Hatred, Anger and Vengeance – What does the Bible say about it? – Part 1
Hatred is a strong word. I have had hatred, anger and vengeful thoughts multiple times in my life. And I have had to learn what I really needed to think about and how to control these thoughts in order to get along with God, myself and others. It is still a work in progress, but a good one. The topic of hatred, anger and vengeance are used multiple times in the Bible, and by God and Christ, of all people. But there is a good purpose to God’s type of hatred, His anger and vengeance. However, our anger, hatred and vengeance do not compare with God’s and do not produce God’s righteousness (James 1:20)! This week I will talk about God’s view of hatred, anger and vengeance, using the Bible as the go to reference book of choice…cont’d.
First, the Old Testament is replete with examples of God’s anger or judgement towards those who sin and the repercussions of our sins (Isaiah 59:2). Casting Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden, Flooding the earth; saving only 8 people alive, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Plagues in Egypt, and the captivity of Israel are just a few of the more memorable examples of God’s judgement towards our sins. There are also prophecies of God’s wrath that may not have taken place yet here on earth (Isaiah 2:12, Joel 1:15, etc.)! But the point is that God does get angry and His anger is towards our sin. There are a couple verses in the Old Testament that would point towards God’s hatred of our sin and evil in general (Proverbs 6:16-19, Psalm 5:5-6, etc.). The good news is that God is slow to anger and His “wrath” does not last forever (Psalm 145:8, Psalm 30:5, Isaiah 57:16)!
More to come…
Darrell
darrellmowat.wordpress.com 