“The Lord, the Lord,
a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger,
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”
Exodus 34:6

When I was in high school I used to love playing basketball. A group of us guys had made a regular habit of playing every Saturday. It was good exercise and good for developing friendships. However, there were some times when in the heat of battle, tempers would fly. One such day, I lost my cool on my friend who was having the game of his life. My defense turned into rage and I tackled him to the ground. He responded to my foolishness as a Christian should, calm and in control of his emotions. I was ashamed of my behavior. I admired him for not reacting to my outburst. He forgave and loved me in spite of my weakness. I learned a valuable lesson about what can happen when we let our anger go unchecked.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is Exodus 34:6.  God reveals himself to Moses by declaring his holy name before him, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” The phrase “slow to anger” is an English translation of the Hebrew אַפַּ֖יִם  אֶ֥רֶךְ which literally means “long of nose.” This is not meant to be a literal description of God’s appearance; rather, it is a Hebraism that describes God’s character. My friend displayed that same character when I was enraged. While my nose was short and flared in my anger, his was long and calm, so to speak. Today, we would say someone with a short temper has a “short fuse” rather than a “short nose,” but you get the idea. God is long suffering, patient, and slow to anger because he loves all. We could all do well to have such a long nose.