Today's Reading: Jeremiah 52
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In our
world, where sin and wrongdoing run rampant, we sometimes hear of God's
"anger," a reminder of His divine justice and holiness. This anger is
not a reckless outburst, but rather an expression of His perfect character and
love. As we turn to the pages of Jeremiah 52, we see the weight of God's anger
as He allows the remaining Jews to be deported to Babylon, "casting them
out" from His presence.
It is
important to understand that the “anger of the Lord” is entirely different from
human anger. God's anger is not like the outbursts of frustration or irritation
that we experience. Human anger tends to be emotional, reactive, and often
rooted in selfishness, pride, or hurt feelings. But God’s anger is righteous,
holy, and purposeful.
At its
core, the anger of the Lord is His perfect response to sin and evil. God is not
easily annoyed or wrathful in a petty sense, but rather He is utterly just and
cannot tolerate sin because it harms His creation and violates His holiness.
His anger is an expression of His justice, meant to correct and restore rather
than merely punish. It’s motivated by love for His creation, desiring to bring
about repentance, reconciliation, and healing.
Think of
it like a surgeon who is "angry" at the cancer harming a patient. The
anger isn't directed at the person but at the destructive force causing harm.
God’s anger arises from His deep love for us, His deep repulsion by sin, and His
desire to set things right.
When we
grasp the depth of God's anger, we also come to realize the enormity of His
love and grace through Jesus Christ. God’s anger poured out on Jesus wasn’t a
moment of divine rage, but rather an act of love and justice that dealt with our
sin once and for all. It resulted in our forgiveness, reconciliation,
justification, peace with God, and the promise of eternal life. Jesus bore what
we deserved so that we could receive what He deserved: the full acceptance and
love of the Father.
Having
received His gift of salvation by our faith in Him, we are now humbled and
blessed by the words of Jesus in John 6:37—"All that the Father gives me
will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”
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