What In The World? When it came to which priest went into the Holy of Holies, God’s will was chosen by lot.
- Luke 1:9.
- This is odd to us. This seems weird.
- And yet here it is in the Christmas story.
- We want to chase down this line of thought: What does this being part of the Christmas story tell us about the way God works in the world?
- Similar things show up in the Old Testament
- Here’s probably the best word on the Urim and Thummim. It’s a couple of paragraphs from Dr. Bruce Waltke’s excellent book (which I highly recommend), entitled, “Finding the Will of God” (pp. 62-64):
“The priest could use the urim and thummin to determine God’s will in a particular situation. We are not exactly sure what the urim and thummin were, but the priest carried in his breastplate perhaps two sticks or stones, one white and the other black, that would give a yes or no answer to a specific question. Should Israel be preparing for battle, they would somehow shake or toss the sticks. If they turned up black the Israelites would not go to battle, and if they turned up white they would proceed into battle with the knowledge that they were in the will of God. That is one form of divination that God allowed in the Old Testament. We read in Exodus 28:30, “Also put the Urim and the Thummin in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron’s heart whenever he enters the presence of the Lord. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the Lord.”
Much has been made of the urim and thummin by modern mystics, who want to find in them the key to the divine mind. All sorts of fanciful explanations have been put forward, including that the items may have glowed, that they had secret words engraved on them, or that they were ancient artifacts with magical powers. However, it should be noted that 1 Samuel 28:6 makes clear a definite answer was not always obtainable, so it may not have been as simple as tossing two stones on ground. Moses never used them; they were given for the high priest in aiding those who could not find God’s guidance any other way.
Some translate the words urim and thummin to mean “curse” and “blessing,” others simply “dark” and “light,” although the literal translation seems to be “light” and “perfections.” There is no proof that there were only two items; some early rabbis believed that the urim and thummin were a series of stones with Hebraic characters on them by which the Lord could spell out a message for the high priest. However, most scholars believe them to be two sticks or stones, perhaps precious stones, that God used in a miraculous way to reveal His will. They were used for national decisions like going to war, and for priestly matters.
The Old Testament seems to indicate that the urim and thummin faded from use during the early days of Israel’s monarchy, and are only referred to once after the Babylonian exile. This may be so because the institution of monarchy God inaugurated the office of prophet. The prophets now participated in God’s heavenly court and communicated God’s messages to the courts in Jerusalem and Samaria. Apparently prophets who revealed God’s word to the king replaced the urim and thummin, through which He revealed His mind to the priest. Nevertheless, we still find Ezra using this device to determine the ancestry of the priests who returned from the exile in Ezra 2:63. After this the Bible never mentions the urim and thummin again. God did not preserve it for His people. They are one more allowance from God to assist His people at a certain point in history.”
Two Mistakes: Some people think that nothing is from God; some people think that everything is a sign from God.
- Some people don’t think that God works in the world, that He never coordinates anything, that He is active. So nothing is a move from God.
- Some people think that everything is a sign. I’ve been around believers who seem compelled to turn every song, every interaction, every encounter into an obvious sign from God of some big portent.
- Both are, I believe, off.
One Good Way To Think About It: What God originates, He orchestrates.
- In contrast to those two extremes, I like this phrase.
- I believe that God is active in the world today. I also believe that God is not sending signs in every little thing that happens.
- One way to think about God moving in the world is “what God originates, He orchestrates.”
- By that I mean that when God is up to something, He brings together the pieces to make that happen.
How Small Is God Willing To Work? Apparently at least as small as a roll of the dice.
- Luke 1:9.
- We may think of God as only working in the big stuff, but this passage points us in another direction.
- Obviously, the need for Zechariah to be in the Holy of Holies and receive the vision is a big, big thing. After all, we need John the Baptist. So on one level, this is a big deal.
- At another level, this is a small thing. It’s a roll of dice, literally.
- In our lives, we often think of God as only being interested in big things, but I believe that He often wants to move in small ways.
A Verse For Us To Experience That: Is the highest form of prayer a three-hour closet prayer or moment-by-moment awareness of God?
- 1 Thessalonians 1:17.
- The idea of “pray without ceasing” has to do, I believe, with having a moment-by-moment awareness of God and conversation with God. I don’t mean walking around talking to yourself, but rather just knowing He’s with you and being mentally aware of what He may be doing.
- This goes with the idea that God wants us to be walking with Him daily.
- This goes with the idea that God wants to work in us and through us.
- That’s not to degrade the person who spends lengthy time in prayer (though there are few of those people), but just to say that I think this is something that God likes.
Some Divine Appointment Details:
1. It may be abundant blessings.
2. It may be opportunities to serve.
3. It may be challenges that bring maturity.
4. It may be hurting people who need love.
5. It may be the center of a storm.
