7/6/2011 7:48:10 AM
SPIRITUAL DIARY
My Worship Time Focus: The return of the remnant Parts 4-5
(The disqualified & The Totals)
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ezra 2:59-67
Message of the verses: “59 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: 60 the sons of Delaiah, the sons of Tobiah, the sons of Nekoda, 652. 61 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. 62 These searched among their ancestral registration, but they could not be located; therefore they were considered unclean and excluded from the priesthood. 63 The governor said to them that they should not eat from the most holy things until a priest stood up with Urim and Thummim.
“64 ¶ The whole assembly numbered 42,360, 65 besides their male and female servants who numbered 7,337; and they had 200 singing men and women. 66 Their horses were 736; their mules, 245; 67 their camels, 435; their donkeys, 6,720.”
In verses 59-63 there is a list of people who could not show evidence of being Jewish. The towns that are mentioned are towns from Babylon and not from Judah. I have highlighted Tobiah because his name will come up when the study of Nehemiah begins. Some of these who did not have evidence of being Jewish could have wanted an easier life by working as a priest, but Zerubbable the governor excluded them from the priestly privileges until they could be tested by the “Urim and Thummim.”
At this point I wish to copy an endnote from Dr. Wiersbe commentary on Ezra that talks about a word: “Tirshatha in the KJV, a Persian word translated ‘governor’ in the NIV and NASB. The same title was given to Nehemiah (Neh. 7:65, 70; 8:9; 10:1). It means ‘the feared one; and is equivalent of ‘Your Reverence” in English. Charles Spurgeons’s wife used to call him ‘the Tirshatha.’”
Now as far as the total of people that are given in verses 64-68 there could be some problems if you just add them up. I wish at this time to quote a note from “The MacArthur Study Bible” in order to help clear things up.
“2:64,65 ‘The gross amount is 12,000 more than the particular numbers given in the catalogue, when added together. Reckoning up the smaller numbers, we will find they amount to 29,818 in this chapter, and to 31,089 in the parallel chapter of Nehemiah. Ezra also mentions 494 persons omitted by Nehemiah, and Nehemiah mentions 1,765 not noticed by Ezra. If, therefore Ezra’s surplus is added to the sum in Nehemiah, and Nehemiah’s surplus to the numbers in Ezra, they will both become 31,583. Subtracting this from 42,360, there is a deficiency of 10,777. These are omitted, because they did not belong to Judah and Benjamin, or to the priests, but to the other tribes. The servants and singers, male and female, are reckoned separately (v.65), so that putting all these items together, the number of all who went with Zerubbable amounted to 50,000 with 8,000 beasts of burden.”
The reason that I add this note and others like it is because there are those who try and disqualify the Scriptures as to being accurate with things like these. The Scripture is accurate however there will always be those who, because they do not want to face the fact that there is a God who demands complete perfection in order to get into his heaven will try to disqualify things found in the Scriptures. The price for the perfection needed has already been paid for on a cross some 2000 years ago.
At this time I want to copy and paste a portion of an earlier SD that speaks to the Urim and the Thummim. The SD was written on 7-25-2008. “I guess that I will start out this section with the verse that probably will cause the most misunderstanding in this section and may even be one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible, as least it will rank high on the list. I have copied and pasted, what I think is a good definition of what Exodus 28:30 means and will put it in this SD here:
“’Question: "What were the Urim and Thummim?’
“Answer: The Urim "lights" and Thummim "perfections" were gemstones that were carried by the High Priest of Israel on the ephod / priestly garments. They were used by the High Priest to determine God's will in some situations. Some propose that God would cause the Urim and Thummim to light up in varying patterns to reveal His decision. Others propose that the Urim and Thummim were kept in a pouch and were engraved with symbols identifying yes / no and true / false.
“It is unclear whether the Urim and Thummim were on, by, or in the High Priest's ephod. No one knows the precise nature of the Urim and Thummim or exactly how they were used. The Bible simply does not give us enough information. References to the Urim and Thummim are rare in the Bible. They are first mentioned in the description of the breastplate of judgment (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8). When Joshua succeeded Moses as leader over Israel, he was to receive answers from God by means of the Urim through Eleazar the High Priest (Numbers 27:21). The Urim and Thummim are next mentioned in Moses' dying blessing upon Levi (Deuteronomy 33:8). The following Scripture likely also speak of the Urim and Thummim: Joshua 7:14-18; 1 Samuel 14:37-45; and 2 Samuel 21:1.
Exodus 28:30: “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 ofIsrael
“Answer: The Urim "lights" and Thummim "perfections" were gemstones that were carried by the High Priest of Israel on the ephod / priestly garments. They were used by the High Priest to determine God's will in some situations. Some propose that God would cause the Urim and Thummim to light up in varying patterns to reveal His decision. Others propose that the Urim and Thummim were kept in a pouch and were engraved with symbols identifying yes / no and true / false.
“It is unclear whether the Urim and Thummim were on, by, or in the High Priest's ephod. No one knows the precise nature of the Urim and Thummim or exactly how they were used. The Bible simply does not give us enough information. References to the Urim and Thummim are rare in the Bible. They are first mentioned in the description of the breastplate of judgment (Exodus 28:30; Leviticus 8:8). When Joshua succeeded Moses as leader over Israel, he was to receive answers from God by means of the Urim through Eleazar the High Priest (Numbers 27:21). The Urim and Thummim are next mentioned in Moses' dying blessing upon Levi (Deuteronomy 33:8). The following Scripture likely also speak of the Urim and Thummim: Joshua 7:14-18; 1 Samuel 14:37-45; and 2 Samuel 21:1.
Exodus 28:30: “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
“I suppose that the reason that the Urim and Thummim is such a topic that catches people’s attention is that there seems to be an almost magical way of discerning exactly what the will of God is for someone of for the nation of Israel. As stated above there is little said about it in the Bible so there is not a lot to go on, and because of this I have to go to one of my favorite verses when I have trouble understanding something in the Scriptures that is not as clear as I would like it. Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.” In other words God has not told us everything and is not obligated to do that, however what He has told us we must obey.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: There is a portion in verse 59 that spoke to my heart this morning and it reminded me of something that Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. This is pretty much the last thing that he wrote to them and it is found in 2Corthians 13: 5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-unless indeed you fail the test? 6 But I trust that you will realize that we ourselves do not fail the test.”
My Steps of Faith for Today:
1. Psalm 139:23-24
2. 2Cor. 13:5
3. Romans 12:1-2
4. Ephesians 6:10-13
5. Philippians 4:11-13
6. Ephesians 5:18
7/6/2011 9:08:36 AM
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