Sometimes God gets angry. Sometimes his righteous
and thoroughly justifiable anger is even directed at his servants:
“The Lord
was angry with me because of you.”
“The Lord was so angry with Aaron that
he was ready to destroy him.”
“The Lord
was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord.”
“He
has cut down in fierce anger all the might of Israel; he has burned
like a flaming fire in Jacob, consuming all around.”
But the consequences of God’s anger (not to
mention its duration) are not always precisely the same.
Indignation and its Consequences
Moses lost the opportunity to enter Canaan,
but God was with him subsequently and their fellowship was restored. Aaron was
preserved by the prayer of his brother and continued in his priestly role despite making more than one terrible choice in the course of his service. In the case of Solomon’s sin, Israel suffered the loss of God’s protection for the first time in his glorious reign, but the king himself was personally untouched. And while many
Israelites experienced the indignation of God by going into captivity, he held
back his anger against generations who themselves had richly deserved every
punishment that was later inflicted on their children and grandchildren.
God displays his anger differently, in ways
that are situationally appropriate and consistent with his sovereign
government. Sometimes his anger is not evident to mankind at all. But make no
mistake, it is there, even if it’s bubbling under the surface.
Every Single Day
David tells us God’s righteous anger against
the wicked is ongoing, even when the world is unaware:
“God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.”
Unadulterated righteousness will do that. I don’t feel
indignation every day, but then I’m sadly far off God’s standard in that
department. I also don’t see every transgression that occurs. God does. Imagine
that. I also have no personal or emotional investment in most of the people on
this planet, though perhaps I should. God absolutely does. Further, when I do see people sinning, I often cannot distinguish between
ignorance and rebellion. God can and does. “He who teaches man knowledge knows the thoughts of man.”
That’s a lot to be angry about.
Most Perfectly Expressed
Ah, but that’s the Old Testament God, some
would argue. Jesus loved everybody.
Such a view tends to ignore the fact that Jesus
Christ was the perfect expression of God in every way. Whatever God is, Jesus was, is and always will be, says the writer to the
Hebrews. Or as the old hymnwriter put it:
“In thee most perfectly expressed the Father’s glories shine.Of the full deity possessed, eternally divine.”
It is unimaginable that Jesus Christ would
have failed in any way to express one of the most basic characteristics of his Father.
Zeal for Your House
Such a view also ignores the plain statements of the gospel writers, who tell us in each and every account of the intensity of the Lord’s passion for his Father’s honor and how that zeal showed itself.
(Hint: there was some violence involved.) On another occasion, Mark tells us that he “looked at [the Pharisees] with
anger, grieved at their hardness of heart.” According to Mark, on at least one occasion the Lord was even
indignant with his disciples. Earlier, we read of the Lord saying, “O faithless generation,
how long am I to bear with you?” His indignation was evident, and the provocations of men were endless.
How can we reasonably doubt that, just like
his Father, Jesus felt indignation every day of his life on earth?
Approximations and Metaphors
We are speaking of God, of course. I have
no doubt that when the writers of scripture use the words “anger” or “indignation”,
they are approximating to a certain extent. It can hardly be otherwise. When I
experience anger, I always have at least a degree of difficulty reining in my
emotions and doing the right thing. For me, anger is accompanied by temptation,
to which I may or may not respond. So God, who is never tempted by evil, cannot be said to have quite the same emotional experience. In that sense,
human indignation is more like a metaphor rather than a perfect description of
God’s anger against sin.
That said, it would be equally erroneous to
assert that God is merely mechanical in his response to human wickedness. The basic
emotions with which he has blessed humanity surely had their origin in heaven,
though in the Godhood they are perfectly appropriate in both intensity and
expression, unlike the debased versions we find ourselves stuck with on account
of the Fall. God is no robot.
The Objects of Indignation
It is easy to become flippant about sin, especially when we are surrounded by it and the world treats it as commonplace
or even commendable. In fact, it’s possible for Christians to become far too casual
about our own sin.
We shouldn’t. We have a God who feels
indignation every day, and we are fools if we think for a moment that his anger
will bubble away under the surface forever. One day God’s indignation will be
expressed in full. What a shame to be its object.
And even today — very occasionally,
one hopes — that indignation still finds its expression in order that God’s children might not forget what it means to be members of his household and
heirs to his nature.
All of his nature. Not just the bits we like.
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