See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. The stars of heaven and their constellations will not show their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light. I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. I will make man scarcer than pure gold, more rare than the gold of Ophir. Therefore, I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger. (Isaiah 13:9–13, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “In the day of His burning anger.” As horrible as this sounds, “the day of the Lord is coming.” It has been long-delayed, “for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” (Joel 2:13, NIV 1984). Yes, He is “slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.” (Numbers 14:18, NIV 1984).
Some find it hard to reconcile “a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger,” with “gracious and compassionate…and abounding in love.” His grace, compassion and love are evident, after all He became man in the person of His Son to die for our sins. To make it possible for all to avoid His “wrath [and]…burning anger.” Not merely to “destroy the sinners…punish the world for its evil…put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and… humble the pride of the ruthless.” Although these would be sufficient for Him execute judgment. But more importantly to bring justice for any who reject the costly sacrifice of the Son. For, “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36, NIV 1984).
So, how does one reconcile love and wrath, grace and judgment, or compassion and anger? The fact that God is also just, righteous and holy. Bridging the gap between love, grace and compassion on one side and wrath, judgment and anger on the other side is the Son of God. Bottom line? “God’s wrath remains [only] on [those]” who reject the Son. For those, His righteousness demands justice.
“O sinner! Reflect on the dire situation you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath. Now, God is ready to show mercy. This is a day of grace, and you can cry out to Him with hope of being heard. But once the day of mercy is gone, your cries and pleas will be in vain. Today is a remarkable opportunity, a day when Christ has opened the door of mercy wide and is standing in the doorway, calling out loudly to all sinners. Therefore, let everyone who is not in Christ wake up and flee from the coming wrath.” (Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God, Jonathan Edwards, July 8th, 1741).
My Advice – “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24, NIV 1984). It’s a bridge we all should cross. It’s a doorway we can all enter through. “Wake up and flee from the coming wrath.”
The Brew Is A Musing 