Nosy Anger

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Opening Prayer

Loving Lord Jesus, how wonderful You are! You love me singularly, perfectly, fully–right to the very end.

Read Isaiah 5:22-30

^[22] Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, ^[23] who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent. ^[24] Therefore, as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel. ^[25] Therefore the LORD’s anger burns against his people; his hand is raised and he strikes them down. The mountains shake, and the dead bodies are like refuse in the streets. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised. ^[26] He lifts up a banner for the distant nations, he whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Here they come, swiftly and speedily! ^[27] Not one of them grows tired or stumbles, not one slumbers or sleeps; not a belt is loosened at the waist, not a sandal strap is broken. ^[28] Their arrows are sharp, all their bows are strung; their horses’ hooves seem like flint, their chariot wheels like a whirlwind. ^[29] Their roar is like that of the lion, they roar like young lions; they growl as they seize their prey and carry it off with no one to rescue. ^[30] In that day they will roar over it like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks at the land, there is only darkness and distress; even the sun will be darkened by clouds.

Meditate

God’s anger is for justice and its implementation. Are there times when it is right for us to be angry?

Think Further

The hand that was stretched out to save is now extended in judgment (Exod. 6:6; Isa. 9:12,17; 10:4). The “woe” (Hebrew, hoy!) and “therefore” (Hebrew, lakén) continue, combining anger and pathos. The Hebrew word “af” is the word for nostril, and just as we “flair our nostrils” when annoyed, Isaiah describes God’s anger in human terms. Such anger, however, is never undeserved, irrational or predetermined. It is righteous, relevant and proportionate to the offense committed. In Isaiah it is described as relentless (here), violent (10:5), destructive (10:25). It is fierce (13:9), burning (13:13), aggressive (14:6), raging (30:30), and bloody (63:3), but not unlimited (12:1).

The justice and mercy of God go hand in hand, and while “mercy triumphs over judgment” (Jas. 2:13), the judgment of God was righteous, relevant and a reality that Israel was to discover through the Assyrian rise to power. An invading army, the stench of battle casualties, the gleam of armor and the sound of chariots are images the prophet uses to strike fear in the hearts of his hearers and call them to turn from their ways of injustice.

God’s anger is always a counterpart to his deep, yearning love. The god of many philosophers is impassive, abstract and distant from creation, an easy target for atheists to attack. But the God of the Bible is more; he is so passionately involved with his creation and his people that he uses Assyria as a tool to judge Israel.

Should we be concerned that God’s choice of Israel and his covenant relationship with them seems too arbitrary and emotional, smacking of favoritism? Or should it be rightly understood as a model for God’s commitment to all, to take all our sins and face all the punishment for our sin on the cross at Calvary?

Apply

How do you understand the anger of God over sin? How does James 1:19-21 help?

Closing prayer

Lord, I thank You for Your passionate involvement with me. I ask forgiveness for my willfulness and sin. Guide me in the way of greater holiness.

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