Shoot First… | Sunday, November 5, 2023

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh... "You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you."... And the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—a great, impressive altar.... And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them. (Joshua 22)

An ancient near-war over a misunderstood altar exposes our modern addiction to outrage—and points us to the mercy of Christ.

Shoot First and Ask Questions Later

The title in your sermon guide begins a phrase you probably know: "Shoot first… and ask questions later." It's an all-American idiom whose origins trace back to the lawlessness of the 19th-century American Wild West, a time of inadequate law enforcement when people took the law into their own hands. We'll see very similar themes when we get into the Book of Judges next year.

The phrase carries the idea of making hasty, impulsive judgments before all the details are known and before the consequences of our actions are understood. I'm certain there's not a single person in this room who hasn't at some point made a snap judgment, only to realize afterward, "I could have handled that differently." I know I have.

The Age of Outrage

This rush to judgment is not uniquely American—stories of impulsive action with limited information are everywhere and are nothing new. But because of social media and the speed at which information now travels, these instances are increasing. Very quickly we move into what some authors call "the madness of crowds." A single picture, video, or headline reaches millions through liking and sharing, and snap judgments follow.

The consequences can be huge. A couple of weeks ago there was an explosion at or near a hospital in Palestine, and within moments people were spreading information and ascribing blame. The explosion on social media and corporate news media was bigger than the actual explosion. There was no time for assessment, no time for considering the evidence—just shoot first, ask questions later.

Rewind to January 2019: a short, context-free video hit social media of a 17-year-old at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., wearing a red hat and smiling as a Native American man beat a drum in front of him. Instantly the madness of crowds took off. The young man, Nicholas Sandmann, was painted as an example of hatred and white supremacy. A CNN host named Reza Aslan tweeted, "Have you ever seen a more punchable face than this kid's?" The boy's Catholic school publicly condemned him, promising "appropriate action up to and including expulsion." When all the details came out, Sandmann was exonerated and awarded multiple major defamation settlements from the Washington Post, CNN, and NBC. We live in a shoot-first culture.

Hardwired and Amplified

There's an aspect of this impulse that is hardwired into us—it's connected to the fight, flight, or freeze mechanism. When you're triggered, a hormonal response kicks in. Social media separates us from the consequences of our actions; it's at a distance and anonymous, making us do things we would not otherwise do. When people like and share what we've said, there's an endorphin rush, and we get addicted. That's why it's so dangerous.

Pretty much everyone in this room, myself included, is addicted whether we realize it or not. About six or seven years ago I had this low-level anger in my heart for ten days. Sitting in my office, I prayed, "God, where is this coming from?" Within minutes, scrolling through social media, a still small voice said, "That's where it's coming from." I deleted Facebook and Instagram off my phone, and within 48 hours my blood pressure and my anger went down. I'll confess I still find myself doom-scrolling through Twitter—I've even put a time limit on myself—but the lesson stands.

The news on TV and radio is not a public service offered out of kindness; it's a commercial enterprise. That's why there are commercials. They want you to keep watching, so they feed you information that makes you angry, because rage pulls us in more than good news. The years 2020 through January 6th became a case study in the madness of crowds, dividing us and pulling us into mistaken identity, swift impulsive judgment, social shaming, and what we now call cancel culture.

Slow to Wrath

It's been said that wisdom is learning from your own mistakes, but great wisdom is learning from the mistakes of others so you don't have to repeat them. That's why we come to a passage like Joshua 22.

Point one: In a rush to judgment we are in danger of rash and damnable decisions and actions. One of the very first books written in the New Testament was the Book of James, and James 1:19–20 is worth ten minutes of meditation this week:

So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

We have two ears and one mouth—we should listen twice as long as we speak. Twitter recently added a pause when you hit send, giving you a few seconds to reconsider. I have so many tweets I almost sent and then pulled back. I wish I had a five-second delay in life for the things I've said to people.

Solomon observed these truths 3,000 years ago. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, and reading one a day will keep the foolishness away. "He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly" (Proverbs 14:29). "A wrathful man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger allays contention" (Proverbs 15:18).

Don't let anger dictate your behavior. The hard part is that we often feel justified in our wrath. The Bible does say, "Be angry, and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your wrath" (Ephesians 4). I'm good at the first part, but not always the right response. Paul tells us to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ—so bring that impulse to the Lord in prayer: "God, am I right to be angry, and is my response right?" He will answer that prayer.

The Altar by the Jordan

Joshua calls the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh together. Back in Numbers 32, before Israel crossed into the Promised Land, these tribes had asked Moses to settle in the conquered land east of the Jordan. Moses agreed on the condition that their fighting men cross over and help their brothers take possession of their inheritance first. He warned them that if they failed to keep their oath, their sin would find them out.

About ten years later, the nine-and-a-half tribes have rest in the land, and Joshua makes good on the deal, sending the two-and-a-half tribes home with a final charge to keep the commandment, to love and serve the Lord with all their heart and soul. As they return, they reach the region of the Jordan and build "a great, impressive altar"—with no explanation, no stated purpose.

Then the nine-and-a-half tribes "heard someone say" the eastern tribes had built an altar. It's like reading a tweet—#altar—and the news spreads virally. When they heard it, the whole congregation gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them. Against whom? Against their own brothers—the very men who had spent ten years helping them take the land. Shoot first, ask questions later. This is cancel culture in its worst form: just wipe them out.

Push to Punish

Point two: Beware of the impulsive push to punish without proper perspective. That impulse rises in us instantly when we see the picture, the video, the headline, or hear, "Did you hear what so-and-so did?" In my walk with Christ I've discovered that the vast majority of the time when that anger wells up in me, it is not the Spirit of God—it's what the Bible calls my flesh.

This point could help us everywhere. Parents, have you ever impulsively reacted to something your child did, only to realize later you jumped the gun? Husbands, wives, employees, employers—have you ever rushed to judgment? Solomon is instructive again: "He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him" (Proverbs 18:13). "The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him" (Proverbs 18:17). "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city" (Proverbs 16:32).

Thankfully, Israel didn't just charge in killing people. They sent Phinehas and ten rulers, who confronted the eastern tribes: "What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away from following the LORD…?" They compared it to the iniquity of Peor and the trespass of Achan—presuming guilt and giving no benefit of the doubt.

The Way of Christ

The ten tribes came with assumption and accusation. I've worked hard over twenty years to give people the benefit of the doubt, and yes, I've sometimes erred in doing so—but it's far better to err on the side of grace than the opposite. The way of Christ, which could also be called the way of love, is harder, and I need the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to walk it, because my fleshly impulse is anger.

It's striking that we've divided ourselves into colors, the red team and the blue team. When I was growing up there was talk of the Crips and the Bloods—now we've got gang warfare for everybody. "Those other people" watch their news, I watch my news, and I don't hang out with them because they're the bad ones. But 1 Corinthians 13 describes the way of love: it suffers long and is kind, is not provoked, thinks no evil, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. Solomon says love covers all sins, and Peter says, "Above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins" (1 Peter 4:8).

Jesus is our example. In John 8—a contested passage, but one that pictures His nature well—a woman caught in adultery is brought to Him. The religious leaders ask what should be done, hoping to trap Him. Notice what they reveal: they assumed Jesus was so merciful He might speak against the law of Moses. Jesus stoops and writes in the dust, then stands and says, "He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first." One by one, from oldest to youngest, the accusers leave. Then He asks, "Woman, where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, Lord." "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more." He actually fulfilled the law, which required two witnesses, and there were none left.

Point three: Jesus is slow to anger, and He leads with mercy and grace. On the cross He prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do" (Luke 23:34). That's the example I'm called to follow. As Paul said, "Imitate me as I imitate Christ."

They Had a Reason

The eastern tribes answer: "The LORD God of gods… He knows, and let Israel itself know—if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD, do not save us this day." Then they explain: "We have done it for fear, for a reason." Stop there. Very often when someone does or says something that triggers us, they actually have a reason. I may not like the reason, but in many cases I've learned a great deal simply by asking, "Can you tell me what your thought process was?"

Their reason: in generations to come, the descendants of the western tribes might say to the eastern tribes, "What have you to do with the LORD God of Israel? There's a river between us—you're on the other side, you're on the blue team." So they built the altar as a witness and memorial—"far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD"—not as idolatry, but to prove their children would always have a part in the Lord.

The first one to plead his cause seems right until his neighbor examines him. Shoot first, ask questions later is the impulse of my flesh, and it's the impulse that gets me into trouble. Wisdom says: follow the way of Christ, be slow to anger, slow to speak, lead with mercy and grace.

A Call to Be Christlike

It pleased Phinehas and the rulers to hear their answer. "This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD." Israel blessed God and spoke no more of going to war. The eastern tribes called the altar "Witness," for it was a witness between them that the LORD is God.

Point four: The call to discipleship is a call to be Christlike. These principles matter because we live in the age of rage, bombarded with things designed to outrage us. My concern—something I'll be discussing with my cohort in January—is a shift among Christians since 2020 toward what's being labeled Christian nationalism. I'm watching people I used to follow set aside certain doctrinal principles and grab new ones that align with the behavior they want to engage in.

If you are changing what you believe the Bible says in order to justify your behavior, that is dangerous. Scripture calls us to bring our inclinations and measure them against the character of Christ—not to swap doctrines so we can do what we want. I've studied church history, and that nationalistic, "Christian rule" bent does not end well. It will not end well until Jesus, the King of Kings, rules and reigns Himself, because He is far better at ruling than we are.

We live in a time when people shoot first and ask questions later, when it's abnormal to give the benefit of the doubt, and when people are desperate for redemption and forgiveness. The modern secular religion of the Western world has no mode for redemption or forgiveness—but the gospel of Jesus Christ does. People are begging for grace and mercy, and they will find it in Christ, and hopefully in Christians. His throne is called a throne of grace; He offers mercy and grace in abundance and says, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." He is good, merciful, gracious, and slow to anger. May people see in you and me the mercy and grace of Christ against the backdrop of the culture we live in.

Closing Prayer

Father God, I need Your help, because it's not in me or of me or by me that I have the ability to do these things. But Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control. God, work these things into my life and be glorified by the fruit of the Spirit in my life. Pour out upon us, Your church, we pray. We ask this today in Jesus' name, and all those that agree said amen.