In Disputes Seek Truth, God’s Will and the Good of All Involved – (Proverbs 18:17-18)

Daily Bible Study
The Bible gives us practical advice for settling disputes between ourselves and others. First, we see the idea of cross-examination. In other words, asking questions to help discover the truth of the matter and not to provoke or accuse others of wrongdoing. We should never take claims at face value, but rather search unbiasedly for the truth of the matter. The Bible shows us we are looking at the evidence available, in order to search for the root cause of a problem, this will help us to clarify solutions and help all involved. In addition, the rule of law, that is the basis for civil law, was the Bible and the laws handed down by God. We have to remember it's God's law, not men who decide right and wrong. Moreover, this truth becomes more important as society today drifts away from God's moral standard. As civilization developed the core laws of society stemmed from the moral laws of God and the ten commandments. The second point in these passages is "casting lots."

Though it uses the term of "casting lots," really it teaches us that any method for settling disputes agreed upon by both sides serves as a means to peace and civil order. Lots were a way of determining the will of the Lord and was based on the sovereign power of God to make decisions. The priests would pray to the Lord and ask a question and the answer derived from the Lord was acceptable to both parties. Much like a judge today in our world, however at this time they relied instead on God and His word. Lot's as referred to in these passages were the Urim and Thummim. These were objects of an unknown nature, given to the nation of Israel by God. They were only used by the priests and through them God revealed decisions. These were used in cases where the cause was unknown, or the case was not clearly stated in the laws given to the people by God. In other words, if any, laws regarding the matter were clearly established in God's word, then there was no need to use the Urim and Thummim for casting lots. Instead a decision was reached based on the written word of God.