Slow to Anger, Abounding in Love

One of the great self-declarations by God concerning Himself
was the one given to Moses on his second trip up the mountain in Exodus 34:6-8.

“And he passed in
front of Moses, proclaiming, ‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and
gracious God, slow to anger,
abounding in love and
faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion, and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes
the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and
fourth generation.’”

We see here the truth that upset Jonah:

“But Jonah was greatly
displeased and became angry. He prayed to the Lord, ‘O Lord, is this not what I
said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I
knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, O Lord, take away my
life, for it is better for me to die than to live’” (Jonah 4:1-3).

God was not angry. Jonah, however, was angry because God was not.

In the New Testament, we see the same slowness to anger as a
requirement for Christians:

“My dear brothers,
take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the
righteous life that God desires” (James 1:19-20).

Normally, anger is not a virtue. It should not be impetuous, it
must be over by sundown, and it must be gotten rid of.

“‘In your anger do not
sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry…. Get rid of all
bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with form of malice” (Ephesians
4:26, 31).

This post coordinates with today’s reading in the To
the Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,
please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.