And Paul exhorts us to: follow righteousness, faith, charity, and peace. 2 Timothy 2:22 But so often breeches are widened, bitterness is intensified and anger is excited.
Pain in Suffering
Deep in fallow soils of past experience, and oft-times found lurking in dark corners of the soul, are polluted attitudes; deep resentments; concealed rebellion; hateful anger. Deep in the dungeons of our forgetfulness, are ofttimes repressed wounds from past pain - Pain from rejection; criticism; indifference; loss.
Do you have one who cares enough to risk your anger by speaking the truth? Do you have anyone who loves you enough to jeopardise your friendship and trust.. by offering a justified rebuke, giving a timely warning or proffering wise advice?
Old Self
The old self cannot be taught to deal with pride, anger, lust – to deal with sin. The old self may learn tricks to hide the sin nature, but it can never change it.
But this sorrowful man proclaimed, in minute detail of a new and glorious House, and Jeremiah cried to Israel:- proclaim these words toward the north, and say: 'Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; 'I will not cause My anger to fall on you for I am merciful,’ says the LORD; 'I will not remain angry forever.
Renouncing Anger
To forgive others you need to renounce anger and resentment against the other, but have you been willing to accept God’s forgiveness of all of your sins? Are you prepared to bestow on another the gift you received from God? Can you honestly withhold forgiveness towards another, when the Lord gave His beloved Son’s life in order to forgive you?
Pain of Unforgiveness
I once allowed wounds and anger and pain of unforgiveness to build up in my life.
Broken Heart
Forgiveness is one of the main requirements of a broken heart, for forgiveness helps address the other elements needed for a broken heart. Forgiveness can help to identify self, pride, anger, lust, jealousy – regret.
While Proverbs 12:11 tells us that:: there is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing – and a gentle answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger. Proverbs 15:1
Reminders of His tender-mercy flow like refreshing streams through His Word: “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in mercy”.
Purposeful Life
The new nature wants us to put away anger that flares us in the heat of our flesh, for such behaviour gives the roaring lion an opportunity to devour our hope.
You have only to extend that, provoke that anger enough, put that nature into certain circumstances, and you will discover that you are capable of things of which you would have stood in utmost horror at one time.
The all too frequent faults and failures of an earthly father are falsely linked to representing the character of an angry God, where mental or physical abuse; anger; accusation; criticism or sarcasm..
slow to anger and of great goodness; a God of grace and truth and abounding in great goodness; a God Whose mercy is everlasting; a God Whose love is eternal.
What the music and drama of the world produce in one way the soul-stirring, rousing, craving: the pathos, tears, contempt, hatred, anger, melancholy, pleasure, etc.
The context of grieving the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 4 which tells us: do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph.4:30) – let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, along with all malice (Eph.4:31) – and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. (Eph.4:32) – The life-long sanctifying process is carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit, but the sanctifying process cannot be accomplished by the work of the flesh.
We should not speak the truth in contempt or anger or self-righteousness. We should speak the truth in love – words seasoned with salt and full of grace.
However, her refusal embarrassed and angered the king, and rather than letting the incident pass, he called his wise men to ascertain what he could do about her obstinate behaviour, and asked what laws he could use to teach her a lesson.
So shocking is sin in the eyes of God, that the full force of His anger and wrath must be poured out in fullest measure, on the God-hating, Christ-rejecting, fallen race of man living on the cursed earth - to pay for the accumulated sin of the world.
It was Moses who foretold that Israel would be provoked to jealousy and anger by a rag-tag group of foolish Gentile believers who would receive the free gift of salvation from the God of Israel, by faith, before they did, and it was Isaiah who foretold that Israel's Messiah was also to be a light to lighten the Gentile nations: And that they would become God's children as a result of Israel's transgression, rebellion and apostasy.
The entire assembly were stirred up in heated anger and brought Him to Pilate, the Roman governor, to determine whether Jesus was guilty and deserving of death.
When He walked by the way He was hungry and tired, and our Great High Priest was not exempt from the human emotions of hope and fear, of joy and pain, of anger and grief, nor was He free from suffering and sorrow, but lived a life of humble obedience to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are counselled against spiritual immaturity, emotional instability, and foolish gullibility while being warned against lying, anger, deceitfulness, unconfessed sin, covetousness, filthiness, foolish talking, and coarse jesting.
We are warned against being controlled by anger or wrath, jealousy or envy, and we are also warned against being ruled or governed by an excess of wine.
His holy anger exploded into a physical display of indignation when He discovered the money-changers aggressively demanding inflated prices for inferior oxen, sheep, and doves, and witnessed the gross extortion of the poor, by unscrupulous men.
In Leviticus, we discover that it was by the waters of Meribah that the Israelites 'quarrelled' with the Lord and 'rebelled' against His command, while in Psalm 106, we read that this first generation of Israelites 'angered' the Lord at the waters of Meribah and Moses 'suffered' because of their disobedience.
He first describes the angelic rebellion in Genesis, when the angels who fell with Satan took the daughters of men to be their 'wives' and produced half-breed offspring, which angered the Lord.
Luke records how righteous anger welled up in the heart of Lord Jesus, Who made a scourge of cords and drove these mercenaries out of the temple, together with their sheep, oxen, doves, and filthy lucre.
But like this first verse in chapter 15 which says: A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger, it is also linked to a much wider body of teaching that could impact the lives of all who take note of its intrinsic wisdom and apply it in their lives.
For just as a gentle, controlled, thoughtful, or caring word can calm the troubled breast, bring hope to the hopeless, healing to the injured, or grace to an offender, so a harsh, hateful, cruel, or careless comment, can as easily be used to wound or discourage, hurt or hinder, harm or handicap, or speedily stir up strife and anger.
What a difference the Church would make in the world, if the simple message that: A soft answer turns away wrath, but harsh words incites anger, were applied in lives of all who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ.
And in this verse, he expounded on the serious consequences of nursing anger in our hearts, and advises us: Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, for anger resides in the bosom of fools.
It is a warning that highlights the danger of nursing anger in our breast or flying into a fit of rage... from which we can all learn a valuable lesson.
Such unrighteous anger reveals a lack of self-control and it exposes a decidedly weak character and an ungodly attitude.
Anger can be exhibited in many forms, from silent disdain or the smouldering of a hidden grudge, to an explosion of expletives or the eruption of nonsensical behaviour - but the Bible clearly states that: Anger is hidden in the heart of fools.
Let us refrain from the unrighteous anger that lodges in the hearts of fools and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness - and may it be the deep desire of our heart to do all to the honour of His name.
This not only displeased Samuel, but caused the anger of the Lord to rise up against the disobedient king: You acted foolishly, and have not kept God's commands, Samuel thundered, so now your kingdom shall not endure. The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart and the Lord has appointed him as ruler over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.
Another lesson in practical living is in verse 26 where Paul contrasts sinful rage or bad temper with genuine, righteous anger: Be angry, and sin not, is Paul's simple guideline: Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
There is a vast difference between legitimate, godly anger over sin and evil where a believer controls his anger rather than being controlled by it, and the explosive anger of indignant rage or smouldering anger due to some personal altercation, a bitter heart, or the desire to 'get even'.
Righteous anger grieves over sin and evil, while fleshly anger allows the devil to take a foothold in our life and causes us to sink deeper in the sinful lusts of the flesh.
Jesus gave an example of righteous anger in Matthew 21, where he turned over the table of the money-changers and those who were selling oxen, sheep, and doves in the Temple court.
Anger is not always a sin and not all anger is wrong, and there are times when Christians should express righteous anger in a way that honours the Lord.
But when any sort of anger is not addressed biblically, the enemy can turn righteous anger into a sin or escalate fleshly anger into a greater offence, which is why Paul continues with the directive: Do not let the sun go down on your anger.
We are to address ALL anger issues, quickly.
How important to keep a tight rein on every form of anger.
Fleshly anger should be renounced before it has an opportunity to develop.
As soon as an angry, jealous, vindictive, vengeful thought is conceived in the mind, it should be taken captive and given to Christ so that it is not allowed to produce the fruit of unrighteousness, while righteous anger should not be permitted to develop into some sort of self-righteous attitude, which also gives the enemy a foothold in our life.
May we learn to recognise the difference between true righteous anger and ungodly fleshly anger that causes us to sin.
May we 'keep short accounts' when dealing with anger and be ready to address issues immediately so that we honour the Lord in thought, word, deed, motive, and emotions.
God's accumulated anger and wrath against your sin and mine was placed on Christ Jesus on Calvary's Cross.
The only alternative is to refuse to believe on the only begotten son of God, in which case those who refuse God's offer of salvation by grace through faith in Him will suffer the full force of God's anger, wrath, and condemnation because they did not believe on the only begotten Son of God.
God will not retain His anger forever because He delights in unchanging love, and that love is not only extended to Israel (His earthly inheritance) but also the Church (His heavenly inheritance).
He is slow to anger and desires to restore to them the joy of their salvation - but they must listen to His voice, hear His word, partake of what is good, and delight their soul in the abundance of His blessings.
However, the works of those that rejected God's offer of salvation will be judged and found wanting, and they will face the full wrath of God's great anger - and not one will be able to stand on that awful day.
Israel was to be the chosen nation through whom the promised Messiah was to be born, and yet we discover that the people engaged in much ungodly practice and idolatrous frolicking, causing thousands of souls to be struck down in God's anger.
He opened his song of praise and petition by thanking God for turning His burning anger away from His disobedient people, pardoning their sins, bringing the exiles home from their Babylonian captivity, and restoring the fortunes of Jacob.
I am shocked that you are so quickly turning away from Him, Who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. The apostle makes no attempt to hide his deep frustration and justified anger, and pronounces a curse on anyone, including himself or even an angelic being, if they promote a different gospel from the one he, himself had taught them.
The suffering Servant of the Gospels, Who was so gentle and meek at His first coming, is revealed as King of kings and Lord of lords Who will strike down the nations and rule them with a rod of iron, as He treads His enemies underfoot in the wine-press of God's fierce anger.
We are to keep a check on all forms of fleshly anger, which can manifest itself in explosive rage, smouldering resentment, or even a display of smug self-righteousness.
Such people seem to go out of their way to provoke others to anger, rather than displaying a living faith through godly wisdom, understanding, a Christlike kindness, and graciousness of heart.
He deals with anger, adultery, divorce, murder, and lust in this manner, and in verses 38-39 He talks about retaliation: You have heard that it was said, 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth', but I tell you, don't resist an evildoer.
In God's divine plan, His eternal Son was to become a full member of the human race, for only a perfect and sinless man could act as intermediary between an offended God Who is angered by sin and sinful humanity, which results in man being eternally separated from a holy God, and it is all a result of sin.
And then He had to live a sinless life and die a sacrificial death, in order to fulfil all the righteous requirements of God's holy law and satisfy God's anger against sin.
I loathed that generation, and said they are a people who err in their heart, for they do not know My ways. Therefore, I swore in My anger, truly they shall not enter into My rest.
Their foolish unbelief and rebellious ways caused God's anger to be roused against them so He swore in his wrath they would not enter the land flowing with milk and honey.
The human response towards those who do us wrong is to retaliate... to demand recompense... to cultivate an inner grievance or to give an outer display of anger or revenge.
But as one continues to read the book of Micah, we discover that God is long suffering and very merciful, and that blessings will one day flow... following His anger.
When first introduced to the believers at Corinth, we find a group of Christians that despite their boasting, their diverse spiritual gifts were devoid of love and wallowed in a divergent range of ungodly actions and attitudes including: quarrelling, envying, anger, bitterness, back-biting, carnal intrigues, and gross spiritual immaturity.
Before our salvation, we were among those that exhibited the evil works of the flesh, some of which are listed in verses 19-21 and include sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and other ungodly actions.
He demonstrated a depth of forgiving love that passes our understanding.There was no resentment or anger, no bitterness, no feelings of hostility or damaged pride in this statement, but it encapsulated a depth of divine forgiveness that was able to lovingly embrace the crude Roman soldiers that greedily envied His bloodied garment and cast lots for his seamless cloak.It included the governor and his cowardly compromise, and it encompassed the false witnesses with their fabricated allegations and false testimony.
Paul gave brief instructions to men in the congregation to pray everywhere, lifting up their hands in praise and thanksgiving to the Lord, rather than in anger or argument.
Just as the men were called to lift up there for hands without anger or irritation, so too their wives and the other women of the congregation received instructions: I would like to see women wearing modest clothing, Paul says.
We are cautioned against indulging in the lust of the flesh and the pride of life, which too frequently manifests in all types of impurity or greed, filthiness of heart and mind, silly talk, coarse jesting, bitterness, clamour, wrath, and anger which is not fitting for the saint of God.
However, this angered Jesus greatly, and we read that He said, Leave the children alone, and don’t try to stop them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of little ones like these.
He is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession and He is our Mediator Who has redeemed us from being consumed in the fire of God's anger - with His own blood - and He stands at the heavenly alter interceding on our account.
Zeal for the House of God consumed the Lord Jesus, and in His righteous anger He used a whip of cords to drive out the dishonest money-changers and those that sold animals to their poverty-stricken countrymen (which were to be sacrificed to the Lord) at inflated prices: Do not make My Father's house into a house of merchandise, was Christ's scathing command to those that bought and sold in the Temple court.
And as the procession returned to the alter, where the water would be poured out as a thank offering to the Lord, the choir sang joyful hymns of praise, like this one from Isaiah: I will give thanks to You, O LORD; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, and You comfort me.
The high priest's questions to the Lord had been designed to trap and condemn Him, but Jesus maintained an impressive silence and did not answer, which both confounded and angered him.
Although many of the stern warnings in his short book were fulfilled when the southern kingdom of Judah was finally swept into Babylonian slavery, the ultimate and final fulfilment is yet future: The Day of the Lord's wrath, will be poured out during the 70th week of Daniel, that future time of Jacob's Trouble, when the full force of God's wrath and anger will be spewed out on a world that rejected His Son and refused to be saved by grace through faith.
It would be with both sadness and righteous anger that Christ had to warn the proud, unbelieving Pharisees with His blistering words: The one who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has One who judges him.
The man whom God used to deliver them out of Egypt was the man they turned on in anger when God tested them at Marah: And so Moses cried out to the LORD.
In His fierce anger, the Lord will cause the lifeblood of these sinful men to be poured out like dust on the ground, and their flesh will cover the earth like animal dung.
A total of seven times, Balaam's prophetic voice brought nothing but speaking blessings upon the people of Israel, much to the anger of the pagan king.
God the Father treated the Lord Jesus like a condemned criminal, pouring the full force of His anger and wrath on the Son of His love, as He bore the accumulated sin of the whole world on His sinless shoulders.
Those who believe are not condemned, but those who do not believe are condemned already, and will face the full force of God's great anger and wrath, because of their unbelief in the only begotten Son of God.
Those in the emperor's service knew very well that any display of emotion or pain, anger or sadness, should be kept hidden before the king and his court.
In chapter 1, we read of God's anger rising against Nineveh and a declaration of their certain destruction.
Nahum opened his prophecy by announcing that the Lord is a jealous God Who takes vengeance on His enemies and is fierce in His anger.
The Lord is slow to anger, but He is great in power and will never leave the guilty unpunished.
Those who trust in Him must always remember that Christ won the victory at the Cross, when the burning fires of God's jealous anger was poured out in Him instead of on us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
It takes effort on the part of the parent to ensure that discipline is never imparted in anger or from a hasty reaction, but given as a consistent, loving, firm, but fair consequence to a child's actions or attitude.
Then as now, the general defence of an argumentative person is to point to other people as being the cause of any inter-Christian fighting, quarrels, criticism, anger, jealousies, and pride... instead of recognising that one's own, egocentric self is too often the main culprit for such controversies and division.
We are to forgive one another generously, unhesitatingly, and without holding a grudge, for unforgiveness can lead us into a range of ungodly responses like anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, and other ungodly responses - all of which Paul warned against, earlier in this chapter.
As fallen creatures, it is all too easy to provoke each other to anger and strife through unkindness and criticism, but as believers we are instructed to provoke one another unto LOVE.
We read in Galatians that the deeds of the flesh are evident which are, immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, about which Paul forewarn us - that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Jesus took the full force of God's righteous anger against their sin, our sin, and the sin of the whole world.
Like us, the Christians at Thessalonica believed by faith that God poured out the full fury of His anger against sin upon the Lord Jesus Christ, Who was God's sacrificial Lamb and our sin-substitute.
We are the children of our gracious Heavenly Father, and we are called to be God's witnesses to the unsaved in a dying world - for God is merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and longs that all men are saved.
We should not continue in the ways of the world which include: Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech.
Many of the sins listed in this verse are connected with sins of speech. Anger often is expressed in spiteful words or a hostile attitude.
And although there is a godly anger which grieves over wrongs, lawlessness, and sin, we should not become involved with the unrighteous anger expressed in this verse.
Malice in this verse suggests a violent temperament designed to do harm to others and can often be spawned from the build-up of anger or hatred, and it can often explode into a myriad of ungodly thoughts or actions, while slander is connected with malicious lies, speaking evil of others, or even participating in gossip or spreading cruel rumours.
Firstly: All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. It is only after these negative emotions have been dealt with, at the foot of the Cross, that we can continue with Paul's next exhortation: Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has also forgiven you.
Whether or not Joseph was wise to tell his brothers about the wonderful messages he received from God, it is evident that he did not consider the consequences of sharing this information with his resentful siblings, so Joseph not only reignited his brothers' anger but was also severely scolded by his father for his presumptuous attitude.
It was by grace that God's boiling anger and righteous judgement against man's wickedness and sin was poured out in full measure on an appointed sin-Substitute, our perfect Kinsman-Redeemer, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now then let Me alone, that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you a great nation.
Israel's shocking display of degeneracy, obstinacy, and unbelief, caused God's furious anger to burn against them, and although He had pledged to give Israel their Promised Land... the Lord tested Moses by telling him, I will send an angel before you and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite... so go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up in your midst, because you are an obstinate people, and I might destroy you on the way.
Discouragement and unholy anger, doctrinal error and spiritual confusion, together with false teachings, moral failure, and self-recrimination, will flood our hearts if we step outside the protection of an unwavering faith in God - and Jesus Christ, Whom He has sent.
And He had to be willing to sacrifice His human life and shed His own, human blood so that His propitiatory death and glorious Resurrection would satisfy God's anger against sin and be sufficient to pay the full price for the sin of the whole world.
Parents who place too great an emphasis on discipline while neglecting encouragement risk provoking their son or daughter to bitterness, frustration, anger, depression, or even worse.
A gracious correction or a gentle answer is more likely to divert an angry response: Gentle words are a tree of life, but words that are spoken in haste or harshly delivered stir up anger and strife: A deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.
As bond-servants of Christ, we are given a valuable list of how we should live, having put off our old selves and put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We are exhorted to put off falsehood and speak truthfully; steal no longer but instead work and share; speak helpful and wholesome words; get rid of bitterness, anger, and slander and in their place put forgiveness, kindness and compassion.Paul rejoiced to be a prisoner of the Lord, not for any wrong that he had done, for all sin and every sin was forgiven at the Cross, but for the sake of the Lord Jesus Who loves us and gave Himself for us.
From the start to the end of Scripture, the Lord shows Himself to be compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving-kindness.
The more we come to know the Lord, the more He develops in each of us a deepening desire to know Him more and to love Him better, for He has proved Himself to be compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness.
When difficulties arise in our lives and we are beset on every side with hardships and trials, we need to adopt the attitude of David in His many psalms of praise and thanksgiving – who reflected on God's past goodness, rejoiced in His future promises, and blessed the Lord for all the benefits that He bestows on us day by day: For the Lord is compassion and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving-kindness.
He presented Christ as the PROPITIATION for our sins by pouring out the wrath that was our portion onto His perfect Son Whose sacrifice on the Cross satisfied God's righteous anger on behalf of all who would believe in Him.
In His anger and wrath He repeatedly showed them His mercy, and we discover in the pages of Scripture, that a day is coming when God's chosen people will be ultimately restored to their God.
Indeed, James points out that the sin of covetousness is so powerful that he allies its fruit with murder, which is rooted in anger, envy, bitterness, malice, cruelty, savagery, inhumanity, and greed.When the covetous self is determined to have its own way, it often translates into hidden manipulations and blatantly evil actions which can even pour forth in the form of pious praying.
But God in His grace formulated a perfect plan of redemption for all mankind by sending His only begotten Son to become a Man, so that His perfect life and sacrificial death would satisfy God's righteous anger against all sin, including my sin and including yours.
For Christ received the full force of God's anger against sin on our behalf at Calvary; He was punished in our place, and in Him our redemption price was paid in full at Calvary.
In this passage on a pure and undefiled Christian religion, James encourages us to be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, and righteous in all our ways.
Paul exhorts us not to be in a state of anger or argument when we pray.
Certainly, our pleadings and petitions, prayers and thankful praise should not be from a heart that is harbouring resentment or unforgiveness, anger or bitterness but from a heart that is holy and clean before the Lord, a heart that is gentle and gracious, a heart that is submissive before the Lord - for God looks on the state of our heart.
Praise God that we can approach the throne on grace boldly, and give over to Him all of our anger, anguish, resentment, and malice, making the way clear for us to life up holy hands and pour out our praises, petitions, and thankful worship to the One Who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
The anger of the Lord is such that Isaiah calls on the heaven above and the earth beneath to bear witness to the Lord's accusations against His rebellious people: Listen, O heavens, and hear, O earth; for the LORD speaks, we read.
It was the sinful condition of the nation that aroused God's flaming anger, for a holy God cannot look upon sin.
They chased after foreign gods and sadly they missed the day of their visitation, which angered the Lord and caused Him to punish His disobedient people and set them aside, for a season.
Indeed, we are encouraged to be quick to hear, for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God, but we should also be wise in our actions and circumspect in our reactions by being slow to speak and slow to anger, for angry men do not achieve the righteousness of God.
The northern kingdom proudly participated in Israel's religious festivals and feast-days, unconcerned that their hypocrisy angered the Lord.
The Lord purposed to fulfil His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, but the nation's persistent refusal to repent, ignited God's burning anger against them, so national judgement became the inevitable consequence.
While Paul and Barnabas never worked together in ministry again, their disagreements were resolved in later years and John Mark, who angered Paul by departing from their first missionary journey, was used by God to pen the glorious Gospel of Mark.
In their anger and rage we read that they will try to prevent His glorious return to earth and His everlasting reign of righteousness, when He comes in power, with the armies of heaven, to set up His Millennial Kingdom.
We are warned in God's Word to get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, brawling, and slander, along with every form of malice, for when the root of bitterness is allowed to fester and develop, it results in much trouble: And by it many are defiled.
Moses had been chosen by God to lead this rag-tag group of murmuring, squabbling, rebellious people, who had so angered the Lord by their unbelief, that he vowed to wait until they had buried everyone from the first generation in the desert sands.
He reminded them that the self-dependent unbelief, spiritual pride, and rebellious attitude of the previous generation had angered God, and their survival as a nation demanded total dedication to the Lord and an utter commitment to trust His Word, obey His commands, and listen to His voice.
Many times in life, we discover the folly of opening our mouth and responding in careless haste to the words and actions of others, and too often we react in annoyance or anger only to discover that we had misunderstood the facts of the matter, causing us to regret that we spoke so quickly and reacted so hastily.
Having been exhorted to be quick to hear and slow to speak, James ends this verse with the exhortation to be slow to anger.
Indeed, God is angry at sin and Paul tells us it is possible to be angry and not sin: Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. Proverbs gives us more insights on the sin of being led by our anger, leading to fits of rage, uncontrolled lashing out physically or verbally, and can lead to bitterness and depression: A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of evil devices is hated.
A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back. And James goes on to say: For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
Let us take to heart James' words, and be wise men or women, who are quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, particularly in the things of the Lord.
The unusual, many-coloured mantle he received from his father, singled Joseph out from his brothers, bestowing on him unique privileges, which probably implied that Joseph was singled out to receive an important heritage from his father which angered his brothers, causing deep hostility to develop.