June 1

“…that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God” Joshua 18:6

We need to know God’s will and direction for our lives. This is particularly true when as leaders in church, or our families, we also carry the responsibility of guide others. Such was the case with Joshua. It had been placed in his hands to lead Israel into the conquest of Canaan land. They had all fought the enemy together, side by side, under the direction of God and gained the victory. Now he was to assign to each of the tribes, the lot or area of land pertaining to them. It was Joshua’s responsibility to find God’s will for the allotment of the land. He needed to enquire of God and find His direction! With quiet confidence he reassured them he would cast lots before God and come up with answers for them. God had allowed and even commanded in various situations, the ‘casting of lots’, to help His people make decisions and know some detail within what He had shown His will to be. It was not a method of fortune telling, or predicting the future, neither was it the sole way of deciding, but it was used particularly when repetitive decisions had to be made. It was a God-permitted way of finding out some detail of what He had already revealed as His will. In this instance He had already revealed that it was His will for Israel to inhabit the land. Lots were cast to determine the details of where each tribe would be settled in the land. We are not exactly sure what the ‘lots’ were. They could have been special gem stones or sticks of various lengths, in any case some method by which random results would occur, and could not be manipulated by man, thus could be taken as being God-directed. In our day and dispensation, we have the complete Word of God and the infilling of the Holy Spirit, by which we are clearly directed and instructed. Casting lots is no longer a necessary practice, though nowhere in the scriptures was it forbidden or commanded to cease. We observe that after the outpouring of the Holy Ghost, the practice was no longer mentioned in scripture. One could argue however, that even today there could be times when the rendering of an impartial decision, in a detail of a matter which is already known to be God’s will, could be best achieved by casting lots – it would certainly help lessen the politics which are so often and unpleasantly found in Christian groups, and keep a lot of people humble! In any case, the emphasis of the practice of casting lots, was to receive direction. God is willing to direct His people and provided we approach Him prayerfully, with a pure heart, empty of selfishness and desirous for His will to be fulfilled and His name to be glorified, He will show the way and direct the path! This is one of the many joys and privileges of the Christian, he does not have to be without direction, lost and fumbling, but can proceed in all areas and aspects of life, with quiet and sure confidence of God’s will, and clear knowledge of what to do.

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