The last two verses of Acts 1 tell us of casting lots, the unexpected means the apostles took to determine who would replace Judas.
verse 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.
verse 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Note… They prayed before they cast lots. See verse 24. Casting lots wasn’t haphazard. They didn’t toss up their hands and flippantly cast lots. They prayed, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen.”
Judas turned aside to go to his own place: This is vague, and it is probably on purpose. We are not told specifically where Judas spends eternity, but their are hints. This is one of them.
And they cast lots for them: This is unexpected from our perspective. But it’s a historic and a Biblical (Old Testament) way to make decisions. This is the only place in the New Testament where it appears. See Proverbs 16:33, Proverbs 18:18, Leviticus 16:8-10, Numbers 26:55-56, Joshua 7:14, 1 Samuel 10:20, 1 Samuel 14:41-42. It is not practiced today.
Dependence on God and trust in God. These two virtues are at the core of everything. But they are hard virtues. Oh, so very hard, because they fight against everything in us that is prideful and self-sufficient and self-important and worrisome about things that are out of our control. How can we trust God more? Look up Mark 9:24 and the verses that surround it. What does the man ask for? Look up Matthew 28:1-10. If that event is true, if you believe it is true, everything else God said is then true. Put your faith in the God of that event. Trust that God is always faithful.
The Men's Bible Reading Idea 