Message summary: Have you ever made a hasty judgment based on a wrong assumption?

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"And behold, you have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel! For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people” (Numbers 32:14,15).

On Sunday morning I was walking down the hall on the way to our ABF class (AKA Sunday School) when I saw a friend. I first met David Givens at a conference in Boston about 25 years ago when he was representing the mission agency "Send".

After that I really didn't see him as I recall until several years ago when he and his wife moved to Lancaster after his retirement and began attending our church. We are mutual friends with Jim and Dorothy Schmidt, whom we also met at the same conference.

On Sunday I was rather shocked when I saw David. His hair was long and disheveled and his beard scraggly. Actually he looked (his face) sort of like a homeless man. I wondered what was going on or if he had been ill. Perhaps he was making some kind of "statement". Frankly I was making some silent judgments!

Then he told me what was going on. Turns out he is playing the Rabbi in a production of Fiddler On The Roof at Lancaster Bible College! He showed me some photos from the show such as the one to the right and he indeed looks the part. Here's a photo of how he normally looks.

That experience caused me to reflect on how we (I think most of us) are prone to making hasty judgments. Thankfully my assumption about David was cleared up fast before I had the opportunity to say something to others that would show my faulty judgment.

A similar hasty judgment occurred in the Bible.

In Numbers 32 the new generation is camped east of the Jordan preparing to enter the Promised Land. Leaders from the tribes of Reuben and Gad approached Moses and made a proposal that they would settle and consider as their inheritance the lands east of the Jordan, which they had already settled and found suitable for their livestock.

Moses initially misunderstood their request, assuming they were attempting to disobey God's command and dodge their responsibilities to join the other tribes in the conquest of Canaan. Alluding to the disobedience of the first wave of the Exodus who died in the wilderness Moses said, "And behold, you have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel! For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people” (Numbers 32:14,15).

However, they further clarified their proposal, indicating that they would indeed be sending their fighting men to assist the other tribes and pledged that they would not return until the conquest was complete.

Moses' tone changed with the clarification and he accepted their proposal, but he reminded them of the consequences of failing to keep their word in 32:23, "But if you will not do so (join in the conquest), behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out". Tracking through the history of the conquest we see they did indeed fulfill their commitment and were commended by Joshua for their faithfulness in Joshua 22.

Have you ever been like Moses in making a hasty judgment based on a wrong assumption? I sure have and did so this last Sunday after seeing Rabbi David. Clarification can only be experienced when properly communicating and makes a great contribution toward healing and understanding in relationships. May God help us today to listen to one another and clarify as needed to avoid misunderstandings. And be careful with assumptions since they can lead to wrong attitudes and actions!

Stephen & Brooksyne Weber

Daily prayer: Father, help us to be slow to speak, quick to listen, and eager to give the benefit of the doubt to others. We often jump to conclusions that are erroneous due to our own preconceived ideas or based on past experiences. Give each of us an understanding heart, a gracious and discerning spirit as we relate to those who intersect our paths from day to day. In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

In musing on the topic of making a hasty judgment I also wonder if this might have been the case in Acts 15 when Paul and Barnabas had a sharp dispute about taking John Mark?

"The Jesus Way"  Watch on YouTube  Phil Wickham