ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Tusite Me 2, 2023

The Good News of God's Long Nose 

Ko e Ongoongo lelei ‘o e Fofonga loloa (kataki lahi) ‘o e ‘Otua

NUMBERS 14:18

"THE LORD IS SLOW TO ANGER AND ABOUNDING IN STEADFAST LOVE, FORGIVING INIQUITY AND TRANSGRESSION, BUT HE WILL BY NO MEANS CLEAR THE GUILTY, VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS ON THE CHILDREN, TO THE THIRD AND THE FOURTH GENERATION,"

NOMIPA 14:18

‘Oku ne fakamolemole ‘a e kovi mo e talangata‘a, kae ‘ikai ‘aupito te ne faka‘atā ‘a e halaia. ‘Oku ne ‘eke ‘a e kovi ‘a e mātu‘a ki he fānau, ‘o a‘u ki he tolu mo e faa‘i to‘utangata.

For the Israelite, God's heart is made visible in his af ("nose"). When "the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses" (Exod. 4:14), the Hebrew says "the af of Yahweh burned." Even more graphically, David says smoke billows from divine nostrils (Ps. 18:8). Hot-nosed would be like us saying someone's blood boiled. The opposite, however, is not cold-nosed but long-nosed. Moses says "the LORD is erek appayim," literally, "long of nose," just as we use expressions like "short-tempered" versus "long-suffering." In the context of Numbers 14, the Lord was on the verge of annihilating Israel when they stubbornly refused to enter the land of promise. Moses, however, reminds God that he is not a short-nosed deity but the long-nosed covenant King.

The Greek word used to translate this Hebrew expression is found in 1 Corinthians 13:4: "Love is patient." Love is long-nosed. A Hebrew spin on 2 Peter 3:9 would be that the Lord is "long-nosed toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." The long arm of God's law might accuse us, but the long nose of God's grace saves us.

Lengthen your nose toward us, heavenly Father, and grant us your steadfast love.