Title: Christ our Urim and Thummim
Text: Ex 28:30
Date: January 10, 12, 2019
Place: Youth Class and SGBC, NJ
Exodus 28: 30: 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.
The high priest and
his garments typified Christ our High Priest.
Hebrews 7: 28: For the law maketh men high priests which
have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the
Son, who is consecrated for evermore.
Among the garments, one of the most important pieces were
the Urim and Thummim. They were put in
the breastplate of judgment—along with the names of the children of Israel.
They were upon the high priest’s
heart—showing us that in his heart Christ is Urim and Thummim. By Urim and Thummim the high priest bore the
judgment—the verdict and discernment—for the children of Israel before the LORD
continually—Aaron shall bear the judgment [verdict and discernment] of the
children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually
Urim means lights; Thummim means perfections. By Urim and Thummim, God gave direction to
the children of Israel and settled all important matters of judgment and
justice. For example, Joshua was required
to follow the direction of God’s priest, who sought God’s counsel by the Urim
before the Lord.
Numbers 27:21: And he shall stand before Eleazar the
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.
Proposition: Christ is our High
Priest with whom is Urim and Thummim.
Divisions: 1) Christ is the
true Urim and Thummim for his people. 2) Christ our High Priest bears judgment for
his people upon his heart in all his priestly functions.
LIGHTS AND PERFECTIONS
Christ is the true Urim and Thummim, the Lights and
Perfections of his people.
Deuteronomy 33:8: And of Levi he said, Let thy Thummim
and thy Urim be with thy holy one, whom thou didst prove at Massah, and with whom
thou didst strive at the waters of Meribah;
That Holy One proven
and strived against in the wilderness is Christ our High Priest. Christ said,
Psalms 95:7:…To day if ye will hear his voice, 8: Harden
not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the
wilderness: 9: When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
All light and perfection are found only in Christ our High
Priest and apart from Christ we have no light and no perfection of any kind.
Colossians 1:19: For it pleased the Father that in him
should all fulness dwell.
Colossians 2:3: In whom are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge.
Christ is the Urim—the Light in whom all light is found
and from whom all lights come. Think
about the old creation—all the light, from the first to the fourth day, was from
the Light of Christ, the sun was not created until the 4th day. Likewise, in the new creation all light is from
Christ, the Sun of Righteousness.
Natural light comes from Christ—speaking
of the first creation, John wrote—
John 1: 3: All things were made by him; and without him
was not any thing made that was made. 4: In him was life; and the life was the
light of men…9: That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh
into the world.
The light of our
fallen nature is nothing compared to before the fall. Yet, all men, in their
natural state, are enlightened by Christ.
That light cannot save, but it makes all men without excuse before God.
Romans 1:20: For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
The light of grace comes from Christ. We are born in total spiritual darkness. It is only by Christ the Light that we see our
lost condition, the sin and depravity of our hearts, the guilt of our sin, the necessity
of a Redeemer and the fulness and glory of Christ as the Redeemer. The redeemed of the Lord are made “children
of light” by Christ giving us light.
The light to behold the perfections of God is from
Christ the Light. Christ is the
brightness of the Father’s glory and the express image of his Person. We see the wisdom of God in salvation by and
in Christ. In Christ, and by Christ, we
behold the exceeding riches of his mercy, love and grace. We see the justice and grace, holiness and
truth, of the Almighty in the sufferings and death of Christ as our Substitute.
It is impossible to see the sun except by the light of the sun; and it is impossible
to see it by any other light. So it is
impossible to see Christ except by his Light; and impossible to see him by any
other light. Scripture says, “In thy
light, we shall see light.” In Christ’s
own light we see him as the only Mediator between God and men; in his own light
we see him as the only and all-sufficient Savior for guilty sinners; in his own
light we see the glory and efficacy of his sin-atoning blood, whereby he has
perfected forever them that are sanctified.
John 1:14: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among
us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,)
full of grace and truth.
The light of the gospel
truth in scripture is seen in and by Christ the Light, the Urim. Christ is the Light of life by which we
are regenerated to life men the Light by which we then understand the scriptures. Otherwise, the Bible is a sealed book to us. David understood this and prayed, “Open
thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” (Ps 119: 18)
The Light of heaven is Christ our Urim. Sin and infirmity cause darkness over this
world. But in heaven’s glory there will
be no sin, no infirmities and no darkness.
Revelation 21:23: And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and
the Lamb is the light thereof.
Isaiah 60:19: The sun shall be no more thy light by day;
neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the LORD shall
be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. 20: Thy sun shall no
more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be
thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
Christ is Thummim—perfections—all perfection is in
and by Christ our High Priest. Divine Perfection—“For in him dwelleth all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9); Perfect Omnipotence/Power—the
Almighty God; Perfect Omniscience—Peter said, “Lord, thou knowest all
things; thou knowest that I love thee.”; Perfect Omnipresence—Christ is
everywhere: in heaven and earth—Matthew 18:20: For where two or three are
gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them; Perfect
Immutability—Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever.
Christ is the perfection of all gifts of grace given to
us by the Holy Spirit
Psalms 68: 18: Thou
hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive:…19: Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our
salvation. Selah. 20: He that is our
God is the God of salvation; and unto
GOD the Lord belong the issues from
death.
Every believer has perfect
justification in Christ from Christ. We
have perfect redemption in him and from him.
Perfect sanctification is in our Lord Jesus and from him. Likewise, perfect preservation is in him and from
him. At last, perfect glorification shall
be in Christ and from Christ.
Brethren, Christ
is our Urim—all lights are in and from him; Christ is our Thummim—all
perfections are in him and come from him.
THE HIGH PRIEST BEARS
JUDGMENT
Exodus 28: 30: 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.”
Christ our High Priest carries his people upon his heart
in judgment in all his high priestly work as our text pictures. He carries the verdict of our judgment
upon his heart before the LORD continually.
It means everything Christ already accomplished, and everything he is
accomplishing, is for you and I who are his elect and accepted of God. Christ obtained eternal redemption with his
own blood for us by justifying us from all sin.
He entered in and took possession of heaven as a Forerunner for us as
our great High Priest. Right now, Christ
ever lives in the presence of God to make intercession for us. Brethren, from eternity when God chose his
elect in Christ, he has born our verdict before the LORD continually—that is
why God our Father sees us as we really are in Christ—Perfect!
Also, Christ carries the discernment of our judgment before
the LORD continually. That means we are
continually guided and directed by Christ our High Priest. At the beginning we saw in Numbers 27, by Urim
and the Thummim God gave direction to his people through the High Priest.
Numbers 27:21: And he (Joshua) shall stand before Eleazar
the 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.
Only the priest could ask counsel in the sanctuary—Christ
alone can speak to God for us. God’s
direction and blessing was sought and given by Urim (Light) and Thummim
(Perfection)—that pictures how Christ alone gives his people direction and
blessing through the Holy Spirit.
Counsel was sought and given for Israel alone—Christ
is Urim and Thummim for the elect of God alone.
Lastly, if we would have Christ the High Priest to be our
Urim (Light) and Thummim then we must do as Joshua was commanded to do. God said, “he shall stand before the
priest.” We must come to Christ our
High Priest, believing on his name and approaching God in Christ’s Urim and
Thummim. We cannot come any other way
than by Christ’s Lights and Perfections.
Then believer, having come to Christ through faith, trust
Christ to lead and direct us by his Light and Perfection for the rest of our
days. He will guide our spiritual and external
affairs, our temporal, earthly affairs, as well as our domestic family affairs. We are in the best hands in the hands of
Christ.
Amen!