- 136 - ‘idols’. In reality, it was a reproduction of the breastplate of judgment worn on the garment of the High Priest and so called, as you know, because it was used for inquiring of God. Reproductions of the High Priest’s breastplate of judgment were used whenever the people of Israel ‘asked of God’ in matters of private interest. It was the same as the ‘planchette’ used in your spiritist circles and, like it, consisted of two parts: a lower, stationary part, generally cast as a plate and engraved with the letters of the alphabet and other symbols, and an upper wooden part, light and handsomely carved, and equipped with a pointer. The cast plate was either set upon a table or fastened to a base or a pillar. It was highly polished to allow the wooden upper part to slide over it with ease. Whenever counsel was sought of God, the movable upper part was set upon the plate, and the medium, laying his hand on it, waited for it to be moved by the spirit beings with the aid of his own odic power to the letters on the plate. When this happened, the pointer indicated in the proper order the characters which, when combined into words and sentences, spelled out the answer returned by the spirit world. It was, therefore, substantially the same as with the High Priest’s breastplate of judgment. The private breastplates even went so far in copying the precious original as to have the characters engraved on gemstones that were set artistically into the cast plate by a goldsmith. Large sums of money were spent for this purpose. Just as the High Priest wore costly robes when seeking counsel of God, similar garments were provided for the private mediums who used the breastplate of judgment. Micah did likewise: Judges 17: 5: ‘He had an expensive priestly garment and a breastplate of judgment made, and consecrated one of his sons to serve as his priest.’ Gideon also had the gold bounty taken from the Midianites made into an ‘oracle’ of the kind described, and put it in his city, Oprah, where it could be used by all to ‘ask of God’. Before long, however, it was used by the people also to consult evil spirits. ‘All Israel practiced idolatry with it, so that it became a snare for Gideon and his house.’ (Judges 8: 27) Gideon had had it made for ‘asking of God’ only, but it was misused by the people to ‘inquire of the dead’, in other words, to communicate with the evil spirit world. That was idolatry. However, those among the Israelites who observed God’s commandments made use of the private channels in their families for asking of God only in emergencies. In matters of importance, they still preferred, when inquiring of God, to do so in the place He Himself had designated for that purpose in the days of Moses. They would go to the ‘Tabernacle’ and have the High Priest use his breastplate of judgment to ask of God. Thus, the Israelites went up to Bethel to ‘ask of God’ which of them should go up first to battle against the children of Benjamin. The Lord answered, Judges 20: 18: ‘Judah shall go first.’ When Saul wanted to pursue the defeated Philistines by night and destroy them utterly, and his people were willing to follow him, the priest said: ‘Let us first go to God here.’ When Saul asked God, ‘Shall I go in pursuit of the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel?’, God did not answer him that day. (I Samuel 14: 36-37) God did not answer Saul on that day because Saul’s son had violated a prohibition of God’s. By refusing to answer, God wanted to make it clear that He would answer only those who obey Him. David almost invariably inquired of God through the breastplate of judgment. His medium was Abiathar, the priest.
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