The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Numbers 14:18-21, “The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, 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 generations.
19 ‘Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.’
20 So the LORD said, ‘I have pardoned them according to your word;
21 but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD.’”

As with almost all of Scripture, there is a principle that can be utilized in virtually all situations. For one thing, the LORD is slow to anger. He does not delight in “gotchas.” He is certainly beyond such trivialities. Yet, He does not “clear out the guilty” –at least as quickly as we often desire.

Sometimes, however, He eliminates them; otherwise, how would the earth “be filled with the glory of the LORD”? (v. 21). Verse 18 tells us that the LORD is “slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness.” That leaves us on the other side, because we often (too often) wish Him to be quick with His anger and totally unforgiving! –of others, of course.

Many of us thrill at His forgiveness of our sin! We just want Him to hurry and pour out His wrath on those who deserve it, and be careful not to allow His wrath to fall upon us. A stinging example: we despise the fact that immoral men survive; but are we not among the immoral when we fail to share with them our faith in Jesus Christ? Me thinks there’s sufficient blame to go around.

Let’s not worry about His blame falling on others. Let’s be focused on living so that none can justifiably fall upon us.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom