March 28- Guest Post By Mrs.Oz

Today's reading from the One Year Chronological Reading Plan is Joshua 18:1-19:48.

Today's reading was a good lesson in tribal geography. I'm sure my husband, who studied a semester in Israel would enjoy writing to you more on that subject but unfortunately for me it was a lot of fact reading. Someday I'd love to have more of a real mental picture of all of these places and boundaries or at least a more dramatic idea. Since I don't I'm going to focus on one aspect of the reading today.

Key Verse: 18:10 "Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions."

I've always found the concept of casting lots interesting in the bible. Here are just some facts: Casting lots is quite Biblical. The word "lots" appears 70 times in the Old Testament and seven times in the New Testament.

It was used by priests to separate the scapegoat from the one being sacrificed: Lev 16:8 "He is to cast lots for the two goats--one lot for the LORD and the other for the scapegoat." NIV

It was used to divide the promised land among the Israelites: Num 26:55 "Be sure that the land is distributed by lot." NIV

Several functions in the Temple were determined by lots: 1 Chron 24:5 "They divided them impartially by drawing lots, for there were officials of the sanctuary and officials of God among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar." NIV

The sailors on Jonah's boat determined who was responsible for that terrible storm by casting lots (notice that the guilty party was discovered that way!): Jonah 1:7 "Then the sailors said to each other, "Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity." They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah." NIV

When the apostles met after Jesus ascended to heaven they determined who would replace Judas by casting lots: Acts 1:26 "Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles." NIV

None of the Biblical illustrations of casting lots had to do with games of chance. Every time it was used, the Israelites depended on the Lord 100% to reveal to them His will. It was an impartial way to find God's will when choices had to occur. This concept is still applicable today. In all our decisions we should impartially depend on God and search for His decisions.

However, the book of Proverbs indicate some neat things about casting lots:

Prov 18:18 "Casting the lot settles disputes and keeps strong opponents apart." NIV

Prov 16:33 "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD." NIV
(all of the above is from this source)

For today though? Is it for the Christian today? Well, here are some John Piper thoughts to that:
"I think it's a bad idea, almost always.
It's a bad idea because, when you read the whole New Testament, the normal way over and over and over again for discerning the will of God is not casting lots but "being transformed in the renewal of your mind that you may be able to prove what is the will of God, what is good, acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:1-2). And you have Ephesians 5:17: "Strive to know what the will of the Lord is."
If it's as easy as just rolling a dice every time you've got a decision, then you've just got to get it down to two and roll the dice, or get it down to three and say, "Top three numbers!" But if it was that simple Paul just wouldn't have talked like that.
So the New Testament portrays discovering the will of God in other ways than lot casting."

(source here)

I tend to agree with that on many levels. Still, I find it interesting that God chose to use this almost too simplistic way of settling things. He really is quite unpredictable as to when he will speak through his servants to the people (I'm mean, let's face it, the directions for the tabernacle were very detailed and He could have just as easily gone that route with division of these lands), or when he will allow them to cast the lot and go with how it falls. The division of the land would have an effect of generations to come so it seems almost trivial to decide this way. Yet, the key to the verse and the repeated factual statement above in red are vital. The lot was cast "in the presence of the Lord." This method of decision making was done with total reliance on God.

So, even though Piper rightly states that today, as Christians, we should strive to seek the word and pray for the God's will, I do think sometimes we make decisions very close to this method. The difference is that we have the Holy Spirit to be our helper. The transition is made even more clear when the last lot taking in Acts 1:26 was for the new apostle and this event occured just before the giving of the Holy Spirit. Even with the spirit the way is not always clear to us (especially in practical matters) and sometimes circumstances become the deciding factors just like the falling of the lots being casts. Let me give an example.

I recently have been going through some hormonal imbalance health issues. Doctors today have limited ways of completely identifying hormonal imbalances as which hormone is lacking when and at what level. It becomes a real trial and error type treatment. My OB has made a recommendation to me that I was just not sure was going to work. I battled to the point of fear to proceed wondering if this was the right thing to do or not. My mom gave me some wisdom though that calmed my fears. "Alicia" she said, "you have to trust that God is working through your doctor to do his will for you right now; you have to trust that He has his hand in that and not be afraid, because you have committed this to Him." That really was convicting to me. I could not see the answer from God, and in a way, I felt like a gamble was being taken but there is no gamble for those who are held by the hand of the Father. To me it may look unknown and a little out of control, but He is still completely orchestrating the events of my life. The key is that I proceed in prayer and I do believe the Holy Spirit is faithful to bring us full stop if we are to not go in a certain direction. We do not have to be fearful when making these unknown decisions, we have to step out in faith, though we cannot see ahead of us at times. God is faithfully working and will guide us. So, I did not yell for the kids to get the dice from the Yahtzee and pray over them with a magical breath in my hands saying "okay Lord, if I land three 2's then it's your will I take my Dr.'s advice!", but I do have to proceed sometimes when there is no writing in the sky to point my way. No pillar of fire, no cloud by day, just little leaps of faith that feel uncertain at times. God will not let us down, and he will not pick us up and say "what were you thinking!?" if we give these things over to Him (now, if we don't, that's another mater!). He will use all things in the life of his children to bring about his will. He can be trusted when there is no logic to lean on. He is utterly in control of every detail.

My main point is that we have the Holy Spirit, and what a gift that is! Yet, the events of the casting of lots reminds us that even when man is at his most uncertain place, God is still completely weaving perfection according to His will, and His glory. It's really his way of letting us know that even our most random methods of direction are not chance at all, but perfect providence...when we belong to Him and put the decisions in His hands.

(on a side note: there has been some discussion on the difficult concepts of God's work of hardening men's hearts and such. This may be helpful to any interested)

Tomorrows readings are Joshua 19:49-21:45; I Chronicles 6:54-81