God is very patient with His creation and gives people many chances to turn from sin to Him whether believers or unbelievers.
6 Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed: “Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth …” (Ex 34:6)
4 Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? (Rom 2:4)
God is patient giving people a chance to turn away from sin and evil, but His patience does run out … even with His people:
Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive with man forever…” (Gen 6:3)
15 But Yahweh, the God of their ancestors sent word against them by the hand of His messengers, sending them time and time again, for He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they kept ridiculing God’s messengers, despising His words, and scoffing at His prophets, until the Lord’s wrath was so stirred up against His people that there was no remedy. 17 So He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their choice young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary. (2 Chr 36:15-17)
11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people despise Me? How long will they not trust in Me despite all the signs I have performed among them? … 21 Yet as surely as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, 22 none of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested Me these 10 times and did not obey Me, 23 will ever see the land I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have despised Me will see it. (Num 14:11, 21-23)
There are two great examples from the Old Testament of God’s patience running out on people. One is the city of Nineveh and the other is Israel.
Nineveh – Nineveh was a pagan city and the capital of the Assyrian empire. That empire was a ruthless, powerful, and brutal empire. As you read through the Minor Prophets, you’ll see that God spoke to two prophets about Nineveh – Jonah and Nahum. Jonah was sent to Nineveh to warn them of God’s coming judgment and told them to repent. God was giving them a chance to repent and be spared, and they did repent for a while. But, within 100-150 years, God spoke through the prophet Nahum that Nineveh would be destroyed. They were not given a chance to repent; God had decided to destroy them. His patience had run out. History shows us that they were overrun and destroyed within 50 years of the prophecy.
It is easy for believers in Christ to imagine God’s patience running out on non-believers. After all, we know the end is coming and huge numbers of people will be condemned to hell as we read in Revelation. Although we know God’s patience runs out on non-believer, we Christians don’t often think that His patience with unrepentant believers can run out too … but it does. Don’t get me wrong, a sinful believer does not lose their salvation, but God can make things very uncomfortable for us if we continue in sin and don’t turn back to Him. That brings us to the second example from the Old Testament, Israel. They were God’s people but they pushed God to the limit with their sin and paid the consequences.
Israel – As time progressed, Israel deteriorated spiritually and morally. They had a corrupt government and legal system. Sinful living and evil was throughout their society. The priesthood was corrupt and they were deeply immersed in idolatry and the world. God began warning Israel of their upcoming exile to Babylon because of their wickedness through many prophets (Isaiah, Micah, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, etc). In fact, He sent prophets and warning to them for about 140 years before the exile happened. God was VERY patient. He was giving them every chance to turn from their evil ways back to Him, but they didn’t. So, God brought the Babylonians against them. They went through a brutal siege by the Babylonians where many Israelites died through famine, war, and even cannibalism. Even under siege the Israelites did not repent, and they were swept away from their homes and country into exile in Babylon. God’s patience had run out.
The New Testament goes even farther and shows us how individuals can push God too far so that He sends massive problems into their lives:
29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep. (1 Cor 11:29-30)
22 “Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: It is not for your sake that I will act, house of Israel, but for My holy name, which you profaned among the nations where you went. 23 I will honor the holiness of My great name, which has been profaned among the nations—the name you have profaned among them. (Eze 36:22-23)
Believers in Corinth were taking communion in a very unworthy way that diminished Jesus and His sacrifice, and they paid the price of sickness and death. They had pushed God too far and His patience ran out. He had to send corrective punishment. Similarly, the passage in Ezekiel above shows God’s people profaning Him Name publicly. God responded with corrective punishment.
The key takeaway of this post is simple. God is patient with your sin and gives you chances to turn from your sin back to Him and right living … but His patience has limits and He will punish and correct as needed.
Don’t stretch God’s patience by living sinfully. Turn from your sin when you commit it before He must act in your life to straighten you out.
Think about it
How do you reconcile the description of God in Exodus 34:6 (“slow to anger and rich in faithful love”) with the reality that His patience eventually runs out?
According to Romans 2:4, what is the specific purpose of God’s kindness and restraint? How do people mistakenly interpret His patience as approval or indifference?
What in 2 Chronicles 36:16 provoked God’s wrath until there was “no remedy”? What does that tell us about the danger of a hardened heart?
Why do you think Christians fall into the trap of thinking God will just overlook ongoing sin? Do you fall into that trap?
Ezekiel 36 highlights God acting to protect His holy name which His people profaned. How does our private or public sin as modern Christians reflect on or profane God’s name to the outside world?
God warned Israel for nearly a century and a half before the Babylonian exile. When you look at your own life, can you identify areas where God has been patiently warning you for months or years about some sin? What keeps you from responding?
In what areas of your life right now are you “stretching” God’s patience or taking His grace for granted? What is a specific sin, habit, or attitude you know you need to turn away from today before God has to step in and “straighten it out” through harsher means?
