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3. The anger of the Lord. Human anger is unreasoning, cruel, and vindictive. God’s anger is a vastly different emotion. In describing His character to men, God is limited to human language. He must, of necessity, permit Bible writers to use expressions that most nearly approximate the divine thought even though these expressions may poorly convey that thought. “Anger” is here used to describe the response of God to sin. To understand the word “anger,” when applied to God, to embody all the elements of human response to provocation, is to do violence to Biblical language. We cannot by searching find out God (Job 11:7). Partly because of the inadequacy of human language, God, at the opportune moment (Gal. 4:4), made His thought audible and visible in the life of Jesus. Man had only a twilight conception of what God was like. In Christ, God gave a demonstration to the world of His character. Jesus declared, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9) To get a more perfect understanding of the nature of the “anger” of God, it is necessary to study the reactions of Jesus to situations that might rightfully call forth such an emotion. Observe His demeanor when cleansing the Temple (John. 2:13-17), a display of indignation, authority, and power. See Him rebuke the Pharisees (Matt. 23) with tears in His voice (ST 13). Notice His anguished weeping over the recalcitrant Jews (Luke 19:41; DA 575, 587). Then recall that it was He who directed the destinies of Israel in the days of Jehoahaz. The afflictions of Syria were permitted in love and in the hope that their discipline might restore the wayward Israelites to reason and to God.

The hand of Hazael. The protecting hand of the Lord was withdrawn from Israel, and Hazael was permitted to succeed in his wars against Jehoahaz. This situation continued not only during the days of Hazael but also during part of the reign of his son Benhadad III.