Staying Angry

Is it possible to stay angry forever? Two German families in a suburb of Munich installed a twelve-foot-high fence topped with barbed wire and security cameras to separate their properties. The feud, which lasted fourteen years, between the Bensch and the Kern families started because one family planted an elderberry bush too close to the other’s fence.

Holding on to anger can be destructive. Our passage begins with a message to the enemy of Israel and Judah. “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise” (v. 8). The disobedience of God’s people had led to the triumph of their enemies. Yet, the prophet knew that God will not stay angry forever (v. 18). He would forgive them and restore them.

While the Israelites faced daunting troubles that were a result of their disobedience, the character of God meant that the future held promise. God would not stay angry with them forever: “Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance?” (v. 18). Look at the active language applied to God’s removal of their sin. He would “tread” on it and “hurl” their iniquities to the depths of the sea (v. 19).

The Israelites would certainly face consequences for their disobedience. And for a time it would appear that their enemies would triumph. They would face tribulation and taunting at their hands. But God would vindicate His people. He would not let them be destroyed.

This is a picture of a God who is very much in control of the outcome. He would not remain angry with His people. He is all-powerful, and His victory is defined by His forgiveness, love, and faithfulness (v. 20).

Pray with Us

Would you include Moody Theological Seminary in your prayers? As the seminary holds its open house, Next Step, today, please pray for its current and future students. May the Lord bring abundant fruit from their study of the Bible at Moody!

BY Jamie Janosz

Jamie Janosz serves as a content development manager for Moody Bible Institute. She writes monthly devotionals for Today in the Word and has published non-fiction essays with Christianity Today’s Her.meneutics blog. Recently Jamie wrote a book titled When Others Shuddered: Eight Women Who Refused to Give Up (Moody Publishers). Jamie studied theology and writing at Moody Bible Institute, Columbia College, and Illinois State University. She lives on the Atlantic coast of Florida with her husband, Milt, and daughter, Sabrina.