But Isn't God Wrathful? Free Reprint Article

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But Isn't God Wrathful?

by Jerry Ousley
9/29/2017 / Christian Living

Don’t you just love those hard, seemingly unanswerable questions about God? It’s like some people just sit around trying to think up these things to stump Christians and put doubt in the minds of others. The classic question is “If God is the most powerful force in the universe is it possible for Him to create a rock so big that He can’t lift it?” Now I don’t know about you but to me that question is about as silly as this philosophical tidbit: “It is impossible to get to where you want to go because to get there you have to go half way first, then half way of that and so forth.” In other words if you keep dividing the distance by half it goes on for infinity and you will never reach your destination. That’s ridiculous because I’m where I intended to go, halfway or not!

But back to the original question; first of all God is all powerful. There is nothing that He can’t do. This question is a challenge to that because if we answer “no,” then we are saying that indeed God is not all powerful. If we say “yes” then we are still suggesting that He can’t be all powerful because He can’t lift that rock. The only answer to this question is to say that it is inconceivable that God would put Himself into a position like that. If He did, that rock would be so large that it would take up the whole entirety of space leaving no room for all the planets, suns, moons along with whatever else is out there, including us! So let’s just not go there, okay?

Here’s another one of those accusing questions; if it is wrong for us to be wrathful isn’t God setting a double standard, because the Bible says several times that God poured out His wrath? Of course it is undeniable to say that God isn’t wrathful when it is right there in black and white. But only God can be wrathful and handle it in the right way. He will not stomp off uncontrollably and do or say something He wished He hadn’t said, you know what I mean? Only God can control His wrath and He alone is perfect enough to righteously act on it.

“What about the incident found in Exodus 32? It tells us that Moses convinced God to repent of His wrath when the people of Israel had sinned in worshipping the golden calf; God isn’t perfect if He has to repent is He?” There go those silly questions again! Okay let’s take a look at what that particular passage of scripture says; “Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” He was telling this to Moses by the way. It continues, “Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: ‘LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth?’ Turn Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’’ So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.” (Exodus 32:10-14).

Okay let’s look at this passage in light of just who God is. First of all the Greek word used for “relent” (in the New King James translation; in the King James translation the word “repent” is used) literally means a cry out in expression of pain. In other words it hurt God that He intended to do this and He changed His mind about it.

Does that make Him imperfect? Not in light of the second thought connected to this. Let’s do a little reading in between the lines. In His infinite foreknowledge God knew what He was going to do all along. In essence it was a test for Moses. Again, God knew already what the response of Moses was going to be, but Moses didn’t know. If you look at the first part of this passage again where God was speaking to Moses you’ll see an offer He made. God offered, “I will make of you a great nation.” Do you see the temptation here? What God was offering to Moses was that all the people of Israel would be wiped out in His wrath and God would start over with Moses. Instead of Abraham getting all the credit for being the father of a nation, Moses would get it instead. It was an offer of eternal fame.

But Moses had grown to love Israel despite their sin against God. Because of it God changed His mind, which He intended to do all along. We do serve a great God! I say, instead of trying to come up with all those questions to disprove Him we just fall into His arms and rest. It’s a whole lot easier than straining your brain trying to come up with that stuff, don’t ya think?

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS

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