God is Angry Because He Loves His People

When America was attacked on 9/11, President George W. Bush led the nation to mourn with what he called “a quiet, unyielding anger.” Americans were angry not because we didn’t love, but because we did.  

Much of God’s anger in the Bible is fueled by His love for His people. He is angry at anyone and anything that threatens them. He is angry because He loves.  

Obadiah shows us four sins that Edom committed against God’s people. . .

i) They deserted their brothers. . .  

Obadiah 1:11—On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them.

ii) They celebrated Jerusalem's destruction. . .  

Obadiah 1:12—But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress.

iii) They looted Jerusalem’s ruins. . .  

Obadiah 1:13—Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity.

iv) They assisted Judah’s enemies. . .  

Obadiah 1:14—Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.    

Imagine you have a daughter living in an apartment in a big city. You hear she’s been captured by a notorious group of traffickers so you fly to the city as soon as you possibly can. You talk to people in her building about what happened. You learn that her next door neighbors were with your daughter the night she was kidnapped. But they stood by and did nothing. In fact, these neighbors actually cheered the kidnappers as they grabbed your daughter and pulled her screaming out of the building. When she got away from them for a moment, they stopped her and handed her back over to her captors. To top it off, they looted her apartment after she was gone. How would you feel towards those neighbors? Would it be right for you to be angry?  

How can God do any less. Do we want a God who isn’t angry on behalf of His people?  

God is angry because He loves His people.