Recently on a drive to the airport a line of traffic stopped us cold. I quickly pulled off on a side road to shoot around the jam. Bad decision. The alternate route stacked up even worse and led to another twenty minutes of delay. Fortunately, my wife made her flight but I drove home frustrated. Why didn’t I just glance at the GPS on my phone before leaving the highway?

An invading army once paused at a crossroads and consulted their ancient GPS system. The king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road to seek an omen: He will cast lots with arrows, his will consult his idols, he will examine the liver.

While is sounds ridiculous to our ears, ancient experts examined the liver of a sheep for clues into important decisions. They looked at the shape of the liver, and for blemishes on different aspects of the liver. These priests developed into liver experts and guided kings by this superstitious practice.

Proverbs tells us, the king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He pleases. In the case of the Babylonian king, God massaged a sheep’s organ to accomplish his will. The slimy liver sent the invaders straight on to Jerusalem.

I like to think I possess better tools for decision-making than sheep’s liver. A pro-con list, wise words from trusted friends, impressions in prayer, and teachings from scripture make more sense, and are certainly less messy.

However, none of my decision-making techniques serve me unless I also seek the Lord. I may still be in doubt, but I can rest in the hope that the Lord directs my path, even when that path lies shrouded up ahead.

But next time I’m facing a big decision, and feel unsure of my next step, perhaps I’ll take a trip to the butcher shop and examine the livers. Who knows what inspiration might strike me?

Ezekiel 21 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by tommao wang