Urim and Thummim אֶת־הָאוּרִ֖ים וְאֶת־הַתֻּמִּֽים

We are in chapter eight of Leviticus with our word for today which is a phrase. אֶת־הָאוּרִ֖ים וְאֶת־הַתֻּמִּֽים The Urim and the Thummim. It is used 2 times in the Old Testament. Both of these uses are when these items are placed in the breastpiece of the special priestly garments worn by the priests while serving at the tabernacle worship. Leviticus 8:8 And he placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put אֶת־הָאוּרִ֖ים וְאֶת־הַתֻּמִּֽים the Urim and the Thummim. Exodus 28:30 And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put אֶת־הָאוּרִים֙ וְאֶת־הַתֻּמִּ֔ים the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly. Let’s also look at each of the words in our phrase. אוּרִים Urim. It is used 7 times in the Old Testament. תֻּמִּים Thummim, innocence, innocent. It is used 5 times in the Old Testament. Let’s start by looking at the other uses where we find both words together from our phrase. With this first use we have for the only time the order of the words reversed. Deuteronomy 33:8 And of Levi he said, “Give to Levi תֻּמֶּ֥יךָ וְאוּרֶ֖יךָ your Thummim, and your Urim to your godly one. This was when Moses was blessing Israel before his death. This makes sense that he would reference our words since they were the tribe with the priests who were to wear it in their breastpiece. Our next uses shows that it was used to help determine direction from God. Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:65 The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult לְאוּרִ֥ים וּלְתֻמִּֽים Urim and Thummim. We don’t know why they are not mentioned together in two passages. We do know that both were still in existence during Ezra and Nehemiah’s time both were contemporaries. So the reason why they were not both mentioned was not that the Thummim was lost. My guess is that the two references are just shortened by using the first word to refer to both. And since no one really knows what they were exactly it could be that it was one object referred to normally with both words. Now let’s look at the two uses that just have Urim without Thummim. The context is the commissioning of Joshua to succeed Moses. Numbers 27:18-23 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of הָאוּרִ֖ים the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” And Moses did as the Lord  commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses. We don’t know exactly what role the Urim played in this commissioning. All we know was that the priest inquired for him by the judgement of the Urim. It probably has something to do with God using this Urim to communicate his confidence in his hearts motives. We really don’t know. The other use is when Saul is now without Samuel who used to advise him and he the Philistine army is coming. 1 Samuel 28:5-6 When Saul saw the army of the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart trembled greatly. And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or בָּאוּרִ֖ים by Urim, or by prophets. This passage helps us understand how it was used. It was one of the ways God set up to communicate to his people where they could ask for guidance. We don’t know how it worked but what this verse does tell us is that God was not speaking to Samuel because of his sin. This shows us that it was not a magic device where one could avoid being holy but still have access to divine guidance. I’ll close with this great passage that helps us keep our relationship with God close and connected. It has everything to do with obeying his clear will for all of us communicated in His word the Bible. If we sacrifice our fleshly desires putting them on his altar as living sacrifices then we will be able to do the next thing. This is the renewing of our minds which is also a process. Then the last part we will be able to test his will for us. In other words the specifics of what God wants us to individually do will be able to be tested for us to find them out over time. Tests take time they just don’t happen immediately. But the good thing is that our confidence in God’s will for us will be more and more confident because it will be approved as true. Romans 12:1-2 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.