Casting Lots…

The biblical expression casting lots is a fascinating thing to contemplate. The High Priest would cast lots to make decisions about what families were to bring before the Lord as an offering (Nehemiah 10:34) and in Joshua 14:2 inheritance was determined by casting lots. Nobody knows what these lots looked like. Were they stones? Were they sticks? Was it like drawing straws or flipping a coin? I think the bottom line is that this was a way to render an impartial decision that could not be influenced by politics or power… unless you used a trick coin!

An impartial way of making a decision… a way of making a decision after the playing field has been leveled and nobody has the advantage. It would sort of be like the lottery if everybody was limited to buying one ticket, I guess. Whatever the decision or outcome, the people involved would know that the decision was made impartially. I took the picture above during my deployment to Afghanistan in 2005 with the Air Force. I was flying back to Bagram Air Base after visiting and providing ministry at a remote outpost near Mazar-e Sharif. The sun was setting and it had been a long day’s journey by C-130 (a propeller driven cargo and troop carrier) which had started out on Mazar-e Sharif’s flightline with a stopover at Kabul International where we had forces stationed.

How did I end up getting the privilege of visiting Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan in early 2005? While it wasn’t exactly like casting lots, I had little choice in the decision and had to trust the big Air Expeditionary Center to make the call. We used to joke about getting assignments in the Air Force. They said there were complex algorithms that they used to make the decisions. We used to say that the Chaplains in the personnel office had a big dart board with a map listing all of the assignments and they would turn their back to the map and toss the dart. Where the dart landed, that was where you were being sent! Now I know it wasn’t like that at all in the Air Expeditionary or Assignments Centers, but it did make for a good laugh when you found out that someone you knew was going to a less than desirable place or when I was trying to explain that it was the luck of the draw that I got two three year assignments to England in my 21 year career! The bottom line in all of this? I had to put my trust in the system and pray that somehow God was in the mix (which God always was I can tell you with complete confidence).

Believe it or not, this all does tie into the Scripture reading from Acts 1:15-17, 21-26. Jesus has ascended to heaven and the eleven disciples were left to carry on the mission which Jesus had begun. Twelve is a good biblical number (12 tribes of Israel, 12 disciples, 12 baskets of bread left over from the feeding of the five thousand) and they needed to have twelve apostles to carry out the mission. Judas had betrayed Jesus and then hung himself according to Matthew 27:5. For some reason, Luke tells a slightly different story in verses 18-20 about the demise of Judas. It was a pretty brutal death according to Luke with the appearance that God had struck Judas down. Regardless, Judas was no longer with them and another had to take his place. Two names were proposed to be considered to fill out their number. The ones chosen who had indeed accompanied the disciples and Jesus from the beginning were “Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias”. (Acts 1:23)

The eleven prayed and asked God to show them which of the two should be chosen. This wasn’t like running for office or trying to win a popularity contest. The eleven didn’t gather and discuss who had the best qualities and who was the majority favorite. They knew that both men were willing to join the band and had already proven themselves on the trail so to speak during the last three years of Jesus’ ministry. Lord, which one should it be? Then, trusting that God knew everyone’s hearts, they cast lots and the lots fell on Matthias.

Was this method a bit odd? By our standards today, you might say so. By the standards of their day, this was a normal, unbiased way of choosing. What is especially significant to me is the fact that both men were willing to put their trust completely in God. They trusted that God would speak and the right one would be chosen.

When I was sitting on the bank of the Chippewa River in Eau Claire, Wisconsin back in 1980 (see this blog for more insight: https://scotsirishpadreblog.wordpress.com/2015/04/14/hes-real-alive/) and wondering what on earth was going to become of my future and my career aspirations, I remember being at a loss for words. The only thing I could do was literally cry out to God and place my life completely in God’s hands. I was willing to do whatever God wanted me to do if God would only reveal to me what that was! The answer to my prayerful cry was crystal clear. But was I willing to do what God was calling me to do? Was I willing to cast my lot in with this plan and trust that the way would be made known? Was this accounting major (failing out of a make or break course) willing to do something completely different? The lots had been cast and they had fallen on me. God had chosen me to serve as a pastor, then as an Air Force Chaplain. As the end of my Air Force career approached, once again, I would turn to God and seek God’s guidance for my life and God called me to be a pastor.

The eleven along with their two candidates prayed and cast their lots. Each one was willing to cast their lot in for Jesus. The lots fell on Matthias and he was chosen to be the twelfth Apostle. I wonder what happened to Joseph with the many names. If he was willing to trust God and willing to be an Apostle, was he willing to continue to serve Jesus in a more anonymous capacity? We will never know, but I suspect that Joseph continued to serve the Lord in whatever capacity God called him to serve.

The question for each of us, dear reader is this: Are we willing to put our trust in God? Are we willing to cast our lot in with Jesus? Are we willing to go where he calls us to go? Do we trust in God to show us the way and guide us on the journey? I have chosen and will continue to choose to cast my lot in with Jesus. I pray that God will give me the strength, courage, wisdom, and humility to serve God wherever I may be. Are you willing to do this too?