God has a Very Long Nose (2 Peter 3:8-13)

God has a Very Long Nose (2 Peter 3:8-13)

 

8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives

12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 

13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

Intro)
The Old Testament tells us that God is slow to anger. The original Hebrew version describes this trait in an interesting way: It says that God has a long nose. The Hebrews thought that it took longer for one’s nose to run if it was longer, so they illustrated patience with this metaphor. Today we will discuss the grace of God’s patience.

 

Body)

 

A) Evidence of God’s Patience

God’s patience is illustrated most clearly when the Israelites were in the desert for 40 years. God put them there as a blessing, but they scorned their own grace by complaining and disobeying. They took a place of grace and tarnished it into a place of sin.

 

They broke God’s first commandment of serving no other God by worshipping Baal

(Numbers 25:1). They also broke God’s second commandment of creating an idol by making a gold calf to worship.

 

In Leviticus, an Israeli woman and an Egyptian man had a son who “blasphemed the name of the Lord, and cursed,” breaking the 3rd commandment (24:10-11). The 4th commandment was also broken when an Israelite did not keep the Sabbath holy (Numbers 15:32-36).

 

The Israelites broke the first 4 commandments during their time in the desert. The first half of the 10 commandments describes how our relationship should be with God while the second half guides our relationships with each other. In other words, the Israelites broke all of the commandments that connected them to God.

 

But even when the Israelites broke His laws, God was patient. If He had a “short nose” He would have surely left them all to die and none of them would have entered the Promised Land. But God has a long nose. His love and patience is a blessing we must recognize. His long nose allows us to be forgiven and enter His Kingdom of Heaven.

 

B) The Meaning of Patience

In Greek, the word for “patience” directly translates to mean “endure.” In other words, patience means to endure no matter how difficult things can get. But we as humans have limitations on our patience. God’s patience, however, has no bounds.

 

Romans 2:4 says that God has “riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience.” Romans 9:22 also says, “[God] bore with great patience the objects of his wrath” and 2 Peter 3:9 repeats, “[God] is patient with you.”

 

The people of the First Church who received the letters of 1 and 2 Peter were scattered all over the region because they were persecuted by the Romans. Remnants of their hiding places can still be found in placed like Turkey.

 

These people often questioned why God didn’t punish evil-doers like those who were persecuting Christians. Why is Jesus taking so long to return? Peter answered by telling them to be patient.

 

This question lingers in our minds today. Why does evil exist? Why does God let these things happen? Why does He not return sooner? The answer is in today’s scripture.

 

C) The Bible’s Answer

1. A thousand years is like a day to God.

Verse 8 says, “8 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” God waits for a thousand years like it is a day. His patience is unrivaled to that of a man’s.

 

Genesis 29 tells the story of Jacob when he ran away to evade the rage of his brother Esau after he stole Esau’s birthright. Jacob went to his uncle’s home, where he fell in love with Rachel, the younger daughter.

 

His uncle agreed to let Jacob marry Rachel if he worked for him for 7 years. “20 So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.”

 

God’s love for us makes a thousand years feel like a mere day to Him. We, as humans, are impatient and impetuous. But all good things require patience and endurance. An ice cream shop in Rome has been around for 120 years. There is a restaurant in the UK where they have only served beef steak for 100 years. There is a taiyaki shop in Tokyo that has been passed down for 4 generations.

 

Being consistent and patient is not an easy task. It requires passion, discipline, and genuine love. These are the people who are honored and respected.

 

2. God waits for repentance and salvation.

Verse 9 says, “9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” Why does God wait thousands of years? Because He wants to give everyone the chance to come to repentance. 

If God did not send Jesus to this earth, we would not have been saved. If Jesus returned before I accepted Him as my savior, I would not have been saved.

 

In addition, people do not change easily. Peter was known to be impatient and rough, and he remained that way even as a disciple. John did things his way, and that did not change after following Jesus. But they did start to change when they learned Jesus’ patience and love.

 

Luke 15 tells the famous parable of the prodigal son. A man had two sons. one day, his younger son asked for his inheritance and left home despite his father’s pleas. He spent all his money and was left with nothing and no one to help him.

 

His father waited for him to return every day, lighting lamps for him every night. He did not know how long it would take, nor if his son would ever return. But he waited regardless with great patience.

 

This story inspired a hymn: “Come home, come home/ No matter how great your sins/ There is nothing our Lord cannot handle/ His heart is wider than the skies.” Hallelujah!

 

As his father, the man did not care why his son had left or what his son had done while he was gone. All he wanted was for his son to return and repent. The mere fact that his son had come back was reason enough to forgive him. It was reason enough to celebrate.

 

We are all sons and daughters of God. When we turn away from Him and sin, He does not cast down His wrath and punishment upon us. He waits for us patiently with love.

 

John Wesley’s father asked his wife how she could repeat the same thing to their son 20 times and remain patient. She replied, “If I stopped at 19 times, all the effort I put in would have been for nothing.” God’s patience towards us is even greater than this.

 

Con)

 

We must be thankful for God’s patience and learn to be patient like Him. Let us all dedicate this week practicing patience with love and grow ever stronger in our faith. Hallelujah!

 

080319 Pastor: Ik Sun, Ahn