Sunday, November 8, 2015 pm
IS IT RIGHT FOR YOU TO BE ANGRY?
Jonah 4:4
After Jonah finally goes and preaches to Nineveh we find that the people
repent which makes Jonah angry (4:1). For
reasons not given, Jonah wanted Nineveh to be destroyed and when the
LORD spared the city, he became angry to the point of asking the LORD to
take his life. We then
read, “Then the Lord said, “Is it right for you to be angry?”” (Jonah 4:4)
There were 120,000 souls in that city that were spared because of
their repentance. When we
study the nature of God we find that He is just and merciful.
This is an example of that.
And Jonah even acknowledge it vs. 2, “So
he prayed to the Lord, and said, “Ah, Lord, was not this what I said
when I was still in my country? Therefore I fled previously to Tarshish;
for I know that You are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger and
abundant in lovingkindness, One who relents from doing harm.”
Yet
Jonah was not happy with this so he becomes angry.
He was rebuked by the LORD because of this.
Tonight, I want to notice some examples in scripture of people that
became angry and what happened.
In this we can learn a few things about anger.
From time to time we all
deal with anger. IT is one
of the primary emotions. As
with all emotions, it has its purpose, but it must be controlled.
Ephesians 4:31-32,
Colossians 3:8
a.
Genesis 4:4.
It resulted in murdering his brother Abel.
In some way, he offered a sacrifice that was not according to God’s
instructions. When rejected,
rather than repenting, he made matters worse.
b.
Every time he is
mentioned in the New Testament – it is negatively (Hebrews 11:4; 1 John
3:11-12 – he was of the wicked one and failed to love his brother; Jude
11 speaks of the way of Cain – corrupt.
c.
We learn about anger
from Cain that:
i.
Sometimes anger results
when we have done wrong and been exposed or failed.
ii.
The depth to which anger
can take us. It can result
in conduct and consequences that cannot be reversed.
iii.
That how we respond to
anger is a choice – Genesis 4:6-7
a.
Moses was a godly man.
He is known for leading Israel out of Egypt and to the edge of
the Promised Land.
Much of what is recorded about him is very good.
He was meek – in fact, Numbers 12:3 tells us he was very humble,
more than all men who were on the face of the earth.
But, there are at least 3 occasions when we read of the anger of Moses:
b.
At Mt. Sinai, Exodus
32:19-20 when Moses comes down from the Mountain and see the golden calf
worship, he becomes hot in anger and breaks the tablets given to him by
God. You might describe this
as “righteous indignation”, but what he sees causes him to act rashly,
if but for a moment.
c.
Numbers 16:15, after
Korah leads a rebellion against Moses and Aaron and challenges their
authority, we are told that Moses is angry and turns to God to deal with
his accusers. On this
occasion he demonstrates control.
d.
Later at the waters of
Meribah – Numbers 20:10-11.
At some point during Israel’s wilderness wanderings, they are again
complaining because they have no water.
Moses and Aaron go to the LORD who tells them to speak to the
rock. Moses and Aaron, in
what I perceive to be frustration, speak calling the assembly rebels
and they call for water to come from the rock and Moses strikes
it twice.
e.
From Moses we can learn:
i.
Even the righteous can
become angry at times.
ii.
While anger is justified
at time, you must STILL control your response.
iii.
Even if you are
righteous, a moment of poor judgment can have great consequences.
a.
Balaam was a corrupt
prophet. While Israel was in
the wilderness we read that Balak, king of Moab,
tried to hire him to curse
Israel. While he could not
go beyond the boundaries God had set, we find a man that had terrible
flaws – greed, conniving, and at times anger.
Like Cain, he is never spoken of
in a good sense in the New Testament (Jude 11 – greedily in the error of
Balaam for profit; 2 Peter 2:15 – speaks of those who have gone astray,
following the way of Balaam; Revelation 2:14 speaks of some in Pergamos
who went after the way of Balaam putting a stumbling block in front of
the children of Israel.
b.
Speaking to a donkey –
After multiple inquiries of God, Balaam is finally allowed to go speak
with Balak, though it is not what the LORD desired.
We are told in Numbers 22 that the LORD became angry with him
(Num. 22:22) and an angel of the
LORD resisted Balaam. BUT,
his donkey saw the angel and at first turned aside thereby saving her
master. Balaam strikes the
donkey. Next,
she sees the angel standing in a narrow part and to avoid the angel
brushes Balaam against the wall crushing his foot.
Balaam strikes her again.
The third time, the donkey sees the angel, she lays down under
Balaam. Numbers 22:27
In anger, he struck the donkey.
Then the LORD opened the donkey’s mouth and she carried on a
conversation with Balaam.
There he was talking to this donkey.
Then his eyes were opened and he saw the angel and realized what
had happened.
c.
From Balaam we learn:
i.
That for some it is a
disposition that they have that grows worse when circumstances are not
handled quickly and properly.
ii.
That hot anger can lead
you to do irrational things. Things
that you would not do under normal circumstances.
iii.
I cannot help but wonder
if one who is not truly faithful to God, because of the ongoing conflict
in his life, leads to quicker outbursts of anger.
a.
We read about him in 2
Kings 5. He is described as
a great and honorable man in the eyes of the king of Syria, over whom he
was commander of the army.
But he was also a leper.
During raids, the Syrians had brought back a young captive girl of
Israel. She tells her
mistress that there was a prophet in Samaria who could heal him of his
leprosy.
As a result, Naaman gets permission from the king of Syria to find him.
When he comes to the house of Elisha, he is told by Gehazi
(Elisha’s servant) to go tell him to wash in the Jordan 7 times and be
healed (5:10).
b.
2 Kings 5:11-12, tells
us that he became furious. He
was expecting some great show, but instead he was told to dip in a dirty
river. He leaves in a rage.
BUT, vs. 13 tells us his servants remind him that if he had been
told to do something great he would have done it.
So Naaman listens to them and goes and dipped in the Jordan 7
times and his flesh was restored as that of a little child and he was
clean. He returns to
the prophet praising God.
c.
From Naaman we learn
about anger:
i.
Sometimes anger comes
because we have unreasonable expectations.
Sometimes we are prideful and fail to objectively look at what we
are told. Sometimes, when we
don’t get our way we become angry.
ii.
It can keep you from
doing what you ought to do.
There are some who will not do what is right because of ungodly
attitudes including anger.
a.
We are familiar with the
parable of the prodigal son – Luke 15:11-32.
It is one of the better known parables of Jesus.
It is a parable about the lost being found.
The prodigal son took his inheritance and wasted it.
When he had nothing, in humility he returned to his father
desiring only the position of a servant.
The father casts a feast for him and kills the fatted calf.
There is rejoicing that the lost son has returned home.
Clearly, Jesus is making analogy to us returning to our heavenly
Father.
b.
Luke 15:28 – records the
older brother who heard the feasting and found out its purpose.
Vs. 28 tells us that he was angry and refused to participate in
the feast. He even speaks to
his father about how he has been loyal and never received such
treatment. His father
rebukes him saying, “And he said
to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It
was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was
dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’” (31-32)
c.
From the brother we
learn about anger:
i.
Some become angry
because they have ungodly attitudes – pride, arrogance,
self-righteousness, materialistic, etc.
They look down upon others who as they experience good, they
become jealous and perhaps even angry.
Sometimes such ungodly attitudes bring out one’s anger.
ii.
Envy and jealousy can
provoke anger.
iii.
Anger can cause us to
fail to rejoice with those who rejoice.
(Rom. 12:15)
a.
Be angry and do not sin
– Ephesians 4:25-27 – tells us it is possible to be angry and to not
sin. The key is that when
you do become angry, deal with it immediately and don’t dwell on it.
b.
James 1:19-20 – be slow
to anger. A solution given
here that will prevent many outbursts of anger is to be swift to hear
and slow to speak.
Step back and honestly look at the situation before you react.
Even if you are angry, compose yourself and think!
This is a part of self-control.
c.
Even Jesus became angry.
Jesus drove out money changers – twice (John 2:13-17 – zeal for your
house, Matthew 21:12-13).
Mark 3:5 records an occasion when Jesus would heal on the Sabbath.
Some were watching him to criticize His actions.
He did not that let that deter Him from doing that which was
right.
Furthermore on occasions when Jesus was angry, He still maintained His
composure and He did not sin.
And
thus we can see a brief study of anger.
Revisiting our original question. “Is it right to be angry?”
While Jonah was not justified in his anger at that time, we have
seen there is a time when anger is appropriate.
Anger is an emotion that God has given us.
It can be used properly and when it is, good can actually come
from it. Sometimes anger
causes people to take action and make real changes – in their own lives,
in the lives of others who have erred and sometimes even in society
itself.
What about you? How do you
handle anger? Think about
it!