The casting of lots was frequently used in the ancient Near East, by Jew and Gentile alike. For example, the Roman soldiers cast lots for Jesus' garments in Matt 27:35. The obvious reason for its use in this way was to get an impartial decision — rather like flipping a coin today.
But in Ezekiel 21:21-23, we also see that the king of Babylon cast lots as a means of divination:
For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road, at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver. Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to erect siege works. It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.
He also "will examine the liver." Isn't that strange? But apparently people in the ancient Mesopotamian region would often examine the internal organs of animals, interpreting what they saw as implying such and such, because such and such had taken place when a similar observation had been made.* And as we see in Ezekiel, God could choose to use that.
Sometimes I find it hard to understand why God communicated the way He did with the Israelites, but it helps me to remember that they lived in a different society and thought differently than I do. And since God works with people where they are, this may explain why He chose to use the form(s) of communication He did. Additionally, God's will was very specific when He was forwarding His plan of redemption, so He had to give His people specific directions.
The practice of casting lots is actually mentioned 70 times in the Old Testament and seven times in the New Testament. However, despite the many references to casting lots in the Bible, nothing is known about the actual lots themselves. They may have been sticks of various lengths or marked pebbles; but nobody really knows for sure.
Casting lots seems to have occurred most often in connection with the division of the land under Joshua (Josh ch 14-21). Instructions for this procedure can be found in the Book of Numbers (Num 26:55; 33:54; 34:13; 36:2). God also allowed the Israelites to cast lots in order to determine His will for different situations (Josh 18:6-10; 1 Chron 24:5,31; Prov 16:33). For settling disputes (Prov 18:18). And setting a date (Esth 3:7). Various offices and functions in the Temple were also determined by lot (1 Chron 24:5,31; 25:8-9; 26:13-14). And the sailors on Jonah's ship (Jonah 1:7) cast lots to determine who had brought God's wrath upon their ship. The last recorded case is in Acts 1:24-26, when the apostles cast lots to determine who would replace Judas.
While casting lots was commonly done in Old Testament days and during the early part of the New Testament, it is no longer the way we determine God's will. People during that period of time didn't have the Holy Spirit indwelling them or a completed Bible to guide them. But we do, so we don't need to cast lots.
* This analogic type of reasoning is characteristic of thought in ancient Mesopotamia; cf. G. Contenau, Everyday Life in Babylon and Assyria, London, 1954, pp. 158ff. Inductive, deductive, and syllogistic ways of reasoning were not typical of Mesopotamia (or of the ancient Near East in general)
(from the book, The Bible and the Ancient Near East by Cyrus H Gordon and Gary A Rendsburg)
No comments:
Post a Comment