Most readers of the Bible have noticed numerous references to the anger of God. Judging from some of these passages, it would seem that God is at least sometimes excessively angry. He says, “A fire is kindled in My anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell.” (Deuteronomy 32:22) “And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in fury, and in great wrath.” (Jeremiah 21:5) In may seem that His anger is vicious, more than the offense would call for. One time the children of Israel were complaining, and “it displeased the Lord,…and His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burnt among them and consumed” some of them. (Numbers 11:1) In some cases His anger even seems to harm the innocent: “My wrath shall become hot, and I will kill you with the sword; your wives shall be widows, and your children fatherless.” (Exodus 22:24) In contrast with the teachings about God’s anger are the teachings about His mercy. We are told that “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) He is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth.” (Exodus 34:6) He is “good, ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy …full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering.” (Psalm 86:5,15) “The Lord is longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression.” (Numbers 14:18) “He has not dealt with us according to our sins…for as the heavens are far above the earth, so great is His mercy.” (Psalm 103:10,11) This picture of God as merciful and loving is quite a contrast to the picture of Him as vengeful and fierce.
The Homework on “Sinners In The Hand Of An Angry God,” By Jonathan Edwards Draft
When your dad or your mom punish you about not doing homeworks in the heat of a moment, you’re probably scared to the angriness of your parent, you feel regret about what you did, and you will eventually get fidgety and anxious what punishment that you have to deserve. In Jonathan Edwards “Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God,” Edwards essentially uses explicit symbolism and vivid imagery to awaken ...
If these were all the teachings we had, we might suppose that He alternates between the opposites of wrath and mercy: condemning one moment, redeeming the next. “In My wrath I struck you, but in My favor I have had mercy on you.” (Isaiah 60:10) “He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.” (Hosea 6:1) “Many a time He turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath.” (Psalm 78:38) The view of God as fluctuating and even capricious does not take into account all the teachings about His mercy. For there are dozens of passages which speak of God’s mercy as enduring, constant, never ceasing. “His mercy endures for ever.” (2 Chronicles 5:13, Psalms 100:5, 118:29, 135:3) “The goodness of God endures continually.” (Psalm 52:1) “My lovingkindness I will not take away from him, nor suffer My faithfulness to fail. My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.” (Psalm 89:33) The Lord promises that there will never be a time when He is not loving and merciful to you. “As I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you nor rebuke you.
For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from you neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, says the Lord who has mercy on you.” (Isaiah 54:9) Now some people might try to explain this apparent contradiction by saying that the Lord is constantly merciful to good people, but that He takes vengeance on those who rebel against Him. But the fact is that the Lord is merciful to /ieveryone, /iall the time, in /ieverything He does. “He is kind to the unthankful and to the evil.” (Luke 6:35) “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.” (Matt 6:45) “The Lord is good to /iall and his tender mercies are over /iall his works.” (Psalm 145:7) If the Lord is always merciful to everyone, then He can never be angry and vengeful. In God Himself there is “no variation nor shadow of turning.” (James 1:17) Yet He /iappears in a variety of ways according to the spiritual state of the individual. “With the merciful You will show Yourself merciful; with a blameless man You will show Yourself blameless; with the pure You will show Yourself pure; and with the devious You will show Yourself shrewd.” (2 Samuel 22:20; Psalm 18:25) It almost seems as if God’s actions towards each of us depend on our actions toward God and others. If you forgive others, He will forgive you; if you do not forgive others, He will not forgive you.
The Term Paper on God Chosen Lord Job Moses
God's chosen examples. When God calls you must answer, my Baptist preacher bellows from his pulpit. Everyone has a purpose on this earth, but God has chosen a special few to help him carry out his divine plan, he continues. Countless Sunday mornings I spent listening to my pastor preaching about man's encounters with God. He explains the significance of the encounters to the people of antiquity ...
(Matthew 6:15; 18:35) If you draw near to God, He will draw near to you. (James 4:8) If you forget Him, He will forget you. (Hosea 4:6) If you forsake Him, He will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15:2) And apparently, when people act with vengeance, they can expect vengeance from God. (Ezekiel 25:15,16) God appears in many different ways to many different people, and at times His genuine qualities of love and mercy are veiled behind an appearance of anger. “The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Yet it is possible to know God as He truly is.
People who are good and wise can really know the nature of His mercy. “To the merciful I will show myself merciful.” (2 Samuel 22:26) “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) “Whoever is wise will observe these things, and they will understand the loving-kindness of the Lord.” (Psalm 107:8).
