The story has been told of a young man who was a recent graduate of a theological seminary. Educated beyond his intelligence, he had arrived at the spot where he thought he knew all the answers to all the theological problems and was eager to parade his knowledge. He came to a certain town where lived an elderly Christian layman who had never been to a Bible school or seminary but had taught himself the Word of God under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. In a very humble way, he had gained a reputation as a man of wise counsel. When the prideful young theologian heard about him, he said, “I’d like to meet that man. I think I could ask him a question or two that he couldn’t answer!”

So a meeting was arranged. The first thing the young man said was, “Sir, I hear that you have quite a reputation as a Bible student. I’d like to ask you a question.” The old man said, “Well, I don’t know if I can answer it, but I’d be glad to try. What is your question?” The young man said, “Tell me, what were the Urim and the Thummim? The old man thought a moment, then said, “Well, sir, I don’t know really, and I don’t think anyone else does either. We do know the names mean ‘lights’ and ‘perfections’ and that these were the instruments by which the high priest could determine the mind of God in specific instances. Beyond that, I don’t think I could go. But you know, I’ve found that if we change just one letter in these words, we have the instrument by which we can know the mind and will of God in our lives.”

The young man was a bit puzzled. “What do you mean?” The old man said, “Well, it you change the ‘r’ in Urim to an ‘s,’ you’ll make it ‘Usim and Thummim.’ An when I want to know the mind of God, I just take the pages of my Bible and I ‘Usim and Thummim.’ And by that means I can learn whatever I need to know!”