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.
Exodus 28:30
Josephus wrote that one of the High Priest's divining stones (the urim and thumim) used to shine in God's presence, but it stopped about 100 years BC. Is this true? Nobody knows. Nobody knows much of anything at all about these two stones.
"Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? more hope is of a fool than of him."
Pr 26
SERIES I --- THE NATION UNITES --- LESSON 09
SAUL ANOINTED KING
THAT STRANGE SEARCH FOR DONKEYS
From 1 Samuel 9:1-25
During the time of Samuel, Kish was a rich and powerful man of the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, great-grandson of Becorath and great-great grandson of Aphiah. His son Saul was tall and handsome, head and shoulders above any other man in Israel. One day Kish’s donkeys wandered away, so he asked Saul to look for them. ‘Take a servant with you and see if you can find them,’ Kish told his son. Saul and the servant looked through the hill country of Ephraim and the land of Shalisha, but they couldn’t find the donkeys. They went through the land of Shaalim, but the donkeys were not there. They were nowhere to be found in the land of Benjamin or the land of Zuph. ‘Father is probably more concerned about us than the donkeys by now,’ Saul said to the servant. ‘Let’s go home!’ ‘But there is a man of YHVH in this village who is greatly honoured,’ the servant told Saul. ‘Whatever he says is true. We should ask him about the donkeys.’ ‘What can we give him?’ Saul asked. ‘Our sacks have no more bread in them and we have nothing else with us to give.’ ‘Well, I have a quarter of a shekel of silver,’ said the servant. ‘Why don’t you give that to him? Perhaps he will tell us what we want to know so we can be on our way.’ ‘Good,’ said Saul. ‘Let’s go to see him.’ They went into the village where the man of YHVH lived. At that time prophets were called seers, so they asked people about the seer in town. As they were climbing the steep road that led into the village, Saul and the servant met some girls going to the well to draw water. ‘Is the seer in this town?’ they asked. ‘Yes, but you’d better hurry,’ the girls answered. ‘He has come back home today to eat with some people before the sacrifice on the high place. You will find him just inside the city gates. But he will soon leave for the meal, for the people will not begin until he comes to bless the sacrifice.’ Saul and the servant hurried up the hill, just in time to meet Samuel as he was leaving for the sacrificial meal. Saul and the servant didn’t know that Adonai had already talked to Samuel about them the day before they arrived. ‘Tomorrow about this same time I will send a man from the land of Benjamin,’ Adonai had said. ‘You will anoint him to become the ruler of My people Israel. He is the man who will save them from the Philistines, for I have heard the cry of My people and have seen how they are afflicted.’ When Saul arrived at the village, Adonai spoke to Samuel again. ‘This is the man I told you about yesterday,’ He said. ‘He is the one who will rule My people.’ When Saul arrived at the gate, he came up to Samuel, not knowing who he was. ‘Where can I find the seer?’ Saul asked. ‘I am the seer,’ Samuel answered. ‘Today you will be my guest and eat with me. Now go on up the hill ahead of me, tomorrow morning you may leave for home, but don’t worry about your donkeys that were lost three days ago, for they have already been found. Anyway, who has the best in all Israel? Isn’t it you and your father’s household?’ ‘How can that be?’ Saul asked. ‘I’m from the smallest tribe in Israel, the tribe of Benjamin and my family is one of the least important in that tribe. Why did you say that to me?’ When Samuel brought Saul and his servant into the hall where the meal was to be served to thirty other guests, he placed Saul in the most honoured place at the head of the table. Then Samuel ordered the cook to give Saul the best piece of meat. ‘Bring the meat I told you to set aside,’ Samuel said. The cook brought the leg and another choice cut of meat and gave them to Saul. ‘Before I invited these other guests, I had set this aside for you,’ Samuel told Saul. ‘Please eat it, for it has been kept so that you might eat it here today with these other guests.’ That day, Saul ate with Samuel, then returned with him to the city. After they had talked for a while on the flat open space on Samuel’s roof a bed was made for Saul and there, he slept that night.
COMMENTARY
RITUAL MEALS
A search for a herd of donkeys led to Israel’s first king! His name was Saul. He was an impressive young man who was tall and strong and showed an attractive humility. Saul was YHVH’s choice to lead His inheritance, Israel. Like people of many countries, the Israelites celebrated special occasions with feasts and banquets. A birthday, a sheep shearing festival or the arrival of a stranger was reason to bring out the best food and wine. Special meals also held an important place in Israelite worship. These meals were not eaten simply to end the day’s hunger. They were ritual meals -- meals eaten as part of a religious ritual or ceremony. Some of the most important ritual meals were those celebrated every year, such as Passover or the Feast of Booths. These annual feasts were times of rejoicing over good fortune in the present and of marking YHVH’s help in the past. The foods and sacrifices were carefully chosen to remind the people of their history. For a set period after Passover, for example, the only bread eaten by the Israelites was unleavened; today this is called {matzos.} It was; and is; to remind Jews of the manna YHVH sent during their years in the wilderness. Ritual meals were also celebrated with private sacrifices. The worshiper brought special breads made with oil and fine flour to eat with the meat of the sacrifice. Often close friends would be invited to pray and share the meal. Since this was a time set apart to gather in YHVH’s presence, people were careful to prepare themselves properly. Laws of purification instructed worshipers to wash their clothes, hands and feet before a sacrificial meal. Sometimes a leader or priest would offer a sacrifice in behalf of the whole community. Important men of the town would attend the ritual meal, wearing long white banquet robes. As they arrived, servants washed their hands and feet in a final act of ritual cleanliness.
The High Priest's uniform, described in Exo 28, was of a very intricate design. It was simple and complex: white linen in one part, multi-colored with woven gold in others. Like Torah and Messiah, The High Priest isn't just one thing, but many simultaneously.
The 2 onyx stones on the High Priest's uniform have the names of the 12 tribes inscribed on them and are intended for a memorial, but of what and for whom? The priest can't see them easily because they are mounted on his shoulders. They're a memorial to the priest of his responsibility to Heaven for the spiritual health of the nation, but they point upward, so they're also a memorial to God of the 12 tribes and the divided nation.
The breastplate of judgment, adorned with twelve precious stones, is worn over the High Priest's heart. This is a reminder that his role as a judge of Israel must be guided by mercy and righteousness. Stones in Scripture often represent people and these represent the tribes of Israel.
#tetzaveh
Jacqueline writes, “What many educators do not realize is that by learning cursive,
you were not just learning how to communicate in another font,
but you were *building neural pathways necessary to stimulate brain activity* that enables vision-motor control and language fluency necessary for cognitive development, learning, reading, sports, socialization and everyday tasks.”
At Homeschooling Torah, we absolutely agree!
https://deeprootsathome.com/re....asons-cursive-should
Jacqueline writes, “What many educators do not realize is that by learning cursive,
you were not just learning how to communicate in another font,
but you were *building neural pathways necessary to stimulate brain activity* that enables vision-motor control and language fluency necessary for cognitive development, learning, reading, sports, socialization and everyday tasks.”
At Homeschooling Torah, we absolutely agree!
https://deeprootsathome.com/re....asons-cursive-should
Do not be deceived: evil company corrupts good habits.
1 #corinthians 15:33 #bible #epistles #verseoftheday #dailybread #scripture #scripturepictures #scriptureart
https://alittleperspective.com..../welcome-to-scriptur
#goodmorning and #happythursday! March 02 #biblestudy links to readings and study resources:
https://alittleperspective.com..../march-02-bible-read
Today’s Hebrew Testament chronological reading is in Exodus 29 and 30.
The Psalms/ Proverbs reading is in Psalm 61.
The Greek Testament reading is in Mark 16.
Links to essential studies.
(Bible for Beginners and all other previous studies are at the above link.)
Exodus 27:20-30:10, Chiastic structure
https://alittleperspective.com..../exodus-2720-3010-pa
Psalm 61, When the heart is overwhelmed
https://alittleperspective.com/psalm-61/
Mark 15:40-16:14, Chiastic structure
https://alittleperspective.com/mark-16-2016/
March 2023 Bible Reading Schedule
https://alittleperspective.com..../march-2023-bible-re
#bible #dailybread #thankfulthursday
Facebook.com/christinesperspective
Twitter @ Christine982Mil
MeWe.com/join/a_little_perspective
Gab @ ChristineMiller
Torah Network @ ChristineMiller
TTN Music 
TTN Ads 