The Priests' Garments

                                                                  Exodus 28:15-30

 

October 12, 2024

 

The Priests' Garments

“You shall make a breast piece, of judgment, in skilled work. In the style of the ephod, you shall make it of gold, blue and purple, and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen shall you make it.  It shall be square and doubled, a span its length and a span its breadth.  You shall set in it four rows of stones. A row of sardius, topaz, and carbuncle shall be the first row;  and the second row an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond; and the third row a jacinth, an agate, and an amethyst;  and the fourth row a beryl, an onyx, and a jasper. They shall be set in gold filigree.  There shall be twelve stones with their names according to the names of the sons of Israel. They shall be like signets, each engraved with its name, for the twelve tribes.  You shall make for the breast piece twisted chains like cords, of pure gold.  And you shall make for the breast piece two rings of gold, and put the two rings on the two edges of the breast piece.  And you shall put the two cords of gold in the two rings at the edges of the breast piece.  The two ends of the two cords you shall attach to the two settings of filigree, and so attach it in front to the shoulder pieces of the ephod.  You shall make two rings of gold, and put them at the two ends of the breast piece, on its inside edge next to the ephod.  And you shall make two rings of gold, and attach them in front to the lower part of the two shoulder pieces of the ephod, at its seam above the skillfully woven band of the ephod.  And they shall bind the breast piece by its rings to the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, so that it may lie on the skillfully woven band of the ephod, so that the breast piece shall not come loose from the ephod.  So, Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breast piece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the Lord.  And in the breast piece of judgment, you shall put 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.

 

Often, I’ve read past words like the Urim and the Thummim with no understanding of their meaning.  Let me share what I read this morning on these two items.  Urim: The Hebrew word for "lights." Thummim: The Hebrew word for "perfection" or "truth" 

Function: The Urim and Thummim were placed in a breastplate worn by the High Priest, which was attached to an apron-like garment called an ephod. The priest would use the Urim to inquire of YHWH on behalf of the ruler. 

We find them referred to also in Numbers 27:21,  ^“And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of 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.”

 

Deuteronomy 33:8, “And of Levi he said, 'Give to Levi your Thummim, and your Urim to your godly one, whom you tested at Massah, with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah. ”

1 Samuel 28:5-7, “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 by Urim, or by prophets.  Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at En-dor.”  Often, it is our unbelief or fear that drives us to evil sources, and this sure did not work out well for Saul.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice