Hebrew Word Study – A Label – Tzitz – ציצ  Sade Yod Sade

Exodus 28:30,36,38: “And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.” (36) You are to make a plate of pure gold and engrave on it as on a seal: HOLY TO THE LORD. (38) And it will be worn on Aaron’s forehead, so that he may bear the iniquity of the holy things that the sons of Israel consecrate with regard to all their holy gifts. It shall always be on his forehead, so that they may be accepted before the LORD.”

In our Torah Portion study, we examined the garment of the High Priest.  There were two items that really quickened my spirit. The message I got from these two items may not be the message you get or anyone else may get, but I felt it was noteworthy.  I will share it with you and let you decide.

The high priest carried the Urim and the Thummim (illuminator and verifier) next to his heart. There is considerable debate as to just what these two were. Whatever form they took they were used to discern the will and the direction God wished His people to take.  The Talmud teaches that they were inserted in the folds of the breastplate worn by the high priest. It caused the letters inscribed on the stones to light up in response to queries posed by the community leaders. In Numbers 27:21 we find that Joshua was commanded to stand before Elazar the priest and ask counsel from him after the judgment of the Urim before God before going out to battle. This why the breastplate was called the breastplate of judgment as it decided and determined things for the people. It was like hearing directly from God only not in an audible voice.  They would ask a question of God and then God would respond through the Urim and Thummim by lighting up the letters on the stones on the breastplate and someone would write down the letters which would be God’s direct answer to the question.  Who would not love to have something like that to consult every day.

In a sense we do. The power of the Urim and Thummim disappeared with the destruction of the first temple in 587 BC.  The Talmud teaches that the power of the Urim and Thummim will return when the Messiah is glorified.  For Christians, this happened on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the believers and filled them with power, including prophetic power.  Our bodies are the temple of God and Jesus is our High Priest and it is through Jesus that we now get the same direction as the High Priest gave through the Urim and Thummim only we do not need those items as we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ…

The question is how do we receive that direction or prophecy from God?  Maybe there is a clue in the Tzitz.  The High Priest wore a turban and on the front of the turban over the forehead of the High Priest was a golden band a Tzitz in Hebrew with the words Kodesh La YHWH – Holy To God inscribe on its relief.  The reason for this is that offerings in the Holy Temple had to be brought in a state of ritual purity. If the offering itself was impure then the offering would be rejected and the priest would be guilty of a transgression. However, in certain cases where an offering was brought in a state of impurity, the Tzitz made it acceptable to God. 

In some respects, the Tzitz served the same purpose as the Urim and Thummim, it gave prophetic knowledge. When someone brought a pure offering the Tzitz would reflect off that person’s forehead – Holy to Jehovah.  If it was an impure offering there would be no reflection.  The Midrash teaches that the Tzitz was also used to determine the impurities of the Midianite women who had been involved in affairs with Hebrew men as a means to corrupt the nation of Israel by Baalam. 

Now the Urim and Thummim were over the heart but the Tzitz was on the forehead.  The heart was considered to be the seat of your emotions and the forehead was considered to be the location of your mind and willpower. 

When it came to ritual purity the Tzitz had to be located on the forehead of the High Priest, not over his heart.  Yet when it came to prophesy and direction directly from God that Urim and Thummim had to be located over the heart of the High Priest.  Is there a lesson in this?  I encourage you to meditate on that.  

I did and this is the lesson I came up with. I admit it is not perfect and perhaps you can find something different. I grew up in a Baptist church where I was taught not to trust my feelings and not to follow my heart for the heart was deceitfully wicked.  We have the Word of God to guide us and we need to study it with our minds.  As an adult, I moved into a more charismatic community where emotions ruled.  You sought the feelings, the presence, and the love of God.  

I believe the Urim and Thummim and the Tzitz teach us that both feelings, emotions – heart, intellect, will – forehead are important. God communicates to us through our hearts.  Our emotions and feelings play a major role in following the direction of God. However, in discerning what is pure and impure, we need to rely upon our knowledge of God’s Word.  In some or most cases we need the combination of the heart and forehead to find direction and know what is pure and not pure. 

That is just my thoughts and meditations.  Perhaps you have a different message from the Urim and Thummim and the Tzitz.  

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