At some point in our lives every one of us has experienced anger. Psychologists define anger this way: Anger is an emotion related to one's psychological interpretation of having been offended, wronged or denied and a tendency to undo that by retaliation. Modern psychologists view anger as a primary, natural, and mature emotion experienced by virtually all humans at times, and as something that has functional value for survival. Anger can mobilize psychological resources for corrective action. Uncontrolled anger can, however, negatively affect personal or social well-being. In fact, anger can be a destructive emotion that can quickly destroy your mental and physical health. Anger has the ability to cause us to act in ways that seem to be out of character for us. Moses, the great leader of the Hebrew people who spoke face to face with God was subject to the effects of anger. As we progress through today’s text we need to take note of how God dealt with His servant’s anger. From the way God dealt with Moses we will discover some valuable insights on how to deal with anger in our own lives. God’s desire is for us to live in obedience rather than anger. So let’s dive into our text and see the insights we can gain.
I. Psychologists have identified three levels of anger.
A. The low level of anger.
1. This lowest level of anger can best be characterized as irritation.
2. We become irritated simply because something has not gone the way we believed it should.
3. This level is usually a result of impatience or exasperation over the smallest of issues.
B. The medium level of anger.
1. This next level of anger is usually demonstrated by actions or words.
2. At this stage our reaction to the circumstances are quite a bit stronger.
3. Sometimes self control is required so that we don’t say or do something that we will regret.
C. The severe level of anger.
1. This final level of anger is quite dangerous because we react to the circumstances with the highest level of intensity.
2. At this stage we will often fly off into a fit of rage saying and doing things that are out of character for us.
3. At this stage we do not stop and consider the consequences of our words and actions.
4. This level of anger resembles animal instincts and often in some cases results in different acts of violence.
II. Moses struggled with uncontrolled anger throughout his life.
A. Moses got in trouble because of his anger in his early adult years.
1. The first flare up of uncontrolled anger happened as Moses witnesses an Egyptian taskmaster cruelly beating a Hebrew.
2. Moses’ anger caused him to lose touch with his sense of right and wrong as he flew into a rage and killed the Egyptian.
3. Moses obviously was aware of the fact that what he did was wrong because he hid the body and tried to cover his tracks.
4. This act of uncontrolled anger cost Moses quite a bit.
a. He lost his place in Pharaoh’s household.
b. He lost the respect of the Hebrew people.
c. He was forced to flee for his life and live in exile.
B. Moses’ anger was shown twice again after he emerges from his forty year exile.
1. The next recorded flare up of Moses’ anger occurs in Exodus 11 after he announces the tenth plague.
2. Despite God telling Moses that Pharaoh would not budge in regard to releasing the Hebrews, Moses’ anger surfaces because of Pharaoh’s stubbornness.
3. Exodus 11:8 tells us that Moses stomps out of Pharaoh’s presence hot with anger.
4. The next recorded instance of Moses’ uncontrolled anger happens as he returns from Mount Sinai after receiving the Law from God.
5. When Moses witnessed the people partying around a golden calf, Exodus 35:19 tells us the he burned with anger.
6. The problem is not Moses being angered by the Hebrew’s sin; the problem is the way Moses chose to express his anger.
a. Moses flew into an uncontrolled rage once again.
b. This outburst resulted in Moses throwing things, in this case the tablets on which God had written His Law.
C. Moses’ display of uncontrolled anger in our text had grave consequences.
1. The combination of another water shortage and being fed up with the people’s constant complaining led to the next uncontrolled display of anger.
2. God’s anger burned against the complaining Hebrews as well, to the point that He began to kill the people off, but Moses’ anger will lead him down the path of disobedience.
3. Many interpret the event as Moses got into to trouble because he took credit for bringing water from the rock but that is not the act of disobedience.
4. God told Moses to speak to the rock and water would begin to flow from it, but in anger Moses beat the rock twice thus failing to simply do what God told him to do.
5. With a track record of uncontrolled anger this final recorded instance of Moses’ anger will carry with it the most severe consequences.
6. Moses will not get the privilege of leading the people into the Promised Land.
7. The ultimate goal that Moses was working toward will allude him simply because he could not curb his anger.
III. Insights for us from Moses’ experience.
A. Uncontrolled Anger can often lead us down the road of disobedience.
1. The truth of the matter is that anger can cause us not to think as clearly as we normally would and often in anger we do things that we would not normally do.
2. Moses was obviously consumed with his anger to the point that he did not follow God’s instructions.
3. If we are really honest with ourselves we can all think of times that during a moment of anger that we were disobedient to one of the Lord’s commands.
4. Anger has the ability to adversely affect our relationship with God and our relationship with others.
B. Public displays of anger not only brings shame to us it disgraces God.
1. The way we react in anger speaks volumes about the depth of our relationship with God.
2. Countless divisions in the church have been the result of people publically displaying their anger in appropriate ways.
3. When Christians display their anger inappropriately the witness of the church is hurt and God is disgraced.
4. Anger is a powerful emotion that if left unchecked can be devastating within the church.
C. Uncontrolled anger can lead to painful consequences.
1. Please don’t walk away today thinking anger is a sin. What determines if our anger is sinful or not is the way that we chose to express it.
2. When anger is allowed to get out of control, we can say things that we wish we could take back and act in ways that we will later regret.
3. The consequences of uncontrolled anger are always painful. Broken relationships, hurt feelings and embarrassment are examples of such consequences.
4. Many people have really crossed the line in the heat of anger leading to even worse consequences then the ones we have mentioned.
5. Let me stress once again, anger is not a sin!! The way we express our anger is the problem.
Closing:
Recently a driver in Philadelphia shot another driver on the highway. There was a construction blockage on the road, narrowing traffic down to only one lane, creating long backups as cars from each direction took turns getting past the blockage. Well, this driver patiently waited his turn. But just as he was about to get past the blockage, a car came up fast on the shoulder, passing all the waiting cars, & crowded just in front of him. Then after doing that, the driver turned around with a smirk on his face & made an obscene gesture. Well, that infuriated the first driver. So when traffic was stopped at the next construction bottleneck, he got out of his car, took out his gun & shot the man in front of him to death. The sad fact is that these types of stories are becoming more and more common.
