Rev. Angus Stewart
Contents
1. God’s Longsuffering in the Old Testament
Historical Books
2. God’s Longsuffering in the Psalms
and Prophets
3.
God’s Longsuffering in the New Testament
4. God’s Longsuffering—Particular and
in Himself
5.
God’s Longsuffering and the History of Sin
6.
God’s Longsuffering and the Reprobate Ungodly
7.
God’s Longsuffering and the Sins of His Elect
8.
God’s Longsuffering and Our Suffering
1.
God’s Longsuffering in the Old Testament Historical Books
The very first use of the word “longsuffering” in
Holy Scripture is found in the book of Exodus and on Mount Sinai. In this first
biblical reference to longsuffering, God speaks of His own (not man’s)
longsuffering:
And the Lord
passed by before him [i.e., Moses], and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering,
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin (Ex. 34:6-7).
The divine perfections that are listed along with
longsuffering are “positive” (e.g., mercy, grace and goodness) and exercised
for the salvation of God’s elect (“keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and sin”). The Lord then goes on to speak of His
“negative” work towards the reprobate: “and that will by no means clear the
guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the
children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation” (7).
This profound, divine self-revelation occurred
against the dark backdrop of Israel’s terrible sin of worshipping the golden
calf, contrary to the second commandment. It also came in answer to the prayer
of Moses, the Old Testament mediator: “I beseech thee, shew me thy glory”
(33:18). Clearly, God’s “glory” includes His longsuffering!
Jehovah’s immediate response to Moses’ intercession
reveals additional and important truths about His longsuffering: “I will make
all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord
before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew
mercy on whom I will shew mercy” (19). First, God’s longsuffering is a
revelation of His “name.” Second, God’s longsuffering is a manifestation of His
“goodness.” Third, God is absolutely sovereign in His longsuffering for, since
He “will be gracious to whom [He] will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom
[He] will shew mercy,” He will be longsuffering to whom He will be
longsuffering.
After the Lord’s beautiful self-revelation
(34:6-7), Moses’ response is twofold. First, he worships: “Moses made haste,
and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped” (8). Our adoration too
should be prompted by God’s longsuffering with us!
Second, Moses prays: “If now I have found grace in
thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a
stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine
inheritance” (9). Organically and with respect to the elect in Israel, Jehovah,
in answer to this petition, forgives His people and journeys with His
inheritance towards the promised land.
The second biblical reference to longsuffering is
also found in the Pentateuch. This time, it is Moses (not God) who speaks of
Jehovah’s longsuffering. He appeals to this divine virtue in a prayer, after
Israel’s wicked refusal to enter into the land of Canaan (Num. 13:1-14:10).
This is the part of Moses’ intercession (13-19)
that is of special interest for our present subject:
And now, I
beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken,
saying, The Lord is longsuffering,
and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means
clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children
unto the third and fourth generation (17-18).
Notice here two tie-ins with God’s self-revelation
at Mount Sinai. First, Moses at Kadesh-barnea mentions similar divine
attributes and works, and in the same order as in Exodus 34:6-7: “positive” and
then “negative.” Second, Moses explicitly appeals to God’s words uttered at the
holy mount: “as thou hast spoken, saying” (Num. 14:17). But notice which of Jehovah’s
virtues is mentioned first here: “The Lord is longsuffering”
(18).
Next follows the conclusion and central request of
Moses’ prayer: “Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according
unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from
Egypt even until now” (19). This is swiftly followed by God’s gracious answer:
“I have pardoned according to thy word” (20).
The third and final reference to Jehovah’s
longsuffering in the Old Testament historical books is found in Nehemiah 9.
This chapter contains the godly Levites’ review of Israel’s history, all the
way from Abraham till after the return from the Babylonian captivity, with
special reference to both Jehovah’s mercy and Israel’s sinfulness.
Nehemiah 9:17 reads,
And [they]
refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that thou didst among
them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to
return to their bondage: but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and
merciful, slow to anger [i.e., longsuffering], and of great
kindness, and forsookest them not.
Unlike the two earlier historical references to
Jehovah’s longsuffering, this text only speaks of God’s “positive” attributes
and operations (“a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and forsookest them not”) and not His “visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children.”
Nehemiah 9 mentions the historical events that
occasioned both of the earlier references to Jehovah’s longsuffering. God’s
longsuffering at the end of Nehemiah 9:17 is sandwiched between Israel’s
refusal to enter into the promised land (Num. 13-14) in the middle of verse 17
and the idolatry of the golden calf (Ex. 32-34) in verse 18. Here we see the
glorious unity of Scripture, with the last text on God’s longsuffering in the
Old Testament historical books alluding to the previous two!
2. God’s Longsuffering in the Psalms and Prophets
In the last issue of the News, we considered God’s longsuffering
(or His being slow to anger) in the Old Testament historical books: Exodus
34:6-7, Numbers 14:17-18 and Nehemiah 9:17.
We turn now to three references in the
Psalms: “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy
and truth” (86:15); “The Lord is
merciful and gracious, slow to anger,
and plenteous in mercy” (103:8); “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy”
(145:8).
These three texts have at least four
things in common. First, they were all inspired by the Holy Spirit and penned
by David, according to their headings, as the fruit of his meditation upon
God’s law, especially Exodus 34:6-7 and Numbers 14:17-18. Second, only God’s
“positive” attributes are mentioned in all three verses: His compassion, grace,
mercy and truth are spoken of in connection with His longsuffering. Third, all
three are references to Jehovah’s longsuffering to His beloved people
(including us). Fourth, all three references to God’s longsuffering in the
Psalms are found in songs of praise. There is a lesson here for us too!
Moving to the twelve minor prophets, we
come first to Joel 2:13:
And
rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he
is gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Again, we notice, first, that only
God’s “positive” perfections are here mentioned: His grace, mercy and kindness
are spoken of in connection with His longsuffering or being slow to anger.
Second, like the three passages from the Old Testament historical books (Ex.
34:6-7; Num. 14:17-18; Neh. 9:17) and the three verses from the Psalms quoted
in the second paragraph, Joel 2:13 is addressed to God’s people, Israel. Third,
this text is a call to repentance in which the prophet appeals to part of God’s
earlier self-revelation to strengthen his exhortation. For us too, God’s
longsuffering, both in Himself and to us, is an encouragement to confess our
sins from our hearts.
The next minor prophet to refer to
God’s longsuffering is Jonah:
And
he prayed unto the Lord, and said, I pray thee, O Lord, was not this my saying,
when I was yet in my country? Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew
that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil (4:2).
A pattern is emerging! First, along
with God’s longsuffering or being slow to anger, we read here of His grace,
mercy and kindness. Again, they are all “positive” divine attributes. Second,
the prophet is referring to God’s people, this time (elect) Gentiles. Third,
Jonah knew God’s self-revelation at Mount Sinai (Ex. 34:6-7) and Kadesh-barnea
(Num. 14:17-18), and so understood that, since Jehovah had sent him to preach
to Nineveh, God had His people there to whom He would show Himself
longsuffering, gracious, merciful and kind.
This is the reason why Jonah did not
want to go to Nineveh in the first place. He did not want to see the wicked
Assyrians—Israel’s enemies—saved. Especially was this the case because Jonah
knew, given the wickedness of the Northern Kingdom, that God, in turning to the
Gentiles, would turn away from the Jewish people whom the prophet loved.
Our third and final passage in the
minor prophets is from the vision of Nahum:
The
Lord is slow to anger,
and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the Lord hath his
way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet
(1:3).
Like the two verses from the Pentateuch
(Ex. 34:6-7; Num. 14:17-18), Nahum first mentions God’s “positive” perfection
in saving His people (“The Lord is
slow to anger”) and then His “negative” attributes (“The Lord is ... great in power, and will not at
all acquit the wicked”) in His mighty punishment of the impenitent wicked, as
the One who “hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm.”
Though Nahum 1 mostly concerns the
judgment of the Most High upon Assyria, verse 3a (“The Lord is slow to anger”) is not the only
bright note for His elect people in the chapter. We read that “The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of
trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him” (7).
We hear the gospel in Nahum 1: “Behold
upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth
peace! O Judah, keep thy solemn feasts, perform thy vows: for the wicked shall
no more pass through thee; he is utterly cut off” (15).
Moving from the above three passages in
the twelve minor prophets, we come finally to the only reference to God’s
longsuffering in the four major prophets, Jeremiah 15:15:
O
Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge me of my
persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering:
know that for thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
Here only one divine attribute is
mentioned: God’s longsuffering. In this text, it is not towards Israel as a
nation, for the elect’s sake. Instead of being exercised towards a corporate
body, God is longsuffering to an individual believer: Jeremiah himself. The
prophet’s prayer is this: “Do not, O Lord, in Thy longsuffering over me, allow
my persecutors to destroy me.” God is not longsuffering towards the wicked who
afflict Jeremiah for he asks the Lord, “revenge me of my persecutors.”
3. God’s Longsuffering in the
New Testament
In
the last two issues of the News, we looked at God’s longsuffering in the
Old Testament. Now we turn to the seven New Testament instances.
The
first reference to God’s longsuffering in the New Testament is Luke 18:7: “And
shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear
long with them?” The object of Jehovah’s bearing
or suffering long in this text is “his own elect,” those whom He chose in
Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4).
The
last biblical references to the longsuffering of the Most High are found in
Peter’s two canonical epistles. In I Peter 3:20, we read that “the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while
the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by
water.” Here Jehovah’s longsuffering is directed not to the wicked world He
destroyed by the flood but to the “eight souls” (Noah and his three sons with
their four wives) who were “saved” by water, as a picture of their eternal
salvation.
The
apostle Peter next speaks of God’s longsuffering in II Peter 3:9:
The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Here
we are told that God’s “longsuffering [is] to us-ward,” namely, the “beloved”
(1), those who “have obtained like precious faith” with Peter and all the
saints (1:1), and who are the objects of Jehovah’s “calling and election” (10),
as opposed to the “scoffers” (3:3).
Those
to whom the Almighty is longsuffering are the ones whom He wills, wishes, wants
and desires not to “perish” but to “come to repentance” (9). The sovereign and
unchangeable Lord, in His infinite wisdom, power and grace, effectually calls
all of His own, for “who hath resisted his will?” (Rom. 9:19). Notice that II
Peter 3 explains why Christ has not yet returned. It is not that the Lord is
“slack concerning His promise” (9), as the scoffers claimed, but that all of
God’s elect church, all the stones in Jehovah’s spiritual temple, all the
members of the body of Christ, must be brought to salvation before He comes
back to judge the world.
This
fits perfectly with Peter’s third and final reference to the Lord’s
longsuffering:
And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our
beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written
unto you (15).
Notice
three things in this text. First, the apostle asserts that “the longsuffering
of our Lord is salvation,” for those to whom the sovereign and omnipotent God
is longsuffering are always saved! Second, this is to be a theological first
principle with Christians in their thinking regarding Jehovah’s longsuffering:
“account [i.e., consider, deem, think or reckon with
deliberate and careful judgment] that the longsuffering of our Lord is
salvation.” Third, the effectual and saving power of God’s longsuffering is
also the inspired teaching of the great apostle of grace: “even as our beloved
brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto
you.”
In
Romans 9:22, that great theologian asks, “What if God, willing to shew his
wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction
…?”
Here
we are taught that Jehovah “endured … the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction [i.e., the reprobate].” He puts up with them for a while because He
shall display His glory through His holy “wrath” and awesome “power” in His
“destruction” of them as “vessels of wrath” for all their sin and rebellion.
This is what God desires, wishes and wants: “God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power
known.” Reprobation (22) serves God’s election of both Jews and Gentiles,
whereby he “make[s] known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy,
which he had afore prepared unto glory” (23).
We
need carefully to distinguish between God’s enduring or putting up with the reprobate (cf. Matt.
17:17; Mark 9:19; Luke 9:41) and His being longsuffering towards His elect (Luke 18:7). The Almighty
“endured ... the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction [i.e., the reprobate]” (Rom. 9:22). How did He do this? The answer
is found in the subordinate clause: “with much longsuffering” towards His elect
(22). Remember that “the longsuffering of our Lord is
salvation” (II Pet.
3:15).
This
is Paul’s other reference to God’s longsuffering in Romans:
Or despisest thou the riches of his
goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God
leadeth thee to repentance? (2:4).
This
does not refer to a “goodness” or “longsuffering” of God for the reprobate.
First, the text does not say that Jehovah’s goodness or longsuffering merely tries (but fails) to lead the reprobate to
repentance; it says that “the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance.” Second, the verse
speaks not of merely a bit of common grace for the reprobate, as some allege,
but of “the riches of his goodness.”
Romans
2:4 is not addressed to man as elect or reprobate but to generic and
undifferentiated man. Thus he is addressed in the context as “O man” (1, 3). If
we come to differentiation, God’s “forbearance” is for the reprobate, as in
Romans 9:22; His longsuffering is for the elect (Luke 18:7) and is always
salvific (II Pet. 3:15).
The
very same apostle Paul is the great biblical example of Jehovah’s longsuffering
to an elect sinner:
Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy,
that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should
hereafter believe on him to life everlasting (I Tim. 1:16).
Paul
says that God was longsuffering to him “first,” not chronologically but
preeminently, since he viewed himself as the “chief” of sinners (15) for he
blasphemed Christ and persecuted His church (13). No wonder the apostle speaks
of the Lord Jesus manifesting “all longsuffering” towards him, before breaking
forth with a doxology: “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the
only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (17).
In
God’s longsuffering to him in his gross wickedness before his conversion, Paul
says he is a “pattern” (16). No one is too sinful to be saved, if God wills it.
If the Lord can convert Paul who ravaged Christ’s church (Acts 8:1-4), then
nobody is too difficult for Him. All must repent of their sins and trust in the
crucified and risen Lord Jesus, the only Saviour!
4. God’s Longsuffering—Particular and in Himself
In the last three issues of the News, we have surveyed all the biblical
references to God’s longsuffering. We have observed from both the Old Testament
(the historical books, the Psalms and the prophets) and the New Testament (the
gospels and the epistles) that Jehovah’s longsuffering is particular.
First, God’s longsuffering is seen to
be particular because it is found amidst references to His grace, mercy and
kindness. This is the case in all three passages in the Old Testament
historical books. In Exodus 34:6, Jehovah refers to Himself as “The Lord, The
Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering.” Later Moses declares, “The
Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and
transgression” (Num. 14:18). Likewise, the Levites confessed that the Most High
is “a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger [i.e.,
longsuffering], and of great kindness” (Neh. 9:17).
Since they are based upon the two
passages in the Pentateuch which refer to God’s longsuffering, we are not
surprised that all three verses in the Psalms which speak of this divine virtue
connect His longsuffering with His compassion, grace and mercy. “But thou, O
Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous
in mercy and truth” (86:15). “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger
[i.e., longsuffering], and plenteous in mercy” (103:8). “The Lord is gracious,
and full of compassion; slow to anger [i.e., longsuffering], and of great
mercy” (145:8).
The prophets present the same beautiful
and harmonious picture of God’s attributes of goodness, with both concluding
with references to His kindness: “And rend your heart, and not your garments,
and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger
[i.e., longsuffering], and of great kindness” (Joel 2:13); “I knew that thou
art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger [i.e., longsuffering], and of
great kindness” (Jonah 4:2).
Second, it is evident that God’s
longsuffering is particular because Scripture speaks of its being exercised
towards the elect alone. This very point is made in the first Old Testament
reference to this divine perfection. The God who is “merciful and gracious,
longsuffering” (Ex. 34:6) declares, “[I] will be gracious to whom I will be
gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy” (33:19).
In the first New Testament text on
Jehovah’s longsuffering, Jesus stresses this: “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night
unto him, though he bear long [i.e., be longsuffering] with them?” (Luke 18:7).
Similarly, Peter teaches that “God is longsuffering to us-ward”
(II Pet. 3:9), those who are elect and “beloved” (1:10; 3:1). Whereas the Lord
“endured ... the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction [i.e., the reprobate],”
Paul declares that He has “much longsuffering” upon “the vessels of mercy,
which he had afore prepared unto glory [i.e., the elect]” (Rom. 9:22-23).
Third, God’s longsuffering is
particular because of the groups to which it is shown, such as the “eight souls
[who] were saved by water” in the ark (I Pet. 3:20), spiritual Israel (Joel
2:13), penitent Gentiles (Jonah 4:2), believing Jews and Gentiles throughout
the New Testament age (I Tim. 1:16), and godly individuals, such as Jeremiah
(Jer. 15:15) and Paul (I Tim. 1:16).
Fourth, we know that God’s
longsuffering is particular since it is always salvific or saving: “the
longsuffering of our Lord is salvation” (II Pet. 3:15). It is revealed in the
cross of Jesus Christ (I Tim. 1:15-16), who is the “only Redeemer of God’s
elect” (Westminster
Shorter Catechism, A. 21).
At this stage, a question arises
regarding the nature of God: Is He longsuffering in Himself? The answer is an emphatic
Yes!
The reason for this lies, first, in
God’s self-sufficiency. He has need of nothing outside Himself for He is
perfectly full and rich. Thus the Almighty is self-sufficient in all His
attributes, including His longsuffering. Second, Jehovah is unchangeable.
Therefore, He cannot become longsuffering through His
creation.
So how is God longsuffering in His own
Being? First, we need to remove the idea of time from all our thoughts about
Jehovah, since He is eternal or timeless, for there is no time in Him. Second,
the Almighty never grows tired or bored with Himself because of His own
infinite glory, riches and fulness (whereas we, being finite and sinful, can
and do become tired of ourselves!).
If you would like a definition, God’s
longsuffering is His constant and never-wearying delight in Himself as the
perfectly blessed One. We worship the longsuffering Jehovah (I Tim. 1:16) from
the heart: “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God,
be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (17)!
God is also longsuffering regarding His
Persons. The Triune God is one in His Being and three in His Persons, as the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He enjoys infinitely blessed covenant
fellowship in Himself, between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. This
divine Fellowship is absolutely perfect for it is always vibrant, beautiful,
deep and satisfying. The fellowship of the three divine Persons never wanes or
grows stale (unlike our fellowship with one another in this life, sadly).
Concerning our longsuffering Triune God
(16), we again exclaim, “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the
only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (17)!
5. God’s Longsuffering and
the History of Sin
In
the last four issues of the News, we surveyed all the references to God’s
longsuffering in both the Old and the New Testaments, emphasizing that the
exercise of this divine attribute is particular, for the elect alone. But what
about how this works out in the history of sin?
Let
us start with the beginning of the history of sin: the fall in Genesis 3. Why
did the Most High not cast Adam and Eve into hell immediately after their
eating the forbidden fruit? Surely, this is what their sin deserved? However,
in God’s eternal decree, He had a wonderful plan to glorify His great name
through the salvation of an elect church in Jesus Christ. The immediate death
and damnation of the first two human beings would have stopped the propagation
of mankind! What then of the history of the world? What about the coming of the
Messiah?
Moving
forward many centuries, we come to the flood. Why did God tell Noah that 120
years would pass before the global deluge (Gen. 6:3)? It was not because the
Almighty was longsuffering to the reprobate in that age. Rather, time was
needed to build the ark and for Noah to preach about God’s coming judgment (II
Pet. 2:5). Also within these twelve decades, other elect saints, like
Methuselah, died. They could not perish in the flood because it was a picture
of Jehovah’s avenging wrath against the ungodly! The longsuffering of God saved
the eight souls in the ark; it was not trying to save the impenitent reprobate
who drowned under the judgment of the Most High (I Pet. 3:20).
Why
did the Lord not destroy Sodom earlier? It was not that God loves, and is
longsuffering towards, everybody head for head. Instead, the Sodomites had to
fill up the cup of their iniquity. The development of their wickedness even
reached to their attempted, homosexual gang rape of two strangers (Gen.
19:1-11). Until the departure of believing Lot, the only elect person in Sodom,
the Almighty could not burn up the city, as Abraham well understood:
That be far from thee to do after this
manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be
as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do
right? (18:25).
After
all, the fire and brimstone are a picture of the “eternal fire” of hell (Jude
7; II Pet. 2:6)!
What
about the Egyptians in the book of Exodus? Was the Almighty longsuffering
towards them? No. Through the words and miracles of Moses, God hardened the
hearts of Pharaoh (Ex. 4:21; 7:3, 13; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8), his
servants (10:1) and his people (14:17). Jehovah’s hardening of the Egyptians
issued from His eternal reprobation and holy hatred of them (Rom. 9:10-24;
11:7-10). Moreover, the Egyptians were destroyed for
the sake of His beloved Israel:
“For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt
for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. Since thou wast precious in my
sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give
men for thee, and people for thy life” (Isa. 43:3-4).
Why
did God not destroy the inhabitants of Canaan earlier? Was this because they
were the objects of His longsuffering? No. In the days recorded in Genesis
12-50, there simply were not enough descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to
possess the promised land. Besides, the people in Canaan had not yet
sufficiently developed in their sin. As Jehovah told Abraham centuries before
the conquest of the holy land, “But in the fourth generation they [i.e.,
Abraham’s descendants] shall come hither again: for the iniquity of the
Amorites is not yet full” (Gen. 15:16). Then the Most High would use the sword
of Joshua and the nation of Israel to inflict His judgment upon the wicked
inhabitants of Canaan (cf. Lev. 18).
After
the Jews crucified His Son, why did Jehovah not devastate Jerusalem and its
temple sooner? Why did He wait four decades until AD 70? Christ explains that
the Jews must commit other sins, especially persecuting His followers, so as to
be fully ripe for their inescapable judgment:
Fill
ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the
damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men,
and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall
ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon
you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of
righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between
the temple and the altar (Matt. 23:32-35).
Furthermore,
elect Jews in and around Jerusalem needed to be saved first, as we read in the
early chapters of Acts (e.g., 2:41; 4:4; 6:1, 7).
Does
the sparing of the Gentile world for many hundreds of years before the Holy One
of Israel began to gather a catholic or universal church (cf. Acts 14:16;
17:30) prove that He was longsuffering to these reprobate people? Of course
not! How could the Triune God save elect Gentiles in the New Testament age, if
He had wiped out their ancestors centuries before? The Lord had His elect among
the subsequent generations and numerous descendants of ancient idolaters,
including the (largely Gentile) readers of the Covenant
Reformed News!
Finally,
does the “delay” of the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the final
judgment indicate that God is longsuffering to the reprobate? No. Revelation
6:9-11 records “the fifth seal.” John “saw under the altar the souls of them
that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.”
This is the loud cry he heard: “How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not
judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” John beheld that
“white robes were given unto every one of them.” Then we read of the answer to
their earnest cry: “it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a
little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should
be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”
In
short, the scriptural explanation of the delay of the great judgment day is
that more saints must be martyred and the ungodly world must fully manifest its
wickedness. Only then will all things be ready for the glorified Christ to
return to deliver His beloved people and punish those who rebel against Him.
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom” (Luke 12:32)!
6. God’s Longsuffering and
the Reprobate Ungodly
In
the last five issues of the Covenant
Reformed News, we have
been setting forth the Bible’s teaching concerning the divine attribute of
longsuffering. Now we shall consider this perfection of God in connection with
the impenitent wicked.
We
start with the founder and first ruler of the Northern Kingdom, Jeroboam I,
whom Scripture repeatedly calls the man who “made Israel to sin” (e.g., I Kings
14:16; 15:26, 30, 34; 16:2, 26; 22:52; II Kings 3:3; 10:29; 13:2, 11; 14:24;
15:9, 18, 24, 28). This wicked man rebelled against the house of David and,
hence, against Jesus Christ, the sole king and head of the church, whom David
typified. Jeroboam forsook Jerusalem (a picture of the true church), its temple
(where Almighty God especially dwelt), its altar and sacrifices (which pointed
to Christ’s satisfaction for sin) and the Aaronitic priesthood (which God had
ordained). Instead, Jeroboam began a new dynasty over the northern tribes and
established idolatrous shrines at Dan and Bethel, where non-Levitical priests
offered sacrifices to the two golden calves that he had made, in keeping with
his new religious calendar (I Kings 12:28-33).
Given
the height of Jeroboam’s abominations, why did not the Holy One of Israel cut
him off sooner? It was certainly not that there was any divine love for him!
One
factor is that God willed the development of the false church in the Northern
Kingdom over against the true church in the Southern Kingdom, also called
Judah. This served to heighten the antithesis and to provide New Testament
Christians with an Old Testament example of the true church and the false
church existing side-by-side at the same time (Belgic
Confession 29). Another reason is that Jeroboam had to
live long enough to have a regenerate son, Abijah, of whom was “found some good
thing toward the Lord God of Israel” (I Kings 14:13).
Our
second example is King Ahaz, ruler of the Southern Kingdom of Judah (rather
than the Northern Kingdom of Israel, established by Jeroboam). You can read
about Ahaz’s gross idolatry at God’s temple in Jerusalem in II Kings 16 and II
Chronicles 28. Again the question arises, Why did God not slay him earlier? It
was not that God was longsuffering towards him and desperately tried to convert
him! Rather, Ahaz must be succeeded by the son of his own loins, the pious
Hezekiah, who would begin cleansing the pollutions of the temple on the very
first day of the first month of the first year of his reign (II Chron. 29:3,
17).
Our
third individual is found in the New Testament Scriptures: Jezebel, that wicked
woman in the church at Thyatira (Rev. 2:18-29). She was a false prophetess, who
promoted fornication and idolatry in the church, which she defended by her
antinomianism. Her deceitful claim was that, unless one knows “the depths of
Satan,” one can never fully appreciate the greatness of God’s rich grace of
forgiveness (24)!
Concerning
Jezebel, Christ declared, “I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and
she repented not” (21). Was this because God loved her and was longsuffering to
her and her reprobate followers? No! The Lord Jesus promised to “cast her into
a bed [of sickness]” (22), adding, “I will kill her children with death,” so
that “all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and
hearts” (23).
Turning
from these three individuals (Jeroboam, Ahaz and the prophetess Jezebel), we
will next consider a group of people: the false teachers mentioned in II Peter
2 and Jude. Do either of these holy men speak of those reprobate church leaders
(Jude 4) as the recipients of God’s longsuffering or grace? No! Instead, they
stress the certainty of their punishment (II Pet. 2:1, 3-6, 9, 12-13, 17; Jude
5-7, 13-15). God will execute His severe judgment upon these false teachers in
accordance with His eternal plan! As Moses says, “their foot shall slide in due
time” (Deut. 32:35).
Our
last biblical example is Judas, whose eternal reprobation is underscored by
Scripture (John 6:64, 70-71; 13:18, 21, 26-27; 17:12). Judas was a thief; he
had the bag and was pilfering all along (John 12:6; 13:29)! So why did God not
cast him into hell even then? First, Judas’ betrayal of Christ was predicted in
the Old Testament (Ps. 41:9; 55:12-14, 20-21; 109:6ff.) and so in the
providence of God this had to come to pass. Second, God had appointed Judas’
treachery as a crucial part of the way in which the Lord Jesus would go to the
cross, where He would die for all the sins of His people.
Christ
did not speak of any divine love or longsuffering for Judas that desired his
salvation. Instead, the Son of God proclaimed regarding the traitor, “The Son
of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of
man is betrayed! it
had been good for that man if he had not been born” (Matt. 26:24). This is true of all who
die in impenitence. All those in hell wish that they had never existed!
Christ
declared this judgment upon Judas (and all who lead others into sin):
It is impossible but that offences will
come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a
millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he
should offend one of these little ones (Luke 17:1-2; cf. Matt. 18:6; Mark
9:42).
God
does not immediately cut off the reprobate not because He is longsuffering to
them but because, in His inscrutable justice, He is giving them more time and
opportunity to heap up wrath unto themselves (Rom. 2:5). Jehovah’s purpose with
the impenitent ungodly is “to shew his wrath, and to make his power known”
(9:22).
Whereas
God puts up with or forbears or “endure[s] … the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction,” He does this “with much longsuffering” towards His elect “that he
might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had
afore prepared unto glory, even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only,
but also of the Gentiles” (22-24). Reprobation and forbearance serve God’s
election and longsuffering towards His beloved people in Jesus Christ!
7. God’s Longsuffering and
the Sins of His Elect
Having
considered the reprobate ungodly in the last issue of the Covenant
Reformed News, we now
turn to Scripture’s teaching on the divine attribute of longsuffering with
regard to the sins of God’s people in Jesus Christ.
Think
of the terrible transgressions of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament!
These included their lewd idolatry with the golden calf at Mount Sinai (Ex.
32-34) and their stubborn refusal at Kadesh to enter the promised land (Num.
13-14). We read of God’s being longsuffering or slow to anger at both of these
low points, both at the time (Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18) and later (Neh. 9:17).
This
last verse occurs in a review of Israel’s history that highlights Jehovah’s
mighty acts for the salvation of His people despite their terrible sins.
Nehemiah 9 begins with the children of Israel coming together for a fast,
covered with “sackclothes” and with dust upon their heads (1), confessing
“their sins, and the iniquities of their fathers” (2).
Listen
to their lament: “our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and
hearkened not to thy commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of
thy wonders that thou didst among them; but hardened their necks” (16-17).
Moreover, “they were disobedient, and rebelled against thee, and cast thy law
behind their backs, and slew thy prophets which testified against them to turn
them to thee, and they wrought great provocations” (26). Repeatedly, “they did
evil again before thee ... they dealt proudly, and hearkened not unto thy
commandments, but sinned against thy judgments … and withdrew the shoulder, and
hardened their neck, and would not hear” (28, 29).
Thus
the Levites declare on behalf of Israel, “we have done wickedly: Neither have
our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept thy law, nor
hearkened unto thy commandments and thy testimonies, wherewith thou didst
testify against them. For they have not served thee in their kingdom” (33-35).
Yet there was hope because God was longsuffering or “slow to anger” (17)!
No
wonder that holy David, who meditated in God’s law day and night, celebrated
this divine virtue (Ps. 86:15; 103:8; 145:8) in connection with the forgiveness
of sins (Ps. 86:5; 103: 3, 10, 12).
God
also magnified His longsuffering in His salvation of elect Gentiles, including
the Ninevites (Jonah 4:2) and the New Testament church (II Pet. 3:9, 15), most
of which is not ethnically Jewish (Rom. 9:22-24). What a multitude of sins of
former pagans are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ in the longsuffering of
God!
Jehovah
is “longsuffering” to predestinated individuals, including Paul, the “chief” of
sinners, who persecuted the church before God showed His rich “grace” to him (I
Tim. 1:13-16).
All
of this speaks to us, beloved! How longsuffering has God been to us regarding
our original sins! What about all of the sins of our youth (Ps. 25:7)? Many of
us can recall our horrible iniquities before we came to Christ. There are also
our sins as Christians, some of which seem to us to be even worse than our
pre-conversion sins because they were committed against far greater light. We
have transgressed God’s holy law as His children, as church members, as earthly
sons or daughters, as husbands or wives, as fathers or mothers, at home and at
work, in our thoughts and words and deeds!
But
our covenant God comes to us in Scripture, reminding us of His longsuffering!
Through the preaching of the holy gospel, He declares to us that He is
longsuffering, as the One who is patient, gracious and slow to anger. Jehovah’s
longsuffering is symbolized and sealed in the sacrament of holy baptism (I Pet.
3:20-21).
God’s
longsuffering is an instance of what are often called His communicable
attributes, that is, those divine perfections that He works into the hearts and
lives of His people so that they reflect His virtues in a creaturely way.
Think
of the parable of the unmerciful servant in Matthew 18:23-35, which could also
be called the parable of the unlongsuffering servant! Regarding the slave and
his master, we read, “The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him,
saying, Lord, have patience with [i.e., be longsuffering towards] me, and I
will pay thee all” (26). Regarding the slave and his fellow slave, we read,
“And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have
patience with [i.e., be longsuffering towards] me, and I will pay thee all”
(29).
The
point of the parable is that we should be longsuffering towards and forgive
those who have wronged us, if they ask for our forgiveness (and we should be
willing to forgive those who wrong us, if they do not ask for our pardon).
After all, Scripture itself tells us the lesson regarding forgiveness that
Christ’s parable is designed to teach: “Jesus saith unto him [i.e., Peter], I
say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (22).
Forgive
others! After all, God has been, and is, longsuffering towards you and has
forgiven you billions of sins, like the servant who owes an unpayable debt in
the parable. Thus we must be longsuffering and forgive others. The
truth of God’s longsuffering is very practical and for some this is a hard
spiritual lesson to learn. By meditating upon, and rejoicing in, God’s
longsuffering in Himself and towards us miserable offenders, the Holy Spirit
enables us to be longsuffering and forgiving to those who have sinned against
us.
What
Christ teaches in one of His inimitable parables, the apostle Paul states in
one of his canonical epistles: “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and
beloved … longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one
another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so
also do ye” (Col. 3:12-13). This is our calling as the undeserving objects of
God’s longsuffering!
8. God’s Longsuffering and
Our Suffering
Our
covenant God is longsuffering towards His people in their suffering. David
confessed this comforting truth in Psalm 86. After telling the Lord about his
persecution by the ungodly—“O God, the proud are risen against me, and the
assemblies of violent men have sought after my soul; and have not set thee
before them” (14)—David consoles himself with these words: “But thou, O Lord,
art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (15).
Similarly,
Jeremiah prays, “O Lord, thou knowest: remember me, and visit me, and revenge
me of my persecutors; take me not away in thy longsuffering: know that for thy sake I have suffered
rebuke” (15:15). That is, “Do not, in thy longsuffering over me, permit my
enemies to persecute me so long that they succeed in destroying me!”
In
Christ’s parable in Luke 18:1-8, the widow is the object of great injustice and
ill-treatment at the hands of her oppressor. Even the unjust judge, wanting to
get rid of her, eventually vindicates her (4-5). Jesus draws this lesson from
the parable: “And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night
unto him, though he bear long with [i.e., is longsuffering towards] them?” (7).
How
is this longsuffering possible for the unchangeable and ever-blessed God? The
answer is that God shows empathy and is longsuffering towards His people, especially
in their sufferings, through
Jesus Christ who is both God and man in one divine
Person. As God, Jesus cannot suffer. As man, our Saviour is “touched with the
feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15).
Our
calling is obvious: “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,
that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (16). Like
the widow in the parable (as well as David and Jeremiah), we “ought always to
pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1), even when we are oppressed and afflicted
by the ungodly, for God suffers long and empathizes with us in Jesus Christ.
Isaiah
63 teaches the same truth, though without using the word “longsuffering”: “In
all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved
them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and
carried them all the days of old” (9). This refers to the “love” and “pity” of
the impassible God who was “afflicted” in “all” Israel’s “affliction” in “the
angel of his presence,” Christ, who is God’s special divine angel (i.e.,
messenger) who “redeemed” and “saved” them. Again, as a man, our Saviour is
“touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4:15).
Isaiah
63:9 declares the same message as Exodus 3:2. Where is Christ, “the angel [or special messenger] of the Lord”?
In the burning bush, in the midst of the church experiencing the fiery
afflictions of Pharaoh’s persecution. This means not only that He is
“afflicted” in Israel’s “affliction” (Isa. 63:9). It also means that it is
Christ’s presence in the Old Testament church which preserves it so that,
though “the bush burned with fire,” it “was not consumed” (Ex. 3:2).
After
the elders of Israel were told of God’s longsuffering towards and with them (in
Christ), they were struck with awe: “when they heard that the Lord had visited
the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they
bowed their heads and worshipped” (4:31).
Moving
from the Israelites who were forced to make bricks without straw, James 5
refers to Christian employees who are abused in the work place and defrauded of
their wages (4, 6). What is the exhortation God gives to His people in this
Scripture? Join a labour union? Go on strike? Overthrow the “capitalist pigs”?
No,
exercise the grace of longsuffering in light of the bodily return of Jesus
Christ! “Be patient [i.e., be longsuffering] therefore, brethren, unto the
coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of
the earth, and hath long patience [i.e., is longsuffering] for it, until he
receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient [i.e., be longsuffering];
stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh … Take, my
brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example
of suffering affliction, and of patience [i.e., longsuffering]” (7-8, 10).
Notice
the two examples given here of patience and longsuffering: first, a farmer
waiting for the harvest (7) and, second, the Old Testament prophets who endured
suffering for the truth they preached (10). The saint from Uz is then set forth
by James for our emulation: “Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have
seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy”
(11).
Hebrews
6 exhorts us to show Christian “diligence” to the “end” (11), “That ye be not
slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience [i.e.,
longsuffering] inherit the promises” (12), like Abraham (13-14), who was tested
severely and, “after he had patiently endured [i.e., been longsuffering], he
obtained the promise” (15).
We
must not grow discouraged or bitter with our sovereign God because of our
afflictions. We must not huff and throw in the towel. We must not protest, “But
I have already suffered long enough!”
The
teaching of James 5 and Hebrews 6 is that Christians will and must suffer, but
that we must, by God’s grace, be longsuffering in our suffering! Why? Jesus
Christ our Saviour is coming again to punish the wicked and deliver us! This
hope in the fulfilment of God’s promise of perfect salvation and joy is our
spiritual motivation to be patient and longsuffering in our afflictions and
hardships.
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