Nov 24, 2019
Scripture Reading: Nahum 1:1-9
"To an age which has unashamedly sold itself to the gods of greed, pride, sex, and self-will, the Church mumbles on about God's kindness, but says virtually nothing about His judgment" (Packer, Knowing God, 148).
The Bible has much to say about God's wrath about rebellion against Him. Arthur Pink says that there are more references in the Bible regarding God's wrath than regarding His love (cf. Pink, Attributes of God, 82). It is important to note that God's anger is not like human anger. Human anger is vindictive and usually represents a loss of control.
God's anger is His holy and controlled response against sin and against those who persist in opposing Him. His wrath rises out of His holiness and justice and, therefore, is not simply emotional, but fundamentally judicial. One definition of divine wrath is: God's holy reaction to sin and His resolve to bring judgment on those who rebel against Him.
God's wrath is right (cf. Nah 1:3). God's wrath is not personal revenge meted out because of a temperamental outburst; it is judicial. It is the response of the righteous Judge against evil.
If God did not punish sin, He would not be just and, therefore, He would cease to be God. God's wrath is terrible and consuming (cf. Nah 1:4-6; Mt 8:12; 2 Thes 1:9). The Biblical accounts of the wrath of God (the flood, Sodom and Gomorrah, crucifixion of Christ) remind us of the horror and magnitude of His anger.
God's wrath is certain (cf. Nah 1:8,9; Deut 32:35,39-41). Though God is patient, His judgment will surely come and there will be no hiding from it.
The more we understand the wrath of God and, given that we deserve it, the deeper our wonder of the mercy of God in Christ and the greater our gratitude to God and our love for Him.