Seder 66: Exodus 28---Priestly Vestments and the Urim and Thummim

 Exodus 28 describes the special garments that would be made for the Israelite high priest "for glory and for beauty" (verse 2).  These garments were designed, in particular, to remind the high priest of his weighty responsibilities to both represent the people of Israel and appear before the Creator of the Universe.

The garments were made from the same fine fabrics as the curtains of the tabernacle---"gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen" (verse 5).  Since the yarns were made of wool, these were clothes including a mixture of wool and linen.  This fact helps explain the general prohibition of mixed fabrics in Israel (Lev 19:19; Dt 22:11).  Such mixtures apparently were reserved for tabernacle use.  

The priestly vestments included a ceremonial vest, the ephod, to which would be attached a special breastpiece.  The breastpiece consisted of a nine inch by nine inch square of fabric, doubled over to form a pouch (vv 15-16).  On the front of the breastpiece were twelve precious gems, arranged in four rows of three gems each.  The gems were engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.  When the priest served at the tabernacle wearing the ephod, he thus bore the names of the twelve tribes "on his heart" (verse 29).  

The breastpiece was called the "breastpiece of judgment," reflecting the fact that it was used in seeking God's judgment on matters of national import.  Beginning with Joshua, when a leader of Israel sought God's will in an important matter, he would go to the high priest to make a formal request for guidance (Num 27:18-21).  God somehow would communicate that guidance through the breastpiece.  

Exodus 28:30 explained that the "Urim and Thummim" would be placed in the breastpiece and presumably would be involved in the reception of revelation from God.  The phrase "Urim and Thummim" means "lights and perfection," or perhaps "perfect light."  One explanation is that through the breastpiece, God would illuminate the path of the nation and its leaders, steering them in the right direction.  

The Bible does not tell us specifically how God's will was communicated through the breastpiece.  One proposal is the the Urim and Thummim were two stones that could be used to ask God yes or no questions.  Guided by God, the high priest would pull out one of the stones from the pouch to reveal God's answer.

This idea seems to find support from 1 Sam 14:36-41.  During a military campaign, Saul proposed making a night attack against the Philistines.  The priest suggested he seek God's guidance, and Saul asked, "Shall I go down after the Philistines?  Will you give them into the hand of Israel?"  But God did not give an answer.  

Concluding that God's refusal to answer was due to a sin on Israel's part, Saul asked a follow-up question.  Had the sin been committed by Saul and/or his son Jonathan?  Or had it been committed by some other Israelite?  

"O LORD God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day," Saul asked.  "If this guilt is in me or in Jonathan my son, O LORD, God of Israel, give Urim.  But, if this guilt is in your people Israel, give Thummim" (verse 41).  

This translation from the ESV, based on the Greek Septuagint text, suggests that the Urim and Thummim represented the two possible answers to a yes or no question.  It should be pointed out, however, that the Urim is not mentioned in the Masoretic Text.  

The Bible mentions a number of instances where God's counsel was sought through a formal inquiry,  Some of the questions were simple yes or no questions, but some were more complicated, with answers from God that involved more than a simple affirmative or negative response. 

Doug Bookman, a Christian scholar, conducted a detailed study of the Urim and Thummim in a 2001 Dallas Seminary ThD dissertation.  He concluded that the detailed nature of some of the questions and answers imply that God's communication with the high priest involved more than  a simple binary lot.

Bookman's findings are in agreement with Jewish tradition.  Rabbinic traditions about the Urim and Thummim envision the high priest placing in the pouch a piece of parchment upon which was written the Divine Name.  God communicated his answers to formal inquiries by causing the gems on the breastpiece, and the letters inscribed in the gems, to be illuminated.  

For example, Israel after the death of Joshua asked God, "Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?" (Judges 1:1).  God answered, "Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand" (verse 2).  Perhaps God caused the gem representing the tribe of Judah to light up and then used the letters inscribed in the gems to send the rest of this message.  

We do not know how often, or for how long, this method of seeking God's will was used.  The last time the Urim and Thummim is mentioned in the Bible is in Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65.  There were some returning from exile who could not document their status as priests, and so their status was left up in the air until the Urim and Thummim could be used.  At that point people were aware of the Urim and Thummim, but it's not clear if there was anyone left who could use it.

Bookman proposes that the Urim and Thummim was underused.  To take advantage of tbe Urim and Thummim, the leadership needed to be submitted to God and sincerely seeking his will.  It may have too often been the case that Israel's leadership knew it was doing wrong and didn't want to be corrected.

Seder 62: Exodus 23---God's Mission Strategy for Israel

 God called the nation of Israel to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Ex 19:6), bringing blessing to the whole world (Ge 12:3).  The Bible describes some different phases in their missionary work.

Through the Exodus, God proclaimed the Gospel through his mighty works of salvation.  The miracles of the Exodus caught the attention of the people in that region.  When they encountered the Israelites, they reacted in different ways.  

(1) Some were hostile, like the Amalekites (Ex 17).  

(2) Some ran away in fright.  This reaction is described in Exodus 23:27-28:  "I will send my terror before you and will throw into confusion all the people against whom you shall come, and I will make all your enemies turn their backs to you.  And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivites, the Canaanties, and the Hittites from before you."

(Incidentally, the "hornets" in this passage may be metaphorical; they aren't necessarily actual insects.  At any rate, we see here that the Canaanites were to be scared away and not necessarily put to death.)  

(3) Some were attracted to God, like the "mixed multitude" (Ex 12:38), Jethro (Ex 18) and Rahab (Joshua 2).  One part of Israel's ministry was to this group of people; the Israelites were instructed in the Torah to love them (Ex 23:9; Lev 19:33-34) and make them part of Israelite society.

A second phase of their mission involved building a just society in the Promised Land.  To enable that to happen, the Israelites were to destroy all traces of Canaanite religion when they arrived (Ex 23:13, 24).  This would give them a chance to establish an identity in the land as God's people.  Then when other nations observed Israelite society, they would be impressed and attracted to God (Dt 4:1-8; 1 Ki 10:1-10).  

A good source on this topic is Walter Kaiser's Mission in the Old Testament:  Israel as a Light to the Nations.

Seder 52: Exodus 12:15---What do you mean, "Shall be cut off"?

 In Exodus 12:1-28 the biblical narrative is temporarily interrupted with instructions on the first month of the calendar that God designed for Israel.  Included are directions for the first Passover, which would be observed on Israel's last night in Egypt.  

But much more is covered.  In future years the celebration of the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread would commemorate Israel's liberation from Egypt.  

Everyone would participate in these festivals, with no one allowed to "opt out."  In verse 15 God says, "Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.  On the first day you shall remove the leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel."  

Refusal to observe the Days of Unleavened Bread is one of several offenses for which one could be "cut off from Israel" (Ge 17:14; Ex 30:33, 38; 31:14; Lev 7:20, 21, 25, 27; 17:4,9,14; 19:8; 20:17-18; 22:3; 23:29; Num 9:13; 15:30; 19:13, 20).  In these cases, God is not telling the Israelites to punish the offender.  Instead, he is saying that he will take care of the situation.  

Douglas Stuart in his NAC commentary on Exodus explains that such a person would be "cut off from God's benefits to Israel in the near future and cut off from eternal life with them in the ultimate future," since that person "had by his actions shown clearly that he did not desire to keep covenant with the true God" (p. 285).  

Seder 152: Deuteronomy 22---Explaining the Forbidden Mixtures

 The cases in Deuteronomy 22 about "forbidden mixtures" frequently raise questions.  It has been observed that the garments of priests did contain both wool and linen (a combination forbidden in verse 11), suggesting that such mixtures were to be restricted to the tabernacle or temple.  

Verse 9 seems to point in the same direction in specifying that the produce of a vineyard planted with two kinds of seed be forfeited to the sanctuary.  Commentator Roy Gane suggests such an interpretation for these cases and for Lev 19:19, pointing out that there were other "mixtures" at the sanctuary---for example, the cherubim on the cover of the ark were in some sense "mixed beings."  If Gane is correct, then these verses are similar to the specification that the recipes for holy anointing oil and incense not be used outside the sanctuary (Ex 30).  

There may be some additional considerations behind some of the instructions on mixtures.  One could be the idea of honoring boundaries that are part of the created order.  The prohibition of cross dressing in verse 5 could have this rationale.  These could also be instructions meant to remind the Israelites of who they are, like the tassels on the corners of garments in verse 12.  

The remainder of Deuteronomy 22 is related to the commandment against adultery.  The instruction here is meant to discourage adultery, rape, and the exploitation of women.  Israel would need strong families to carry out its mission in the world.

Seder 146: Deuteronomy 14-16---Sabbath Principles

 Deuteronomy 14:22-16:17 deals with topics related to the Sabbath commandment, things like worship at the annual festivals and observance of sabbatical years.  In discussing these topics, Moses speaks not in terms of making regulations, but in terms of opportunities for the whole community together to rejoice before God, with no one left out.  He places quite a bit of emphasis on helping poor members of the community.  

In Deuteronomy 14:22-27, Moses describes an annual festival tithe that would enable the people to experience regular events analogous to the covenant meal at Horeb 40 years before (Exodus 24:9-11).  Another tithe collected in years 3 and 6 of every 7-year cycle would be used to help the poor (vv 28-29).

Year seven was the sabbatical year, a time of release of debts.  In the seventh year, "every creditor shall release what he has lent to his neighbor" (15:2).  Daniel Block proposes that this may have meant releasing what the debtor had given the lender as collateral rather than cancelling a loan altogether.  That way creditors would be willing to make loans, and debtors would be able to gain economic benefit from the collateral and get on a better financial footing.  

Deuteronomy 15:3 says that this debt release did not apply to loans to foreigners.  It's assumed that such loans would be business loans to people who were not permanent residents, not personal loans for someone who has fallen into debt.  This was not a matter of prejudice against foreigners, which is spoken against elsewhere in the Torah (e.g., Lev 19:33-34).  

Moses holds up an ideal in which the Israelites are obedient to God and poverty is eliminated (vv 4-6).  In the meantime, though, there would be poverty, and people should come to the aid of those who needed it (vv 7-11).  (Certainly Jesus' reference to Deuteronomy 15:11 in Matthew 26:11 was not intended to imply that the poor should be neglected.)

Hebrew slaves should be released with generous gifts, Moses adds (vv 12-15).  It has been observed that this is a principle which God made sure the Egyptians carried out when the Israelites departed from them (Ex 12:36).   

In Deuteronomy 16 Moses describes the three annual pilgrimage festivals---Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles---that Israelites would have the opportunity to celebrate.  Daniel Block identifies some key principles in the theology of worship expressed in Deuteronomy 16:1-17:

1. True worship involves an engagement with God and is focused on him. 
2. True worship occurs at God's initiative and must be conducted on his terms.
3. True worship is communal.
4. True worship is driven by gratitude to God for his redemption and daily provision.
5. True worship involves the offering of our resources and ourselves.

Seder 94: Lev 21-22---Special Rules for Priests

 The Israelites as a body comprised "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exod 19:6).  An increased "level of holiness" was required for those with priestly duties, and in particular for the high priest.  

Here we can see an analogy with sacred space.  The Israelite camp had a level of holiness, and the level increased as one approached God through the tabernacle courtyard and into the tent.  Only the high priest could enter the holy of holies, and then only once a year on the Day of Atonement.

In Lev 21:1-2 God instructed the priests, "No one shall make himself unclean for the dead among his people, except for his closest relatives."

The priest's wife is not mentioned specifically in the list of close relatives that follows, but it has always been assumed that the wife is included, since she is of "one flesh" with the priest and so is the closest relative of all to him.  

A later midrash interprets "among his people" in verse 1 to mean "when other people are around to do the job of burying the dead."  So if a priest were alone and happened upon a corpse, the priest could (and should) make sure that person received a proper burial.  

This issue comes into play in Jesus' famous parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37).  In that story, a fictitious priest sees a man lying beside the road and has to decide whether to stop and check on the man.  The priest decided not to check on the man, presumably in order to obey Lev 21:1-4.  

The midrash above is a rabbinic interpretation of Lev 21 and probably would have been the interpretation of Pharisees in Jesus' time.  We do not know how other Jewish groups---e.g., Sadducees, Essenes---would have applied Lev 21 at that point.  Most people surely would have checked on the man.  

At any rate, Jesus set up the situation in the parable to highlight the importance of the love commandment of Lev 19:18 relative to other commandments.  His message was that we should "go, and do likewise" (Luke 10:37), following the example of the Samaritan.  

Kyle Kettering explained all of this and more in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on March 5, 2022.  Kyle is one of the few people in the world who has talked with flesh-and-blood Samaritans, and he mentioned that encounter again in his sermon.  

Seder 93: Lev 19---Fruit Trees, Fig Trees, the Cross, and the Tree of Life

 Leviticus 19:23-25 gives instructions about the planting of fruit trees in the Promised Land.  During the first three years a tree would be considered "uncircumcised"---not yet dedicated to God--and any buds that developed would be broken off.  The fourth year's production would be the "firstfruits" from that tree and would be donated to the tabernacle or temple.  The planter would begin to enjoy the fruit in the fifth year.  

Behind these instructions seems to the be principle that God is the owner of everything and the provider of all our food.  Commentators also observe that the instructions make horticultural sense.  The tree will be a better producer in the long run if it its buds are broken off during the first three years.  

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on February 26, 2022, Rob Wilson noted a connection between Lev 19:23-25 and Jesus' parable of the fig tree in Luke 13:6-9.  In both Leviticus and the parable, a five-year time frame is envisioned.  The implication seems to be that disciples of Jesus, like trees in the Promised Land, should be producing fruit within five years. 

Another important biblical fruit tree is the tree of life, which was briefly available in the Garden of Eden and will be available again in a future new Eden.  In the letter to the church at Ephesus in Rev 2:7, God promises, "To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God."  The Greek word for "tree" here is xylon, a word elsewhere used for the cross (Acts 5:30; 10:39).  Here we get a hint that the cross is a tree of life (HT:  William Grissom).  

Seder 92: Lev 19---Characteristics of Holy Living

 Many commentators point to Lev 19:2 for the theme of the book of Leviticus:

"You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy."

Leviticus 19 gives instruction from God on how holiness looks in various areas of life.  It expands upon the Decalogue, with all ten commandments represented.  Proper worship of God is emphasized, as is compassion for the most vulnerable members of society.  

Verse 18 is probably the best known passage in this important chapter:  

"You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself:  I am the Lord."

This is one of the two "great commandments" emphasized by Jesus of Nazareth (Matt 22:34-40).  

Verse 17 has been the subject of much thought and reflection over the centuries:

"You shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him."

One New Testament passage that deals with applications of this verse in Matt 18:15-17, 21-35.  

The book of James has much to say about applications of Lev 19:12-18.  

There is also evidence that the order in which topics are addressed in Matthew 5 follows the order in which the same topics are addressed in Lev 19.  Kyle Kettering pointed this out in a sermon at Church of the Messiah on February 19, 2022, drawing upon a book by Jan Willem Doeve, Jewish Hermeneutics in the Synoptic Gospels and Acts (1953).