Love as Patience

Another specialized form which love takes in the face of sin is patience
or longsuffering. 

First in the description of love: 1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffers long
and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not
puffed up.

Hebrew: 'aph (af). Basic meaning is "nose, nostril". It is one of the
        Hebrews words for wrath,          thus the expression means long
        of wrath or slow to wrath. Used 170x for                 wrath
        of God in the O.T. Translated      "Anger" - 172x,   "Angry" -
        4x,  "Wrath" - 42x, "Nostrils' - 13x,   "Nose" - 12x

The nose is used more of anger than smell in the O.T. Psalms 18:6-8 In
my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my
voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears.
Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundations of the hills also
quaked and were shaken, because He was angry. Smoke went up from His
nostrils, and devouring fire from His mouth; Coals were kindled by it.

Long-suffering is from "arek ap" [aw-rake ap] - Literally: "long of
nose"

One of the main Greek words = makrothumia is similar

"Slow to anger" or "Longsuffering" is used about 10x for God in the O.T.
Most are repetitions of: Exodus 34:6 The Lord, the Lord God, merciful
and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in good ness and truth.

When dealing with the patience of God, we are dealing with an apparent
conflict between the wrath and holiness of God in relation to sin and
His love for sinners. 

The Patience of God Psalm 103:8-14 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with
us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us ac
cording to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as
the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those
who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed
our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord
pities those who fear Him. For He knows our frame; He remembers that we
are dust.

If God determined to give us what we deserve as soon as we deserve it,
we would all have perished long ago. It is His loving patience that puts
the punishment "on hold" until it is either set aside (with regard to
the one who deserved it) or ultimately applied. God's longsuffering is
recognized by His people 1.      Moses praying for the forgiveness of
Israel: Numbers 14:18 The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy,
forgiving iniquity and transgression...

2.      Jeremiah's plea to God in face of the coming judgment on Israel:
        Jeremiah 15:15 O Lord, You know; remember me and visit me, and
        take vengeance for me on my persecutors.                Do not
        take me away in Your longsuffering...

3.      Joel used it as the reason the people should repent: Joel 2:13
        So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord
        your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to
        anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.

4.      Jonah knew it could result in forgiveness for Nineveh: Jonah 4:2
        ...Ah, Lord, was not this what I said when I was still in my
        country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish;
        for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to
        anger and abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents
        from doing harm.

5.      Paul explained how God endured Israel even though they deserved
        to be destroyed in order that salvation for all
        nations could be brought about through them: Romans 9:22-23 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, and that He might make known the
        riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had
        prepared beforehand for glory.

6.      Paul used himself as a good example of God's patience:  (Jews
        used Manasseh as their example in O.T.) 1 Timothy 1:16 However,
        for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ
        might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to
        those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.
        Patience of God is delay and restraint in the execution of
        wrath. God's wrath is real and deserved, but out of His great
        love, He withholds it for a time or reduces its intensity or
        sets it aside altogether. (Reason for His Patience: Isaiah
        48:8-11, Eph. 2:1-7) Parable of unmerciful servant illustrated
        the nature of patience as the delay of wrath. Each debtor asked
        for patience or postponement of the time when the debt must be
        paid. Patience Does Not Remove The Debt, It Only Puts Off  The
        Day of Reckoning. Matthew 18:26, 29 26      The servant
        therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience
        with me, and I will pay you all. 29      So his fellow servant
        fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience
        with me, and I will pay you all.' In reference to our eternal
        punishment, postponement is no solution; so the lord in the
        parable (representing God) had compassion on the first servant
        and forgave his debt altogether.

This is exactly what God has done for us in the redemption that is in
Christ. He does not simply postpone the time of payment, but forgives
the debt completely. The parable teaches that if we fail to forgive as
we have been forgiven the debt can be restored. In the O.T., Many
punishments were carried out, others put off, were less than law
required or forgiven. How was God able to do this? Most important
passage in N.T. concerning the patience of God in relation to Israel
shows that patience is the Delay of divine wrath and never the complete
cancellation of it. Roman 3:24-26 Being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness:
that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believes in Jesus.

He did not cancel His wrath, but rather delayed the outpouring of it
Until That Time. What is that time? it was the day when He set Jesus
forth "as a propitiation in His blood through faith.

This is why God in His patience could delay His wrath or even cancel it
for Israel, David, or Nineveh. He was not ignoring it or letting it fade
or vanish away. He was looking ahead to the time when His wrath would be
poured out on Jesus on the cross. When Jesus would suffer this wrath in
our place. This is the basis of the patience of God, whether it be
patience with O.T. or N.T. sinners. God can delay the execution of His
wrath, and even forgive it as in the example of the man in the parable
of the unmerciful servant, because that wrath has been borne by Christ
on the cross. It is the love of God that makes this possible. When God
said: Hosea 11:9 I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will
not again destroy Ephraim. For I am God, and not man, the Holy One in
your midst; and I will not come with terror.

It was because he knew that through love, He would send His Son to pay
the penalty, so He could be patient with men. 1 John 4:10 In this is
love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be
the propitiation for our sins.

When God told Israel "I will not execute My fierce anger", it was His
love that caused Him to saying His heart, "I will not execute it on you,
because I will execute it on myself when I, the Word, become Jesus of
Nazareth and die on Calvary." If we reject this, there is no other means
for forgiveness.

Result when this sacrifice is rejected can be seen in Jerusalem. God
gave them time to see and accept what He had done. Time came when there
was no more patience. If we reject the offering of God Himself in the
flesh, then there is no more sacrifice for sins.
 
Matt. 23:33-36 Fulfilled in 70 A.D. Food supplies destroyed few months
earlier, population swollen with Jews from around the world for
Passover. Romans surrounded them, destroyed the city. Final destruction,
blood ran freely down the steps of the Temple, so much, fires were put
out. (Josephus) This is an example of what happens when the time of
patience runs out. They refused to accept the sacrifice of Jesus,
refused to repent. They remained guilty of all of their sins! Purpose of
Patience Why does God delay the execution of His wrath? The main reason
is to provide the guilty party time to repent and be forgiven and avoid
the wrath altogether.

God's longsuffering gives time for repentance and conversion, whether it
be Israel, Nineveh or anyone else. 

It is God's nature to want to give this time is taught in the Bible. God
is love, Love is patient, suffers long (1 Cor. 13:4) Romans 2:4-5 Or do
you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering,
not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? 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, 1 Peter 3:20-21 who formerly were
disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of
Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight
souls, were saved through water. The like figure whereunto even baptism
doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of
Jesus Christ:

None responded, but God did give the opportunity. 2 Peter 3:9 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. 2 Peter 3:15 and account that the
longsuffering of our Lord is salvation - as also our beloved brother
Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, God's
patience is of no benefit unless we take advantage of it and repent
while we have the chance. Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while He may be
found, call upon Him while He is near.
 
God is patient. He does delay the execution of His wrath in order to
give time for repentance, however: He Will Not Delay It Forever!

There comes a time when His patience runs out, and the opportunity for
repentance is withdrawn. Psalms 7:11-13 God is a just judge, And God is
angry with the wicked every day. If he does not turn back, He will
sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares
for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.
Ezekiel 8:18 Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare
nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice,
I will not hear them.

The time came when God gave up on the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and
said through Hosea: Hosea 1:6 And she conceived again and bore a
daughter. Then God said to him: "Call her name Lo Ruhamah, for I will no
longer have mercy on the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them
away. Hosea 2:4 I will not have mercy on her children, for they are the
children of harlotry.

Judah still received mercy: Hosea 1:7 Yet I will have mercy on the house
of Judah, will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them
by bow, nor by sword or battle, by horses or horsemen.

Yet, for Judah, the time of patience finally ran out: Jeremiah 11:7-14,
14:10-12,   15:1, 6-7,   16:3-6

God was patient with Israel but the time came where His patience ran
out. The time of the second coming of Christ will mark the end of God's
patience forever. The time allotted for repentance will be over. The
final outpouring of God's wrath will no longer be delayed. Cries like
that of the rich man in Hades - "Have mercy on me!" (Luke 16:24) will be
too late.

Prov. 1:24-31 

Ezekiel 8:18 Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare
nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice,
I will not hear them.

Wayne Wells wayneliz@twave.net http://users.twave.net/ncc