Micah 7:18. "Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger for ever because he delights in steadfast love."

When I really think about how God is like this, It kind of boggles my mind! In the ancient world, man projected his thinking and behavior onto his gods. They assumed that gods who had power over nature and humanity would certainly be in competition with humanity; would be angry and hold grudges; and would punish us for transgressions without mercy (look at Greek mythology for examples!), that, after all, is what we would do! So when the true God revealed Himself to the Jews, He was unlike any god the world had previously conceived.

God is operating only out of love for us and His creation - He is love. He is not in competition with us, He only wants what is best for us, and He alone knows what that is! So while God does appear to be angry with us when we turn away from Him, it is really that He hates seeing us suffer the consequences of our sin, and wants us to repent. It is like when we get angry with our children when they keep doing something wrong, and how we hate to see them suffer for their wrongdoing (although we do not tend to be as forgiving as God even with our children sometimes!). God's anger passes the moment we take a step toward Him. He rushes out to meet us, gathering us back and lavishing us with love.

Our God is a God of steadfast love, He is so much more than we could ever expect from a god we conceived. "Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity?"