Tell Me Twice

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Go down, charge the people, lest they break through unto the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish…And Moses said unto the LORD, The people cannot come up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds about the mount, and sanctify it. And the LORD said unto him, Away, get thee down…So Moses went down unto the people, and spake unto them.” (Ex 19:21-25 AV)

A reminder is a reflection of our nature.  Moses had already instructed the people not to approach the mountain.  And, if they did, they would die.  Moses ascends the mountain and the LORD tells him to return to the congregation a second time and command them again not to approach.  Moses’ response was, “trust them, LORD, I already told them and surely they will not approach.”  That wasn’t good enough.  The LORD wanted them commanded a second time.  Although I prefaced this as a reminder, it is better understood as an affirmation of a command.  One might get offended if they had to be told more than once.  Especially adults.  We would get offended.  Moses responds as one would expect.  He told these adults once not to approach and since they were scared of the presence of God, surely they would heed the warning.  But God knows our frame.  We need to be told more than once.  We need to be told over and again.  One time is not enough.  We are stubborn and have short memories.  If they were not told a second time before Moses ascended, the implication is they would have forgotten or ignored the instruction.  One time is seldom enough.

I have a son whose nickname was “tell me twice -----.”  It didn’t matter what we told him to do, one time was never enough.  His mind was far ahead of his actions so if you told him to clean up his room, in his mind, it was already done and he was on to the next thing.  It wasn’t so much a disobedience thing as it was a concentration thing.  He could entertain many thoughts at one time.  In his own way, he is a prodigy.  Sometimes, however, his inability to grasp a simple command the first time he was told was a matter of mere obedience.  He could use his tendency of inattention as a means to do what he really wanted to do all along.  Telling him twice was not because he could not concentrate.  Telling him twice eventually became a matter of obedience.  So, we devised a plan to train him to concentrate on the command at hand and comply immediately.  It actually worked out well for my other two sons as well.  The rule was if they complied with the first time they were told, no adverse consequences would ensue.  However, if he or they had to be told more than once, they got a little swat for every time over the first time they were told and ignored the command.  So, if we had to tell our son to do something twice, he got two swats.  Three times, three swats.  Even if they complied, they got swats according to how many times it took them to comply.  The technique accomplished more than training.  It also kept Mom and Dad from chastening as an emotional response to disobedience and made it far more dispassionate and reasoned.

The point is, we are no different from our kids.  We don’t get it the first time.  That is why we need to repeatedly read our bibles, go to church and hear some of the same principles, and read several books on the same subject.  We simply do not get it the first time around.  Try not to take offense.  Even if we are in compliance, a reminder doesn’t hurt.  Our pride can get in the way and although we may comply, there will come a time when the reminder becomes an offense and we ignore it.  Not a good idea.  If Moses had to reaffirm God’s command to the people of Israel, we must need the same thing, too.