Welcome back friends! You may read the heading of this blog and ask yourself, How do I get a definitive answer from Eloheim? Cast lots! What is casting lots, you may ask, and how is it done? Isn’t that like betting? Growing up, I had no idea what it was but I probably would have thought it was like betting. But reading through the bible a few times has shown me that casting lots is like the Urim and Thummim that the High Priest in the olden days had, but not as cool.
Probably the most memorable bible account of casting lots was when Jonah was trying to slink off unnoticed to Tarshish. He and the sailors were heading along on the Mediterranean Sea when the Sea started getting tumultuous (think Perfect Storm), so Jonah, knowing why, went down into the belly of the ship and fell into a deep sleep. The sailors started panicking, so they cast lots to see who’s fault this storm was, (Which tells us that even pagans can get answers from YHVH.) and the lot fell on Jonah.
You know the rest of the story, but the point is that Eloheim answered them!
In the last 20 years I have cast lots many times. Usually it was to know whether I was supposed to take a trip to Israel, or not. There are many different ways to do it. The usual way I do it is to write “no” on several little slips of paper and “yes” on several more and fold them up. It’s always good to have a witness. Next, ask Eloheim a yes/no question, like, “Father, should we buy this car?” Or, “Father, should I go to Israel for Passover?” Or whatever you need a definitive answer on. He WILL give you an answer.
Johnny and I were talking about this the other day and he said he didn’t like casting lots. I said that it was probably because he doesn’t want Eloheim to tell him “No”, and he laughed that that was right. That is exactly why I like to cast lots – so that I won’t impose my wishes on the outcome. Anyone can say they asked God for an answer and that the answer they got was positive. How do you know you weren’t just seeing what you want the answer to be? Johnny and I have cast lots before and Yah told us not to buy a new car. You see, the Almighty knows the future and He knows what’s best for us. Johnny hurt himself not long after that and was off work for about 3 months. It would have been terrible if we had a car payment during that time!
There are many examples in the bible of casting lots that are easily discovered using a bible search engine, but here are a few more examples:
"And they cast their lots, and the lot fell on Matthias. And he was numbered with the eleven apostles." - Acts 1:26
If you have ever been to Masada in Israel and know the story, casting lots was an important part of the history. Look it up. Very sad.
A word search of “cast lots” in any bible search engine will reveal more instances. 😊
the Hebrew Gypsy 