Casting of Lots in Leviticus 16:8, Proverbs 16:33, Joshua 18:10, and Acts 1:26
Casting of lots historically was an act of cleromancy (a random event is believed to be the will of a deity), and was done in a variety of ways, including through drawing sticks that have been marked, drawing stones with symbols, and throwing items into a circle (where the outcome was interpreted)1
Divination is different than cleromancy, as the divinators are attempting to interpret God’s will, whereas cleromancy is an agreement among parties that is used to determine a finite outcome… and Leviticus states that believers should not practice divination2
Casting of lots is used in Leviticus 16:8, as is commanded by God, to device which goat is to be used as a sin offering, and which is expected to be loaded with sins and sent into the wilderness (as the scapegoat, aka the goat that was sacrificed for society’s sins)3
Casting of lots is used in Numbers 26:55, to decide the territorial allocation to the tribes of Israel4
The same is seen in Joshua 7:14, where a guilty party is discovered by lot5
It’s also used in Jonah 1:7, to see that it was Jonah that was responsible for the storm6
The replacement of Judas was chosen by lot in Acts 1:267
Overall, there isn’t any substantial agreement on whether casting of lots actually revealed God’s decisions, or was used to solely to simply make a decision8
There is some thought that casting of lots simply is done to provide a way forward (forcing parties to move past indecision), and that when it is done that God has no issues with any of the outcomes, no matter the results
Group discussion question: After reading through the above Bible versus, do you feel strongly one way or another whether casting of lots provided a result that God desired, or simply allowed individuals to take action within an array of outcomes God accepts?
While some believe that the casting of lots is tied to predetermination (and by extension predestination), at the very least God isn’t surprised by the outcomes of dice rolls, because as an omniscient being, he’s aware of all possible outcomes9
Predetermination is the belief that God chooses all events that have taken place, including the outcomes of dice rolls and individual’s decisions
Overall, no denomination believes that casting of lots should be used today to determine the will of God10,11
Group Discussion Question: Have you ever used something like casting of lots in your personal life, and would you after today’s discussion?
Witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28
The story with the witch of Endor is one where Saul seeks out supernatural guidance before a battle, finding a woman that was a medium, who called up the spirit of Samuel to speak with Saul12,13
The reason that the event is negative for Saul, is because he decides to appear to unholy supernatural forces in order to retain power, instead of trusting in the Lord14
Group Discussion Question: If that was the actual spirit of Samuel (and it certainly appears so, as the Bible doesn’t state otherwise), then what does that say about the afterlife?
Group Discussion Question: If God didn’t raise Samual from the grave to speak with Saul, then where did that power come from?
Elisha, the boys, and the bears in 2 Kings 2:23-24
The story in 2 Kings 2:23-24 details a situation where the prophet Elisha passes through Bethel, known for false worship, where at least 42 male youth jeered at him, saying “Get out of here, baldy”15
Elisha responded by cursing them in the name of the Lord, and then two bears came out of the woods and maul 42 of the boys
The event is seen as a blatant rebuke of those that are against God’s prophets16
Two consideration to make are:
The verses simply state that the boys are mauled, and not necessarily killed
Elisha, like Moses, is seen as the representative of God, and those that are speaking and acting against him are seen as acting against God17
Moses and Zipporah in Exodus 4:24-26
In this story, Moses is headed to speak to Pharaoh on behalf of God for the first time, and stops at a lodging, where the Lord meets him and seeks to put him (not necessarily Moses) to death18
Zipporah, Moses’s wife, takes a flint and cuts off her son’s foreskin and touches Moses’ feet with it, where Zipporah says “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!” and then the Lord leaves him alone
There is some ambiguity in the verse, with no verification as to whether God was planning on killing Moses or his son19
What we do know is that Zipporah knew what to do to satiate God’s anger, it appears that God’s anger came from the fact that Moses and Zipporah failed to obey the command of circumcision (from Genesis 21:4)
Moses and Zipporah were effectively raising their son as a Midianite, and that Zipporah’s words appear to present that the act was done in faith and obedience to become a part of God’s family20
Group Discussion Question: What do you think would have happened if Zipporah would have failed to act, and what would have happened to the Israelites in Egypt?
Dashing Children in Psalm 137:9
Psalm 137:9 literally reads as: “Happy is the one who takes your babies and smashes them against the rocks!”21
In context, the author of this verse is a captive in Babylon referencing the destruction of Israel, the death of Israelites, and the horrible acts that the Babylonians were forcing the captive Israelites to accomplish (the author is proclaiming that the Babylonians would be repaid for their evil on an even greater scale)22
From a Christian perspective, Christians are expected to read this verse as asking for God’s justice, and not take this as an expectation to take revenge on others ourselves23,24
Group Discussion Question: Is it ever appropriate to pray for vengeance, rather than simply justice and God’s will to be done?
Marrying Rapist in Deuteronomy 22:28-29
The verse itself states that if a young man finds a virgin who isn’t betrothed, seizes her and lies with her and they are discovered, then the man must take the woman as her wife and is not permitted to divorce her25
There is some challenge with accurately rendering the verse in modern language, with the word “seize” (tapas) being used elsewhere in the Bible to mean “grasp in hand,” “handle,” and “take”, so there isn’t a direct correlation with rape26
It appears that this verse is focused primarily on ensuring that a woman caught in a sexual relationship prior to marriage would have an opportunity to be cared for by the man involved, as she would be unlikely to find a husband if the relationship is discovered, and would have been forced to earn her own way in that culture27
Group Discussion Question: Does the above explanation help you to understand the culture of that time period, or do you feel disconnected from that culture and disagree with this law?
Nephilim in Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:32-33
The text suggest that the Nephilim were in ‘the land’ both before and after the flood, that the Hebre word Nephilim directly translate to the word ‘giants’ and can literally be translated as ‘the fallen ones’28
There are two primary interpretations about what exactly the Nephilim are:
One belief is that the Nephilim are another group of humans in the region, that are simply a larger group of humans coming from the line of Seth29
The other primary belief is that the Nephilim are the offspring of angelic beings and human women, and that once these Nephilim have died their spirits became what is known today as demons, roaming the Earth today30,31,32
Group Discussion Question: Do you believe that the Nephilim lead to questions about other passages in the Bible? (like whether Noah’s flood was a worldwide or local flood)
Group Discussion Question: Considering these explanations about the Nephilim, do you have a different view on David’s battle with Goliath, and the subsequent events where other Nephilim were hunted down?
