When is Haste Right ? – Roy Daniel

Topical Study on Haste in Bible

Haste in the Bible – Roy Daniel

Sometimes we wonder when we look back and had little time to make a decision or we made a decision quickly or did something in the hight of emotions … was what we did or chose in haste right ? We can feel guilty and wonder if we did right and what to do next.

The Bible has many positive and negative references to different types of haste and it is important that we know and act on the good variants.

Definition : Haste simply means to do something fast and as soon as possible sometimes with little time to think through consequences or prepare practically.

1) Positive uses of haste in Bible

a) God on several occasions is called upon by men to make haste to help them in trouble. Of course God is always prepared and can think in a second more than we could think in an eternity. His haste is never wrong morally.

Psa_38:22 Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.

See also Psa_22:19 Psa_40:13, Psa_70:1, Psa_70:5, Psa_71:12. Psa_141:1

b) Moses made haste to Worship

Exo_34:8 And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.

c) Rebecah did not waste time in laziness serving others

Gen 24:46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.

d) Joseph made haste because he was emotional about his brothers he loved. He made haste to go weep apart where his brothers would not see.

Gen_43:30 And Joseph made haste; for his bowels did yearn upon his brother: and he sought where to weep; and he entered into his chamber, and wept there.

Joseph tells brothers to make haste to go back to father and tell good news he is alive and also to bring his father down with haste to meet him.

Gen_45:9 Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all Egypt: come down unto me, tarry not:

Gen_45:13 And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall haste and bring down my father hither.

e) God commands the Passover to be eaten in haste as it is to escape real and soon danger and because it is symbolic of the fact they would leave Egypt in hast with no time to raise bread.

Exo_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.

Exo_12:33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste; for they said, We be all dead men.

Deu_16:3 Thou shalt eat no leavened bread with it; seven days shalt thou eat unleavened bread therewith, even the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day when thou camest forth out of the land of Egypt all the days of thy life.

f) Abigail saves many lives by making haste

1Sa_25:18 Then Abigail made haste, and took two hundred loaves, and two bottles of wine, and five sheep ready dressed, and five measures of parched corn, and an hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs, and laid them on asses.

g) God commands to make haste

2Ch_35:21 But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who is with me, that he destroy thee not.

h) A good man makes Haste to obey God.

Psa_119:60 I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.

i) Mary (Mother of Jesus) makes haste to visit Godly elisabeth to talk about what God is doing in Birth of Jesus

Luk_1:39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;

j) Shepherds make haste to come and see baby Jesus

Luk_2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

k) Zacheus is told to make haste to come down to Jesus .

When God is speaking to us we should answer as soon as possible. We don’t know when He will speak so strongly again or if we will live to have another opportunity. A man is saved by faith in haste. It is worthy of putting all other things aside and responding to God.

Luk_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.

Luk_19:6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

l) Paul is told by God to leave Jerusalem in haste to protect him and so that he can preach to Gentiles all over.

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

Act 22:19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:

Act 22:20 And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

Act 22:21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

2) Somewhat Neutral uses of haste in Bible

a) Lot Flees in haste from destruction of Sodom etc

This is both positive and nagative as he he escapes destruction (good) but was in very bad place to start with (bad). Gen_19:22

b) Pharoah in haste says he has sinned against god and man. This is good in that he let Israel go, but bad in that he was more emotional at the loss of his son than than repentant . We soon see he looses his sense of sin so it was not deeply rooted.

Exo_10:16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.

c) King tells people to do as he did in haste in battle. This is neither good not bad morally, just neutral.

Jdg_9:48 And Abimelech gat him up to mount Zalmon, he and all the people that were with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand, and cut down a bough from the trees, and took it, and laid it on his shoulder, and said unto the people that were with him, What ye have seen me do, make haste, and do as I have done.

Other General Neutral use of haste

Jdg_13:10 is also neutral in this way in use of word haste Johnathon tells servant to make haste to pick up arrows, 1Sa_20:38 David makes haste to get away from Saul 1Sa_23:26 Saul is told to make haste when Philistines invade land 1Sa_23:27 This gets him away from David ( good) and is bad ( war) , Syrians flee in haste leaving trail of spoil. 2Ki_7:15 Hamam is to make haste in leading Modecai in honor through city Est_5:5 People make haste to wail Jer_9:18 Daniel brought before king in haste Dan_2:25 King of Babylon rises in haste Dan_3:24 ,Dan_6:19

3) Negative uses of haste in Bible

a) God talks of Judgment on them that make Haste

Deu_32:35 To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.

Note : This verse is quoted by Paul in Romans where it says we are not to take vengeance, but be good (i.e. even fed) enemies as in the end God Himself will Judge correctly and it is not our place to hurt people out of bitterness. We must not take God’s place as Judge to punish our enemies out of vengeance.

b) Saul is impatient to wait for Samuel to make sacrifice. This and other offenses leads him losing his kingdom.

1Sa 13:8 And he tarried seven days, according to the set time that Samuel had appointed: but Samuel came not to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

1Sa 13:9 And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace offerings. And he offered the burnt offering.

Sometimes a 7 day wait can be hasty if it involves breaking God’s commands.

c) David lies about haste being about king Saul’s business when actually fleeing Saul 1Sa_21:8 Later good men (Priests) die indirectly through this lie.

d) A man is crippled through haste

2Sa_4:4 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son that was lame of his feet. He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel, and his nurse took him up, and fled: and it came to pass, as she made haste to flee, that he fell, and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

e) The enemies of God made haste to stop the building of the walls of Jerusalem

Ezr_4:23 Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.

f) Job’s friend Zophar speaks in haste. Much of what Job’s three friends say are hasty thoughts in that they are not well thought out or Biblically correct. They for instance imply your suffering proves you must have sinned badly to deserve it.

Job_20:2 Therefore do my thoughts cause me to answer, and for this I make haste.

g) There are times we feel cut off from God and because we emotionally are overwhelmed and we dont think it out from Bibical purspective we even … in haste … say God has left us when he has not .

Psa_31:22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.

h) It is possible when we are dissapointed in a group of people to not see good and label all men equally when some are more dedicated and some less. Some are more liars and some are good and loving. Hasty words in emotional times ( anger, fustration can make us say things of both God and man that are only partially true … which we regret later)

Psa_116:11 I said in my haste, All men are liars.

i) Evil men make haste to shed innocent blood

Pro_1:16 For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood.

When is Haste Right ? – Roy Daniel

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