Chapter 14
ANGER
ANGER CAUSED BY PRIDE in the person of the wicked Haman, and leading to the attempted destruction of an entire people. The same cause, PRIDE, in Nebuchadnezzar’s case, filled him with rage and fury, so that the form of his visage was changed (like Cain’s), and led to INTENSE CRUELTY on his part against his victims, which, however, God miraculously overruled. In Jonah’s case we find great anger caused by IMPATIENCE, which led him to speak against God. He appears to have so completely given way to it, that in Jonah 4:99And God said to Jonah, Doest thou well to be angry for the gourd? And he said, I do well to be angry, even unto death. (Jonah 4:9), he actually justifies his unrighteous anger to God. In the New Testament we find the anger of Herod leading him to murder all the children of Bethlehem. We further see, in Luke 4:2828And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, (Luke 4:28), that the Jews, stung with JEALOUSY of God’s favors to the Gentiles (Luke 4:24-2724And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; 26But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. 27And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. (Luke 4:24‑27)), sought to MURDER Christ on the very spot, and in Acts 7:5454When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. (Acts 7:54), we find the Jews again filled with HATRED AGAINST CHRIST, actually gnashing on Stephen with rage and stoning him to death.
Causes and Results of Anger
From these illustrations we find that anger is caused by envy, jealousy, impatience, hatred, pride, covetousness, and by the just rebukes of God’s people; that, if unchecked, it tends to cruelty and murder, also to disobedience, injustice, and despising God’s Word.
Turning for a moment to what is said about it in Scripture, we find that it is expressly forbidden (Matt. 5:2222But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. (Matthew 5:22); Rom. 12:1919Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord. (Romans 12:19)), it is a work of the flesh (Gal. 5:2020Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, (Galatians 5:20)), it is characteristic of fools (Prov. 12:16; 14:29; 27:316A fool's wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame. (Proverbs 12:16)
29He that is slow to wrath is of great understanding: but he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. (Proverbs 14:29)
3A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; but a fool's wrath is heavier than them both. (Proverbs 27:3)), it brings its own punishment (Job 5:22For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one. (Job 5:2); Prov. 19:1919A man of great wrath shall suffer punishment: for if thou deliver him, yet thou must do it again. (Proverbs 19:19)), it is often stirred up by bad words (2 Sam 19:43), but pacified by meekness Prov. 15:11A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. (Proverbs 15:1)), that we should not provoke others to it (Eph. 6:44And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4); Col. 3:2121Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. (Colossians 3:21)).
We will now briefly consider some instances of
RIGHTEOUS ANGER.
In Mark 3:55And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. (Mark 3:5) we find the Lord angry, ‘‘being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.” How instinctively we feel in this case, the unselfishness of the anger. It is all for their sakes and for God’s glory. Righteous anger never has self in any shape or form for its cause. Moses was angry in Exodus 11:88And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger. (Exodus 11:8); but it was for the indignities offered by Pharaoh to the Lord and His people, unlike his anger in Numbers 22, for which he was punished. We also find Moses angry in a similar way in Exodus 32:1919And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. (Exodus 32:19) and Leviticus 10:1616And Moses diligently sought the goat of the sin offering, and, behold, it was burnt: and he was angry with Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron which were left alive, saying, (Leviticus 10:16). In Nehemiah 5:66And I was very angry when I heard their cry and these words. (Nehemiah 5:6), we find Nehemiah very angry against gross injustice done by others, and to others, not against himself; hence he “did well” to be angry. In Ephesians 4:2626Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: (Ephesians 4:26), we get the exhortation “to be angry and sin not,” that is, not to treasure up anger and malice in our hearts.
We have now before us the two sorts of anger, the one generally the fruit of some other sin, always having “self” for its ultimate cause; the other springing from zeal or indignation for the Lord, and having Him or His people for its cause. We thus find that the first anger like other sins we have considered, is a selfish sin, and the surest way of being saved from it is to be free from oneself. It is a great moment for a Christian when he practically ceases to be the center of his interests and objects. This should be at conversion, but does not practically take place till Christ reveals Himself in sufficient power to the heart to replace the wretched idol of “self.” A Christian can only be happy in proportion as this is the case, for a selfish Christian is a most miserable object, and is indeed a contradiction in terms. The surest way, therefore, to overcome the sin of anger is not by cultivating a placid disposition, which is only dealing with externals, but by striking at the root, which is self, and replacing it with Christ. The true Christian is zealous for his Master’s interests, not his own, and may be righteously angry when His glory is concerned, but not for his own sake. May the Lord make us all more zealous for Him, and deliver us from serving and pleasing ourselves.