Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Proverbs 16:33
The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof [is] of the LORD.
33. the lap ] from the folds of which it was drawn or shaken out.
disposing ] Lit. judgement. The decision, which when appealed to as arbiter it pronounces, is not its own but Jehovah’s.
The religion of the O.T. incorporated into itself the use of the lot as it did many other common customs (see Jos 7:14-18; 1Sa 14:42). With the gift of Pentecost, however, the religious use of it appears to have ceased. No mention is found of it in the N.T. after Act 1:26.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Disposing – Better, the judgment or sentence which depends upon the lot. The lots were thrown into the gathered folds of a robe, and then drawn out. Where everything seemed the merest chance, there the faithful Israelite teacher recognized the guidance of a higher will. Compare the case of Achan Jos 7:18, and of Jonathan 1Sa 14:37-42. The process here described would seem to have been employed ordinarily in trials where the judges could not decide on the facts before them (compare Pro 18:18).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Pro 16:33
The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
All contingencies under the direction of Gods providence
I. Consider the result of a lot in reference to men. Why suspend the decision of some dubious case upon it? It implies something future, and something contingent. It is something absolutely out of the reach of mans knowledge, and equally out of reach of his power. A contingent event baffles mans knowledge and evades his power.
II. Consider the result of a lot in respect of God. All contingencies are comprehended by a certain Divine knowledge, and governed by as certain and steady a providence. God directs the greatest casualties under His providence to certain ends, in reference to societies and to particular persons. In the latter case, touching their lives, their health, their reputation, their friendships, and their employments or preferments. Since the interest of governments and nations, of princes and private persons, notwithstanding all the contrivance and power that human nature can exert about them, remain so wholly contingent, as to us, surely all the reason of mankind cannot suggest any solid ground of satisfaction, but in making that God our friend who is the sole and absolute disposer of all these things, and in carrying a conscience so clear towards Him as may encourage us with confidence to cast ourselves upon Him, and in all casualties still to promise ourselves the best events from His providence, to whom nothing is casual, who constantly wills the truest happiness of those that trust in Him, and works all things according to the counsel of that blessed will. (R. South.)
Grounds and limitations of human responsibility
Define the provinces of human and Divine agency. Our duty is commensurate with our power. We are responsible for the moral character of what is done just so far as it depends upon ourselves. Within the circle where man has the power to will and to do of his own pleasure is the field of human agency. Here man is held responsible. All beyond this province of human responsibility is done by the power of God. This thought of Divine providence is the most consoling and inspiring that ever visits the heart, though it cannot give joy to the heart where it is not welcomed. Our knowledge of human and Divine agency is constantly extending. We are continually opening upon new views, which show us that many things which are called acts of God come within the sphere of our own responsibility, and are, in truth, our own actions springing from our own doing or our own neglect; and the consequences of them we must expect to bear. Moreover, the arts and improvements of civil life are continually investing men with new powers, and given him a mastery over nature which in former days he never dreamed of possessing. Then is not the sphere of Divine providence getting lessened? Nay, the more we feel our own responsibility, the more shall we recognise the agency of Heaven in all things. What is it we adore in the providence of God? It is its vast reach of vision, and its ever steadfastly pressing on to that which is right. (W. B. O. Peabody.)
Divine providence
The general doctrine of providence derives support from sources independent of Divine revelation. It is another term for the government of God, by which all events are made to concur with His wise and holy purposes. Look at providence–
1. In the mode of its operations.
2. In the vastness of its range.
3. In the punishment of the wicked.
4. In its aspect on the Church.
The doctrine of Divine providence is full of consolation. All must be right when God controls and reigns over all. (John George.)
Gods providence even in trifles
Gods providence may be seen not only in the whirlwind and the hurricane, the lightning and the storm, but also in the very least of natural manifestations. Surely, without unduly pressing our text, we may bring forward a familiar illustration of the way in which even trifles, as man calls them, have been made to work out mighty results. Take, for instance, the discovery of the laws of gravitation, and the great results in which that discovery has issued: how it opened the way to the understanding of the courses of the heavenly bodies; how the orbits of the planets, and their distances, and their relative positions at various periods came to be clearly defined; the influence of these discoveries on the laws of navigation, and the consequent facilities for communication between places separated by thousands of miles upon the ocean. We are daily in the enjoyment of the conveniences and luxuries which spring from these discoveries. We may be ignorant of the laws which have been deduced, or even of the practical applications of these laws; of their results in adding to our comforts we cannot be ignorant. Now, is it too much to say that these discoveries are the result of Gods providential government? But, if this be granted, we cannot stop here; it follows that the means by which this knowledge was acquired were not beyond the Divine control; nay, rather were subservient to it, and governed by it. And so, at last, we see by manifest logical conclusion that the finger of God may be traced even in that trifle, as it might have been called, which led the wise mans mind to excogitate the mysteries among which we live. And whether we endeavour to trace the working of the finger of God in the intricacies of the human mind, or in the external influences which affect the mind, or in the coincidences by which great events are deduced from small beginnings, yet in each alike we may say, and say with reason, It is the Lords doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. Apply this lesson in another way, to the case of sickness–for here, again, we may attain to very practical results. Now, I apprehend that the generality of men do certainly look upon sickness as a casualty–a mere matter of accident or chance. If you were to question them strictly you might at last extract from them in general terms a confession that God is the author of life or death, of health or sickness; but it has no practical effect. It is not a really powerful religious principle, for they are ever speaking of proximate causes, and not of the great First Cause. Take now a particular case, in part illustrative of my meaning; it shall be the case of the blind man, recorded in St. Joh 9:1-41. I adduce this case to illustrate the general principle that sickness cometh not by chance, but by Gods will and permission, and that its results are known by God, and that it comes to accomplish the purpose for which He hath sent it. Again, the same order and regularity are observable in the kingdom of grace. All the profit and advantage which men receive from the ministry of the Word and Sacraments is of God. An eloquent sermon may be delivered, but the preacher cannot tell whose heart it may reach or whose mind it may affect. The lot is cast, as it were, into the lap; the preacher knoweth not the issue thereof, for the whole disposing of it is of the Lord. Now, I think that these considerations may have a very practical effect upon us; they touch our every-day life; they console us in failure, when failure results from no lack of diligence on our part; they humble us in success. But does this lead us to believe in any doctrines like those of the fatalists? By no means. Every man is a free agent, working out for himself future weal or woe as he will. His mind is fixed in a certain course, and his thoughts tend to that direction. God often checks him if he is going astray, and pleads with him, and throws hindrances in the paths which lead to evil. And though a mans course of life may be evil, yet there are influences which are running counter to that evil course, and checking him, and compelling him to pause and think. And why is this–but because, though the lot be cast into the lap, yet the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord? (W. S. Simpson, M.A.)
The Lords disposing
After all, what silly and short-sighted children we are! Only spelling out the alphabet in Gods infant school, and yet aspiring to a seat in His cabinet! How differently our life-stories will read when we have a chance to correct them in the clear light of heaven! Then we shall discover under the head of Accidents there was written as in invisible ink, The lot is cast into the lap, but the disposing thereof is of the Lord. On the page that we had surrounded with black lines, and inscribed it Obituaries, we shall see how distinctly a Divine finger has written, Whom I love I chasten. (Theodore L. Cuyler.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 33. The lot is cast into the lap] On the lot, See Clarke on Nu 26:55. How far it may be proper now to put difficult matters to the lot, after earnest prayer and supplication, I cannot say. Formerly, it was both lawful and efficient; for after it was solemnly cast, the decision was taken as coming immediately from the Lord. It is still practiced, and its use is allowed even by writers on civil law. But those who need most to have recourse to the lot are those who have not piety to pray nor faith to trust to God for a positive decision. The lot should never be resorted to in indifferent matters; they should be those of the greatest importance, in which it appears impossible for human prudence or foresight to determine. In such cases the lot is an appeal to God, and he disposes of it according to his goodness, mercy, and truth. The result, therefore, cannot be fortuitous.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The lot is cast into the lap; as the ancient practice was in dividing inheritances, and deciding doubtful things, of which see Num 26:55; Jos 7:16; 1Sa 10:20,21; 14:41,42; Pr 1:14; Act 1:26.
The whole disposing thereof is of the Lord; the event, though casual to men, is directed and determined by Gods counsel and providence.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
33. Seemingly the mostfortuitous events are ordered by God.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
The lot is cast into the lap,…. Of a man’s garment, or into his bosom, or into a hat, cap, urn, or whatsoever he has in his lap, and from whence it is taken out; which used to be done in choosing officers, civil or ecclesiastical; in dividing inheritances, and determining doubtful cases; and making up differences, and putting an end to strife and contentions, which otherwise could not be done: and this ought not to be used in trivial cases, or to gratify curiosity, or for the sake of gain, or rashly and superstitiously; but seriously and religiously, with prayer, and in faith, and with a view to the divine direction, and submission to it; for a lot has the nature of an oath, and is an appeal to the omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent Being;
but the whole disposing thereof [is] of the Lord; or “the judgment” u of it; the judgment that is to be made by it concerning persons or things; it being so directed and ordered by him as to fall upon the person it should; or to make known the thing in doubt and debate according to his will, in which all parties concerned should acquiesce. This is to be ascribed, not to blind chance and fortune, to the influence of the stars, or to any invisible created being, angel or devil, but to the Lord only; there is no such thing as chance, or events by chance; those events which seem most fortuitous or contingent are all disposed, ordered, and governed, by the sovereign will of God.
u “judicium ejus”, Pagninus, Montanus, Mercerus, Cocceius, Gejerus, Schultens; “judicium eorum”, Tigurine version.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
Note, 1. The divine Providence orders and directs those things which to us are perfectly casual and fortuitous. Nothing comes to pass by chance, nor is an event determined by a blind fortune, but every thing by the will and counsel of God. What man has neither eye nor hand in God is intimately concerned in. 2. When solemn appeals are made to Providence by the casting of lots, for the deciding of that matter of moment which could not otherwise be at all, or not so well, decided, God must be eyed in it, by prayer, that it may be disposed aright (Give a perfect lot,1Sa 14:41; Act 1:24), and by acquiescing in it when it is disposed, being satisfied that the hand of God is in it and that hand directed by infinite wisdom. All the disposals of Providence concerning our affairs we must look upon to be the directing of our lot, the determining of what we referred to God, and must be reconciled to them accordingly.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
God’s Will Controls
Verse 33 is a positive declaration that although the lot was used in certain O. T. choices, the outcome was the will of the LORD, Vs 1; 1Sa 10:17-24; Num 27:15-23.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
MAIN HOMILETICS OF Pro. 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 Gods creatures. But the individual is not lost in the multitudeeach 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 manthe 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 lotthat the decision in each case was from the Lord Himselfbut 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 Gods 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 worldalthough 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 extremitythat is, where other means of arriving at a satisfactory conclusion or a harmonious agreement have failedthere 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 nothingan 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 providenceof 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 Pharaohs 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.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
(33) The lot is cast into the lap . . .In other words, much that we attribute to chance is due to the providence of God. (Comp. Mat. 10:29-30.) This should be an encouragement to trust in Him.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. Lap Literally, bosom. It may mean the hollow part of a vase or urn. It is also applied to the receptacles formed by the mode of wearing the long loose garments peculiar to the East. The ancients used a portion of their garments, perhaps the bosom of the dress, as a container of the , ( goral,) calculi, or small stones, which were used for the purpose of lot-casting.
The whole disposing thereof , ( kol-mishpato,) the whole judgment or decision of it, is of the Lord. The result was regarded in effect, as a divine decision. The decision by lot is very ancient. It still continues to this day, and probably will continue to the end of time. For in some respects it is the best and most satisfactory (or the least unsatisfactory) way in which a decision can be made. In those things wherein it is proper to employ the lot, men will submit to a decision made in this manner which they would hardly yield to if made in any other.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
v. 33. The lot is cast into the lap,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Pro 16:33. The lot is cast into the lap Lots are to be considered in three different lights; or, more properly, they are of three distinct kinds. One sort is civil ballotting, of general use in states to prevent intrigues and partialities; another is a superstitious appeal to the imaginary deity, Chance, or Fortune; and there is yet a third, which is a reference of the event to heaven, by God’s own direction and appointment. Of the second, or only reprehensible sort, revelation is intirely innocent; because it was customary for the Jewish people to refer all events to God, only and immediately; and the Jewish and Christian lots were confessedly of divine appointment. See Bishop Warburt. View of Bolingbr. Philos. let. 3: p. 37. 8 vol. and Neh 11:1.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 795
GOD IS THE DISPOSER OF ALL EVENTS
Pro 16:33. The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
THOUGH we would not be unnecessarily fastidious in condemning the use of any particular term, where we knew that in its popular sense it was not very exceptionable, yet we cannot altogether approve the use of such terms as luck, and chance, and fortune: for though we know, that the persons who adopt those kind of expressions do not intend to deny the doctrine of a superintending Divine Providence, yet we cannot but think that such language tends exceedingly to weaken a sense of Gods Providence upon the soul, inasmuch as it excludes his agency from the affairs of men, and regards them as left to mere and absolute contingency. With the Scriptures in our hands, we are perfectly assured, that all things, however casual or contingent with respect to man, are under the controul of a Superintending Providence; or, as it is said in our text, that, when a lot is cast into the lap, the whole disposal thereof is of the Lord.
In confirmation of this truth, we shall shew,
I.
That God is the disposer of all events
Events, of whatever kind they be, are equally under the direction of Almighty God. He disposes of,
1.
The things which are most dependent on human agency
[In the government of kingdoms all the powers of the human mind are called forth and concentrated: but the time for their commencement and continuance is altogether under the direction of a superior power [Note: Dan 4:17; Dan 4:35.]. The success of all human plans, whether relating to military enterprises [Note: 1Sa 17:45-47. 2Ch 20:17.], or commercial speculations [Note: Deu 8:17-18.], or agricultural pursuits [Note: Hag 1:6-11.], or matters of inferior moment and of daily occurrence [Note: Pro 19:21. 1Sa 2:6-9.], depends entirely on him It was he who directed to Ahabs heart the bow drawn at a venture, and to Goliaths forehead the stone out of Davids sling. In a word, he worketh all things after the counsel of his own will [Note: Eph 1:11.]; and his counsel shall stand, and he will do all his pleasure [Note: Isa 46:10.].
2.
The things that are most independent of human agency
[Nothing has less dependence on human skill or foresight than a lot. As far as respects the determining of that, an idiot is on a par with the wisest man in the universe. But it is entirely at Gods disposal; as all who acknowledge the existence of a Deity have confessed, by resorting to it on emergencies which nothing else could determine. Saul, and all the people of Israel, resorted to it, in order to learn from God who it was that had displeased him; and again, to determine the same matter between Saul and Jonathan his son [Note: 1Sa 14:40-42.]. In like manner the Apostles had recourse to it, in order to know whom God willed to be the successor of Judas in the Apostolic office [Note: Act 1:23-26.]. Even the heathens themselves had a persuasion, that, when matters were solemnly referred to Him in a way of lot, he would make known to them the point which they wished to ascertain [Note: Jon 1:7.]. But as in these instances the event, though supposed to have been directed of God, might have been casual, since the chances against it were not very great, we will adduce one, which marks beyond all possibility of doubt the Divine interposition; since, in the language of chances, it was above a million to one that the lot did not fall on the person to whom God infallibly directed it [Note: Jos 7:14-18. There were two millions of people: but in the last lot the men only were concerned.]. Here is a striking illustration of that passage, Evil shall hunt the wicked man to overthrow him [Note: Psa 140:11.]. The hounds see not their prey in the first instance, but trace it by its scent, and follow it with certainty in all its turnings, till at last they come in sight of it, and overtake it, and destroy it. So it was in regard to this pursuit of the man who had troubled the camp of Israel: the lot fell on the right tribe, then on the right family of that tribe, then, on the right household, and lastly on the right individual in that household:and to every human being it speaks in this awful language, Be sure your sin will find you out.]
That we may see how important a truth this is in a practical view, we shall proceed to shew,
II.
That in this character he is constantly to be regarded by us
His hand and his will we should trace,
1.
In every thing that is past
[Have we been loaded with benefits? they must be received as from Him, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift. It matters nothing whether our blessings came to us by inheritance, or were the fruit of our own industry: to God, and to God alone, must they be referred, as their proper source [Note: 1Ch 29:14.]. Have we, on the other hand, been visited with afflictions? We should know, that they did not spring out of the ground, but proceeded from his gracious hand; since there is no evil in the city, but the Lord himself hath done it. Thus Job viewed all his diversified trials; he overlooked the second causes, and fixed his eyes on God alone: The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.
Now in all this we see the great importance of tracing every thing to the Lord; for by our blessings we are inflamed to gratitude, and by our troubles are softened to submission.]
2.
In every thing that is future
[If nothing can occur without his special appointment, how safely may we commit to him our every concern: and how confidently may we expect a happy issue of every occurrence! Can we do better than leave ourselves at his disposal? Were it possible that he should err, or that, having devised any thing, he should be unable to accomplish it: or that, having begun to accomplish it, he should, through versatility, change his purpose, and alter his dispensations; we might then not feel so well satisfied with having every thing subject to his disposal: but when infinite wisdom and goodness concur to direct all our concerns, and infinite power also engages to overrule every thing for our good, we may well dismiss every fear, saying with the Apostle, I know whom I have believed, and that he is able to keep that which I have committed to him. We may be as composed as Hezekiah was when surrounded by Sennacheribs army [Note: 2Ch 32:7-8.], or as Elisha, when surrounded by the army of the king of Syria [Note: 2Ki 6:16-17.]. Having God for us, we may rest assured, that none can effectually be against us.]
Let us see from hence,
1.
The excellency of faith
[This is the principle which, far beyond any other, honours and glorifies God. By faith we are prepared to receive every thing as from him, and to say, It is the Lord; let him do what seemeth him good. Mere reason, though it may acknowledge these truths, can never enable us to realize them: but by faith we see Him that is invisible; and learn to acknowledge him, as much in the falling of a sparrow, as in the ruin of an empire. Seek then this blessed principle; yea, seek it in its highest and noblest exercises, that being strong in faith, you may give glory to God.]
2.
The blessedness of the true Believer
[Whatever confederacies may be against you, it is your privilege to know, that no weapon that has been formed against you can prosper. God has said, that all things shall work together for your good: and they shall do so, however much you may be at a loss to conceive in what way the good shall be elicited. Only take care that Christ is yours; and then you may be sure that all things else are yours [Note: 1Co 3:21-23.]. If Christ is yours, all the perfections of God are so far yours, that they shall all be exercised for your good. Having Christ for your sanctuary, you shall be inaccessible to the fiery darts of Satan: and having your life hid with Christ in God, you shall, at his second coming, assuredly appear with him in glory [Note: Col 3:3-4.].]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
REFLECTIONS
READER! I cannot better direct both your heart and my own, to a suitable subject for the Lord to bless to our joint reflections, than what this chapter, both at the opening and close, brings before us. If it be the Lord that prepares the heart, and gives the answer of the tongue; where shall we look both for habitual and actual preparations, but from him? Oh! that there may be always such a going forth of our minds upon the person and graces of the Lord Jesus, by the sweet influences of the Holy Ghost, that whether we read, or hear, or pray, or praise; faith in him and his great salvation may be always uppermost in our affections. Yes! blessed glorifier of my Lord! I do beseech thee to give to me this constant, habitual, and unceasing preparation, that the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart may be always acceptable in thy sight, 0 Lord my strength and my Redeemer. Sure I Am, that without thee I can do nothing. There is nothing in me disposed to do what is good. Nay, Lord, there is in me everything that is indisposed. And therefore, Lord! undertake for me. Work in me both to will and to do of thy good pleasure. And then, Lord, my voice shalt thou hear betimes in the morning, yea, I will direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Pro 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof [is] of the LORD.
Ver. 33. The lot is cast into the lap. ] This sentence at first sight seems light and unworthy of the place it holds in this book. But as every line in the holy Bible is pure, precious, and profitable, so this sets forth a matter of very great moment – viz., that the providence of God extendeth to the disposing of all things, even those things, also, that in regard of as are merely contingent and casual. Lottery is guided by providence, as in the finding out of Achan, designing of Saul to be king, dividing the land among the Israelites, &c. Chance-medley a is providence Exo 22:1-31 Cambyses, lighting off his horse, after he had been showing great cruelty to them of Athens, his sword flew out of his scabbard and slew him. Disponit Deus membra pulicis et culicis, saith Augustine: God disposeth of gnats and flies. Birds flying seem to fly at liberty, yet are they guided by an overruling hand; Mat 10:26-31 he teacheth them to build their nests; Psa 84:3 in the word for a nest there is written bigger than ordinary, to imply so much, say Hebricians; he also provides them their meat, their several meats in due season – the young raven especially, Psa 147:9 if that be true that Aristotle b reporteth. This doctrine of God’s particular providence rightly resented, yields incredible profit and comfort. See my Love Tokens, pp. 11, 12.
a Accident or casualty not purely accidental, but of a mixed character. Chiefly in manslaughter by chance-medley (for which later writers often use chance-medley itself): ‘the casual killing of a man, not altogether without the killer’s fault, though without an evil intent; homicide by misadventure; homicide mixt’ (Cowel).
b Hist. animal., lib. ix. cap. 31.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
lot = stone. See next note.
lap = bosom (Pro 17:23; Pro 21:14). The reference is to the bag of the ephod, in which were the two stones by which Jehovah gave true judgment or decision. See notes on Exo 28:30. Num 26:55. Illustrations: Haman (Est 3:7); Jonah (Jon 1:7); apostles (Act 1:15-20).
the whole disposing = its every decision.
disposing = judgment. Hebrew. mishpat, as in Num 27:21.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Pro 16:33
Pro 16:33
“The lot is cast into the lap; But the whole disposing thereof is of Jehovah”
Making decisions by the casting of lots was widely practiced in the Old Testament; and even in the early days of the New Testament, Matthias was chosen to the apostleship by the casting of lots. “Casting lots was an ancient practice, animated by faith in God’s government of the world.
“Following the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the apostles never resorted to casting lots; and the Christian Church has wisely repudiated the practice altogether.
Pro 16:33. Pulpit Commentary: It is not quite clear what articles the Jews used in their deviations by lot. Probably they employed stones, differing in shape or color or having some distinguishing mark…The Jew…did not feel justified in resorting to this practice on every trivial occasion…The lot was employed religiously in cases where other means of decision were not suitable. The soldiers who crucified Jesus cast lots to determine who got what piece of His clothing (Mar 15:24; Joh 19:23-24). The apostles used it in determining who would succeed Judas (Act 1:26). No more often than we read of this in the Bible (though handy it would have been to use often), we conclude that it was not commonplace even then. This was evidently something that God arranged for His Old Testament people that we do not read about in the New Testament. If we lack wisdom, we are not taught to draw straws or use some other method of casting lots but to pray and trust that Gods leadership will be had (Jas 1:5).
Proverbs of Solomon – Pro 16:1-33
Open It
1. What are some plans you have made?
2. How important do you think a persons motives are?
3. On what sort of news do you and your friends like to keep up?
Explore It
4. What topics are discussed in this chapter? (Pro 16:1-33)
5. How is God described? (Pro 16:1-33)
6. What is said about Gods sovereignty? (Pro 16:1-33)
7. What is said in these proverbs about speech? (Pro 16:1-33)
8. What does the Lord consider? (Pro 16:2)
9. What happens to the person who commits to the Lord what he or she does? (Pro 16:3)
10. What does the Lord work out for His own ends? (Pro 16:4)
11. Who determines a persons steps? (Pro 16:9)
12. What did Solomon say about kings? (Pro 16:12-15)
13. What is better than gold and silver? (Pro 16:16)
14. What does pride precede? (Pro 16:18)
15. What is so good about pleasant words? (Pro 16:24)
16. What does gossip do? (Pro 16:28)
Get It
17. What is the difference between being proud and having self-confidence?
18. How do our plans and choices in life interact with Gods plans and choices?
19. Why should people make plans if God is sovereign?
20. What did Solomon mean by, “the Lord works out everything for his own ends-even the wicked for a day of disaster”?
21. Why are motives so important to God?
22. Why do you think a person can have or cannot have pure motives for doing something?
23. How does a person commit himself or herself to the Lord?
24. In what way does the person who commits himself or herself to the Lord succeed?
25. When has gossip come between you and a good friend?
26. What should we do whenever we find ourselves in the middle of a conversation laced with gossip?
27. How are wisdom and instruction more valuable than gold and silver?
28. How can a person demonstrate commitment to the Lord?
Apply It
29. What can you do this week to purify your motives?
30. In what situations do you want to remember to restrain gossip about others this week?
31. What pleasant words can you speak today?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
The Sovereignty of Providence
The lot is cast into the lap;
But the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.Pro 16:33
Sometimes lots are cast to refer the decision of a matter to what we call chance. When Jesus was crucified, the soldiers who were left on the ground to guard the cross divided His garments among themselves; and they seem actually to have gambled for His coat while He was hanging above them on the cross, dying for the sin of the world. They decided by a cast of the dice-box whose property it should become.
Devout men in ancient times also used the lot on occasions of special importance; but they did so in the fear of God, and as an act of worship. The practice was an appeal to the Divine judgment. The cast of the lot showed the Divine will. Thus on the great Day of Atonement in Israel the choice of the scapegoat was made by lot. The Twelve Tribes had their territories in the land of Canaan apportioned by lot. Saul was chosen by this method to be the first king of Israel. In this way Jonah was found out to be the cause of the storm upon the Great Sea. Matthias was selected by lot to fill the vacancy in the company of the Twelve Apostles. These are a few examples from the Bible of the solemn use of the lot on important occasions.
In casting lots the Jews probably used stones which differed from one another in shape or colour. These were thrown together into the lap, or loose fold, of a mans garment; and then they were shaken about so that there should be a perfect mixing of them, to prevent all preference of one stone over another on the part of the person who was to draw the lot.1 [Note: C. Jerdan.]
There are two thoughts in this old Hebrew proverb:
I. The Incalculableness of Life.
II. The Reliable Providence of God.
I
The Lot
The lot is cast into the lap.
1. The drawing or casting of lots looks like an appeal to chance, for the result of the operation seems to depend upon chance. And our life in the world, to the outward view, often appears as if it were a lottery. People speak of being fortunate or unfortunate, lucky or unlucky. One says, I had the good fortune to find him at home. Another says, As ill luck would have it, he was not at home. The Roman general called to the pilot in the storm, Fear not, you carry Csar and his fortune. Among the Romans, Fortuna was the goddess of luck, fate, or fortune. It used to be said of Oliver Cromwell that he had his lucky days. And how few are there who do not recognize chances in life, events of great moment which seem to come upon them quite fortuitously?
Have you ever, in a collected hour, and aided by a good memory, gone over the events of your own lifegone over them in some little detail? To many people there comes at some time either a period of enforced inactivity, or some critical juncture, which makes their thoughts range over the past, turning its yellowed leaves, stopping a little here and sighing a little there, with now a half-sad smile and now a sharp twinge of regret, and once or twice the recollection of a great joy which even yet sheds its radiance over the page. If you have ever indulged in such a survey, you must have been struck with one thingthe unexpectedness, the incalculableness of life, the utterly unforeseen and seemingly trifling circumstances that proved to be decisive, as a drop of water falling this side or that of the Great Divide will be carried to the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.
Take, for instance, Luther and Loyola. What turned the former to a religious careerwhat caused him to enter the monastery from which he emerged to challenge the Popewas a narrow escape from being struck by lightning; while what made Loyola from a soldier and courtier into the founder of the Jesuit order was the cannon ball which laid him low as he stood on the walls of Pampeluna. Men of iron will and mighty genius they both were, but the occasion, the impulse, which brought out their genius and gave direction to their will, they neither created, nor foresaw, nor resisted. Think as highly as we will of our own initiative, of our power to deal with the materials life supplies us withal, the extent to which unforeseen circumstances have shaped our course must touch the most confident at times with a strange humility, and make him echo the old words, It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.1 [Note: J. Warschauer, The Way of Understanding, 321.]
2. It cannot be denied that advantage or disadvantage often comes to a man, irrespective of his moral worth, of his native gifts, or of any equivalent he has rendered for it of industry and self-denial. Two youths, let us say, enter a business house about the same age, and at the same time. They are, as near as can be, equally matched in equipment to command success. In this respect there is little to choose between them. One begins entirely on his merits; he has no influence behind him to open doors before him as by some invisible hand. The other has influence; no matter what it is, or how it works, he has it, and it operates distinctly in his favour. A few years after, and the latter has far outdistanced the former in position, salary, and outlook. And the reason is not the capacity of either; it is the arbitrary advantage, the piece of luck, that one has had over the other from the start.
A cloth-worker in Yorkshire, by carelessness or inadvertence, raises the nap of a given fabric a shade above the regulation height. He is dismissed, and the cloth is laid aside as spoiled. A French buyer comes into the place, and casting his eyes on it, instantly sees for it a future. That touch of heightened nap has done it. The manufacturer has his wits about him, and what a week before was a mistake is now a new and valuable design which, in a couple of years, makes for him what some of us would regard as a substantial fortune.2 [Note: A. Shepherd, Men in the Making, 66.]
3. The omnipresence of God and of law is not questioned But concurrent therewith there is human action, which is partly free and sometimes irrational. This gives luck its loophole, and at the same time prescribes its limits. Do we seriously believe that nothing irrational ever happens in the universe? Does everything happen in accord with Gods plan for the world Does fore-ordination account for all things? Is human freedom quite an illusion? Is it not merely conditioned by circumstances and by habit, is it really non-existent? All this and more must be asserted if we are to hold that law accounts for all and that luck is nowhere. Indeed, we shall abolish human responsibility and sinin theory, at least. There is no choice but that between a mechanical world, absolutely ruled by fore-ordination, in which there is no spontaneity or moral possibility, and a world in which there is some chance, some luck. Human action, if at all free and if ever foolish and wrong, introduces an element into history which ensures that among all the unerring certainties of nature there shall mingle a little of the erratic and the whimsical. Man moves nature to produce many results. These must reflect the irrational in him, and must influence not only himself, but his fellows. Therefore we have luck, good and bad, in life. It would be simpler, and would save much confusion, if we could say without qualification all is law, everything happens as God ordains. But then things are not simple, and we must accept their complexities. This disturbing factor of luck must be reckoned with.
Chance or Providence! Chance: or Wisdomone with nature and man; reaching from end to end, through all time and all existence, orderly disposing all things, according to fixed periodsas he describes it, in terms very like certain well-known words of the book of Wisdomthose are the fenced opposites of the speculative dilemma, the tragic embarras, of which Aurelius cannot too often remind himself as the summary of mans situation in the world. If there be such a provident soul behind the veil, truly, even to him, even in the most intimate of those conversations, it has never yet spoken with any quite irresistible assertion of its presence. Yet that speculative choice, as he has found it, is on the whole a matter of willTis in thy power, again, here too, to think as thou wilt. And for his part he has made his choice, and is true to it.1 [Note: Walter Pater, Marius the Epicurean.]
I remember a small boy of six saying to his father, who was entertaining him with a tale, God always knewlong before ever you were in the worldthat you would make that up for me some day. Well, perhaps so; but did God also foreknow and foreordain that some hapless human being, as yet unborn, should some day commit such and such a crime, and suffer the dire penalty for it? Are we really, in the Persian poets phrase
But helpless Pieces of the Game He plays
Upon this Chequer-board of Nights and Days;
Hither and thither moves, and cheeks and slays,
And one by one in the Closet lays?
In that case, shall we not have to continue in the same strain, and address Him thus
O Thou who didst with Pitfall and with Gin
Beset the Path I was to wander in,
Thou wilt not with Predestined Evil round
Enmesh, and then impute my Fall to Sin?
If we believe in Providence to this full extent, are we not brought back to the conclusion that it is no use trying to be or do one thing rather than another, since we can be or do only what He ordainsand who withstandeth his will?1 [Note: J. Warschauer, The Way of Understanding, 327.]
II
The Lord
But the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.
But now, let us see what the wise man says. Does he say that all that comes to us in life comes by chance? Does he say that any event whatever is wholly a matter of luck? On the contrary, he says that the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord. Whatever we believe about the freedom of the will, we must believe that we are in the hands of God, and that just as much in the small as in the great things.
Would the Eternal be so great as He is, if by reason of His greatness He necessarily lost sight of the little? Could the world justly be called a masterpiece of art if the same artist whose hand is visible in the vast did not also show itself in the minute? I never see one of those ancient cathedralswhere even the lowest edge of the groundsel is elaborated in the same spirit and with the same affectionate pains as the tower which shoots aloft into the heavenswithout perceiving in it a likeness to the work of the great Architect of the world. Here, too, it may be said
If imaged in the smallest part it be,
You then the beauty of the whole will see.
No; He must be great in what is little as well as in what is large.
The daisy on the mountain sod,
Withdrawn from human view,
Was planted by the hand of God,
The hand that fashioned you.
That flower His care protects whose call
Did countless worlds create;
By condescending to the small,
He proves that He is great.1 [Note: A. Tholuck, Hours of Christian Devotion, 146.]
1. This world cannot be the plaything of accident, because obviously it is not the outcome of accident. There is nothing chaotic, capricious, unreliable about the operations of the forces of nature. The millionth combination of the same chemical substances in the same proportions will yield the same result as the first. The eclipse predicted by astronomers for a certain date comes neither a day too soon nor a day too late. The filaments of all the thousand varieties of snow-crystals form angles of exactly 60 to 120 degrees, neither more nor less. That does not look like arbitrariness or want of control at the centre of things. But there is more than that. All we have learnt of the worlds past history shows us not only order but purpose at work, a steady progress towards something more and better. What science calls evolution is only another term for the unceasing action of Providence on a cosmic scale, a deliberate working towards a foreseen and predetermined aim, the gradual unfolding of a vast and majestic design.
Slowly but surely the old deistic theory of the world has been undermined. The one absolutely impossible conception of God, in the present day, is that which represents Him as an occasional Visitor. Science had pushed the deists God farther and farther away, and at the moment when it seemed as if He would be thrust out altogether, Darwinism appeared, and, under the disguise of a foe, did the work of a friend. It has conferred upon philosophy and religion an inestimable benefit, by showing us that we must choose between two alternatives. Either God is everywhere present in nature, or He is nowhere. He cannot be here and not there. He cannot delegate His power to demigods called second causes. In nature everything must be His work or nothing. We must frankly return to the Christian view of direct Divine agency, the immanence of Divine power in nature from end to end, the belief in a God in whom not only we but all things have their being, or we must banish Him altogether. It seems as if, in the providence of God, the mission of modern science was to bring home to our unmetaphysical ways of thinking the great truth of the Divine immanence in creation, which is not less essential to the Christian idea of God than to a philosophical view of nature.
No doubt the evolution which was at first supposed to have destroyed teleology is found to be more saturated with teleology than the view which it superseded. And Christianity can take up the new as it did the old, and find in it a confirmation of its own belief. It is a great gain to have eliminated chance, to find science declaring that there must be a reason for everything, even when it cannot hazard a conjecture as to what the reason is.1 [Note: Aubrey Moore, in Lux Mundi.]
2. Every free action is surrounded by and dovetails into events absolutely determined by law. The presence of a man in the place where a flood happens, or his owning property there, may have a little chance in it. But the flood itself has a chain of causes which fully account for it. There may be some chance in the discovery of a gold-mine. But there was none in the formation of the gold or in its being deposited where it was found. That tree which fell so disastrously had the direction of its fall determined a century ago when it was bent as a sapling. Forces under law mingle with all that seems free, catch it up, and deal with its results. So that nothing walks with aimless feet. God is constantly reducing even human life to order. As we develop there is found less and less of the incalculable in us. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. So are those of an evil man. Now to the extent to which human action becomes blessedly or cursedly automatic, to that extent chance is eliminated.
When Napoleon was returning from Egypt to France, Nelson was on the watch for him, and even lay for a while with his whole fleet close to the two ships of the fugitive. A thick fog, however, settled down between them; and had it not been for that fog, the state of the world would have been different from what it now is. In solemn grandeur the ancient avalanches lie couched on the icy mountain-tops, and repose from year to year, until, perhaps, the wing of a bird, as it flies quickly past, touches them, and by their fall some thousands of human beings lose their lives. It is true that little touches do not make great revolutions, and that as little do trivial incidents hinder them. It is true that the avalanche must have been accumulating for many a year if it was to destroy the city, and that Napoleon must have been the man he was if the fog was to change the condition of the world. Still the touch of the birds wing and the curtain of fog were likewise necessary to bring about the issue.1 [Note: A. Tholuck, Hours of Christian Devotion, 144.]
Of all the old superstitious stories, I think one of the most interesting is that told by Cicero, because it not only illustrates the habit of mind, but throws a curious sidelight upon the pronunciation of Latin. He was at Brundisium, I think, about to start by sea for Greece. A vendor came along the quay, crying Caunean figs for sale. Cauneas! Cauneas! Of course, said Cicero, I decided at once not to go, and took measures accordingly. The fact is that Cauneas was the usual pronunciationthus much is clearof the Latin words, Cave ne eas (Mind you dont go). But the odd thing is that it does not seem to have occurred to Cicero to warn his fellow-passengers of the prognostication. He only considered it as a sign which he had been fortunate enough to be able to interpret. And this is very characteristic of the general attitude. Providence is regarded, not as a just dispenser of good and evil, but as powerless to avert a catastrophe, and only able to intimate to a favoured few, by very inadequate means, the disasters in store; and it is this that makes the whole thing into rather a degrading business, because it seems to imply that there is a whimsical and malicious spirit behind it all, that loves to disappoint and upset, and to play men ugly and uncomfortable tricks, like Caliban in Setebos.
Loving not, hating not, just choosing Song of Solomon 2 [Note: A. C. Benson, Along the Road, 165.]
(1) God does not intervene in the detailed use we make of His gift of freedomelse were it not freedom at all. Our liberty is providentially bestowed, but not the employment we choose to make of it. It is foolish to charge Heaven with mans misdeeds, foolish to imagine that our sins and the evil we inflict upon ourselves and each other lie at Heavens door, or were fore-ordered by the Most High. He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good, but He contents Himself with the showing: He asks for a free, not a forced, obedience, and holds us responsible for our choice. True, this gift of liberty involves much sorrow and suffering; but only by the exercise of free-will can character be formed, and we know that sorrow and sufferingwhile we would not choose them for their own sakeshave often and often been the means of bringing out the finer qualities of men and women.
There are three great principles in life which weave its warp and woof, apparently incompatible with each other, yet they harmonize, and, in their blending, create this strange life of ours. The first is, our fate is in our own hands, and our blessedness or misery is the exact result of our own acts. The second is, There is a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will. The third is, The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong; but time and chance happen(eth) to them all. Accident, human will, the shaping will of Deity: these things make up life. Or rather, perhaps, we see a threefold causality from some defect in our spiritual eyesight. Could we see as He sees, all would be referable to one principle which would contain them all; as the simple, single law of gravitation embraces the complex phenomena of the universe; and as, on the other hand, by pressing the eyeballs so as to destroy their united impression, you may see all things double.1 [Note: Life and Letters of the Rev. F. W. Robertson, 243.]
(2) And yet God does not let us go our own way; He stands aside, but only a little way aside, watching all the while, and holding the issue in His mighty hands. We cannot read history or individual experience without coming to the conclusion that here and there, unperceived at the time, but none the less real, was Gods guiding, Gods restraining influence. Some deep grief, which at the time almost crushes us, proves an inspiration; some pitiful tragedy which wrings our heart is the starting-point of triumph; our light affliction worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Mrs. Josephine Butlers loss of a beloved daughter makes her devote herself to the rescue of other mothers daughters from a fate worse than death; John Brown is shot at Harpers Ferry for his anti-slavery principles, but his soul goes marching on, and his memory serves to win liberty for the slaves of America; Jesus is nailed to a shameful cross, and that cross becomes the power of God unto salvation.
Unless the hairs of your head are all numbered there is no God. The words are George MacDonalds, and they put the challenge to faith in its clearest and boldest form. We all want to believe that our hairs are numbered; that we are the objects of a special loving care. We feel with Michelet: Let the sentiment of the loving cause disappear, and it is over with me. If I have no longer the happiness of feeling this world to be loved, of feeling myself to be loved, I can no longer live. Hide me in the tomb. Yes, the hairs of our head are all numbered. Whenever we pray we affirm that. And we can match this affirmation, in our beings highest act, against all the materialisms and all the devils advocacies, from whatever quarter they come. For the soul here is sure of itself. It moves here in a sphere the world cannot enter, still less conquer. Quis Separabit? In face of lifes sternest tragedies, of its utmost extremities, it joins in the Apostles triumphant hymn of faith, knowing with him that neither life nor death, things present nor things to come, can shut it off from the Infinite Love.1 [Note: J. Brierley, The Secret of Living, 157.]
3. There is less luck in human affairs than is popularly supposed, and he is foolish who fears or trusts it. The truth is that chance is nothing but a vocable which we employ when there is a gap in our wisdom, and our insight into the connexion of cause and effect is at fault. It is more a name for something in ourselves than for anything in nature without. We designate as chance those effects which do not seem to have proceeded from purpose and design. Thus we call it chance when any event occurs which was not intended by man; just as our Lord says, By chance there came down a certain priest that way. And in that case the word has no objectionable meaning. We also speak of chance, however, when a thing happens which seems to us contrary to the plan and intention of God, and then the word is a mere word. We speak of necessity when the weary veteran, after the eyesthe windows of sensehave been closed, and the door of the mouth seldom opens, and the grey head has long worn the livery of death, dies by the decay of nature. For we perceive that there is a plan and design in the mowing down of the grain when it has reached maturity, and in the discharge of the labourer from the field when his blunted tools are of no further use. When, however, the youth is unexpectedly snatched away, by such a casualty as the fall, perhaps, of a tile from the roof; when the goodly framework is shattered before the spirit it contained has unfolded its wings,we then speak of chance, because we do not here see the Divine purpose.
Chance is a relation. The word does mean something; and it is, therefore, foolish to tell children, that there is no such thing as chance. It is a relation in which the connexion between cause and effect is too subtle for our discovery or too complex for us to calculate. The planets motion, for instance, we can reckon and predict; the fall of dice we cannot, not because the case is too subtle, but because the calculation is too complex. So, too, with a projectile like a cannon ball,given the direction and quantity of force, we can tell where it will light. It is different with the fall of a leaf, owing to its irregular shape and the uncertain impact of the gusts of wind that may carry it we know not whither. Yet, in the strict sense, there is as little chance in the fall of the dice as in the course of the planet, or in the fall of the leaf as in the destination of the cannon ball. Chance is not a thing, but a relation. With God there is no chancebecause He knows all forces and their direction.1 [Note: A. A. Hodge, in Princetoniana, by C. A. Salmond, 172.]
A man was speaking to me not long ago about one of the leading commercial men in this city. What is there in him or about him to explain his success? asked the man, and he answered his own question with the round assertion that it was all luck. It happened that I had some reliable information about the man under discussion, and I want you to have it. Thirty years ago he was working from ten to twelve hours in the day as just an ordinary workman. At the close of each days toil he had his programme of studies, which, in the range and character of the subjects attacked, would not have disgraced a good student at any university. Eventually his attention to business and his marked attainments won for him the recognition of his employers, which meant in after years a place which was ultimately a leading place, as one of them. Yet this was the man who was said to have won his success by a lucky turn of the wheel.2 [Note: A. Shepherd, Men in the Making, 73.]
Sir Frederick Treves once said to the students at the Aberdeen University: The man who is content to wait for a stroke of good fortune will probably wait until he has a stroke of paralysis.
Literature
Jerdan (C.), Manna for Young Pilgrims, 107.
Maclaren (A.), Expositions: Esther, etc., 204.
Shepherd (A.), Men in the Making, 57.
Spurgeon (C. H.), Morning by Morning, 354.
Tholuck (A.), Hours of Christian Devotion, 141.
Warschauer (J.), The Way of Understanding, 320.
Christian World Pulpit, Ixiv. 138 (T. Templeton); Ixix. 249 (A. Shepherd).
Church of England Magazine, lxviii. 56 (C. Jenkyns).
Fuente: The Great Texts of the Bible
Num 26:55-65, Jos 7:14, Jos 18:5, Jos 18:10, 1Sa 14:41, 1Sa 14:42, Neh 11:1, Jon 1:7, Act 1:26
Reciprocal: Gen 24:44 – the woman Lev 16:8 – cast lots Jos 14:2 – lot Jos 18:6 – that I may cast Jos 21:8 – by lot Jdg 20:9 – by lot against it 1Ch 24:5 – they divided by lot 1Ch 25:8 – cast lots Est 3:7 – they cast Pur Pro 18:18 – General Eze 21:21 – the king Eze 47:14 – fall
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Pro 16:33. The lot is cast into the lap As the ancient practice was in dividing inheritances, and deciding in doubtful cases; but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord The event, though casual to men, is directed and determined by Gods counsel and providence. But it is to be well observed, that when solemn appeals are made to divine providence, by the casting of lots, for the deciding of a matter of moment, which could not otherwise be at all, or not so well, decided, God must be applied to by prayer to give a perfect lot, 1Sa 14:41; Act 1:24; and his decision must afterward be acquiesced in with entire satisfaction, under a persuasion that it is wise and righteous.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but its whole disposing [is] {p} from the LORD.
(p) So that there is nothing that ought to be attributed to fortune: for all things are determined in the counsel of God which will come to pass.