Cast Your Lots Upon the Lord
Look up - What did you meditate on this week and what did God teach you?
Look around - How did you serve others and/or share the Gospel with those around you?
Acts 1:12-26
Matthias Chosen to Replace Judas
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 And when they had entered, they went up to
The upper room of a traditional Middle Eastern house was often the most comfortable room in the dwelling as it was not as dusty as the lower floor. Breezes blew through the upper room more freely than they did through the ground floor of the house. Often this room was specially furnished for guests, and allowing them to stay there showed them great honor.
They all were continually united in prayer
These all devoted themselves single-mindedly to prayer
15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” 18
1:18 this man acquired a field. That is, the field was acquired indirectly by Judas, through the agency of the chief priests. As
20 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms,
“ ‘May his camp become desolate,
and let there be no one to dwell in it’;
and
“ ‘Let another take his office.’
21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23
1:24–25 Perhaps a further requirement of a strong inner faith on the part of the one to be chosen is implicit in the address to God as the one who “know[s] everyone’s heart.” The prayer concludes with the specific need to replace Judas’s ministry, which he had abandoned “to go where he belongs” (v. 25). The Greek phrase is a little softer, literally “to his own place,” and could also be taken as “place of his own choosing.” Despite the reticence of the phraseology, most would already have in mind where that place would be. As the assembly prayed for God’s direction in the selection of the twelfth apostle, it was following a precedent already set by Jesus, who also prayed before he chose the original Twelve (
26
1:26 The prayer concluded, they then “cast lots” (v. 26). The Greek text reads literally “they gave lots to them.” The meaning seems to be that they assigned lots for them. The method was likely the one depicted in the Old Testament. Marked stones were placed in a jar and shaken out. The one whose stone fell out first was chosen (cf.
George Mueller: A life of hardships and answered prayer
The Greek text reads literally “they gave lots to them.” The meaning seems to be that they assigned lots for them. The method was likely the one depicted in the Old Testament. Marked stones were placed in a jar and shaken out. The one whose stone fell out first was chosen (cf.
One should not be put off by the “chance” element. In the Old Testament the outcome was always seen to be determined by God. That was probably the consideration in this case. Before Pentecost, before the presence of the Spirit to lead it, the church sought the direction of God and used the Old Testament procedure of securing divine decision. After Pentecost the church in Acts made its own decisions under the direction of the Spirit. In this particular instance it was all the more important that the decision be the Lord’s, not theirs. Like his first selection of the Twelve, its constituency was his to determine.
