By Rick Liggin
“ For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’”
Luke 14:28-30
Obviously Jesus’ point here is that we need to “count the cost” before we make the commitment. In other words, are we willing to make the sacrifices that discipleship requires, have we even considered what the requirements are, before we “take the plunge”? But there is within this statement, the concept of a warning: a warning against making rash and hasty decisions!
Sometimes we are among those “who observe it and begin to ridicule him” who bit off more than he could chew, and jumped in before really thinking about what he was doing. Sometimes though—and perhaps too often—the shoe is on the other foot. We are the one who took action before really contemplating what we were getting ourselves into. When we do this we can end up facing consequences or repercussions that could have been easily avoided had we given things a little more thought before taking action. And it is not always with what we do, but often times it is with what we say. We speak before we really think about what it is we are getting ready to say. We don’t adequately evaluate the thoughts and observations that we are so hasty to make, let alone the possible consequences or implications of those words and any subsequent actions tied to them.
The book of Proverbs is replete with warnings and admonitions against speaking and acting before thinking:
Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And he who hurries his footsteps errs.
Proverbs 19:2
The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty.
Proverbs 21:5
Do not go hastily to argue your case; Otherwise, what will you do in the end, When your neighbor humiliates you?
Proverbs 25:8
Instead of doing what we think is best, we are encouraged to heed the counsel and wisdom of the Lord, basing our decisions, plans, and paths on His will, not our own:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
Proverbs 3:5-7
Peter found himself doing exactly what these proverbs warned against when he witnessed the Lord’s transfiguration (cf. Mark 9:2-8). After seeing Jesus, in clothes so bright and splendid, in the company of both Elijah, the great prophet of old, and Moses the giver of the law, Peter blurted out, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah” (Mark 9:5). Of course Peter’s response and suggestion was clearly not in keeping with the will of God. For immediately after Peter makes this suggestion “a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!’ All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone” (Mark 9:7-8). You see, Peter didn’t realize the implications of his proposition. Indeed, Moses and Elijah were both great men of God, leaders in their time, performing many mighty works, and delivering the people of God from oppression and bondage. But they were just men! They nowhere nearly approached the greatness and magnitude of who Jesus is: Deity! In essence Peter was brining Jesus down to the level of these other great men of God, and placing Him, the Son of God, on par with Moses and Elijah. God’s response from the cloud makes it clear that Jesus is much greater than these. There was a time when the people turned to Moses and listened to him. And there was a time when Elijah was God’s spokesman. But not anymore. Now it is Jesus alone! He is the One God intends for us to listen to and obey! Unfortunately Peter had not quite grasped this reality. His suggestion actually dethroned Jesus from His rightful, exulted position of supremacy and brought Him down to the level of just another great prophet of God.
Of course I don’t believe that Peter did this intentionally. In fact the text reveals to us exactly why Peter made the suggestion that he did. It says, “For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified” (Mark 9:6). Peter just didn’t know what to say, and so he just blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. Because he didn’t think, he didn’t realize the implications of his statement, and therefore didn’t realize that it was contradictory to what God actually desired.
Joshua and the Israelites got themselves in a similar pickle when they were conquering the Promised Land. God had given the Israelites specific instructions not to make a covenant with any of the people of the land, but to utterly destroy all of its current inhabitants (cf. Exodus 23:32-33; 34:12; Deuteronomy 7:1-2). In spite of these explicit warnings, the Israelites, under the leadership of Joshua, went ahead and made a covenant with the Gibeonites who lived in the midst of what would become the territory of Benjamin. Now to be fair, the Israelites were greatly deceived by the inhabitants of Gibeon, who portrayed themselves as a people from a far distant country (cf. Joshua 9:3-13). By all appearances, their story seemed legitimate, but the Israelites made one vital mistake. They “did not ask for the counsel of the Lord” (Joshua 9:14b). Had they inquired of the Lord, and gotten His approval before taking action, they might have avoided a very sticky situation. But instead, they rushed on ahead, taking action and making promises without really considering the consequences they would face should the claims of these “travelers” turn out to be false. “Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them” (Joshua 9:15). As a result of this ill-informed and hasty decision, the Israelites ultimately obligated themselves to defending and protecting the very people they were instructed by God to utterly destroy (cf. Joshua 10:1-11). Again, a little more thinking and consulting with God before taking action and making rash promises would have made all the difference in this situation.
Instead of being like Peter, who just blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, when he didn’t really even know what to think, or like Joshua, who failed to seek the counsel of God on an important decision, we need to be more like Moses. When some folks approached Moses in the first month of the second year of their departure from Egypt, asking whether or not they could partake of the Passover, Moses did not respond hastily. You see, these particular individuals were unclean from touching a dead body (Numbers 9:6a), and as per the law, were to remain outside the camp until the days of their uncleanness had passed (cf. Numbers 5:2-3; 19:11). But God had also commanded them to observe the Passover on the 14th day of the 1st month of the year (Numbers 9:2- 3). So, the question on the mind of these individuals seems to have been, “Which of these two commandments is most important: 1) observe the Passover, or 2) remain outside the camp?” They presented this conundrum to Moses, to see what he would say about the matter. We would all do well to learn from Moses’ tempered and cautious response. “Moses therefore said to them, ‘Wait, and I will listen to what the Lord will command concerning you.'” (Numbers 9:8, emphasis added). And it wasn’t until Moses received specific instructions from the Lord that he gave a response. He, unlike Peter and Joshua, took some time to think about the issue at hand, to consult God and figure out what He wanted done. Then, later, after he was certain of the correct course of action, gave specific instructions to the people regarding how they were to handle this delicate situation.
We can approach things like Peter—speaking without thinking or consulting God—Fire, Ready, Aim. Or we can approach things like Joshua—thinking, then speaking, but still forgetting to consult God—Ready, Fire, Aim. Or we can approach them like Moses— Ready… Aim… Fire. We can take our time, think before we speak and act. We can consult God and follow His direction. So, the next time you are tempted to respond rashly, or give an answer before really thinking things through, remember Peter. The next time you are faced with a potentially life-altering decision, before you do what you think is best, remember Joshua. In all things, both big and little, before you take action, wait! Give consideration to the options, seek God’s counsel and take the action that is in keeping with His revealed will.
This bulletin is being published for the purpose of encouraging a further study of the Word of God. Editor – Josh Liggin
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