Proverbs 16:33

MAIN HOMILETICS OF Proverbs 16:33

THE LOT AND ITS DISPOSER

I. There is a special Providence of God in the midst of His universal government. In nature there is a manifestation of a universal Providence ruling over all God’s creatures. But the individual is not lost in the multitude—each bird of the air and every blade of grass in the field is under the special supervision of its Creator. And God is Ruler in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, but He does not deal with either angels or men in the mass as human rulers must do, but knows, and cares for, and guides the destinies of the individual man—the disposal of the lot of each one is from the Lord.

II. The special Providence of God works through human instrumentality. Reference is here doubtless made to the ancient custom of casting lots to ascertain the Divine will. This was done at the division of the land of Canaan among the children of Israel, on the occasion of the election of their first king, and in choosing the apostle who took the place of Judas among the twelve. In all these cases it was recognised that there was no chance in the disposal of the lot—that the decision in each case was from the Lord Himself—but in each case human instrumentality was used by Him to make known His will. This linking of human instrumentality with Divine sovereignty is found in all God’s dealings with men. He has promised that seedtime and harvest shall not cease while the earth continues, but he requires men to sow the grain to bring about the harvest. The “casting of the lot” is symbolic of the part that human effort takes in the government of the world—although God is above and behind it, he does not work without it.

OUTLINES AND SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS

One general principle regarding the employment of the “lot” is sufficiently manifest, namely, that it should never be introduced except in cases where reason and evidence are incompetent to decide. And we may, I think, safely go so far as to affirm that in cases of importance and of extremity—that is, where other means of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion or a harmonious agreement have failed—there does not appear to be anything in Scripture by which such an appeal can be considered as interdicted.… Still, if there is nothing interdictory of the use of it, there is nothing that makes it obligatory in any specified circumstances; and it is clear that, if used at all, it should be used seriously and sparingly. It is very wrong, and the reverse of truth, to speak of any matter whatever as being in this way referred to chance. There is no such thing. Chance is nothing—an absolute nonentity. It is a mere term for expressing our ignorance. Every turn of the dice in the box is regulated by certain physical laws, so that, if we knew all the turns, we could infallibly tell what number would cast up. Besides, in no case is there a more thorough disavowal of chance than in the use of the lot. It is the strongest and most direct recognition that can be made of a particular providence—of the constant and minute superintendence of an omniscient, overruling mind.—Wardlaw.

Everything is a wheel of Providence. Who directed the Ishmaelites on their journey to Egypt at the very moment that Joseph was cast into the pit? Who guided Pharaoh’s daughter to the stream just when the ark, with its precious deposit, was committed to the waters? What gave Ahasuerus a sleepless night, that he might be amused with the records of his kingdom?—Bridges.