Week Thirteen-Day Three: Wrathful

Wrath is an old school word. Dictionary.com defines it as “strong, stern, or fierce anger; deeply resentful indignation; vengeance.”

This definitely does not sound like God, does it? In fact, we usually feel downright squirrely about referring to God as a God of wrath. And yet when we read our Bibles, it’s hard to avoid.[1] As you look at the following two passages, try to make a mental note of the words, feelings and concepts that are related to God’s wrath.

Nahum 1:2-3, 6-8

² The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The LORD takes vengeance on his foes and vents his wrath against his enemies.

³ The LORD is slow to anger but great in power; the LORD will not leave the guilty unpunished. His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet.

⁶ Who can withstand his indignation? Who can endure his fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before him.

⁷ The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,
⁸ but with an overwhelming flood he will make an end of Nineveh; he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. 

2 Thessalonians 1:6-10

⁶ God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you

⁷ and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.

⁸ He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

⁹ They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might

¹⁰ on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you. 

The wrath of God is so much a part of the Biblical landscape that A. W. Pink could say, “A study of the concordance will say that there are more references to the anger, fury and wrath of God, than there are to His love and tenderness.”[2] The authors of the Bible felt no hesitation about speaking of God’s wrath. This is why it has to be part of our discussion of the attributes of God.

But most of us probably wish we didn’t have to talk about it. Most of us feel an overwhelming sense of the hesitance that the Biblical authors do not seem to feel at all. Why are we so resistant to think about and talk about the wrath of God? Maybe we are squirrely about it because it seems so over the top. It seems so irrational and so intense. One author called the wrath of God “incalculable and arbitrary”.[3] And frankly, it seems beneath God; it seems almost petty. Something in us feels like wrath is for out of control, small minded people who are not wise enough, gracious enough or strong enough to take the high road.

But we have thought about God’s wrath wrongly.

First of all, God’s wrath is always an outgrowth of His justice. God’s wrath is always righteous anger. I like how Jonathan Edwards put it: when God acts on behalf of His justice, He makes sure “that you shall not suffer beyond what strict justice requires” but it is precisely “what strict justice requires”. Remember God is not only perfect in His love; He is also perfect in His righteousness. As James said, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10) God’s standard is perfection. The universe was designed for perfection. And when perfection is violated … God is perfect in His justice. His wrath is engaged.

The second truth we must recognize about God’s wrath is that it is chosen. Throughout the Scriptures we find the announcement that we must choose obedience to what God has shown us or we, by necessity, choose to put ourselves at odds with God. Listen to the Apostle of Love talk about how people hate God’s ways.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. John 3:16-20

BEFORE YOU START YOUR DAY

1. I don’t know how you deal with the concept of God’s wrath, but I have had many, many people over the years tell me that that’s just not the God that they love.I understand the feeling.You want to say, “Come on.God can’t be like that.He’s forgiving.Surely He’s able to just give me a break.”But please consider this morning what it is in you and me that makes us feel this way.Please ask God to help you and me understand this part of His character better.We are touching the very heart of what the Bible calls “the gospel” when we talk about God’s wrath.We need to get this right!
2. The author of Hebrews called our God a “consuming fire”.As you work through your day today, consider what that might mean for your relationship with Him.