BibleProject | The Character of GodSample

What does it mean for God to be slow to anger? Let’s take a look at a strange Hebrew idiom together while we explore this characteristic of God.

The Hebrew phrase for “slow to anger” literally means “long of nose.” It’s a Hebrew turn of phrase that figuratively describes what happens when someone gets angry. In Hebrew, if someone wanted to say that a person is short tempered, they would say they are “short of nose” or “hot nosed.” So to say that God is “long of nose” is to say that he is patient. It takes him a long time to express his anger. He gives people plenty of time to respond to his gracious warnings. 

But that doesn’t mean he never gets angry. If people do not respond to his call for justice, he will express his anger and give people over to the consequences of their own actions. So yes—he does get angry, just like we would if we saw someone bullying a young child. But unlike us, he’s slow to express his anger because he wants everyone to have a chance to turn from their wrongdoing. 

God is not content to let people sit in their own self-destruction. In the Bible, God is on a mission to rescue his people. This is why Jesus went to Jerusalem to die a criminal’s death that he did not deserve. He was demonstrating his patient love by taking the consequences of his people upon himself. In Jesus’ death and resurrection, we see God’s anger and his love working together to provide forgiveness and life for humanity. This is what it means to say that God is slow to anger, and it’s good news for all of us.

Reflect:

1. How do the following passages portray God’s patience?

2. How are we called to respond to God’s patient character?