Reading 71 • November 24
Today's Scripture
Nahum 1:1–11
An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.
A jealous and avenging God is the Lord, the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and rages against his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger but great in power, and the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. His way is in whirlwind and storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and makes it dry, and he dries up all the rivers; Bashan and Carmel wither, and the bloom of Lebanon fades. The mountains quake before him, and the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who live in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and by him the rocks are broken in pieces. The Lord is good, a stronghold in a day of trouble; he protects those who take refuge in him, even in a rushing flood. He will make a full end of his adversaries, and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
Why do you plot against the Lord? He will make an end; no adversary will rise up twice. Like thorns they are entangled, like drunkards they are drunk; they are consumed like dry straw. From you one has gone out who plots evil against the Lord, who counsels wickedness. (NRSV)
Reflection
Like a lot of autistic kids, I suffered from a fair amount of obsessive-compulsive traits when I was little. The most inconvenient of these symptoms was the intrusive thoughts. I would be in the car with my parents, and all of a sudden, my brain would just go, “What if you said a bad word right now, like a really, really bad one?”
I asked my dad once when I was five if God could hear my thoughts. He contemplated for a moment and tried his best to formulate a response that was both age-appropriate and theologically accurate.
That’s when the paranoia set in. If God heard all my bad thoughts, then obviously, God was mad at me. For that reason and others, verses about the “wrath of god” typically put a sour taste in my mouth.
I know I’m not alone in this sentiment, more broadly speaking. Lots of Christians shy away from scripture when it comes to sin, hell, anger, or other scary stuff we don’t like to talk about.
What’s needed here is some perspective. God doesn’t want to hurt you. God loves you. We are reassured of this later in the same passage, when it is emphasized that God is slow to anger.
My point being, you are not in trouble with God, and you shouldn’t center your faith around the fear of damnation or divine wrath. God’s anger isn’t like human anger. Human anger is rooted in hate; God’s righteous anger is rooted in justice. God isn’t a bully; God stands up to the bullies.
Prayer
Dear Father, please help us to be reassured of the truth of your nature and find peace in your patient and unyielding love for us. Amen.
Written by Laura Supinger, Member of Fourth Presbyterian Church
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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