“I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I lay my vengeance upon them.” – Ezekiel 25:17
How can a perfect, loving, gracious and giving God be angry? Simple, He’s God. Just as a parent can get angry if their child is disrespectful, failing classes or violating curfew, so too can God get angry when His children live in sin and disobedience. In the book of Jeremiah, we read about God’s wrath on the people of Israel. The people worshipped worthless idols only to become worthless themselves [Jeremiah2:5]. Don’t take God’s kindness for weakness. Just as quick as the earth was created is as quick as it can be destroyed.
Yes, God is loving but, there are things that He hates. One thing that God hates are people that pray to false gods. Could you imagine spending weeks on a project, putting all your sweat and tears into creating greatness for your t
teacher to say “this can’t be your work because it’s too good, you must have plagiarized” and than giving credit to your classmate instead of you? That would be horrible. Well, think about how God must have felt to create such a beautiful place for His people, for them to turn against Him and worship the god Baal instead.
The city once filled with people was brought down to crumbles because of their wicked hearts. People from many nations will pass by the ruins of this city and say to one another, ‘Why did the Lord destroy such a great city? And the answer will be, ‘Because they violated their covenant with the Lord their God by worshipping other gods [Jeremiah 23:8].
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” -Romans 1:18
In the past, God’s anger
flooded the earth, killed innocent children and waged war. “And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies [2 Kings 19:35].” Despite how cruel these things may sound, we can trust that the Lord has good reason because He is good. God’s wrath is just. His wrath is His love in action against sin. God’s wrath is to be feared. Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. God’s actions are always backed up behind His good intentions.
“The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger and great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry; he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither; the bloom of Lebanon withers. The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.” – Nahum 1:2-6
Reference:
http://www.desiringgod.org/articles/five-truths-about-the-wrath-of-god