Character of God (Slow to Anger)

In the second article of this series, we are going to look at the second character of God, slow to anger. In Exodus 34, God describes himself in a few ways and one of these ways is that he is slow to anger or slow to get angry. Why would this be a character of God? What does it actually mean to serve a good like this? Let’s find out. 

In Exodus 34:6 we read, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,”. God describes himself as slow to anger. In the Hebrew, this reads as arek ‘ap and really translates as long nose. This isn’t a saying we use in English to describe someone who takes a while to get angry but it is an expression in Hebrew. This phrase is used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible and it is usually quoting this verse as we learned last week this is the most quoted Bible quote in the Bible. But what does it really mean to be long of nose? Let’s look at another example. 

In Nehemiah 9:17 we read, “They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them,”. 

This passage is referring to the Israelites and how they did not listen to Yahweh. They refused to listen, they were stubborn, and they even appointed someone else to take charge to reverse all the good God had done for them. If this were me, this would make me very angry, very quickly. However, instead of burning with anger, Yahweh responds differently because of his character which again is quoted here. God is forgiving, loving, gracious, and slow to anger. This means that despite all the evil people did towards God, he still loved them and did not become so angry that he abandoned them or destroyed them. Rebellion resulted in God’s patience, not in the natural human result of anger. This is the amazing character of God. 

In Proverbs 19, we get a sense of how we too can become like this. It says, “A person’s wisdom yields patience”. What this proverb shows us is that being wise and obeying God leads to patience. This is a more common word we use than the phrase long nose or slow to anger. It’s about being patient despite the situation. The way to this patience is understanding which comes from fearing God and obeying Him. This will lead to patience. 

In 1 Timothy 1:16, Paul talks about Jesus; patience. He says, “But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” Jesus showed his patience for us by dying for those who would believe in him, even when we were still sinners and stuck in our ways. That’s the power of patience. He is an example to us.