Divine Communication - feelings and impressions

Not long ago while researching the subject of prayer I came across a paper that directed me to a November 2003 article in Christianity Today entitled "Mr. Jabez Goes to Africa." In it Bruce Wilkinson, author of "The Prayer of Jabez", relates how he came to minister in Africa. Wilkinson says he had a sort of 'burning bush' experience at a Wendy’s restaurant. He confesses he was stunned when he realized that he may have just had a conversation with God, explaining that after he asked, "God, tell me what do you want me to do," he sensed God’s reply: "I want you to keep the Great Commission." But did he really have a dialogue with God?

I’ve been thinking about this subject quite a bit lately. The puzzling thing about Bruce Wilkinson is that his conservative evangelical approach to the Bible scarcely puts him in the charismatic camp, so where did this come from? He's far from being the only one, though. I hear similar things said all the time, from pulpits and lay people alike. And certainly the amount of information and themes about God speaking to individuals today — both directly and indirectly — in Christian books and literature increases with each passing year. I imagine Christians everywhere must be asking themselves: "Could this kind of thing happen to me?" "Or does this only happen to ‘superstar’ Christians?" "And why didn’t God respond to me when I asked that question?" "Wasn’t I listening?" "Don't I have enough faith?" "Am I unworthy?"

I think Dave Swavely in his book “Decisions, Decisions” makes an excellent point when he says, "Christians...are not content to make their choices based on the principles in the revealed Word, but want God to give them some more specific information, direction, or guidance." But why do we want this? And is God giving new revelation today — even though the canon has been completed? Does He communicate with us through feelings and impressions?

The truth is, these 'experiences' cannot be supported with Scripture. The Bible never instructs or encourages us to look for, listen to, or follow inner promptings or impressions. And there are adequate examples of satanic influence in Scripture to cause us to view any we might have with suspicion. Sure we all have inner promptings and impressions. We're human after all. Good and bad desires come and go. But I don't believe they should be interpreted as signs from God — not even the good ones. Certainly an example to us would be Paul’s desire to take the gospel to Asia (Acts 16:7), and to visit the saints at Thessalonica (1 Thes 2:17-18) and Rome (Rom 1:13). That was obviously a good desire. But it didn't work out because of circumstances. Good desires are just that — good desires. The Bible, wisdom, common sense, and wise counsel, must always be the primary guides for our decisions and actions.

But certainly we should be led by the Spirit, right? Actually, there are only two references that talk about this regarding the life of the believer — Romans 8:14 and Galatians 5:18. It's because of these two verses that we use the phrase ‘led by the Spirit’ as rationale for proceeding with a course of action. And once we say "The Spirit led me" or "God led me", it automatically becomes the uncontested ‘will of God.’ I mean really, who can argue with that?

The problem with using the phrase "led by the Spirit" like this is that in context, Romans 8:14 and Galatians 5:18 have nothing to do with guidance or making decisions. When we look at these passages as a whole, we see that they are contrasting the lifestyle of the old nature with that of the new nature. Choosing to live in our new nature is the same as being led by the Spirit. Maybe if we understood spirituality as godliness, we would not so readily confuse it with mysticism.

Sadly, however, we rarely use doctrine to govern and interpret experience anymore. Rather, we use application and experience to control interpretation. In other words, we assign meanings to Scripture instead of allowing the writer to do so. We also give multiple meanings to a single passage, the key interpretive question being "What does it mean to me?" rather than "What did the author intend his readers to know or do?"

Don't get me wrong, I’m sure few of us have any intention of putting subjective mysticism on the same level with the written Word of God. It's just that it's so easy for even the best-intentioned Christian to get caught up in an emotional experience due to exposure to non-biblical philosophy. In fact, our evangelical culture has become so ingrained with such spiritual language as: "I have peace about it," "I was praying and sensed God speaking to me," "I feel like this is what God would have me do," and "I sense that the Holy Spirit is leading me," that it is difficult to break away from this way of thinking. Along these same lines, I don't think circumstances and so-called open or closed doors should be our guiding factors either. For example, Jonah found a boat going to Tarsus, but that was hardly divine guidance (Jonah 1). The major concern with all of this will always be the lack of objectivity. And because of its subjectivity, it can easily lead us into false doctrine and sinful actions.

This is why I have concluded that impressions, promptings and feelings should not be considered the voice of God or a source of truth. I know this is contrary to majority evangelical opinion today, but to me, viewing them as divine communication is a kind of counterfeit spirituality that has the potential to side-track us from letting all Scripture thoroughly equip us for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17).

Divine Communication - philosophy and mysticism

Well, it's certainly nothing new! Human philosophies and mysticism have been influencing the Church since the very beginning. In fact, we can see from the topics Paul talks about in the book of Colossians that these false teaching were already being taught in the church at Colossae even then. Basically, they had allowed Jewish legalism, Greek philosophic speculation, and Oriental mysticism to seep into their assembly. For example, in the second chapter we read:

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (Col 2:8).

Apparently some believers in Colossae had been taken in by a philosophy that involved regulating their religious life by observing the movements of the stars, which they associated with the powers of the angels.

Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow (Col 2:18-19).

And some were teaching a false humility and the worship of angels, claiming special mystic insights by way of visions ("taking his stand on visions he has seen" v 18 -NASB). The underlying problem was their egoistic or fleshly minds.

In Paul's condemnation of all these heresies (including legalism and asceticism in vs 11-17, 20-23), he emphasizes the significance of Christ as Lord of creation and Head of the Church, essentially saying that since we are complete in the Head (v 10) and perfectly nourished by the Head (v 19), and since the Head has "disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities" and has set us high above all angels in Christ (v 15; Eph 1:3, 2:4-6), then human philosophy, legalism, mysticism, and asceticism are useless. Indeed, any teaching, practice, or intermediary that detracts from the centrality of Christ is against the faith.

True spirituality comes from staying focused on Christ, and the only way to do that is to be in the Word.

Puzzled

Sometimes I think it would be nice to travel back in time — like back to when the Urim and Thummim was in use* — because then maybe I could get a first hand look at how it worked and what people thought of it.  I mean, what do you make of all this?

And in the breastpiece of judgment you shall put the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be on Aaron's heart, when he goes in before the Lord. Thus Aaron shall bear the judgment of the people of Israel on his heart before the Lord regularly (Ex 28:30).

And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation (Num 27:21).

Therefore Saul said, “O Lord God of Israel, why have you not answered your servant this day? 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.” And Jonathan and Saul were taken, but the people escaped (2 Sam 14:41).

And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord did not answer him, either by dreams, or by Urim, or by prophets (1 Sam 28:6).

The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food, until there should be a priest to consult Urim and Thummim (Ezra 2:63).

The governor told them that they were not to partake of the most holy food until a priest with Urim and Thummim should arise (Neh 7:65).

I find rather strange.  But that's just it.  It seems that people back then thought differently than we do today. Theirs was more of an analogical kind of reasoning, meaning they understood best when symbols, metaphors, illustrations and parables were used.**

"... analogic type of reasoning is characteristic of thought in ancient Mesopotamia; cf. G. Contenau, Everyday Life in Babylon and Assyria, London, 1954, pp. 158ff. Inductive, deductive, and syllogistic ways of reasoning were not typical of Mesopotamia (or of the ancient Near East in general)." (The Bible and the Ancient Near East by Cyrus H Gordon and Gary A Rendsburg)

Since God deals with people where they are, perhaps this is one of the reasons He worked so differently with the people of the Bible — and why I sometimes find it puzzling.


*"... although at face value the words are plural, the context suggests they are pluralis intensivus — singular words which are pluralised to enhance their apparent majesty."

**Some claim that those who believe in the literal interpretation of the Bible — which means each word is given the meaning it would commonly have in everyday usage — can't see the symbolism in the Bible. But this isn't true. Symbols, figures of speech and types are all interpreted plainly, and this is in no way contrary to literal interpretation. Even symbols and figurative sayings have literal meanings behind them. 

Pentecostalism - part 3

I know I'm stepping on many toes by saying this but ...

... just because there are many anecdotal stories from developing countries of visions being seen and miracles taking place, doesn't mean they're true — the plural of anecdote is not evidence.

For example, someone who claims to have had an encounter with an alien may tell a vivid story, but this doesn't mean the encounter actually happened. Vivid, emotionally-charged anecdotes just seem more plausible, so they are given greater weight. This can also happen to large groups of people through what is called subjective validation.

Can't we trust our own senses, then?  Shouldn't we make them our final source of truth? Of course we shouldn't! We must test everything we hear or see against what Scripture says, just as the noble Bereans did in Acts 17:9-11. But sadly, many people make Scripture say what they want it to say — by pulling verses and passages from here and there or spiritualizing things meant to be taken literally — so that they can directly apply things to us today that shouldn't be. All these errors can be rectified by simply observing progressive revelation literally — Scripture says what it means and means what it says.

The "signs and wonders" under our Lord's earthly ministry and at Pentecost* were signs — of the Messiahship of Christ to Israel (Is 35:4-6; Matt 11:2-5; Joel 2:28-32). When, despite these signs, the nation rejected Him, they ceased.

Some, however, have wrongly concluded that toward the close of this present age we are to expect a revival of these manifestations, but this isn't true.

Paul didn't say in 1 Corinthians 13:8 that the gifts of prophecy, tongues and knowledge would be done away UNTIL the closing days of this age.  He simply said that they were to be done away (i.e., in this age), and that "faith, hope and love" would "abide."  In fact, Scripture doesn't give even a hint of the manifestation of the sign gifts after the close of the Book of Acts period. Nor is there any indication at all in the Pauline epistles that the Pentecostal signs are to be restored at the close of this age.

Paul does say, however, that AFTER the close of this age of grace, the "lawless one is by the activity of Satan" will appear "with all power and false signs and wonders" (2 Thes 2:9).  Paul confirms what our Lord says in Matthew 24:24 about the same period of time:

For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

During the tribulation period, then, AFTER the members of the Body of Christ have been "caught up" to be with the Lord (1 Thes 4:16-18), the ministers of Satan, from Antichrist down, will come "with all power and false signs and wonders," to deceive, if possible, "even the elect."

Then in the very same passage about Antichrist and his "power and false signs and wonders," Paul warns that "...the mystery of lawlessness is already at work..." (2 Thes 2:1-17).

So what does this say about all the miraculous manifestations we hear so much about these days: tongues, healings, prophecies, visions, witchcraft, spiritism, etc., not to mention false doctrine?  It sure seems to me that these things are not of God, but of Satan.

And yet to some, wondrous manifestations are the end of any argument.  So-and-so must be of God or he/she couldn't work these miracles, right?  But Scripture tell us differently.  A careful study of the latest of Paul's epistles give us the normal course of the Church during this age.  It is Satan's aim is to deceive men and draw them away from the truth of God's glorious purpose and grace.

Paul gives a stern warning regarding this very thing in 1 Timothy 4:1:

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.

This is why he tells us to:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm (Eph 6:10-13).

Let me ask you then, is it the Spirit of God or Satan, who attempts to revive the sign gifts that were divinely retired after having fulfilled their purposes?  Satan is not a creepy-looking creature with horns, hooves, a tail and a pitchfork.  Paul warns us that he will operate through "...false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ."  He goes on further to say:

And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds (2 Cor 11:13-15).

So don't fall for it!  The amazing stories we keep hearing only beguile us to take our eyes off Him, and cause us to walk by sight, rather than by faith.  Instead ...

... let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith ... (Heb 12:1-3)


*Note, too, that Pentecost was only a partial fulfillment of Joel's prophecy (Acts 2:16-21; Joel 2:28-32). There was no blood, nor fire, nor columns of smoke; the sun didn't turn into darkness, nor did the moon turn to blood. Interestingly, the dreams and visions were also lacking.  But all these things will be fulfilled in the future — when Israel's last days resume (Rom 11).

Divine Communication - dreams

Clearly God used dreams to communicate with man all through the OT. He communicated information through dreams (Gen. 20:3; 31:10-13, 24; Num 12:5-6), sent Jacob the dream of the ascending and descending angels on the ladder (Gen. 28:10-15), and also gave King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon important dreams about the coming empires of human history. Daniel interpreted those dreams and the rest is—well, history (Dan 1:17; 2; 7).

But were all dreams communication from God? Ecclesiastes would indicate not - "For the dream comes through much effort and the voice of a fool through many words" (Eccl 5:3) and "For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness" (Eccl 5:7).

It is interesting to note that in the ancient near east, dreams were seen as very important to both Jew and Gentile alike. For example, in Egypt there was a class of professional dream interpreters whose job it was to explain people's dreams. A rather lengthy dream interpretation textbook from ancient Egypt has even been unearthed that lists various things dreamt and their appropriate meanings. The part of the Jewish Talmud written during the Babylonian captivity is also full of dream interpretations and ways of dealing with them. Is all this what Eccl 5:3, 7 is referring to?

We also see God communicating to man through dreams in the early part of the NT (Matt 1:20; 2:12-13, 19, 22). The last dream recorded in the Bible is found at the end of Matthew where Pilot’s wife warns him to leave Jesus alone:

While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him” (Matt 27:19).

Whether this was of God or her uneasy conscience is unclear.

Dreams are mentioned two more times in the NT (though not about specific dreams experienced); one is regarding a prophesy that included dreams (Acts 2:17), and the other speaks of false dreams (Jude 1:8). In all, dreams are spoken of about 121 times in the Bible.

I wasn't really sure what I'd find when I started researching this topic. But I must say I was quite surprised to find so many books and on-line sites devoted to the subject of dreams. I was equally surprised at how passionate people are about whether or not dreams can be communication from God today. I will discuss three of the main beliefs I came across, though there are many variations of these three beliefs as well.

First of all, some question whether dreams were ever communication from God. A couple of the authors I've read recently on the subject of dreams in ancient Babylon have concluded that since Babylonian tablets older than Biblical texts have been found, it is obvious that the Hebrews merely copied from the cultures around them, and that God didn’t really communicate through dreams at all — it was only in the Israelites’ heads. Interestingly, these authorities do see that the Israelites never needed interpreters to explain their dreams; the meaning was always obvious to them. And they (like Joseph and Daniel) even interpreted dreams for foreigners. But none of this is attributed to God either. Instead they credit the “undeniable religious genius of the Hebrews” that obviously included “a greater and more popular exercise of psychic qualities than characterized the other people of the Bible World." These same authorities also claim that since the Babylonians had creation and flood epic myths that preceded the writing of Genesis by about two to three thousand years, it is certain these were taken by the early Israelites while in Babylon as well. Why can’t these so-called intellectuals see that every society is descended from Noah and his three sons, and that all these “stories” came from them?! It goes without saying that those who hold this view do not believe God is communicating to any of us through dreams today.

A second opinion I came across is, that since God communicated through dreams in the past, there is no reason to think He is not still doing so today; especially since Peter’s quote of Joel 2:28 in Acts 2:17 indicates that the time when the Spirit is poured out has arrived. They are careful to say we need to be discerning in how we apply this truth today; that we must remember that the Bible is finished, having revealed everything we need to know from now until eternity. However, they still hold that any dream could be a communication from God, as long as the person having the dream is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and as long as the dream does not conflict with Scripture.

And finally, the third view is, that although God communicated through dreams in the Bible, He no longer does so today because the canon of Scripture is now complete, meaning God does not have further things to reveal to nations or individuals that are not in the Bible. They further believe that the Bible is all sufficient in directing us in finding and carrying out the will of God for our lives without the need of a dream, that it is our new nature which enables us to understand the things of God, and that the Holy Spirit is our guide.

So what do you think?

I would have to agree with the third view. I certainly cannot countenance the first one, for it puts no stock in the inerrancy or literal interpretation of Scripture. As for the second opinion and its reference to Acts 2:17 as proof text, it seems to me that if there is anything the Book of Acts makes perfectly clear, it is the fact that a revolutionary change has taken place since Pentecost. And rather than showing us an exact pattern to follow, I believe Acts explains the transitional years. Additionally, when reading Joel 2:28, it is clear that this prophecy belongs to the Hebrew people, and that it still awaits its full completion. With this in mind and the fact that the canon of Scripture is complete, I believe that all communication from God is only through the Bible. And while the Spirit may provide comfort during a frightening dream, I don't think He "creates" or "sends" dreams or communicates any information apart from Scripture the dreamer already knows.

Divine Communications - indulging our wills

Does God communicate with us today through visions or by directly speaking to us as He did in the Bible?

Certainly God worked through visions with people of the OT. Ezekiel, for example, had the vision of the dry bones in the valley. Old Testament visions were given to prophesy things to come down through the ages. It’s the same with the New Testament prophets like Peter, Paul, John, and the Lord Jesus himself. This was done so God’s children and the world would be made aware of the future, and of the power of God to precisely foretell. Always, it was to give God glory, and to call people to repentance.

And sometimes when God wanted to get His messages across, He did so Himself by speaking audibly. For example; when God wanted Samuel to be His prophet, He simply spoke to Samuel out loud (1 Sam 3). No, it wasn’t what Samuel ate that night—it was really God. And when God wanted Peter, James, and John to know that Jesus was truly God’s Son and that they should listen to Him, He simply told them in an audible voice (Lk 9:35).

But some Christians today seem to think God still communicates in this way and pray in order to indulge their wills. They earnestly ask God to lead them, yet all the while determined that He will lead them according to their own desires, even if contrary to His revealed will in Scripture. And then, when faced with the Word, they say: “But I have prayed a lot about it.” Some even challenge God, asking Him if this isn’t His will, to hinder it somehow. Such prayers are worse than superstition.

Unfortunately, there is a lot superstition among believers regarding prayer. How readily many “feel led,” look for “inner promptings” or listen for the “still small voice” in answer to their prayers. They say, “The Lord told me” this or that, or “The Spirit whispered to me” or “I could just hear Him saying.” And it can be regarding anything and everything, from 'what color to paint their house’ to ‘should they go on a trip or not.’ When asked, these people invariably say that no voice was actually heard at all, but that they merely took some feeling or impression to be, in some mystical way, a direction from the Lord.

God does speak to us through the Holy Spirit through the Word. But with the Word completed, He no longer speaks to us by visions or even by still small voices. Therefore, we need to be careful not to depend upon 'inner promptings,' knowing that by nature “the heart is deceitful above all things" (Jer 17:9).

Divine Communication - general revelation

It is truly incredible that infinite God has chosen to communicate to finite men, and yet that is exactly what He's done. Because of this, although God is incomprehensible, He can be truly known, but not fully known. He hasn't told us everything (Deut 29:29), but He has told us everything we need to know. And one way God has chosen to communicate to all mankind is through general revelation.

He has done this through creation:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world (Ps 19:1-4a).

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Rom 1:18-20)

From looking at creation, we can know that God is powerful, that He is above creation, and that He has a personality — He isn't just an abstract concept. And when Paul says this information is "evident," means that we are capable of knowing it. Therefore, ignorance is willful disregard of God.

Another way God has communicated through general revelation is through man's conscience:

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them (Rom 2:14-15).

Conscience is the inward sense of right and wrong, and everyone has it to one degree or another. The ability to know right from wrong is part of the image of God in man, but it can be become seared, making it less sensitive. (Reminds me a bit of that line from Finding Nemo — "Are--Are you my conscience?""Y-yeah yeah yeah, I'm your conscience! We haven't spoken for a while! How are you?")

While we do have some knowledge of right and wrong, it is only through the Bible that we can learn about all of God's standards. So the statement "Let your conscience be your guide" is not exactly right. People often don't feel any guilt about their sins because conscience decides on the basis of the standard given it. And if the standard is not God's word, then the standard is wrong, and the behavior will be wrong. Therefore, conscience is an unreliable guide.

The purpose of general revelation is to reveal general truth about God; such as, 1) God exists; 2) God is the creator; and 3) God has established standards of right and wrong that must be obeyed. Therefore, it renders all men inexcusable before God.

General revelation by itself cannot save, however. It doesn't have enough content. It communicates enough truth about God to make a man responsible to seek God for salvation (Heb 11:6), but it does not communicate the gospel message (Rom 10:14).

The following question is frequently brought up: "But what about the native in some remote corner of the world who has never heard the gospel? If he follows the light that he has, acknowledges the God revealed in nature, and sincerely seeks to do what is right, won’t he be saved?" The answer is found in John and Acts:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (Jn 3:16).

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me" (Jn 14:6).

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

... Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved ... (Acts 16:31)

No one responds to general revelation by being saved. That’s why we need special revelation.

And regarding the so-called remote native: I don't see that the Bible specifically says what happens in such circumstances. But I do know that God always knows what is truly in a man's heart (Ps 44:21; Lk 16:15; Acts 15:8; Rom 8:27; 1 Jn 3:20), and that He is a God of justice AND of mercy.

What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, "I WILL HAVE MERCY ON WHOM I HAVE MERCY, AND I WILL HAVE COMPASSION ON WHOM I HAVE COMPASSION." So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy (Rom 9:14-16).

So I must leave this in His hands.

Divine Communication - casting lots

The casting of lots was frequently used in the ancient Near East, by Jew and Gentile alike. For example, the Roman soldiers cast lots for Jesus' garments in Matt 27:35. The obvious reason for its use in this way was to get an impartial decision — rather like flipping a coin today.

But in Ezekiel 21:21-23, we also see that the king of Babylon cast lots as a means of divination:

For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.

He also "will examine the liver." Isn't that strange? But apparently people in the ancient Mesopotamian region would often examine the internal organs of animals, interpreting what they saw as implying such and such, because such and such had taken place when a similar observation had been made.* And as we see in Ezekiel, God could choose to use that.

Sometimes I find it hard to understand why God communicated the way He did with the Israelites, but it helps me to remember that they lived in a different society and thought differently than I do. And since God works with people where they are, this may explain why He chose to use the form(s) of communication He did. Additionally, God's will was very specific when He was forwarding His plan of redemption, so He had to give His people specific directions.

The practice of casting lots is actually mentioned 70 times in the Old Testament and seven times in the New Testament. However, despite the many references to casting lots in the Bible, nothing is known about the actual lots themselves. They may have been sticks of various lengths or marked pebbles; but nobody really knows for sure.

Casting lots seems to have occurred most often in connection with the division of the land under Joshua (Josh ch 14-21). Instructions for this procedure can be found in the Book of Numbers (Num 26:55; 33:54; 34:13; 36:2). God also allowed the Israelites to cast lots in order to determine His will for different situations (Josh 18:6-10; 1 Chron 24:5,31; Prov 16:33). For settling disputes (Prov 18:18). And setting a date (Esth 3:7). Various offices and functions in the Temple were also determined by lot (1 Chron 24:5,31; 25:8-9; 26:13-14). And the sailors on Jonah's ship (Jonah 1:7) cast lots to determine who had brought God's wrath upon their ship. The last recorded case is in Acts 1:24-26, when the apostles cast lots to determine who would replace Judas.

While casting lots was commonly done in Old Testament days and during the early part of the New Testament, it is no longer the way we determine God's will. People during that period of time didn't have the Holy Spirit indwelling them or a completed Bible to guide them. But we do, so we don't need to cast lots.


* This analogic type of reasoning is characteristic of thought in ancient Mesopotamia; cf. G. Contenau, Everyday Life in Babylon and Assyria, London, 1954, pp. 158ff. Inductive, deductive, and syllogistic ways of reasoning were not typical of Mesopotamia (or of the ancient Near East in general)
(from the book, The Bible and the Ancient Near East by Cyrus H Gordon and Gary A Rendsburg)

Divine Communication - Urim and Thummim

When I first came across the Urim and Thummim (the meaning is uncertain, but possibly "lights and perfections", though some say they mean "illuminated and dark"), I thought "what in the world is this?" It all seemed so strange to me.

Of Levi he said, "Let Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man, Whom You proved at Massah, With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah" (Deut 33:8).

When Saul inquired of the LORD, the LORD did not answer him, either by dreams or by Urim or by prophets (1 Sam 28:6).

Not much can be found regarding the Urim and Thummim. The Bible simply doesn't give us enough information. However, we do know that they were part of the breastpiece of judgment (Ex 28:15-30) of the high priest.

The breastpiece was a square piece of beautiful material, folded in half and opened at the top like a pouch and adorned with 12 precious stones (in four rows), on which were engraved the names of the 12 tribes. It was placed over the front of the ephod.*1

Some refer to the Urim and Thummim as simply a collective name for all the stones of the breastpiece, so that the total effect of the twelve stones were to show the "lights and perfections" of Him who is the antitype*2 of Aaron the high priest.

You shall put in the breastpiece of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the LORD; and Aaron shall carry the judgment of the sons of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually (Ex 28:30).

However, in Leviticus 8:8 it says —

He then placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim.

— which seems to say that the Urim and Thummim were additional to the stones of the breastpiece. So they may have been two precious, and rather mysterious, stones on or in the high priest's garments.

And the Urim and Thummim were sometimes used to determine the will of God. Nobody is sure how this was done. Some say that the stones shone whenever God was present (or shekhinah, meaning "a visible manifestation of the divine presence") at a sacrifice or when the army proceeded to battle. Others suggest God would cause them to light up in varying patterns to reveal His decision, or that the Urim and Thummim were engraved with symbols identifying yes/no and true/false and cast like lots to determine God's will. But all of these are merely speculation.

However, Scripture does indicate that the Urim and Thummim were only used for questions of great importance, usually connected to the function of the state, such as whether and when to go to war. And in the book of Numbers, when Joshua succeeded Moses as leader over Israel, we see that he was to receive answers from God by means of the Urim through Eleazar the High Priest.

"Moreover, he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his command they shall go out and at his command they shall come in, both he and the sons of Israel with him, even all the congregation" (Num 27:21).

When I was researching what Ezra 2:62-63 (and Neh 7:65, which overlaps with Ezra 2:63) was all about, it seemed that by this time the Urim and Thummim were on their way out:

Now these are those who came up from Tel-melah, Tel-harsha, Cherub, Addan and Immer, but they were not able to give evidence of their fathers' households and their descendants, whether they were of Israel: the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 652. Of the sons of the priests: the sons of Habaiah, the sons of Hakkoz, the sons of Barzillai, who took a wife from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite, and he was called by their name. These searched among their ancestral registration, but they could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood. The governor said to them that they should not eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with Urim and Thummim. (Ezra 2:59-63).

The Jews were always very exact in their genealogies in order to preserve the distinctions of the tribes and families, which was necessary to make out their titles to inheritances and to govern themselves in the matter of marriages. This was also by special providence of God so that it would be known into which tribe and family the Messiah was born.

But in about 451 BC, when the Jewish exiles were beginning to return to Jerusalem to restore it and rebuild the Temple (Ezra 2:59-63), there were some individuals who were unable to prove that they were descended from the priesthood. So, they were set aside until priests in possession of the Urim and Thummim were discovered, that they might determine God's mind in the matter. This seems to imply that the Urim and Thummim had already been lost.

Talmudic sources (the Talmud, the central text of mainstream Judaism, is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs, and history) are unanimous in agreeing that the Urim and Thummim were lost much earlier, most likely when Jerusalem was sacked by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BC. Indeed, because the priestly source (which scholars date to a couple of centuries prior to the captivity) doesn't appear to even know what the Urim and Thummim looked like, and because there is no mention of the Urim and Thummim beyond the death of David, biblical scholars suspect they fell out of use some time before the Babylonian conquest, probably due to a growing reliance on the prophets.

Additionally, by the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, the Jews had the nearly completed canon of the Old Testament, which was better than the Urim and Thummim. And the ark does not appear to have been in the second Temple. All of these shadows had disappeared by degrees as the coming of Jesus Christ drew nearer.


*1 The ephod was a beautiful, two-piece, sleeveless garment, held to the body by a woven band (Ex 28:8) and joined at the shoulders by straps. On the straps were two onyx stones (possibly emeralds), with the names of six tribes on each stone.

*2 A type is a picture or illustration that looks forward to its fulfillment in the form of a person, event, or object. For every type there is an antitype. An antitype is the fulfillment of the type — most find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. For example, Aaron was a type because he was the first high priest, and Jesus Christ is the antitype because He is the eternal high priest and therefore the fulfillment of the type. A type is identified as such in Scripture.