Because David was a godly person, the Lord answered him through the Urim and the Thummim. King Saul, however, was not godly, and he could not receive any answers through the Urim and the Thummim. Thus, the Urim and the Thummim worked for David, but not for Saul. David was a godly one, but Saul was not godly. In fact, the time came when God would no longer have anything to do with him. First Samuel 28:6 says, “And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the Lord answered him not, neither by dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets.” This verse clearly indicates that the Urim and the Thummim were not available to Saul.
First Samuel 28:6 gives three ways for God to reveal matters: dreams, the Urim, and prophets. Which of these ways do you prefer? I do not prefer the way of dreams. I would rather have God speak something to me directly instead of through a dream. (I know from experience, however, that some dreams are of God and that He does reveal certain matters through dreams.) Do you prefer to have God speak to you through a prophet? The reason the prophets were raised up is that the priests and the kings failed God. Because God had no way to go on with the priests and the kings, the prophets were raised up by Him. This is the reason in the Old Testament we have first the priests, then the kings, and then the prophets. Nevertheless, some Christians like to hear someone speak in the way of the Old Testament prophets and declare, “Thus saith the Lord.” If you enjoy this kind of speaking and prefer God’s speaking through the prophets, this may be an indication that you are not close to the Lord. If you are a person who is intimate with the Lord, you will be a priest with the Urim and the Thummim. We should prefer God’s speaking not through dreams or through prophets, but through the Urim and the Thummim. We are not dreamers or prophets; we are priests with the Urim and the Thummim.
The Urim and the Thummim are types of Christ. It is significant that two items, not one or three, were added into the breastplate. Two is the number of testimony, and these two items, the Urim and the Thummim, indicate that Christ is the witness, the testimony. He is both the Urim and the Thummim. As the means for God to speak to us, Christ is a testimony. He is a living witness. In Revelation 3:14 He refers to Himself as a faithful and true witness. From our experience we know and understand that Christ surely is God’s witness, God’s testimony.
The Urim typifies Christ as lights, illuminators. No doubt, Christ is the light, and He is also the true illuminator. This is easy to understand, for in the New Testament Christ says of Himself, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). Furthermore, Paul declares that Christ shines upon us and enlightens us: “Wherefore He says, Awake, sleeper, and arise from among the dead, and Christ shall shine on you” (Eph. 5:14).
The appendix in The Ancient Scriptures and the Modern Jew says that the Urim contained oil that was burned with fire from the altar. That fire came from God. Hence, it was a divine fire, a heavenly fire, that burned the oil in the Urim to give light. This is very significant. The oil typifies the Spirit, and the fire comes from the altar, which typifies the cross. As the illuminator, Christ surely has the oil, the Spirit. This Spirit burns through the cross. Today Christ the illuminator is shining through the burning Spirit.
I would ask you to consider the significance of the Urim according to your spiritual experience. Even though your experience may be limited, you certainly have had some experience of Christ shining in you. Do you not realize that this shining Christ works through the Spirit and also through the cross? We may not have the words to explain it, but in our experience we realize that as Christ shines within us, the life-giving Spirit is burning and the cross is working. In our experience of Christ as the illuminator, the shining One, we have the cross, the Spirit, and Christ Himself.