Burning Anger

To fill his belly to the full, God will send his burning anger against him and rain it upon him into his body. He will flee from an iron weapon; a bronze arrow will strike him through. It is drawn forth and comes out of his body; the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder; terrors come upon him.
Job 20:23–25
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Burning Anger
There is an old adage which says God’s anger kindles slowly but burn hot. Zophar directs his contempt for Job and his perceived wicked ways now in violent imagery.  He paints a picture of a ruthless God destroying the wicked with military precision.  Zophar seems to be suffering from what phycologists refer to as projection, which is the mental process by which people attribute to others what is in their own minds. Zophar’s anger at Job for not seeing his plight as a direct result of his own sinful ways has gotten the best of Zophar.  So now he envisions a God who is burning with anger and ready to settle the score. In this way Zophar is no different from many Christians today.  We live in a society which says that truth is relative and that you can find your own truth.  This has seeped into many churches’ theology, as they have long ago abandoned the inerrancy of God’s Word. This is how you get a god who rejects his own word and reflects the social mores of the day.  So how are we to guard against this and truly know God. It is quite simple; we remain in God’s Word.  He tells us who He is and how He interacts with us.  It is true that God’s anger burns hot against sin, it is also true that the anger was poured out upon Christ as He hung from the cross.  Therefore, we need not fear the god of Zophar who would destroy us in this life, for our God has promised to protect us, strengthen us, and most importantly forgive us.  A forgiveness given in repentance on account of His Son our Savior Jesus Christ.