exert from a friend's blog..

So I read this a few days ago and it really blessed me and I just wanted to share it...


The Long Nose of God

What, pray tell, does one mean by “The Long Nose of God?” What a completely eccentric title, eh? As much as it may seem that I am trying to be humorous I am not. Well, not entirely. This phrase certainly has a comical element to it, but more than that it is an ancient Hebrew idiom impregnated with powerful meaning of which I am quite fond. One classical biblical text favored by the Christian community is Exodus 34:6-7. This famous text depicts the story of God passing before Moses on a mountain top. In his passing by, the Lord said, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” How wonderful indeed! What a God–merciful, gracious, patient, loving, faithful, and forgiving! So what’s up with his “long nose?” The original Hebrew for what we translate as “slow to anger” literally means “long nose.” The Hebrew word ‘ap means nose, nostril, or anger, so when the ancients wrote and spoke about anger they simply inserted the word “nose.” I do not know really why they made such a linguistic move, but perhaps it has something to do with one’s nostrils flaring when enraged with anger! Therefore, we have the idiom “long nose.” How wonderful. But in laying all cheek aside, we discover a marvelous facet of truth in this text: God has a long nose–that is, he is slow to anger. One of the most common attacks against the God of the Bible is his judgment on unrighteous and disobedient persons and nations. After all, a God would not smite his creation if he were truly loving, right? Oh but we overlook an incredible characteristic of God when we dismiss him as entirely loveless and dreadful. If you carefully read through the biblical narrative you will find a patient God. He allowed hundreds and thousands of years to pass by before he decided to bring affliction on the disobedient. Who among us is willing to let that kind of time pass by before dismissing our neighbors, friends, loved ones, and our enemies when they do us wrong? And the patience of this God is demonstrated in his Son, Jesus Christ, the God-Man. His disciple, Peter, asked “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.” So, four hundred and ninety times? No, Jesus told him to forgive his brother always. I guess the saying is true, “Love holds no record of wrongdoings.” And this is precisely the character of God, the one and only Lord. He was patient with Israel in their misdoings, he taught this patience and forgiveness to Peter, and he calls you and me to live according to this standard. But most of all, he is patient and forgiving towards you and me. His nose in long indeed, and this is a demonstration of his affectionate love towards us all. “He who ears, let him hear.”