Exodus 28:15-30 "Fashion a breastpiece for making decisions—the work of a skilled craftsman. Make it like the ephod: of gold, and of blue, purple and scarlet yarn, and of finely twisted linen. 16 It is to be square—a span [a] long and a span wide—and folded double. 17 Then mount four rows of precious stones on it. In the first row there shall be a ruby, a topaz and a beryl; 18 in the second row a turquoise, a sapphire and an emerald; 19 in the third row a jacinth, an agate and an amethyst; 20 in the fourth row a chrysolite, an onyx and a jasper. Mount them in gold filigree settings. 21 There are to be twelve stones, one for each of the names of the sons of Israel, each engraved like a seal with the name of one of the twelve tribes.
22 "For the breastpiece make braided chains of pure gold, like a rope. 23 Make two gold rings for it and fasten them to two corners of the breastpiece. 24 Fasten the two gold chains to the rings at the corners of the breastpiece, 25 and the other ends of the chains to the two settings, attaching them to the shoulder pieces of the ephod at the front. 26 Make two gold rings and attach them to the other two corners of the breastpiece on the inside edge next to the ephod. 27 Make two more gold rings and attach them to the bottom of the shoulder pieces on the front of the ephod, close to the seam just above the waistband of the ephod. 28 The rings of the breastpiece are to be tied to the rings of the ephod with blue cord, connecting it to the waistband, so that the breastpiece will not swing out from the ephod.
29 "Whenever Aaron enters the Holy Place, he will bear the names of the sons of Israel over his heart on the breastpiece of decision as a continuing memorial before the LORD. 30 Also put the Urim and the Thummim in the breastpiece, so they may be over Aaron's heart whenever he enters the presence of the LORD. Thus Aaron will always bear the means of making decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.
A. THE BREASTPLATE
The breastplate was actually a piece of elaborately finished cloth of the same material as the ephod. It was a strip twice as long as it was wide, but folded back on itself so as to form a square bag into which the Urim and Thummim were placed. The breastplate was held in place by golden chains attached to the onyx shoulder clasps and also by blue lace ribbons, which attached the breastplate to the ephod.
1. The stones upon the breastplate represented the twelve tribes of Israel, and they were presented before the Lord continually as a memorial. Inasmuch as the twelve stones were in one breastplate they speak of the oneness of the people of God; while their position upon Aaron's breast speaks of God's affection for His people. the names on the breastplate were always close to Aaron's heart just as with Christ and His precious ones.
2. The breastplate was of great importance because by means of it, God revealed his Divine will to His chosen people. It was designed by God Himself and the directions as to how it was to be made were given to Moses as illustrated in Exodus 28:15,20.
B. SPECULATION AND THEORIES ABOUT THE STONES
1. There are several theories about the meaning of the 12 stones. Though it's obvious that the stones are connected with the 12 tribes of Israel the meanings and the colors became target of many different theories.
2. According to Exodus, the jewels on the breastplate of the High Priest were engraved with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel-- but we are not told which tribe to which jewel.
3. A comparison between the jewels and the modern birthstones establishes the order in which the jewels stood for the signs of the zodiac, provided one reads the order of the jewels in three columns of four, following the Egyptian calendar of three seasons of four months each. Jewish tradition knows the sign of the zodiac attributed to each tribe, so we can infer which tribe to which jewel.
4. The 12 stones have obviously a hidden meaning. The study of numbers and the kabala has many different theories about secret meanings of the 12 stones.
The Modern Church Interpretation about the stones
The breastplate was square in its proportions, and also embroidered with gold. Set into the Breastplate in gold were twelve precious stones, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. Each stone had the name of the respective tribe engraved upon it. This shows the Good Shepherd knows His sheep so well He calls them each by their own name (John 10:3). The high priest bears the names on the Breastplate "over His heart" when he goes before the Lord "as a memorial" (Exodus 28:29), foreshadowing the eternal love of the Lord Jesus for His twelve
C. THE 12 STONES AND THE 12 APOSTLES OF JESUS
Revelation 21:9-21
9One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb." 10And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel. 13There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south and three on the west. 14The wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city, its gates and its walls. 16The city was laid out like a square, as long as it was wide. He measured the city with the rod and found it to be 12,000 stadia[a]in length, and as wide and high as it is long. 17He measured its wall and it was 144 cubits[b] thick,[c] by man's measurement, which the angel was using. 18The wall was made of jasper, and the city of pure gold, as pure as glass. 19The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, 20the fifth sardonyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.[d] 21The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.
The significance of the twelve Apocalyptic gems
given by Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz (786-856), in the following words:
"In the jasper is figured the truth of faith; in the sapphire, the height of celestial hope; in the chalcedony, the flame of inner charity. In the emerald is expressed the strength of faith in adversity; in the sardonyx, the humility of the saints in spite of their virtues; in the sard, the venerable blood of the martyrs. In the chrysolite, indeed, is shown true spiritual preaching accompanied by miracles; in the beryl, the perfect operation of prophecy; in the topaz, the ardent contemplation of the prophecies. Lastly, in the chrysoprase is demonstrated the work of the blessed martyrs and their reward; in the hyacinth, the celestial rapture of the learned in their high thoughts and their humble descent to human things out of regard for the weak; in the amethyst, the constant thought of the heavenly kingdom in humble souls."
("Rabani Mauri, "Opera Omnia," vol. v, col. 470. Patrologiae Lat., vol. exi, Parisiis, 1864.)
I don't understand how did he got to these conclusions, but it's a nice thought...
1. There is an extreme doctrine that makes substitution of the things of the Old Testament by symbols in the New Testament. Personally I don't believe we can do this in every single instance but it is a fact that many of the events of the Old Testament are symbolic of Spiritual truth.
2. It is easy to trace in this description the substitution of the twelve apostles for the twelve tribes in connection with the precious stones enumerated.
3. Of the twelve foundation stones the Revelation of St. John expressly states that they had "in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." The assignment of each stone to the respective apostle was made in later times according to the order given in the lists of the apostles contained in the Gospels.
The passage in Revelation 21:19,20, is not the only one in that book treating of precious stones, for we read in chapter 4:2,3:
Revelation 4:2,3
And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
The commentators, both ancient and modern, have given many different explanations of the symbolic meaning of the similes employed here.
D.URIM AND THUMMIM
Exodus 28:30
And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually.
1. The Breastplate wasn't just an apron but in fact it was a bag containing two items inside, Urim and Thummim.
2. It is not known for certain exactly what the Urim and Thummim really were, but it is thought that they may have been two precious stones, possibly gems, which were identical in shape. One or the other could be drawn from the pouch in order to provide a yes or no answer in seeking the Lord for guidance.
3. Since Scripture explicitly states that the Urim and Thummim were placed in the breastplate, it would seem that they were separate from the twelve stones mounted on the outside.
4. The name Urim means "lights, " while Thummim means "perfections;" and these meanings have led some to speculate that perhaps the stones flashed in a particular way to indicate "yes" or "no. "
5. More recent scholars have pointed to the plural nature of the words to argue that there wasn't "a" certain device, but rather Urim and Thummim was the process or procedure priests used in the casting of lots and some sort of stones or jewels were the medium.
6. Others have pointed out that the words "Urim and Thummim," in the Hebrew, begin with the first letter (aleph,) and end with the final letter (tav,) of the Hebrew alphabet, that the device contained these and perhaps other letters of the Hebrew alphabet, which were used as lots to determine the response of the oracle.
7. Personally I believe that Today Jesus Christ is the Alpha and the Omega (the Urim and the Thummim). The Bible says that He is our High Priest in Heaven and he is the one who guides us saying yes or no to our requests.
Quote
"We can draw no other conclusion than that the Urim and Thummim are to be regarded as a certain medium, given by the Lord to His people, through which, whenever the congregation required divine illumination to guide its actions, that illumination was guaranteed. When God was displeased with His people in later history, He refused to permit the Urim and Thummim to function as a means of guidance. Apparently in a day when man lacked most of the the revelation of the Word of God, he required some other source of information of divine will." [Keil and Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament]
Matthew 5:37
37Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
James 5:12
12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
We need to make the right decision saying Yes to Christ and No to this World.
CONCLUSION
The mystery of the 12 stones has no clear interpretation to theologians and researchers but it's pretty clear to me that Jesus Christ is the High Priest of God.
The key is to understand that Jesus spent most of his time with 12 chosen disciples, and majored on discipling, training and ultimately releasing them to do the work of the kingdom of God. If this is what Jesus did, who are we to try and do it any other way? Surely the Lord's example is something we can follow. True, his situation was spiritually and historically unique. His 12 were to become the foundation of the New Testament Church and the foundations of the City of God. But Jesus' method in fulfilling these things can also be an effective model for what he calls us to do today.
Hebrews 9
7But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. 8The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.
11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here,[b] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation. 12He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption. 13The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!
15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
1. This passage shows clearly that the priestly Rituals of the Old Testament are an illustration for the present time.
2. We saw earlier that there is a direct connection between the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of The Lamb. In heaven there is a foundation of 12 precious stones. Jesus is our High Priest and he can not enter in the Holy of Holies in heaven without the 12 in His Chest. Christ is the High Priest of our faith and as in the Old Testament the priest carried the bag with the 12 stones and the Urim and Thummim inside the Bag Jesus takes us before the Father and brings His guidance and answers to our lives.
(Note: The 12 stones where reserved to the High priest only. I'm not saying that its wrong to have jewels with the 12 stones as an ornament but we need to understand that Jesus is the only High Priest)
Will you accept Jesus Christ as your High Priest? This is not a matter of our own choice. Some people live a false Christian life because they call themselves Christians but they don't submit to our High Priest.
Jesus is the one with Urim and Thummim, He is the Alpha Omega, the beginning and the end. He gave you life and He will one day take it away. Before you where born you where in God's hands and you will end up at His mercy. If you make the right choice you can also be one like John (John 21:20) that leaned on Jesus' breast.
