Don't Play Yahtzee With God

# 136 – Today's Du-votional comes from 1Sa 10:19b- “Now therefore, present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and by your clans." 20 And when Samuel had caused all the tribes of Israel to come near, the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21 When he had caused the tribe of Benjamin to come near by their families, the family of Matri was chosen. And Saul the son of Kish was chosen.” The selection of the king was to be in the hands of God and so the lots were cast. This was a biblical method of trusting God based on faith in His Word and His utter ability to control all things, even the flop of the dice! Pr 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD.” This method of selection was not used frivolously. It was used for matters of importance. Even in the New Testament, the replacement for Judas among the twelve was determined by the lot. Ac 1:26 And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles. I personally don't recommend this system of guidance simply because our human nature subjects it to great abuse. When the lot doesn't fall our way, we are too tempted to say, “How about two out of three?” Better to look to the Word of God first, basing our decisions on the parameters found in Holy writ. Having said this, I remember using the lot one time in choosing an elder for a church I was attending. We were down to two equally qualified men, and so we prayed and quoted these verses, cast the lot, and stuck with it's decision. This “lot casting” for choosing Saul should wow everyone in Vegas! The tribe of Benjamin (1 of 12) had to be chosen. Then one family out of who knows how many had to be chosen, (Matri) and then another family from that family (Kish) and then out of Kish's sons (Saul) I mean, what are the odds? I guess that's the point. God is in charge. In His Sovereignty there are no odds! Never get in a game of Yahtze with God. But then you don't need to. He has made you a winner by giving you faith in Jesus. No need to roll the dice for your eternal destiny. Trust what is said in His Word and you will be saved.