Topical Bible: God is Declared to Be: Long-Suffering

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The attribute of long-suffering is a significant aspect of God's character as revealed in the Bible. This quality is often associated with God's patience, mercy, and willingness to endure human sinfulness and rebellion while offering opportunities for repentance and redemption.

Biblical References:

1. Exodus 34:6 · In this passage, God reveals Himself to Moses, proclaiming His nature: "The LORD passed in front of Moses and called out: 'The LORD, the LORD God, is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and truth.'" Here, "slow to anger" is a direct reference to God's long-suffering nature, highlighting His patience and restraint in the face of human disobedience.

2. Numbers 14:18 · During the Israelites' rebellion in the wilderness, Moses appeals to God's long-suffering character: "The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in loving devotion, forgiving iniquity and transgression." This verse underscores God's willingness to forgive and His enduring patience with His people despite their repeated failures.

3. Psalm 86:15 · The psalmist acknowledges God's long-suffering nature: "But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion and truth." This verse reflects the consistent biblical theme of God's patience and mercy.

4. Joel 2:13 · The prophet Joel calls the people to repentance, reminding them of God's character: "Return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion." This call to repentance is grounded in the assurance of God's long-suffering and readiness to forgive.

5. Romans 2:4 · The Apostle Paul speaks of God's patience as an opportunity for repentance: "Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?" Here, God's long-suffering is portrayed as an expression of His kindness, intended to lead sinners to repentance.

6. 2 Peter 3:9 · Peter emphasizes God's patience in delaying judgment: "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." This verse highlights God's long-suffering as a deliberate act of mercy, allowing time for repentance.

Theological Significance:

The long-suffering nature of God is a testament to His profound love and mercy. It reflects His desire for all people to come to repentance and experience His grace. God's patience is not a sign of weakness or indifference but rather a deliberate and compassionate choice to extend grace and opportunity for redemption. This attribute is central to understanding the divine character and the overarching narrative of salvation history, where God's patience is evident from the Old Testament through the New Testament.

Practical Implications:

For believers, the long-suffering nature of God serves as both a comfort and a model. It reassures them of God's enduring patience and willingness to forgive, encouraging them to approach Him with repentance and faith. Additionally, it challenges believers to emulate God's patience in their interactions with others, fostering a spirit of forgiveness and grace in their relationships.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Numbers 14:18
The LORD is long-suffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Micah 7:1
Woe is me! for I am as when they have gathered the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage: there is no cluster to eat: my soul desired the first ripe fruit.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

"Behold Your God!"
... He declared that its precepts could not be obeyed ... Often had God revealed Himself
to them as one ... full of compassion, and gracious, long-suffering, and plenteous ...
/.../white/the story of prophets and kings/chapter 26 behold your god.htm

Paul's Last Letter
... Yet he was to do this "with all long-suffering and doctrine ... be led to turn away from
the requirements of God. Paul declared to Timothy, "The time will come when ...
/.../white/the acts of the apostles/lesson 49 pauls last letter.htm

God's Ways and Man's
... unto God the things that are declared to be ... First, God's way of dealing with sin
is lifted up ... forgivingness of the most placable and long-suffering and gladly ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/gods ways and mans.htm

"God with Us"
... God,"God's thought made audible. In His prayer for His disciples He says, "I have
declared unto them Thy name,"""merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/the desire of ages/chapter 1 god with us.htm

God Willing that all Men Should be Saved.
... that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all long suffering, for a ... God is holy.
Sin is opposition to his nature, forbidden by his law, and declared to be ...
/.../lee/sermons on various important subjects/sermon xvii god willing that.htm

God's Love for Man
... He Himself has declared His infinite love and pity. ... Moses, and proclaimed, "The Lord,
The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/steps to christ/chapter 1 gods love for.htm

In Scripture, the True God Opposed, Exclusively, to all the Gods ...
... when he said, "The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and
abundant ... first, that his eternity and selfexistence are declared by his ...
/.../calvin/the institutes of the christian religion/chapter 10 in scripture the.htm

The Sovereignty of God in Reprobation
... and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of ... Writing
to the saints at Thessalonica the Apostle declared, "For God hath not ...
/.../pink/the sovereignty of god/chapter five the sovereignty of.htm

Treats Upon the Actions of Carnal and of Spiritual Persons; Also ...
... Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, goodness, benignity ... cannot inherit the
kingdom of God." [4530] Now ... is analogous to what has been declared, "And such ...
/.../irenaeus/against heresies/chapter xi treats upon the actions.htm

The Bread of God
... a disclosure of the depth of patient long- suffering in God ... in both referring it
directly to the hand of God. ... of the manna, when He not only declared Himself to ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture k/the bread of god.htm