Lots and Lots of Lots

All tasks were assigned to the various groups by means of sacred lots so that no preference would be shown, for there were many qualified officials serving God in the sanctuary from among the descendants of both Eleazar and Ithamar. 
--1 Chronicles 24:5

"Sacred lots."

The Reformation Study Bible says, "Casting lots in careful accord with revealed standards was designed to ensure that decisions were made according to divine direction rather than human prejudice."

Proverbs 16:33 says, "We may throw the dice,
    but the Lord determines how they fall."

The Bible is full of stories in which decisions were made by casting lots.  In Acts 1, the disciples prayed about who to choose to replace Judas and then they cast lots.  They were asking and trusting God to make the lots fall according to his will.

I have served on many church nominating committees, and none of them cast lots.  Human prejudice always played a role, influencing whether we thought someone was qualified, and prejudging whether we thought they would be willing.  Whether we thought they would say yes was often the largest factor in what we said out loud, though I'm sure there were lots of factors in our thinking that we didn't say out loud, and maybe didn't consciously realize.

I wonder, if people knew we had cast lots before calling them, they would be more ready to say yes?  If we believed that God made the lots fall to them, wouldn't we be more ready to trust that this was a divine calling?

I wonder if our disdain of casting lots is a form of the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  They ate the fruit from the tree knowledge.  God had said, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” (Genesis 2:16-17)  When we decide rather than casting lots, aren't we trusting in our own wisdom and knowledge like they wanted to do?

We often talk in Christian circles about discernment, by which we usually mean seeking God's will through prayer and scripture and godly counsel.  Henri Nouwen describes it this way:

“Our God is a God who cares, heals, guides, directs, challenges, confronts, corrects. To discern means first of all to listen to God, to pay attention to God’s active presence, and to obey God’s prompting, direction, leadings, and guidance.” (Henri J.M. Nouwen, Discernment: Reading the Signs of Daily Life)

Paying attention and obeying are key, but they are not easy.  We can get caught up going in circles around a decision, doubting our ability to read the signs, hesitating to obey when we aren't sure whether we're following our own will or God's.  How much simpler it would be to cast lots.

Nouwen points out that sometimes the problem is in how we're asking:

“In the Gospels, there are many examples of Jesus not giving a direct answer to questions put to him by his disciples and others. (For example, the mother of James and John asks whether her two sons might sit one at the right hand and the other at the left hand of Jesus in his kingdom, and Jesus responds, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” [Matt. 20:20–23].) He does this not because he has no patience with them but because their questions are the wrong questions; they are not the questions that live in God’s heart but belong instead to the fearful, anxious world of those who do not know who they are.”

Are we asking the wrong questions?  This is certainly true in a nominating committee that is asking "who will say yes" instead of asking God who he wants us to ask. But it's not just there. I wonder how often I'm asking God for success in human terms, or for the easiest answer?  Maybe my asking needs to start with this:  "God, help me know the right questions to ask."

I find it interesting that we still sing about casting lots in the hymn God of Our Fathers (or God of the Ages in some hymnals):

Thy love divine hath led us in the past; 

in this free land with thee our lot is cast; 

be thou our ruler, guardian, guide, and stay, 

thy Word our law, thy paths our chosen way. 

Maybe the problem is that sometimes the lot will fall counter to our wishes.  We want a six, but instead we get a one.  We want the perfect life, but instead we get a real one with all it's challenges.

I've only played Dungeons and Dragons a few times, but when I did I often wanted to roll the dice again to try for a different outcome, a better outcome.  The dungeon master never allowed it.  But God does, through Jesus. We can admit our failings and try again, and God gives us grace because we were willing to humbly accept it.

Thanks, God.