Casting Lots Lev. 16:7 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
In the Bible, lots were used to determine certain important matters. In Lev 16:7-10, Aaron cast lots upon two goats to determine which goat was for the sin offering and which goat was for the scapegoat; in Num 26:53-56, the land was to be divided by lot [you can see this division beginning in Jos 15]; in Jon 1:7, by lot Jonah was discovered to be the cause of the storm; and so forth. Casting lots allowed for God to make the choice in those matters. As Prov 16:33 says, “The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.”
It appears that lots were either “cast,” Matt 27:35 [like flipping a coin or drawing straws or picking a number within a range] or they were “given.” Acts 1:26 says, “And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.” In the case of the lots that were given forth in Acts 1:26, it appears that these lots were more like a vote. Those of you who voted yesterday cast your ballot.
The nice thing about casting lots is that after prayer [Acts 1:24-26] they are the least contentious way to make a decision involving a number of people. Prov 18:18 says, “The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.”
Casting lots prevents contention because they are secret, so that you can express how you believe the Lord is leading you to decide without concern that others might object. They eliminate the pressure to go along with something that another person has voiced when you might disagree. There is no respect of persons; so they are fair. Furthermore, we have used lots in the past on certain decisions and they have been very helpful and a true expression of the hearts of the people.
So, we are going to use this method to make decisions concerning missions. We believe that it is the best way to determine the Lord’s will on what he would have us do concerning giving to special missions projects and concerning monthly support for individual missionaries. We will present each member with a ballot which they can cast for or against a missionary or a special missions project. A missionary or a project must receive 2/3rds affirmative votes.