In Wrath Remember mercy

Generally speaking the modern Christian church (in the west anyway) doesnt do wrath. Some of us still at least in theory still believe God can be wrathful but the whole idea is difficult to reconcile with a God of love.

We seem to have convinced ourselves that the world needs an unadulterated message of Gods love. It appears we have decided to improve the Gospel. We are offering the world a kinder, gentler and notably nicer God but is he the true one?

Careful Bible readers will know there is a tension found throughout the Bible. The Bible presents a God who is both wrathful and loving. A God who is prepared to almost (but not quite) extinguish human life in a terrible flood and yet is willing to cancel his judgment on such as the wicked Ninevites when they repent.

Gods description of himself to Moses is fascinating:

‘The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ 1Exodus 34:6-7

This almost sounds like a contradiction, on the one hand a willingness to forgive ‘wickedness’ but on the other a determination to punish the ‘guilty’.

Some try to escape the idea of Gods wrath by either rejecting the Old Testament outright or demoting it to a book with advisory status that we can ignore when convenient. So, what about the New Testament?

Take for example Romans 1 v18: ‘The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness’.

Or how about John 3 v36: ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.’

The little book of Habukkuk faces up to the reality of God’s wrath. It begins with Habukkuk protesting to the Lord about the evil he sees around him and asking why he was allowing it to happen.

God’s answer is that he will do something about it: raise up the Babylonians and they ‘will sweep across the whole Earth’. This is terrifying news for the surrounding nations including Judah itself.

Unsurprisingly Habukkuk doesnt like Gods answer. How can God use a people to execute judgement that are even worse than the people he is judging?

Gods next answer to Habukkuk is to assure him that judgement will then come to the Babylonians themselves. It is hard to find comfort in the thought that the Lord has determined to judge everybody. Whatever we think about this judgement his instruction is clear: ‘ The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him’.

Wisely Habukkuk doesnt attempt to dissuade the Lord from his holy vengeance. Indeed he sees the justice of it, instead he offers this plea:

‘In wrath remember mercy'

Habukkuk has remembered that his God is still a God of mercy despite the devastating judgement he has declared.

In fact Habukkuk still sees a saviour.

‘though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour.’ 2Habukkuk 3:17-18

The cross is where the seemingly opposed attributes of Gods character meet. His drastic solution to the plight of fallen mankind was effectively to pour his holy wrath upon himself. Isaiah was inspired to prophesy the following about Gods promised servant:

‘Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer’.3Isaiah 53:10

Do we really have the right to ignore Gods wrath? I dont think so, indeed it is exceedingly foolish to do so!

The writer of Hebrews asks: ‘how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation?’.4Hebrews 2:3

The warning is clear, nevertheless there is hope, there is a way of salvation!

This salvation is to be found in Christ and his cross. For any readers who have yet to find it (or rather him) it is time to call on the Lord for ‘today is the day of salvation’.52 Corinthians 6:2