One Of The Bible’s Most Misunderstood Truths

They . . . sold themselves to evil, arousing the LORD’s anger.   2 Kings 17:17

The anger of God is one of the most misunderstood truths of the Bible. Anger is not part of the nature of God. God is always holy, he is always love, and he is always true, but he is not always angry.

The pagan gods were always smoldering. Offerings were given to pacify them, but their anger never went away; it was only contained. Anger is not a part of God’s nature. “The LORD is . . . slow to get angry” (Psalm 103:8), but he can be provoked.

God is immensely patient. For two hundred years, he restrained judgment and sent the prophets to call the people back to godliness and righteousness, but “the Israelites would not listen” (2 Kings 17:14). Eventually, God was provoked: “Because the LORD was very angry with Israel, he swept them away from his presence” (17:18). We are told how this happened: “Israel was exiled from their land to Assyria” (17:23).

In the Garden, when Adam decided that he did not want to live under God’s rule, he broke God’s commandment and was driven from God’s presence. At the end of the Bible story, we find that every person who has ever lived will stand before God, and the ungodly and unrighteous will be driven from God’s presence. That is hell—eternity outside the blessing of God. If a person refuses to bow before God, saying, “Your will be done,” a time will come when God will say to that person, “Your will be done; depart from me forever.”

The message to an unbelieving world is not, “Following Jesus is the best way to a more satisfying life,” but, “God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romans 1:18). That’s why the gospel is so urgent. That’s why we must be passionate about the gospel and why we must use all possible means to communicate its message today.

For further reading, see 1 Kings 17