1 Chronicles 25 · a question people ask
Why did they cast lots?
The chapter says that they did and how, not why: "They cast lots for their offices, all alike, the small as well as the great, the teacher as well as the student" (25:8). The same is told of the priests, "divided impartially by drawing lots" (24:5), and of the doorkeepers, who "cast lots, the small as well as the great" (26:13). The chapter doesn't say who decided the lots or how they were cast. Proverbs says, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Proverbs 16:33). In Acts, after the apostles prayed, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen" (Acts 1:24), "They drew lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias" (Acts 1:26). 1 Chronicles 25 cites neither Proverbs nor Acts, and these notes don't say whether either bears on this chapter's lots.
The verses
“They cast lots for their offices, all alike, the small as well as the great, the teacher as well as the student.”
“Thus they were divided impartially by drawing lots; for there were princes of the sanctuary and princes of God, both of the sons of Eleazar, and of the sons of Ithamar.”
“They cast lots, the small as well as the great, according to their fathers’ houses, for every gate.”
“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD.”