Justice (Longsuffering)

Recap

Exodus 33:12–14 NKJV

12 Then Moses said to the Lord, “See, You say to me, ‘Bring up this people.’ But You have not let me know whom You will send with me. Yet You have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found grace in My sight.’ 13 Now therefore, I pray, if I have found grace in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You and that I may find grace in Your sight. And consider that this nation is Your people.” 14 And He said, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

Quite an important phrase, “Show me your way, THAT I may know you”.

This is the incredible heart of Moses request here, He wants God to “show his way, that he may know him”.

Same man Moses had encounters with God, and walked with God prior to this moment, yet, we find him here in prayer (dialog with God), requesting to know God and his way.

Way — דֶּ֫רֶךְ děʹ·rěḵ

It is a word with multiple meanings and needs clarity from it’s context.

Lexham Theological Wordbook דֶּרֶךְ

It could idiomatically refer to one’s custom or manner of life

This is most way it was used in the bible, that is, how one conduct’s themselves, your manner of life, one’s custom.

Custom means a habitual practice or established way of behaving that is typical for a particular person.

That is, this is your established way of behaving, that is why I always say he is asking to know God’s character (his habitual practice, established way of behaving).

So, while we see acts, we need to know the character of God, to fully grasp and judge events.

We have an assumption about God, that he just acts the way he wants and the term we use is “he is sovereign”, we will not examine that this year, but by defining his own set of established way of behaving, we can rightly know WHEN it is his act and WHY he acted that way.

We love our ignorance

A very common question we are often perplexed about is “did God do it?”.

Sometimes, I have come to understand that we kindof love our ignorance. We maybe love our speculations about things. For example, we have zero worry about our perception and idea concerning events and in fact, the only time we get to consider these things, is when something has taken place, a sickness, death, calamity, etc. Then we begin to ask, “did God do it?”. Who prepares for battle when they are already in the middle of war? We have obscured mindset, and perception of God, and we kind of like it. I don’t know you Lord, but let me continue to wing it, perharps “it will fall on me”.

Yet, God has little to no worry in revealing himself, he himself wants to be known.

The God who makes himself known

Exodus 33:18–19 NKJV

18 And he said, “Please, show me Your glory.” 19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

Proclaimation of God’s name.

name — שָׁם šām (sham)

Lexham Theological Wordbook שֵׁם

The šēm of God can denote His self-disclosure or the revelation of his essential identity

This is the proclaimation of his essential identity.

Now, this is very key in the subject we are examining today concerning the character of God, God made it clear that graciousness and compassion are within his right to give.

We have to conclude with God, that HE IS MERCIFUL & GRACIOUS.

This was also the beginning of the conversation of chapter 34;

Exodus 34:5–7 NKJV

5 Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7 keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”

He proclaimed the name of the Lord. This is the important phrase that lets us see that what he did was the announcement of his own character. He was making it clear to Moses, his established way of behaving, his custom, his character.

He began with “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful & gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth”.

When we speak about God is merciful & gracious, we see this in that he cares for all that is living, and also doesn’t deal with us according to our sins.

We will examine one quickly here;

Looking at justice, we want to explore the possibility of God and his justice.

Exodus 34:7 LEB

keeping loyal love to the thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and he does not leave utterly unpunished, punishing the guilt of fathers on sons and on sons of sons on third and fourth generations.”

This is what we would refer to as him been just, that is, he doesn’t leave the wicked unpunished.

But is that not what mercy is? To forgive the wicked, i.e. the punishment they deserve, they do not experience it.

Longsuffering

Now, this exactly challenges our idea of an angry God from the Old Testament that acts irrationally.

The original word for this is “אָרֵךְ ʾā·rēḵ”.

It has a literal meaning is “long of nose”. Why is that?

Nose — אַף (ʾap)

Lexham Theological Wordbook אַף

Refers literally to the nose as a physical facial feature but more commonly designates anger, either divine or human.

In Hebrew, when we talk about Anger, the word “nose” by metonymy (the substitution of one word for another) often comes to mean “anger”.

An example is;

Genesis 27:44–45 NKJV

44 And stay with him a few days, until your brother’s fury turns away, 45 until your brother’s anger turns away from you, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send and bring you from there. Why should I be bereaved also of you both in one day?”

The word anger there is literally, the word ʾap which means nose.

Cos, in the ancient world, when you talk about anger, it is that your nose burns hot. Another example is Genesis 39:19

Genesis 39:19 NKJV

19 So it was, when his master heard the words which his wife spoke to him, saying, “Your servant did to me after this manner,” that his anger was aroused.

The literal word there is “his nose burned hot”.

So when we speak of God having a long nose, it means that “anger with God takes a long time”. He is not with short temper, it means that God is patient. Very patient.

Look at this text for example;

Proverbs 19:11 NKJV

11 The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression.

This speaks of man as “slow to anger” that is long of nose. That is his “wisdom”.

God is described as slow to anger. He is very patient. yet, he gets angry in the bible; let us examine one;

Exodus 15:7 NKJV

7 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble.

wrath — ḥārôn

Lexham Theological Wordbook חָרוֹן

Refers to divine wrath as a burning anger.

How interesting is it, that the destuction of Pharaoh was referred to as God’s burning anger. Yet, this wasn’t sudden;

10 times, the Lord gave Pharoah a chance to turn from his evil ways. 10 times Pharoah did not care.

Hence, God’s fierce anger against Pharoah wasn’t sudden, God was patient with him.

Romans 9:22–23 NKJV

22 What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory,

longsuffering — μακροθυμία -ας, ἡ; (makrothymia)

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament μακροθυμία

patient endurance of pain

It means patient endurance of pain. Meaning that this endurance is painful to our God, he himself is in pain as he bears with the vessel of wrath.

prepared — ἐξαρτίζω (exartizō)

The Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament ἐξαρτίζω

bring to an end

That is to become fitted for something.

Now, there is a subtle difference between verse 22 and 23, in verse 23 it speaks of prepared again; but this time, he used a different word;

Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek New Testament προετοιμάζω

προετοιμάζω (proetoimazō), VB. prepare beforehand

So explicitly, you see that for mercy, God prepared man beforehand for that, yet, in man becoming vessel of wrath, that man became fit for it. HOW?

God endured with man in pain, yet, that man becomes fit for destruction. For example in Pharoah. (Someday we will examine Romans 9 fully, but not today).

Let us look at another example;

Nehemiah 9:25–31 NKJV

25 And they took strong cities and a rich land, And possessed houses full of all goods, Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves, And fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and grew fat, And delighted themselves in Your great goodness. 26 “Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations. 27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies. 28 “But after they had rest, They again did evil before You. Therefore You left them in the hand of their enemies, So that they had dominion over them; Yet when they returned and cried out to You, You heard from heaven; And many times You delivered them according to Your mercies, 29 And testified against them, That You might bring them back to Your law. Yet they acted proudly, And did not heed Your commandments, But sinned against Your judgments, ‘Which if a man does, he shall live by them.’ And they shrugged their shoulders, Stiffened their necks, And would not hear. 30 Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands. 31 Nevertheless in Your great mercy You did not utterly consume them nor forsake them; For You are God, gracious and merciful.

Now, what we have here shows that God is not erratic. It shows us something that God’s longsuffering or slowness to anger, is because he wants man to turn from his wicked ways.

Now, How do they experience destruction? By been stuck to their ways, they become “fitting” for destruction.

verse 29 is key “testified against them, they did not heed, shrugged their shoulders, stiffened their necks and would not hear”.

Why was God patient with them?

He wanted to show them mercy, and allow them to turn from their wicked ways, yet, by man become stuck to his own ways, his own pattern and his own mindset, he becomes fit for destruction.

That shows you something vital, that the longsuffering of God, becomes a key, that reflects HOW God is merciful and yet won’t clear the guilty.

If the guilty turns to the LORD, what he will experience is Mercy. A man will only experience the weight of his wrong, in that he is stuck to his evil ways and choosing not to turn to God.

Romans 2:1–6 NKJV

1 Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. 2 But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who “will render to each one according to his deeds”:

There is a response to his forbearance and longsuffering, and that is, it should lead man to repentance, i.e. not stuck to their ways of wickedness, but when that man doesn’t do that, what he or she is doing is that they are treasuring up wrath in the day of God’s wrath.

Hence, this itself shows why many things we assume of our experiences has nothing to do with God, unless we are stuck to our ways of wickedness and evil.

Hence, they didn’t view retributive justice as contrast to mercy, actually no. God’s longsuffering is the secret, the key, to know the difference. The wrath (his anger) is as a result of man been stuck to his own ways, becoming unyielding to God’s multiple appeal, and God’s longsuffering.

Let us look at more;

2 Peter 3:1–9 NKJV

1 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), 2 that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, 3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

His longsuffering is because he doesn’t want any to perish, he wants all to come to repentance.

This is the heart of God. Mercy all the way. Yet, man can adjust, i.e. become fit for destruction, by been stuck in his ways.

Psalm 7:11 NKJV

11 God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day.

This text is a very interesting one, in that it is a proof text concerning God is this angry God, who is erratic etc. Let us read the context.

Psalm 7:9–16 NKJV

9 Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, But establish the just; For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds. 10 My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart. 11 God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day. 12 If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. 13 He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts. 14 Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity; Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood. 15 He made a pit and dug it out, And has fallen into the ditch which he made. 16 His trouble shall return upon his own head, And his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.

verse 12;

If who doesn’t turn back? God or the wicked? The context rightly is the wicked.

What the wicked does when he doesn’t turn back, is that he will fall into his own wickedness. Meaning, God’s anger with the wicked is so that he would turn. Showing you that it is yet a slow anger, and that man is yet going to experience his own destruction, because he is stuck to his own ways. He is not willing to yield, he doesn’t want to turn.

Question for the day

Is God’s mercy therefore in contention with his wrath? That is, does his mercy require wrath to be satisfied? The answer is No.

Wrath is the rejection of mercy. God can be merciful to the wicked, that is his heart. Yet, if the wicked remains stuck in their way of wickedness, they can experience wrath.

Let us conclude for today;

The biblical authors never saw the Mercy as in contention with Justice or Wrath. Rather, they saw retributive justice as a natural consequence of man in his continous unyielding ways of wickedness.