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Urim and Thummim, generally translated as "lights and perfections" or "revelation and truth" were a scrying medium. Scrying is a method of divination and can take on many forms. The information that comes forth varies with the type of scrying one is using to receive answers. The information received can be an objective message that is independent of the scryer. It may also be subjective, and thus influenced by the scryer. Scrying can also be determined as a method of mediumship or receiving of messages that allegedly come from other realms.
The divination process used by ancient Hebrews (mostly the Israelites) was used for revealing the will of God on points that were contested and that needed resolving by a higher authority.
Judaism teaches that a small parchment with God's holy name, the Tetragrammaton, was inscribed on it and slipped into an opening under the Urim and Thummim on the high priest's breast plate. The breast plate would "glow" and thereby "transmit messages" from God to the Children of Israel.
The High Priest’s Divination SystemDivination and the reading of omens is also referenced in the Bible for deciding all manner of issues. This was a common occurrence and referenced often in the Bible. Those that were often recorded had to do with the safety of king or state. The prophet Elisha directed King Joash to throw two arrows through the window in order to find out whether the king would be victorious or not (2 Kings 13:14-19). Omens were given by God according to these stories, and one such omen was sent to signal Gideon’s victory over the Midianites. If the fleece of the sheep was wet and the ground was dry it was a sign of ensuing success (Judges 6:36-40). Another example is in 1 Samuel 14:9 where Jonathan decides whether or not he should attack the Philistines by the words the Lord has them speak.
But the Israelites did not just have these words and signs in these outer methods. They also used the sacred divination system, known as Urim and Thummim, given to them by Jahweh (Esther 3: 21-28). Several verses of the Old Testament that were not edited out mention the use of this sacred tool. The exact composition of the Urim and Thummim is not certain, but most scholars believe there were two sacred stone dice, perhaps made of precious gems. These stones would have been worn in a pouch inside the high priest’s “breastplate of judgment,” which he wore whenever seeking divine guidance with regard to important issues or strategic decisions of state. Scholars are not clear on how it worked, but however it worked, the Bible makes it clear that God himself granted the people this divination system, and that He controlled the answers it produced.
Abraham used Urim and Thummim, as did Aaron and the priests of Israel.He shall stand before Eleazer the priest, who shall inquire before the Lord for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation. (Numbers 27:21)
As noted, Moses used the Urim and Thummim. Joshua was named as his successor using this divination system (Numbers 27:21). After Joshua died, the Israelites used it to determine who would continue to lead them into victory over the Canaanites. (Judges 1:1) When David was considering whether or not to pursue the marauding Amalekites, the divination tool confirmed for him that it was advisable to do so (1 Samuel 30: 7-8). There are many more examples of the divinatory use of the Urim and Thummim, which can be easily looked up in any Bible concordance. In most cases, God explicitly tells them to use it to divine His will.
Since there are so many instances in the Bible in which God provides answers to his followers through divination—either Urim and Thummim or the casting of lots (used in the New Testament to pick Matthias as the replacement for Judas).
Today we have many new and old methodologies of communing with our Higher Being in Spirit. Some may directly take us to Spirit and some may take us only as high as the mental realm, where there is a level of unseen darkness that lurks to take the innocent away from their Truth and Being. We need Christ discernment, which we learn as we travel on the spiritual path. But beyond discernment which comes in time, we need help in finding a trustworthy outer guru, as well as teachings that guide us in the Way to Truth and Being. Connecting with other spiritual beings on the Path is a good way to get outer support as we go through the trevails on the Path upward. Finding and using tools that will help us connect with the Inner Guru in the heart can bring us closer to the Truth of Being and who we really are as Spirit. IK is just one of those means, but a very powerful method using a combination of inner tools to guide us through our dark nights until we reach that dawn of Reality in Being I AM.
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