Your Emotion Especially Anger Series

Psalm 91 - Study 27 - Your emotions especially anger!

We read in Psalm 91:9-10, “You, O LORD, are my refuge! You have made the Most High your home. No harm will come to you. No sickness will come near your house.” (GW)

As we continue to meditate on Psalm 91, we have realized that the word of God promises that no harm or sickness will ensue those who have made God their habitation or dwelling. To make God one’s dwelling implies that we trust God and lean on Him completely through every season of our lives with all its ups and downs.

Researchers have concluded that the major cause of diseases that harm mankind are not so much from bacteria or virus, but rather because of the state of one’s mind. The adverse stress and disturbances to the mind leads to break-down in our health. One of the emotions that many battle with is anger which when left unchecked has resulted in harmful effects on our well-being. There is a widespread belief that anger is sinful, but we will delve into the word of God to comprehend the kinds of anger that can be expressed and the effects of the same.

Do not sin in your anger

We read in Ephesians 4:26-27, “If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day. Don't give the Devil a chance.” (GNB)

From the above mentioned verse we understand that anger is just an emotion and by itself it is not a sin to get angry. However, if this anger is not dealt with in the right way and kept under check, it can lead us into sin.

Righteous Anger

· Moses expressed God’s righteous anger

In Exodus 32:19 we read, “When he came near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing. In a burst of anger Moses threw down the tablets and smashed them at the foot of the mountain.” (GW)

Moses was on the mountain spending time in the presence of God for many days. The Israelites were based at the foot of that mountain. As Moses was enthralled by the presence of God, he also received the commandments of God which he had to deliver to the people of Israel. God Himself wrote these commandments on the tablets of stone and handed them over to Moses. As Moses descended the mountain after this awesome experience with God he was bewildered to behold the most disgraceful sight. The people of Israel had forgotten all about the living God who brought them out of Egypt and had made for themselves a golden calf which they worshiped and danced around. They also attributed their deliverance from the Egyptian bondage to the calf that they had made with their own hands. When Moses beheld this detestable sight, he was so enraged, that he threw the two tablets of stone and smashed them at the foot of that mountain.

Moses’ anger in this incidence was the reflection of the anger of God that engulfed Moses who stood before the Israelites as God’s representative. This is what we can be call righteous anger.

God told Moses in Exodus 32:8, “They've already turned from the way I commanded them to live. They've made a statue of a calf for themselves. They've bowed down to it and offered sacrifices to it. They've said, 'Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.'” (GW)

The Israelites turned away from the commands of God by turning away from the living God and turning to the idol that they had made. This made God truly indignant. The one thing that infuriates God and irritates Him is when we depart from worshiping the living God to worship anything that we have made with our hands.

We read in Exodus 32:10, “Now leave me alone. I'm so angry with them I am going to destroy them.” (GW)

God in His wrath was ready to destroy the people who had disobeyed His commands, deserted Him and followed after the idol that they had made. It was this reflection of God’s righteous anger that was evidenced in Moses when he threw and smashed the tablets of stone that he had just received from God. This is a just or righteous anger shown by Moses was a reflection of the anger of God. If God’s anger was to be hurled at men who had displeased God, they would not stand a chance to survive. Moses stood as the in between to soften this anger of God, by expressing it himself and this was a just or righteous anger.

· Eli failed to express a righteous anger

Eli was a priest of God in the temple. However, when Eli’s sons rebelled against God and continued in sin, Eli failed to admonish them. The consequence of Eli’s negligence was that the anger of God was poured out on Eli’s sons and both of them were destroyed in one day.