“But as for you…who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny…you did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me.” (Isaiah 65:11-12)
I don’t think it could get any clearer as to how God feels about gambling. Even a beginning Bible student can readily see the parallel to gambling in the above verses. Yet, there are a lot of Christians who say, “The Bible doesn’t directly forbid gambling.” But after you hear about why the above verse was written and understand more about the background of the audience to whom it was directed, I think you’ll agree that claim is simply not true.
Did you notice that “Fortune” and “Destiny” are capitalized? Why, and just what does it mean to spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny?
Fortune and Destiny were Babylonian gods. During their Babylonian captivity, the Israelites came under the influence of people who gambled. Fortune was the god of good luck and Destiny was the god of bad luck. The sin for which some of the Israelites were condemned was trusting in luck rather than in God.
God’s point is as clear then as it is now: If you rely on chance, it is evident that you aren’t relying on God. It is a choice that we continue to make today and God says, “…it is evil in my sight and…displeases me”. So you see, the lead verses I chose for today’s column really can’t get much more on point!
Do you remember what the Prophet Nathan told David after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba? God commanded Nathan to go and tell David how much his sin had displeased God.
Nathan told David about his sin through a parable, but David didn’t realize it was a parable. He was livid at the man about whom Nathan talked. “As surely as the Lord lives,” David said, “the man who did this deserves to die!” (2 Samuel 12:5)
Nathan looked David right in the eye and said, “You are the man”. (2 Samuel 12:7)
What many fail to see in that story is something else God told Nathan to say, not just to David, but to all of us. “By this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme,” Nathan told David. (2 Samuel 12:14) In other words, unbelievers are watching when you least expect it. Don’t’ give them any reason to think that your faith is shallow and worthless. Your actions may be the reason they ultimately deny God’s love.
It makes you think doesn’t it? If they know you’re a Christian, then your witness is right out there for everyone to see, even when you’re standing in front of the cash register buying a Cash 3 ticket.
The truth is you have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than winning the Saturday night lottery. That’s right. According to the Georgia Lottery, for example, the odds of winning the jackpot are one in 9.3 million. The odds of getting hit by lightning are far better, one in 2.5 million.
Oh there’s one other statistic in which you might be interested: The odds of facing God one day and explaining why you thought there was nothing wrong with gambling are one in one.
I don’t about you, but I don’t like the odds, on either side of eternity.
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