What is casting lots?
Read Jonah 1:7-8
Casting lots is something we see throughout the Scriptures, and it’s one of those things in the story where we need to ask ourselves what it’s all about. At its core, casting lots is about finding out what is the will of the gods, or of God.
Throughout the Scriptures we see God’s people casting lots to discover God’s will. One of the best examples of how this process worked is found in 1 Samuel 14 (especially 36-42), when Jonathan had tasted honey after his father made a decree not to eat anything. Trying to figure out who was guilty of sinning before God, they began to cast lots.
Now, casting lots for the was a matter of throwing 2 stones, one called “Urim” meaning “guilty” and the other “Thummim” meaning “innocent”. In the story of 1 Samuel, Saul and Jonathan stood on one side and the people on the other. The people were found innocent and Saul and Jonathan were found guilty. Next they cast lots between Saul and Jonathan and Jonathan was found guilty. This is how casting lots worked.
So what does this mean for us? We should note that the last recorded use of casting lots in the Bible comes from Acts 1:24-26, when the disciples were trying to choose Judas’ replacement. Why isn’t this method used after this? Why did Paul use this while he was trying to figure out where God wanted him to go next? It’s interesting the last usage of casting lots happens before the pouring of the Holy Spirit.
We have this amazing ability to be able to communicate with God in a clear way through His Spirit, the question for us is are we using this gift?
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