Righteous
versus Unrighteousness Anger
How
do we know the difference?
Psalm
106:32-33 LITV And they angered Him at the waters of Meribah, and
it went ill for Moses because of them; 33 for they provoked his
spirit, and he spoke rashly with his lips.
Both
God and Moses were angry.
Both
were angry at disobedient, unbelieving, rebellious Israel.
One
was righteous anger—God.
One
was unrighteous anger—Moses.
The
difference appears
B1 God
C1 Is the King of all kings.
C2 Is the Lawgiver.
C3 Is the Judge.
B2 Moses
C1 Is the servant of God.
C2 Is the prophet of God.
C3 Is governor under God’s authority.
There
was a situation, a need, an appeal, a decision, and a command. God
delegated to Moses.
Numbers 20:2, 6-12 WEB There was no water for the
congregation; and they assembled themselves together against Moses
and against Aaron...6 Moses and Aaron went from the presence of
the assembly to the door of the Tent of Meeting, and fell on their
faces. Yahweh’s glory appeared to them. 7 Yahweh spoke to
Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod, and assemble the congregation,
you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes,
that it pour out its water. You shall bring water to them out of the
rock; so you shall give the congregation and their livestock drink.”
9 Moses took the rod from before Yahweh, as he commanded him.
10 Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the
rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Shall we bring
water out of this rock for you?” 11 Moses lifted up his hand,
and struck the rock with his rod twice, and water came out
abundantly. The congregation and their livestock drank. 12 Yahweh
said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you didn’t believe in me, to
sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you
shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.
Moses
did not follow the command of God. He disobeyed by hitting the rock
instead of speaking to it. God told Moses that he did not honor God.
B1 Moses did not believe God or sanctify God.
C1 Believe God in this sense is to obey. Obedience shows we believe.
Adam did not obey, which shows he did not believe.
C2 Sanctify God in the sense of showing God’s holiness. Just a word
is needed without any human effort to strike the rock.
B2 Honoring God is related to recognizing that He is God, giving Him
credit for all He has done, and thanking Him. Moses did not honor God
by disobedience.
C1 Romans 1:20-21 NKJV For since the creation of the world
His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the
things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that
they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God,
they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile
in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
C2 Regarding Messiah: Daniel 7:13-14 NLT As my vision continued
that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of
heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence.
14 He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the
nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and
language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it
will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.
B3 In the College Press, it is written on Numbers 20:12:
Initially it appears that Moses will do exactly as the Lord has
asked. He gathers the assembly and, after rebuking them by labelling
them rebels, addresses himself to the problem. And what was his sin?
Some have pointed to the fact that Moses used the plural “we” in
reference to the miracle soon to be performed, thus seeming to equate
his part in the miracle with the Lord’s; or, to say the least,
sharing somewhat in it. Others point to the fact that Moses struck
the rock twice, whether motivated by anger, righteousness, or
impatience; still others remind us that he was told only to speak to
the rock, and should not have touched it at all, Any one of these
might have been enough, but if we allow Scripture to interpret
Scripture, God Himself refers to Moses’ failure to glorify His name
(Num_20:12), thus singling out the greatest offense.
I’m
sure I would have done the same as Moses.
Nevertheless,
the anger that Moses had, led to a bad decision with serious
consequences. Numbers 20:12 CSB But the LORD said to Moses and
Aaron, "Because you did not trust me to demonstrate my holiness
in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this assembly into
the land I have given them.
Moses’
anger was unrighteous because it caused wrong actions. He disobeyed
God.
The
Lord Jesus had righteous anger. Let us study Him. (This is adapted
from 6
Things That Made Jesus Angry).
B1 At hypocrites. God is interested in truth. We must be true.
Matthew 7:3-5 EMTV And why do you look at the speck in your
brother's eye, but do not notice the plank in your own eye? 4 Or how
will you say to your brother, 'Permit me to remove the speck from
your eye'; and look, there is a plank in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite!
First remove the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to remove the speck out of your brother's eye.
B2 At greed. Many problems are caused by greed. We are to love God
and His ways (fellowship, worldview, character traits, and lifestyle)
more than money or anything. John 2:14-16 EMTV And He found in the
temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers
sitting there. 15 And having made a scourge out of cords, He drove
them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and He
poured out the coins of the moneychangers, and He overturned the
tables. 16 And He said to those selling the doves, "Take these
things away from here! Do not make My Father's house a house of
merchandise!"
B3 Non-committal. We need to be one way or another. What is our real
commitment to God? Revelation 3:15-16 EMTV I know your works, that
you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. 16
Therefore, since you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will
spew you out of My mouth.
B4 Hardheartedness. Refusing to believe God and His ways. Mark 3:5
EMTV And looking around at them with anger, being grieved at the
hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your
hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as
whole as the other.
B5 Superiority. This is pride. The idea is, “I’m better than
you.”
C1 Matthew 23:4 EMTV For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear,
and lay them on men's shoulders; but they do not desire to move them
with their finger.
C2 Luke 18:11-14 EMTV The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with
himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--swindlers,
unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice
a week, I tithe on all things, as many as I acquire.' 13 And the tax
collector, standing far away, would not so much as lift his eyes
towards heaven, but beat on his chest, saying, 'God, be merciful to
me a sinner!' 14 I say to you, this man went down to his house
justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself
shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.
B6 Practicing religious duties publicly for others to see and praise
them. Matthew 6:5-6 EMTV And whenever you pray, you shall not be
like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the
synagogues, and on the streetcorners, so that they may be seen by
men. Assuredly I say to you, that they receive their reward in full.
6 But you, whenever you pray, enter into your room, and when you have
shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret; and your
Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly.
We
learn:
B1 When God speaks, take Him literally, at His word. He speaks to us
in the writings of Scripture.
B2 Disobedience is easy.
B3 High emotional states can lead to poor thinking, which leads to
poor actions, which leads to poor outcomes, which lead to
difficulties for all.
B4 We are not to modify God’s plan.
B5 God gives us grace to do what is for every need. 2 Corinthians
12:9 GNB But his answer was: "My grace is all you need,
for my power is greatest when you are weak." I am most happy,
then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection
of Christ's power over me.
God
help us all.
A
resource of interest: How
Anger Affects Our Body (pdf)
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