The Simple Meaning of Verse

1. A “lot” –

a. Probably stones, sticks, or broken pieces of pottery, which were thrown down, and a predetermined meaning was attached to how they landed.

b. Sometimes they were blindly picked out of a container.

c. The names might be written on the stones and the name on the stone chosen determines the winner.

2. “Lap” = bosom; breast; fold in a garment; a hollow area; floor of a chariot—several meanings.

a. It may refer to the place where the lot landed…

b. It may refer to the bottom of an urn into which stones were cast and out of which they were drawn…

3. The exact manner in which this practice was carried out may have varied… but it was a common practice in those days.

4. Similar practices exist today in various forms.

a. The lottery is a casting of lots—randomly chosen numbers to determine the winner

b. Flipping of a coin…

c. Drawing straws or sticks or cards…

5. The main point of the passage is not the exact process, but the outcome.

6. The disposing thereof is of the Lord.

a. Disposing: a decision; a judgment; a sentence; the act of deciding a case.

b. Used in Deut. 1:17 – the judgment is the Lord’s.

c. I Kings 20:40 – translated judgment (meaning decision)

d. Num. 27:21 – Urim – used for making judgments or decisions.

7. The LORD controls the outcome.

a. The final sentence… determination… judgment… or decision… is in the hands of God.

b. The point is that God is sovereign over the tiniest details in this world… from the flipping of a coin to the outcome of casting of lots…

c. When a lot is cast or a coin is flipped, we think of the outcome as mere chance.

d. Ecc. 9:11 – I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
• That is the thinking of the man “under the sun”—apart from God.
• That is the thinking of the natural man in the natural realm

e. In Prov. 16:33, Solomon says that it is not just random chance, but Jehovah God who determines the outcome… a sovereign God who providentially controls the most minute detail of life on earth: from raising up the next world emperor to the casting of a lot…

God DID Use the Casting of Lots to Reveal His Will

1. The casting of lots was used to determine which goat would be the sin offering and which goat would be the scapegoat. (Lev. 16:9-10)

2. The casting of lots was used to determine the portioning of the land of Canaan among the twelve tribes. (Num. 26:55; Josh. 18:6,11)

3. The casting of lots was used to reveal who was guilty of sin and Achan was brought to justice. (Josh. 7:16)

4. The casting of lots was used by David to determine which of the sons of Aaron would serve in what capacity in the service of the Lord. (I Chron. 24:3-5)

5. All throughout the history of Israel, God used the casting of lots to reveal His will.

6. In fact, Israel even has a religious FEAST dedicated to the “lot.”

a. The Feast of Purim: pur is the Babylonian term for “lot.”

b. The wicked Haman cast pur (lots) to determine how and when to destroy the Jews out of the land. (Esther 3:7)
• The Persians were extremely superstitious… and relied on fate… the god of chance.
• Interestingly, God’s name never appears in the book of Esther.
• Instead, God works behind the scenes… invisibly… overseeing all… turning chance on its head… and demonstrating Himself to be sovereign over chance…
• The pur was cast by Haman to determine evil against Israel.
• But what Haman did not realize was that when the lot is cast, the whole disposing thereof was of the LORD God of Israel!

c. The whole book of Esther is about incredible chances…
• by chance Esther became queen instead of Vashti…
• by chance he chose a Jewess!
• By chance the man who discovered the plot to kill the king happened to be the uncle of Esther…
• Esther took a CHANCE by walking into the royal throne uninvited…
• By chance there just happened to be some gallows made by Haman to be used to hang Haman!

d. The Book of Esther explains that the feast of Purim is a celebration of God’s miraculous deliverance of His people from Haman.
• What appeared to be an event of chance was, in reality, the sovereign intervention of God.

e. The world is not governed by time and chance, but by the Lord God who created, sustains, and governs the entire universe… including determining how a coin lands… and how the lot is cast.

7. God CONTROLLED the outcome of the casting of lots.

a. This was true in the many instances we saw in the Old Testament.

b. In fact, the Lord controlled the outcome of such lots even when cast out of superstition or in unbelief!
• The casting of lots was used by superstitious pagans to determine who was responsible for the storm at sea… and the lot fell on Jonah. (Jonah 1:7)
• The casting of lots was used by Saul to determine who was guilty of violating Saul’s order not to eat… and Jonathan (the guilty party) was revealed through the lot. (I Sam. 14)
• Lots were cast by the unbelieving soldiers for the garments of Christ… and the disposing of that was controlled by the Lord. (John 19:24)
• God is sovereign over the outcome of the casting of lots whether they are cast by the High Priest, by David, or unbelieving pagans!

8. There were some other unusual ways in which God revealed His will in the Old Testament.

a. Urim and Thummim

b. Ephod

c. Dreams; visions;

d. Fleece – a miracle was required for this one.

e. Circumstances: such as when Abraham’s servant, sent out to find a wife for Isaac, said, “which ever woman says, “Drink and I will give thy camels drink also” will be the one! And that’s how God led him to Rebekah!

Conclusion:

1. Should the believer today cast lots to determine the will of God?

a. Is that the message of this passage?

b. Should we flip a coin to determine who teaches the Sunday school class?

c. Should we roll the dice to select a new pastor?

d. Should we draw straws to determine which job to take?

e. Should we put out a fleece to see if we should opt for surgery?

f. I am convinced that MANY believers today put out fleeces of all stripes in determining God’s will.

g. I know that there is a lot of superstition used in it too.

2. Is there ever a time when we should use such a practice? I think the answer is YES.

a. Prov. 18:18 – It might be used not to determine God’s will, but perhaps to end a debate on a matter of no spiritual consequence.

b. Who goes for the donuts…

c. Or choosing a winner in a VBS contest when there was a tie…

d. It is FAIR because it takes the outcome OUT OF our control… and thus removes all bias. It ends the debate.

e. But it should NOT be used to determine God’s will in serious matters of service, morality, or other important issues.

3. Fleeces and casting of lots were used all throughout the Old Testament.

a. The casting of lots was used—even in the New Testament, to who would replace Judas among the apostles… and the lot fell on Mathias. (Acts 1:26)

b. And notice that Acts 1 is the very last occurrence of the practice in the New Testament.

c. It is as if God had them use the lot here in determining His will and recorded in the very last verse before the church age begins…

d. In the next verse (Acts 2:1…) we have the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell believers… to lead believers…

e. And there is not one more mention of lots after this.

f. I don’t think that is an accident… it was not mere CHANCE that put verse 1:26 immediately before 2:1!

g. This was God’s sovereign and providential choice.

h. Today, we have the completed canon of Scripture.

i. We are looking at “principles to guide us in the age of grace” in Sunday school.

j. And we are all indwelt by deity.

k. Today, we have something much better than casting lots, drawing straws, or rolling dice.

l. Today, sons of God are recognized by the fact that they are led by the Spirit… not by straws, dice, or lots.

m. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” (Rom. 8:14)

4. And as believers, things that others might consider mere chance, we should see as the Lord working behind the scenes… He is LORD of all… sovereign over every tiny event… and should be praised as such.