2 Kings 24: The Anger of God

It was because of the Lord’s anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence. -2 Kings 24:20

Does God get angry? The Bible says he does–at least sometimes. What makes God angry? According to 2 Kings 24, one thing that made God angry was when his leaders did evil in his sight. Zedekiah reigned in Jerusalem–the one city where the Lord had placed his temple–yet this king chose to rebel and live his own way.

In his case, God gave clear direction and his leader rejected it. We often wonder why God gets angry, but anger in such a case should not surprise us. This was not an accident, but a case of willful rebellion, repeated time and again, in direct opposition to the Lord’s teachings.

But does God still get angry with us in this way today?

I don’t have all of the answers on this one, but we can read the New Testament and see that Jesus has made clear that he has made a way and that it is sin when we reject it. When we willfully reject Jesus, we should not be surprised if he grows angry or that judgment comes upon us. Instead, this understanding helps us to realize the consequences, both now and for eternity, of rejecting the Messiah. It is not God’s anger issues that are the problem; its the selfishness in our frail souls.

Today, we have the opportunity to honor the Lord or to reject him. Like Joshua, let us choose this day whom we will serve. When we do, we don’t have to worry about God’s anger–only his call and purpose for our lives.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author and coauthor of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.