The Patience of God

He is patient with us. Amos Review

Amos Review (4)

Pray Psalm 7.9-11.
Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.
My defense is of God,
Who saves the upright in heart.
God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.

Sing Psalm 7.9-11.
(Finlandia: Be Still, My Soul)
Bring to an end the evil of the wicked,
but let Your righteous ones established be.
You are my shield, my soul will not be stricken;
test heart and mind, my true Defender be.
You are a righteous Judge in every way,
angry at wicked people every day.

Preparation
1. What words did God call Israel to do?

2. What did He promise them?

Meditation
One nagging question confronts me every time I read Amos and any of the prophets whose focus was on Israel: Why did God wait so long?

From the get-go as a nation separate from Judah in the south, Israel demonstrated hostility to God. They despised His temple and set up two alternate worship centers, one in the north and one in the south. They despised His priesthood and recruited priests from every tribe to facilitate the worship of false gods. They despised His Law and chose to follow pagan ways in all their doings. And they despised His promises, forgetting all that He had done for them and all that He had promised He would do.

Why didn’t God judge Israel before she could infect Judah? Why did He wait so long?

Because He is a patient God. In His patience, He sent prophets to Israel to call them to repentance and faith. They silenced those prophets and sent them packing. Yet God continued to be patient, enlarging their borders, restoring lost properties, allowing the nation to prosper, and continuing to bless them in many other ways.

The simple fact is that God is not willing for any to perish. Any, that is, of His true people: “The Lord is not slack concerning Hispromise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3.9). During those long years, some—some of us, Peter would say—would come to their senses and make their way to Judah. God was waiting for them. He was patient with them and with all the faithful remnant of Israel; and He blessed and protected the scoundrels and scumbags for the sake of His true sheep, dwelling in their midst.

Thank God for His patience. But let’s not take advantage of that. Daily seek the Lord and daily take up His work, so that, daily, His grace may reach to others.

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
“A certain man had two sons.
And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me…the younger son journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living…when he came to himself [he said] I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you’…and he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him… ‘for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found’” (Lk. 15.11-24).

Jesus was visiting with tax collectors and sinners, which made the Pharisees and scribes complain. So, He said to them, “there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Lk. 15.10). Then He told them the story about the prodigal son and his father.

The incredible patience of our God was described in the actions of this father of the prodigal—waiting, watching, compassionately and actively loving—forgiveness personified.

Why didn’t God judge Israel more quickly?
Why didn’t God judge us more quickly?
“Because He is a patient God.” That’s why.

And the reason He isn’t moving more quickly now is because there are still many who have not come to Him, to serve Him as LORDand King and Savior.

God is longsuffering toward us, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3.9).

“But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,
longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth” (Ps. 86.15).

“Do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering,
not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?” (Rom. 2.4).

“The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust” (Ps. 103.8-14).

God gave us time to come to the Truth (Jn. 14.6).
God will give others time, as well.

While we wait and work, Jesus tells us:
“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (Jn. 14.21, 23).

All through, and because of, the patience of God: “Seek Me and live” (Amos 5.4).

Reflection
1. How has God shown His patience toward you? Have you thanked Him?

2. Do you need to be more patient, or to exercise more patience toward anyone? Explain. How can the Holy Spirit help you in this (Gal. 5.22, 23)?

3. What is God looking for in us as He patiently withholds His judgment on our country, our churches, and our world?

Those who will seek and love that which is good, may help to save the land from ruin. It behooves us to plead God’s spiritual promises, to beseech him to create in us a clean heart, and to renew a right spirit within us. The Lord is ever ready to be gracious to the souls that seek him; and then piety and every duty will be attended to. Matthew Henry (1662-1714),Commentary on Amos 5.7-17

Pray Psalm 7.1-8.
Thank God for His great patience with sinners such as you and I. Pray for our country. Pray for lost people everywhere. Pray that God will not soon lose patience with them, but that He will use us to persuade many to repent and believe the Gospel.

Sing Psalm 7.1-8.
(Finlandia: Be Still, My Soul)
O LORD, my God, I trust in You: O save me!
Deliver me from all who seek my life.
If in my hands, You find iniquity,
or any evil, any wicked strife,
then let my foe pursue and overtake me,
and without honor I shall surely be.

Arise, O LORD, rise up in wrath to save me!
Let rage and judgment fall upon my foes!
From all who know You let abundant praise be;
rise up on high; the wicked curse with woes.
O Judge of all, judge now my righteousness
and my integrity, approve and bless.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.