In the ancient world, the art of divination was used to determine the will of the gods. Various methods of divination are still used to this day all around the world. In the Bible, the most common method of divination used was cleromancy — literally meaning “lot prophecy.” The idea of casting lots has to do with participants picking something whose outcome is random, e.g. a shortened straw among several regular-length straws or a colored rock among several white rocks. This random outcome is not considered random in cleromancy, though. In this method of divination, the outcome is considered to be the result of the deity’s will; in the Bible it is often used to define the will of the one true God.

While the Bible is clear that divination is something to be avoided by the general populace (Deuteronomy 18:9-12), it is allowed by those who are in the priesthood (Exodus 28:15-30). Casting lots occurs several times in the Old Testament and a couple of times in the Gospels (Luke 1:9; Matthew 27:35). But the last time that lots are cast occurs in Acts 1 when the eleven remaining disciples seek God’s help in finding the twelfth disciple.

Acts 1:23-26 — And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

This is an example of divination: a seemingly random outcome treated as non-random, but rather as the will of God. A coin flip to decide which of these two guys would join the eleven. The disciples clearly trusted the omnipotence of God to providentially define the outcome. But it is interesting that this is the last occurrence of lots being cast in the Bible. The answer is the next chapter.

In Acts 2, we see that day of Pentecost happens; the Holy Spirit, the promised Comforter, is given to those who gathered. From that point on, followers of Christ are given the presence of God in the form of the Holy Spirit. And it is the Holy Spirit within them that guides them; no longer do they need to cast lots. Notice what happens throughout Acts after the Spirit arrived (emphasis mine):

Acts 11:12 — “And the Spirit told me to go with them…”

Acts 13:2, 4 — While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said… So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.

Acts 15:28 — “For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden…”

Acts 19:21 — Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia…

What we see is that after the arrival of the Spirit, it is the Spirit Himself who guides the believers. There is no longer a need to use divination to determine the will of God; for God is with us. Thank you, God, for giving us your Spirit — for giving us your eternal presence. May we be discerning and wise.

Tags: acts, Holy Spirit, lots, providence

This entry was posted by zac on Sunday, December 27th, 2009 at 7:28 pm and is filed under The Un-Category. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.