"They shall bind the breastplate by means of its rings to the rings of the ephod, using a blue cord, so that it is above the intricately woven band of the ephod, and so that the breastplate does not come loose from the ephod...And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron’s heart when he goes in before the Lord. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the Lord continually." vv.28,30
Read chapter 28
So there's some new vocabulary in this chapter that I had to look up as I couldn't quite picture it from all the descriptions. The ephod was like a mid-drift vest (in my vocab) made of fine linen (by an artisan) and precious stones with eh names of the twelves tribes of Israel. Only the High Priest wore the ephod, not the levitical priest we learn about later. Then we learn about the Breastplate of Judgment attached to the ephod that carried the Urim and the Thummim. These words translated mean "lights" and "perfections" and were for knowing the Lord's judgements on a matter. They were two stones that were carried in a pocket of the breastplate by the heart and drawn out as a lot of Jehovah's judgment. These could be like a "yes" stone and a "no" stone when the priest asked a question. This wasn't just some old time Ouji board or magic 8 ball but the way God revealed His judgement and decisions to Israel. We don't have these stones or precious vest today or a high priest, but can ask the Lord ourselves our questions and have the Bible to know His decisions on judgments. Although it'd be nice to ask Him very specific stuff to our day's decisions and have the answer as simple as yes or now, we do have prayer and the Holy Spirit directing us, we just need to learn how to listen or obey. What questions of judgment do you need to ask the Lord today?
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