Proverbs 16:33 - Lord Over Chance

Proverbs 16:33 - The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.

Message: - Lord Over Chance

Time: It seems that Proverbs was written and then compiled sometime between the tenth and sixth centuries B.C. Proverbs was probably written during the reign of Solomon, 971-931 B.C.

What the Lord is Saying:

As I read through scripture it is clear that the mind of God is different from the mind of man. Man tends to reason most of the time that in order for God to be real then he must fit into our thinking. The fact that He is different and stands outside of our reasoning abilities and knowledge makes many think he is therefore not real. Again, there is the trust and belief that there is something greater than yourself. The Christian believes that the only way to define life is through a Creator. The non-believer often makes the assumption that life is not left to a creator but from natural phenomena. 

It is interesting and in this verse, in Proverbs, both sides of the coin--lot/chance and ordained from God--seem to be presented. 

The lot is cast
This was a common form of divination in the ancient world in order to determine the divine will of certain matters. We do this today thinking often if we flip open the Bible, the verse it lands on will be our verse for the day or even for our life. And gambling has become such a way of life for many people; the whole idea with gambling is chance and this thinking then seeps into life as well.  

This is one of the things I find interesting about life. There are constantly different messages that are sent in life and they all play into the way we live life and make decisions and think about our lives. the more we spend our time away from the Bible and away from the things of God, the less we think about God and His ways and the more our lives end up getting defined by the world.

I feel a slave to this more and more. I let things happen versus being more intentional for things to happen.

The casting of lots was a common form of divination in the ancient world, a device used to discover the will of the gods. This method of discerning the will of the true God was not forbidden in ancient Israel, for the Lord ruled even over lots. 

Every decision is from the Lord. 
When the lot was properly used the answer was not a matter of chance, but came from God. It is not that casting lots is wrong or bad. Proverbs 18:18 says, "the cast lot puts an end to strife and decides between the mighty ones." Decisions need to be made in life and the casting of lots provides a decision.

What this verse states is the casting of lots is a decision from the Lord. I think often in life we just feel it is easier for our brains to state that outcomes are by chance or even based upon karma (from Hinduism or Buddhism whereby the sum of a person's actions is this life or a previous life are seen as deciding their fate in future existences, which could be this life or another life). I think we often have these conclusions because we are comfortable with the thought that we decide our fates.

It reminds me of those pictures that I have seen: there is the one where one person sees an old lady while another sees a young girl. Both are looking at the same picture and both are seeing two different types of women. As I read scripture it seems clear that God has determined outcomes and he has knowledge of results. But, also as I read scripture I see that man, based upon his own reasoning abilities, thinks he will reap what he sows. Can these ideas coexist? I think so. I think man can see and define things from his own perspective, but ultimately, he can also see that God is in charge. I don't think man can take on a passive approach to life and not try. I believe God uses man to effect change. He doesn't have to, but he does. I don't think God intends man to not be involved in His outcomes.

Note: I think this is a difficult text for my finite mind to comprehend. It is difficult for me to think that God does ordain all activity. So, is there no free will? Just our perception that there is. Our brain is finite so this is how we think and live, but this verse gives the impressions that every decision is from the Lord. That seems hard to fathom. There are horrible atrocities that have occurred throughout human history. There are many things that have occurred that we have no knowledge of. There are many trying to make sure these things don't happen again. There is the phrase, "The human spirit" which gives the idea that man is desiring for things to be more holistic and purposeful and preserving life. But, is this actually God in man exerting his will of things more for his glory? God definitely intends his people, that He created and made in His image, to see that their lives are under His control. Is that man's purpose? Does God give man the faculty to think and live, but all the while "every decision is from the Lord." Those are two ways of looking at life that do seem hard to wrap my mind around. Ephesians 1:11 says, "also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will." It is clear Paul believed this. His words speak of being "predestined" or "called" or "created for good works which God decided beforehand." And then the whole idea of Christ dying for us means that salvation is not of us, but of Him alone. 

Promise: From TableTalk, "February 18, 2015" - "There is no ultimate randomness in the world. Even outcomes that seem to be pure chance, such as the casting of a lot (throwing a pair of dice) are divinely ordained." Though I question events and circumstances and outcomes, my goal always is to trust God for his outcome.