Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
Summary: When the wrath of God comes, we don’t want to be on the wrong side.
This verse about the “wrath of God” bothers a lot of people. “How could a loving God ever be mad at people?” they ask.
How, indeed.
There are two kinds of people in the world. Simply put, there are those who end up in heaven and those who find themselves spending eternity in the lake of fire. To the best of my knowledge, the Bible doesn’t offer a third option.
In the parable of the “Wheat and the Tares” (KJV), Jesus explains the difference. The wheat is the “good seed,” and the tares are the “weeds.” The weeds look like wheat but have no value. At the conclusion of the parable, God explains how he sorts them out. He says:
“Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” (Matthew 13: 30)
If that sounds too far off for you to worry about, the Bible gives another illustration of God’s wrath that is more imminent. In the Old Testament, there is a story about a man named Korah who stirred up some of the Israelites against Moses (Numbers 16:1-50).
There were two problems with Korah’s approach to the situation.
First, Korah seemed to think that Moses was calling the shots. Even though there was a physical manifestation of God’s presence over the Tabernacle day and night, in Korah’s mind, it was still Moses who was in charge. In fact, nothing was farther from the truth. Moses submitted to God in every way, something Korah was not doing.
Second, Korah had the idea that if he was in charge, he could lead the Israelites wherever he wanted to go. He was done following Moses around the desert. It was time for action! Unfortunately for him, he forgot why they were wandering the desert. After the people rejected God’s gift of Canaan the first time, he condemned them to live out the rest of their lives in the desert (Numbers 14: 26-35).
When Korah rejected God a second time, God demonstrated the consequences of rejecting him by having the earth open up under Korah and his tents. He and all his family were swallowed up by the earth (Numbers 16: 31-33).
“God’s wrath” is another way of saying there are consequences for rejecting God. Human wrath is about “getting even.” That is not how God thinks. God’s wrath is simply the division of the wheat and the tares. The good ones he keeps; the bad ones he sweeps into the fire.
Application: Take God seriously. He does!
Food for Thought: How does the idea of “God’s wrath” help us understand what it means to fear God?
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