priest when he entered the Most Holy (Insight on the Scriptures, vol. i).
The Most Holy was the section of the Tabernacle the High Priest had to enter in order to ask Jehovah about matters of national relevance.
Before the Bible was completed, Jehovah had several means of communicating his will to humans.
These means included angelic messengers and prophecies revealed through dreams or visions to specific prophets.
Another form of interpreting God’s will was by basing decisions on principles stated by God in the past, which is the way we make decisions today.
Yet another form of interpreting God’s will back then was by casting lots, as was the case when the Promised Land was divided among the 12 tribes of Israel. (Nu. 26:55,56)
The Urim and the Thummim appear to have been sacred lots used under prayer that provided a “Yes”, “No,” or “No Answer,” reply to questions. (1 Sam. 28:6)
They were not used as a means of gambling or for trivial matters.
Since the High Priest was in charge of these sacred objects, the Kings who later came about in Israel and Judah would need to rely on consulting the High Priest before making important decisions.
This kept the king from having too much power (Insight on the Scriptures, vol. ii).
Nowadays, God’s People use the Bible to guide their steps, studying it under the prayerful direction of his Holy Spirit in order to better understand its message.
For “all Scripture is […] beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, so that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim. 3:16,17)
Tag Archives: faith
Exodus, chapters 15-18
It is surprising how careless some of the Israelites were when it came to obeying details.
Moses had demonstrated he was their God-appointed leader and yet, they still questioned his instructions.
Such unwilling attitudes could have disheartened Moses, who had risked his life to go back to Egypt and see them free across the Red Sea.
But Moses kept tending to them as he would have done to his sheep when he was a shepherd, refining his patience on a day-to-day basis.
Concentrating on the Israelites’ lack of faith, this teaches me that I should obey God’s instructions even when the details seem illogical from a human perspective.
Christ has appointed “gifts in men” to serve as shepherds in the congregation (Eph. 4:8).
These men have no personal gain by serving the congregation, other than the satisfaction of having done what is right.
They make arrangements for the well-being of our spiritual-family, knowing that God will provide means to see those arrangements to fulfillment.
These arrangements may not always make sense.
Some members of the congregation may criticize or even refuse to cooperate.
An attitude that constantly questions counsel given in accordance with Bible principles can prove detrimental to our own spirituality and eventually dishearten those who serve us.
Our love for God is tested in the details (Luke 16:10).
Exodus, chapters 11-14
The reaction of many to the good news of Christ’s kingdom tends to be:
“I don’t need that. We already have a religion.”
Or:
“Take your message to someone who needs it.”
The above text mentions that it was not until the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea and had seen the Egyptians dead on the seashore that they began “to put faith in Jehovah.”
They had witnessed many miracles first hand, and they believed to have an acceptable form of worship.
But faith can always be stronger.
We shouldn’t passively assume we are good enough for God.
He promises to end suffering and transform this world into a paradise (Psalm 37:9-11; Rev. 21:4,5).
Although we may believe his word to a high degree, our faith has yet to grow until we see these promises materialize with our own eyes.
Faith is something we should actively build and not just take for granted.
“Faith is the assured expectation of what is hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities that are not seen. […] Moreover, without faith it is impossible to please God well, for whoever approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him,” (Heb. 11:1,6).
Exodus, chapters 1-6
Moses’ mother, Jochebed, had no idea what would happen to her baby once she placed him in the water.
The instructions given to the Egyptians were clear: “You are to throw every newborn son of the Hebrews into the Nile River […]” (Exo. 1:22).
To go against Pharaoh’s orders back then would be today’s equivalent of committing a federal felony. Only Pharaoh was considered to be a god and so he had the power to execute people at will.
Still, Jochebed took her chances and concealed her baby boy for three months.
When she had done all she could, she commended him to Jehovah God and sent his sister to watch and see what would happen to him.
I try to imagine what they must have felt. Was it resignation? Fear? Firm faith? Or a mixture of all three?
Nowadays, it may happen that we are asked by an authority figure to do something inappropriate or unethical.
In those cases, it will be wise to follow Jochebed’s example and do what is right.
What happens after that may be a matter of circumstance, or if God sees it fit, He will intervene.
As we all know, in Moses’ case, things worked out, for Pharaoh’s daughter found him, felt compassion for him, and then hired his own mother to nurse him until he was old enough to be adopted by her and live among royalty.
Little did they know that 80 years later, God would use Moses to intervene and save in a much greater manner.
Genesis, chapters 40-42
By the time the prisoner, Joseph, was brought before Pharaoh to interpret the meaning of his dreams, he had undergone a series of tragedies:
His mother died when he was a child (Gen. 35:16-19); growing up, his ten brothers bullied him (Gen. 37:4,5,11); they sold him as a slave when he was 17 and his father took him for dead (Gen. 37:28,33); his master’s wife falsely accused him of trying to rape her after he refused her sexual advances, which caused him to be thrown into prison (Gen. 39:12,17-20).
There, he accurately interpreted the dreams of two of Pharaoh’s servants, but he was left in prison for three more years (Gen. 40:9-14, 20-23).
Joseph was finally brought before Pharaoh at the age of 30 and received prophetic insight into the meaning of Pharaoh’s dreams (seven years of prosperity followed by seven years of famine) (Gen. 41:25-32).
Of course, now we’ve all heard of him and how he forgave his brothers and saved his family, but at the time Joseph stated the words I cited at the beginning, “I need not be considered! God will speak concerning Phar′aoh’s welfare,” he had every reason on earth to be bitter and resentful.
Joseph’s faith is what sustained him through all his trials and even when finally given the chance to state his case and glorify himself, he still channeled all praise and glory to God.
This is definitely one of the greatest examples humanity has to offer of how faith and virtue lead to true success.
Genesis, chapters 32-35
E′sau ran to meet him, and he embraced him and kissed him, and they burst into tears.
When Esau last saw Jacob, he had plans to kill him (Gen. 27:41).
20 Years later, as described in the above passage, his heart has been softened.
He has taken on a more spiritual approach to life.
This teaches me that people can change for the better.
It is wrong to give up hope on someone without giving them time to reflect on their own actions and see the negative consequences of their bad decisions.
Usually it’s those closest to us that let us down. A family member or a best friend who was like a sister or brother.
God doesn’t give up on people from one moment to the next. He patiently waits for them to repent (2 Pet. 3:9).
And if we want to truly change, then it is imperative to ‘clothe ourselves in humility,’ as in the case of Esau (Col. 3:12).
I had never taken this passage into account.
According to a Bible encyclopedia, Deborah lived for about another 125 years after Rebekah and Isaac married (it-1 p. 600).
She had left everything behind to accompany Rebekah south into a new family and new lifestyle, for Isaac’s household dwelt in tents.
In all this time she became a part of their family and they were moved to heartfelt grief upon her death.
I am touched by the inclusion of this small but telling detail in the Holy Scriptures.
In a book that selectively lists ancestries and important dates to provide historical proof and context, the fact that God included this about Deborah, a humble servant, tells us how much he values the lives of those who render sacred service toward Him (Matt. 10:29-31).
Genesis, chapters 29-31
This is a point a couple friends of mine made:
Young people shouldn’t be in a hurry to start dating or to find “the right person” because true love is patient and if two people really love each other, it doesn’t matter how long it takes them to wind up together, they are willing to wait.
And so the race for who could bare the most children begun, for somehow Jacob, who had originally set out to marry Rachel, wound up with 4 wives.
(If you are unfamiliar with the story, what happened is that Jacob was tricked into marrying Leah. He signed up to work another 7 years to get permission to marry Rachel. Rachel was barren and so she gave him her servant to have kids in lieu of her. Leah didn’t want to be left behind so she also gave Jacob her own servant. {Gen. 29:25-27; Gen. 30:3,4; Gen. 30:9}).
The point I want to highlight is that even today, women seem to be under this false illusion that if they have a man’s child or children, he will automatically love her, as if there were something someone could do to project love out of someone else.
In this case I am referring to romantic love.
But, as we saw from the first passage, love is something that flows naturally from one’s self. It cannot be forced or shut off or transferred into a third person.
A lot of women today, especially in my own Latin culture, get themselves pregnant hoping this way their boyfriends will want to marry them.
That is not how love or marriage works. These relationships tend to fall apart within the first ten years leaving deep emotional and financial scars.
On an opposite note, Genesis 30, verses 1 and 2, read:
Even when you are deeply in love with someone, this doesn’t mean you will be in perfect synchronization or pure bliss, or that you will never need to confront their flaws.
On occasion it will be entirely normal to “flare up in anger” and argue, because we are all imperfect and different.
That doesn’t nullify or subtract from true love in any way. True love endures and becomes more refined.
The moral of all this:
One wife is more than enough. 😉
Genesis, chapters 25-28
Last week’s reading taught me about resolving conflicts through faith and mildness.
In Genesis ch. 26 verses 16 & 17, we see how the Philistines grow afraid of Isaac due to his ever-growing prosperity and so their king asks him to leave.
As Isaac’s servants are working hard digging up his fathers’ old wells which the Philistines had stopped up, they find a new well.
Isaac decides to move on and they look for another well.
Again, instead of arguing with the Philistines, Isaac moves his men elsewhere. This time he is successful.
As a result, the Philistine king who had kicked him out now seeks him out to form a pact of peace between them.
Isaac’s mildness is blessed again as while this is happening, his servants find yet another well.
From this I see that when we make a genuine effort to foment peaceful relations with others, even when we know we are right and they are wrong, God does not abandon us and continues providing for our needs.
Genesis, chapters 17-20
The point I’d like to highlight from my reading last week is the story of Lot as related in Genesis ch. 19.
Lot did not have an easy life. His is basically a riches to rags story.
In ch. 13 we see he is so financially prosperous that he needs to separate his livestock and herders from Abraham’s in order to conserve the peace between the two households.
However in ch. 14 he and his entire household are kidnapped.
By the time we get to ch. 19, he is living among the lawless people in the insecure town of Sodom.
When two angels come to avert him of the oncoming destruction, he goes to warn his daughters’ fiances who do not take him seriously (Gen. 19:14).
His wife evidently has a predominantly materialistic inclination, which ends up costing her her life (Gen. 19:26).
And once they are “out of danger” dwelling in a cave, his daughters get him drunk and rape him (Gen. 19:30, 33-35).
Even though Lot was not respected by those around him, 2 Peter 2:7-9 demonstrates he had God’s approval by qualifying him as someone “righteous” and as having “godly devotion.”
This demonstrates that the hardships we face in our lives are not an indication of God’s neglecting us, but rather opportunities for us to exercise our faith in him.
Bible Reading Highlights 