I must be missing the mysterious aspect here...Unless we’re assuming the eleven were acting on their own and without instruction in
- Announcing the need for a replacement for Judas
- Stating the qualifications for that replacement
- Appealing to the Lord to make His choice known
- Casting lots to reveal that choice
I don’t get why they felt the need to cast lots. Peter’s listing of the qualifications for an Apostle make sense and then praying for God’s guidance makes sense but then throwing dice to determine God’s answer?
It seems out of place. Was this a common practice of the early church? Is it ever mentioned again in the New Testament? Should we be doing this today to determine God’s will?
It just seems to me that they were Apostles - eleven of the original Apostles - they had witnessed Jesus’ miracles - He told them that if they asked anything in His name, He would answer them - why not rely on the literal moving of the Holy Spirit to tell them who the replacement should be?
I’m not trying to argue with anyone - if it is not a mystery to you, good for you, but it is one to me.
The problem is with the way the decision was made. There’s no indication that it was Spirit lead but more likely a man made decision.
Giving God two *choices* and then casting lots, isn’t much of a choice.
Someone was going to *win* and someone was going to *lose* but that doesn’t mean that either of them was who GOD wanted chosen.