Haste, Part 1

It is interesting how I come upon topics about which to preach or to write. Every morning during and after breakfast, I read in one of the foreign languages that I know. Today I was reading an old German novel that Don Dierksheide gave me from his father’s collection after his father passed away. This novel is written in old style German. The sentences are often long and complex requiring more mental energy to understand, which is good exercise for my aging brain. Anyway, there was a sentence that I came across that set me to thinking. Here is my loose translation of the sentence: “Things in life do not keep pace with the speed of our wishes and hopes. Therefore, we must learn to yield to the most untiring patience in all circumstances.” How true! We often wish for things to happen much faster than they do. Because things in life do not happen as quickly as we desire, we must resort to patience in order to deal with them. Reading this sentence brought to mind this verse:

Isaiah 28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.

I wish to zero in on the phrase, “he that believeth shall not make haste.” Let’s define that word haste.

Haste – 1. Urgency or impetuosity of movement resulting in or tending to swiftness or rapidity; quickness, speed, expedition (properly of voluntary action). Opposed to leisurely motion or action. 2. Such quickness of action as excludes due consideration or reflection; hurry, precipitancy, want of deliberation, rashness.

Primarily the word haste means quickness or speed. Now we all have occasions when we need to act quickly. Even Scripture acknowledges such occasions as the following sample of verses make clear.

The angel speaking to Lot when he was fleeing Sodom and Gomorrah said:

Genesis 19:22 Haste thee, escape thither; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither.

Speaking of the Passover, the Lord commanded Israel:

Exodus 12:11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD'S passover.

Even our Saviour commanded men to make haste on certain occasions.

Luke 19:5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

Acts 22:18 And saw him (Jesus) saying unto me (Paul), Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.

It should be obvious from these verses that Isaiah 28:16 is not referring to all haste altogether, but it is rather speaking of a certain kind of haste. It is addressing that kind of haste that is defined above as “such quickness of action as excludes due consideration or reflection."

So much of modern life is lived in the fast lane. We are constantly rushing from one thing to the next. Rushing about under pressure as we do, we often do not allow ourselves adequate time and space to consider our ways or reflect upon what we are doing. We act and react in the rush of the moment. It is just this kind of haste that Isaiah 28:16 is speaking about.

Isaiah 28:16 is quoted in the New Testament and applied to our Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the chief corner stone.

1 Peter 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.

7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,

Therefore, our verse is teaching us that believing on the Lord Jesus Christ results in one not making haste. So what does this tell us? It tells us that much of our rushed, hectic modern life in which we are caught up is not being lived in terms of the Christian faith. If we are rushing about not giving due consideration to our actions, it reveals something lacking in our faith!

Consider how much of our modern life proceeds. We demand instant gratification. The demands of the consumer must be satisfied right now. If you make your living providing goods and services, you know something of the impatience of Mr. John Q. Public. If we are hungry, we must eat right now. Fast food is the order of the day. I am sometimes disturbed by the impatience I see in people at a potluck. One would think they were dying from hunger. Frankly, I do not see anyone in our church in danger of that! If the air conditioner breaks down, it must be repaired right now. God forbid that we should have to pass a night or two in the heat. Of course, all the fuming and fretting about not having air conditioning only raises the body heat and makes us hotter. Constantly feeling pressed for time, we drive faster and grow progressively less patient with those who get in our way. It is almost as if those who move more slowly are doing something criminal. Our moral code has become “faster is better.” With today’s technology we can communicate and gain knowledge faster than we ever could before. This has led to the mindset that we need to know things right now. How often do we say or hear things like this: “Wait? You mean it’s not ready yet? You can’t come until next week? You can’t be serious!” It is as if the word wait has become obscene. And on and on goes the mad rush of modern life. And in all this hurrying about, the time needed to consider and reflect upon the direction of our lives is lacking.

Over against all this mad dash is the voice of the Holy Spirit calling to us and saying:

Proverbs 4:26 Ponder (consider) the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.

Haggai 1:5 Now therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways.

I can see now that I am on to something that will require more than one meditation. For now we see the problem and we know that the solution is found in our Christian faith. So you will have to wait until later for more.