Shirley H Supporter Wife, mother, veteran in the spiritual war we all face!

Proverbs 14:16: "A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident."

Psalms 2:1: "Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing?"

The verse from Psalms 2:1 is almost repeated in Acts 4:25. "Who by the mouth of the servant David hast said, 'Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?'"

The people today as in days gone by desire a society that is not what we have. 

God Himself has imagined that his creation would have more love and respect for Him. He is so full of Love and Grace! 

Look at Acts 4:26: "The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ." 

Proverbs 6:34: "For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. (6:35). He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts."

Proverbs 29:9 "If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest."

Proverbs 29:11 "A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards."

Good advice...walk on.

In the book of Daniel, chapter 3, we see King Nebuchadnezzar furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. They trusted God to help them.

God speaking: "They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt."

Psalms 2:4: "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in derision."

God rages and laughs. He understands. In that furnace, long ago, Daniel 3:25: "...Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God."

Philippians 2:7: " But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men."

Walk with Him. He walks with you.

April 25 2024 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jack Gutknecht Supporter Arizona Bible College & Dallas Seminary graduate, Pentair

Anger itself is not automatically sinful. Easton’sBible Dictionary puts it cleanly: anger is “an original susceptibility of our nature, just as love is, and is not necessarily sinful.” It becomes sinful when it is causeless, excessive, or protracted (Matt. 5:22 - But I [Jesus] say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment;
whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council;
and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.; Eph. 4:26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,; Col. 3:8). This matches the distinction between righteous indignation and uncontrolled rage.

Human rage is repeatedly condemned. Nave’s long list of Proverbs (Prov. 14:17, 29 Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.; Prov. 15:1 A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare., Prov. 15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.; Prov. 16:32; 19:11; 22:24-25 Verse 24 says, "Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man"; Prov. 29:22 A man of wrath stirs up strife, and one given to anger causes much transgression., etc.), along with Ecclesiastes 7:9 Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the heart of fools. James 1:19-20 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God., Ephesians 4:31, and Colossians 3:8, all warn against hot temper, quick anger, and the kind of explosive rage that produces strife and sin. The concrete examples Nave’s catalogs—Cain, Naaman, Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, the synagogue crowd in Luke 4, and others—almost always portray rage negatively.

God’s anger is in a different category. Both Easton’s and the ISBE (the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia) stress that when Scripture ascribes anger or wrath to God, it is not capricious, selfish, or vindictive. It is the settled, holy response of His character to sin. The ISBE notes that the English word “anger” can be misleading for the divine emotion precisely because we instinctively read our own sinful version of it into the text. God’s wrath is measured, purposeful, and ultimately aimed at justice and the vindication of holiness (Rom. 1:18; Rev. 14:10, etc.).

The practical Christian duty is clear. The ISBE summarizes the New Testament ethic well: believers are to “put away the feeling of self-regarding, vindictive anger” (Eph. 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior -- "So far as they differ, the distinction is that θυμός is fury, the more passionate and passing sentiment [rage], the burst of anger, and ὀργή [anger] the settled disposition" (biblehub)..; Col. 3:8) and “cherish no desire of personal revenge” (Eph. 4:26). Being slow to anger is the consistent ideal (Prov. 15:18; 16:32; Jas. 1:19).

Where “rage” specifically fits, the dictionaries treat it as the more intense, uncontrolled, often sudden form of anger (thumos in Greek, and various Hebrew terms for boiling or overflowing fury). That is why Colossians 3:8 and Ephesians 4:31 list it among the things that must be put off, and why the narrative examples of human rage are almost never complimentary.

F. K. Farr in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Nave’s Topical Bible
Biblehub

5 hours ago • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report