God’s Anger

Go and give this message to Israel. This is what the LORD says: “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.”

Jeremiah 3:12

MANY PEOPLE WHO read the Bible are startled by how angry God sometimes appears. He was so angry at the world of Noah’s time that he destroyed everything in a flood except for Noah and his family and one or more pairs of every breed of animal.

He punished the builders of the tower of Babel with an inability to communicate and sent them to the ends of the earth.

During Israel’s journey from Egypt to the Promised Land, God judged the people for their sin. Thousands died.

The fact is, sin makes God angry.

However, that doesn’t mean God will hammer you for every infraction. Study those biblical situations, and you will see that God warned those people many times before he acted. In many cases He remained patient for years, but the people eventually reached a point of no return.

What hope can you have in the midst of such power? Simply this: repent. Believe in God. Run to him and admit your wrongdoing. He will forgive you, forget his anger, and eagerly embrace you. God is always merciful. While he does judge sin and punish evildoers, he first calls out to us repeatedly that if we turn to him, he will relent and have mercy. Is God calling you today?