The lesson tonight is in Exodus
chapter 28. I'm going to talk to you about one
more piece of the high priest dress called the Urim and the Thummim. We've been studying here in Exodus. We've been studying the tabernacle
of God and the priesthood of Israel. And if you've never heard these
things talked before, you might ask yourself, well, why? Why
study this? Why study these old ceremonies
and these old things that hadn't been practiced by the Church
of God in 2,000 years? So why go back and look at these
things? Why go back to the days of Noah? Why waste my time talking
about something that happened 2,000 years ago? What possible
spiritual impact do these things have upon the faith of God's
elect? Well, it is in these things that
were ordained of God and manifested in Israel that laid
the foundation for all that our Savior came to do. We had known
nothing about a sacrifice apart from the Old Testament sacrifices,
we wouldn't even have known what the word meant. Sacrifice? What are you talking about sacrifice?
Burnt offering? What's he talking about burnt
offering? You'd have to throw the book of Hebrews away without
some knowledge of these Old Testament things. And then in Hebrews 9
and 10, we're told three times that these things were patterns
of things in the heavens. When we look at these things,
God ordained these things to be patterns in the heavens. Patterns. Things not exactly
like what happened, but things that symbolize these things that
are going on in heaven. And then He tells us they are
figures for the time then present. He gave those things in that
day because Christ did not come to fulfill those things. And
those things were being used for the groundwork of their faith.
And their shadows, Paul goes on to tell us in Hebrews 10,
of good things to come. Describing the salvation of God's
elect in Hebrews 9.11, it says, But Christ being come a high
priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect
tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building, Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. He tells us in Ephesians chapter
2, if you read through chapter 2, He gets down to the end of
that chapter. And He's talked about how He
broke down that middle wall of petition between the Jews and
the Gentiles. And He's revealed to us the true
spiritual Israel. We know who these people of God
are, and we stand in common with them, and we have one common
source of salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. And then He talks
about our faith, and tells us we're built up a spiritual house.
And here's what He tells us. He said you're built upon the
foundation of the apostles and prophets. Don't separate them,
apostles and prophets. That is Old and New Testament. Jesus Christ Himself being the
chief cornerstone, and He's chief cornerstone not in the New Testament
only, but also in the Old Testament. Now in our last study, we talked
about the breastplate of judgment with the 12 stones in which was
written representatively the names of the whole house of Israel
etched in all those different stones. And tonight, I want us
to look at two more pieces that were to go into the breastplate,
the Urim and the Thummim. Look here in Exodus 28, verse
29. 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 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. Now, the Urim and the Thummim
are two of the most mysterious pieces of the high priest's dress. We are nowhere told in the Bible
what they were, what they were made of. Were they stones? Were they pieces of metal? Were
they pieces of cloth? It doesn't say. It never says
anywhere in the Word of God that I've been able to find what these
things were made of. They're very mysterious. Very
mysterious. We're not told of their size,
how big they were. Were they something big or something
small, something you could see? And we're not told how they were
fashioned. I haven't read anywhere about the breastplate or any
of these things where a pocket was to be sewed on them. Did
you? It doesn't mention anything about pockets. And yet they are
to be put in the breastplate. Put in the breastplate. The Urim and the Thummim are
only mentioned five times in all the Scriptures. If you have
a pen or pencil or something, I'll give you these references.
here in Exodus 28, verse 30, Leviticus 8, verse 8, Deuteronomy
33, verse 8, Ezra 2, verse 63, and Nehemiah 7, verse 65. Now
let's start here. There's a lot of things we don't
know about the Urim and the Thummim, but what do we know? What do
we know? Let's start there. What do we
know about the Urim and the Thummim? Well, first we know that I know
what their names mean. It means lights, L-I-G-H-T-S,
plural, lights, and it means perfections. That's what Urim
and Thummim mean. It means lights. Actually, it's
the plural for another word, which specifically means firelight. Firelight. And I found this very
interesting. And I'll get into this in a minute. But over in James, where he said,
every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down from the Father
of what? Lights. You know what that word
means? Firelight. Firelight. Light out of darkness. That's what this word firelight
means. And then the thummim is also a plural form of another
word, which basically means perfections or completeness. So in these
two pieces, we have lights and perfections. And we know what
their names indicate. What else do we know? Well, secondly,
we know that the urim and the thummim were kept in the breastplate
of judgment along with the names of all God's elect. Whatever
these lights and perfections symbolize, they are directly
related to God's elect as they are represented in their high
priest before God. There is a connection here between
lights and perfections in the person and work of that high
priest. The Urim and the Thummim. The
high priest is the only one who carried that. And he carried
it in the same breastplate that bore the names of the whole house
of Israel. So it's got specifically, whatever
it is, to do with God's elect. And then thirdly, we know that
this Urim and Thummim was located over the heart of Aaron, the
high priest. Immediately after he tells us
that he puts this Urim and Thummim in there, he tells us what Aaron's
going to do. He's going to bear us up in his
heart before God. They were not wrapped around
His head. They were not tied to His feet or worn as bracelets
on His arms, but they were carried over His heart as He bore Israel
up before the Lord. And then, fourthly, we know that
it was through the Urim and the Thummim that God revealed His
will and gave direction to His beloved people. Turn with me
and let's look at this together over in Numbers chapter 27. Numbers
chapter 27. Joshua was commanded to stand
before Eleazar, the high 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 they shall come in, both He and all
the children of Israel with Him, even all the congregation. Joshua, who was an imminent type
of Christ and whose name Christ bore as a man, his name shall
be called Jesus. That's the New Testament name,
Joshua. He was an imminent type of Christ,
whose name He bore as a man. He went forth to accomplish and
conquer the promised rest of His people. And He went in the
light of God's counsel in the Urim. What else do we know about these
two mysterious pieces put into the breastplate of Israel's high
priest? Well, I know this. They were
lost. The Urim and the Thummim were
lost during the Babylonian captivity and never again recovered. Now
you can read about that in the book of Ezra. And we know that
Babylon is forever a symbol of false religion and we see here
then that what false religion does to true worship, it destroys
the lights of God. And it destroys, tears down the
perfections of God. It leaves a priest, but one with
no discernment. No lights. It leaves a priest,
but no perfections. No counsel of God. No leadership
of God. It leaves a priest with himself
and his own ideas and fallen principles. The blind leading
the blind. And it leaves a priest setting
his own standards based on everything except the perfections of God. When the priesthood becomes mixed
with Babylonian idolatry, the lights and perfections of God
are gone forever. Now with these five things in
mind, let me move to the second thing that I want you to see. I want you to see here that the
Lord Jesus Christ is our High Priest and He bears the Urim
and Thummim of God forever. He bears it. He bears it. Now turn with me to Deuteronomy
chapter 33. Deuteronomy chapter 33. The counsels, the lights, and
perfections of God cannot be carried by men because man can't
be trusted. He can't be trusted. He can't
keep them. He can't keep them. He can't manifest God's lights
and God's perfections. He loses them. He strays. Job said this. He said, Behold,
he putteth no trust in his saints. None. Man has no inherent perfections
and he has no discernment, none that understandeth. He is born
in darkness. Now look here in Deuteronomy
33, verse 8. And of Levi he said, let thy
thumb and thy ear be with the Holy One. Isn't that something? Let it be with Him. the Holy
One, whom thou didst prove at Massa." Is that name familiar
to you? The Israelites murmured because
they didn't have any water to drink. And they chided with Moses
and they were ready to get rid of him. And God told Moses to
take that rod and smite that rock. And water came forth from
that smitten rock. That was Christ. He tells us
that in Corinthians. And that rock which followed
them was Christ. Christ. Now, this Holy One, He
said, Whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom thou didst
strive at the waters of Meribah. Same thing. You will find them
both in the same reference. And you can read the historical
account of that back in Exodus chapter 17, if you want to, 1
through 7. And then you can read the spiritual
translation of it in Psalm 95. In verses 7-9, he'll give you
that. But in Hebrews 3-4, we're given
its application. These men heard the gospel. They
heard the gospel the same as we did. But it did not profit
them, Paul said, not being mixed with faith in them that heard
it. And the results were that under the wrath of God, they
were forbidden to enter into the promised rest of Christ.
But their carcasses, he said, I swear by myself they shall
not enter into my rest, but their carcasses shall fall into wilderness. Now these are the dying words
of that great prophet of God and deliverer of Israel. He said,
let your thumb... talking to them there about Joshua
standing before Him. And now He's talking to them
about, let your thummim and your urim be with the Holy One. These
are the dying words of Moses. Moses is getting ready to die.
And He gives them this charge. Let your thummim and your urim
be with the Holy One. Let your lights and perfections
be with Christ and in Christ. That's what He's telling them.
Let your union with Him be inseparably connected to His light and His
perfections. Let your light and your perfection
come from the heart of your high priest as he represents you before
God in the holy place. And let your wisdom and judgments
be found according to His light and His perfections. And trust
in His light. Trust in His perfections which
can never be taken away or lost. in the captivity of Babylon.
He's victorious. He's victorious. Let your lights,
all of them, be in the Holy One. And let your perfections, that
which God demands, that which God has provided, and that which
God has given, be found in Christ alone, the Holy One. Now remember,
we're still talking about the high priest of Israel. Two things
are given into His care. Two vital pieces to His priesthood. Two things which God will accomplish
through His person and work. Lights and perfections. That's what He's going to manifest.
Lights and perfections. Turn with me again to James chapter
1 and let me show you that scripture that I mentioned to you a few
moments ago. God in His unapproachable and
unperceivable person is more glorious than any man can imagine. No man, it says in the Word of
God, can look on God and live. You can't imagine that, can you?
He's more glorious than anybody can ever imagine. No man can
look on God and live. When just a little bit of His
presence was felt on Sinai, it began to quake and smoke and
burst into flames. And the people cried, Moses,
you go talk to Him. And they backed off. And then the Scripture says this,
over in the book of Job, He said, Canst thou by searching find
out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty
unto perfection? It's as high as the heaven. What
canst thou do? Deeper than hell. What can you
know? I tell you, I get so tired of
listening to intellectual religionists bragging about how much they
know God. How much they know about God. Old Job went over the line with
that. God said, now gird up your loins like a man and I'll ask
of you and you answer me. Where was you when I laid the
foundation of the world? Tell me what you know about it.
You don't know anything about it. Tell me about the migration
of the wild asses. Tell me about the snow. Tell
me about the secrets of the hoar frost. He asked Kim some 30 or
40 questions. Just that fast. Joe put his hand
over his mouth. He said, I'll never speak again. And then when Paul, he came to
this kind of a people, these wise Corinthians, he said, when
I came to you, I came not with excellency of speech or wisdom,
declaring unto you the testimony of God, but determined to know
nothing among you except Christ and Him crucified. And He tells us He is made of
God to be unto us wisdom. Now watch this here in James
1, verse 17. Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights,
the Father of all illumination, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning. this light come down? How did this Urim manifest itself
in the high priest? And in that breastplate of judgment,
he manifests the light of God in the person and work of Jesus
Christ, our great high priest. Listen to this, John chapter
3, verse 31. He that cometh from above is
above all. He that is of the earth is earthly,
and speaketh of the earth. He that cometh from heaven is
above all. And what he hath seen and heard,
that he testifieth, and no man receiveth his testimony. He that
hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. For he whom God hath sent speaketh
the words of God, for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto
him. And then John 8 and verse 12,
he said, I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall
not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. What
am I saying? I am saying all light is in Christ. In Him is the light of creation.
The Word which John says was with God and was God, who made
all things, and without whom was not anything made that was
made. He is the light. He is the light. He made all
things. He spoke all things. All things
were made by Him and for Him. He is the light of creation.
He is the light of conscience. Or what is sometimes called natural
light. Listen to this in Romans chapter
2. He said, for when the Gentiles, verse 14, when the Gentiles,
which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in
the law, they having not the law, are a law unto themselves,
which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their
conscience also bearing them witness, and their thoughts the
meanwhile accusing or excusing one another. He is the light,
John said, that lighteth every man that cometh into the world. Now he's not talking about redemptive
light there, he's talking about the light of conscience. We know
by the Word of God, He does not light in a redemptive way every
man that cometh into the world, but He does every man in their
conscience. And who does it? That high priest.
That high priest. But especially, He is the light
and perfections of God as they are manifested in Him for the
redemption of His people. He tells us, No man knoweth the
Father save the Son. This Father of lights, no man
knows Him, save the Son, and He to whom the Son will reveal
Him. All light is in Him, Paul told the Colossians, but especially
as He is the head of the body of the church. For it pleased
the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell. And what
did they preach? They preached other foundations
can no man lay than that which is laid Christ the Lord. No man,
He said, cometh unto the Father but by Me. And then he tells
them this, except you believe that I am, you will die in your
sins. Salvation is to see the lights
and perfections of God in Christ and to learn His will in the
salvation of sinners and see Him who is the way. That gospel
was proclaimed to Israel through that high priest and those sacrifices. In every piece of this tabernacle,
all these sacrifices, All His dress, all of those things point
to Christ. They point to Christ. And in the light of God's mercy
and grace in Christ, He demonstrates to us how God can maintain His
glorious perfections and yet save wretched sinners like you
and I. I don't hear that preached anywhere,
do you? All I hear is about coming forward coming down front to
be counseled, or coming down front to kneel down at a mourner's
bench, or joining the church, or, here, we've got some programs
here. We can hook you up with some programs and you study these
things. And then let me say this. If the Father of lights and perfections
are given to us, and for us in the person of His Son, then let's
go to Him for our light and perfection. Does that make sense? That makes
sense to me. Go to Him. God gave one man in
all Israel the urim and the thummim. He gave it to the high priest.
And even Joshua had to go stand before that priest and get direction
from God. Now you think about that. Don't
go to a counselor. Don't go to the law. Don't go
to some program or system. Go to Christ. He's the brightness
of the Father's glory and express image of His person. And then
secondly, if God has engaged and given us His lights and perfections
in Christ, and He's done so in the heart of our High Priest,
how dear must we be to Him who is our High Priest. How dear. We have one who loves us. He
not only gave Himself for us, but He loved. Husbands, love
your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. And then last of all, if Christ
truly bears the urim and the thummim of God for us, then let
us with full confidence trust Him to manage all our affairs. spiritual, temporal, and domestic. Give them to Him. He's the only
one who has the Urim and the Thummim. You don't have it. You
don't have it. God told me to do this. God told
me... No, He didn't. No, He didn't. You don't have the Urim and the
Thummim. Christ has it. Christ has it.