Proverbs 16:33
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The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD.
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Jehovah of the Bible is God also of chance. He governs even the lot, which was used to select one person from a group. For example, we flip a coin at football games to find which team will receive the ball first. Or we draw straws to pick one student for a task. It appears chance or coincidental only from our perspective. God is LORD of chance!
When pagan mariners were greatly afraid of a storm, they cast lots and found the trouble to be with Jonah (Jon 1:1-10). When Saul wanted to know who had sinned, he narrowed the nation down to Jonathan (I Sam 14:36-46). And Joshua narrowed the nation down to Achan (Josh 7:10-19). Israel chose where they would live by lot (Neh 11:1), and the apostles chose Matthias by lot to replace Judas (Acts 1:26). He is LORD of chance!
When King Ahab disguised himself in battle to avoid being killed according to the word of Micaiah, an arrow shot at a venture not only hit a man, but hit Ahab. It not only hit Ahab, it found a crack in his armor; and it not only found a crack in his armor, but it gave him a fatal wound! When Ruth purposed to glean fields to support her mother-in-law Naomi and herself, it was her hap to pick the field of Boaz, a rich man needing a wife, who married her; and they together were in the lineage of David and our Lord (Ruth 2:3).
When the Bible speaks of time and chance happening to men (Eccl 9:11), is only from our perspective; for Jehovah is LORD of all time and chance. It is vain to think that wisdom, strength, speed, or skill will always work, for the Lord arranges time and chance to make differences in spite of these ordinary means. We do not neglect these means, but we do not trust in them either. We make our plans as soberly as we can by God's rules of wisdom, and then we trust them to His blessing (16:9; 19:21; 20:24; James 4:13-15).
Not even a sparrow falls from heaven without our Lord's providential care and government, and you are of much more value than many sparrows (Matt 10:29-31). How much do you trust your Lord and Savior to take care of your life and needs today? Will you recognize those "chance" and "fluke" events of your life to be by His disposal?
From sparrows flying or falling to our Lord's detailed crucifixion, it is all according to the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of our sovereign God (Ac 2:23; 4:28; 15:28).
What a coincidence! Aren't you lucky? That was a real fluke! I'll use a random number generator to make sure it is entirely by chance! Such expressions are common from those who do not know, understand, or believe the sovereignty and providence of the LORD.
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