JOB 32:1–5 – So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. He burned with anger also at Job’s three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger.”
THEME OF THE DAY: THE TWO TYPES OF ANGER. As we read today’s scripture, we won’t discover a lot about the main character Elihu. However, it isn’t hard to conclude he is an angry man. Four times in a short passage, we read he burned with anger.
As we read our Bibles and come across repeated words and sentences, stop and ponder them. This repetition in God’s Word points to something of great importance demanding our attention. In today’s case, a needed lesson is to be learned from Elihu found in the words describing him – He burned with anger.
When it comes to anger, the Bible clearly identifies two types – a righteous anger acceptable to the Lord and a sinful anger unacceptable to the Lord. The Apostle Paul makes this distinction in his letter to the Ephesians – Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil (Ephesians 4:26-27) and Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice (Ephesians 4:31).
So, how do we determine the difference in our own lives? Back to Elihu. What type of anger is he displaying? Righteous anger. Why? Elihu’s anger was directed toward Job and his friends because they were dishonoring God. Elihu was angry over God’s character, honor, and reputation being slandered and maligned. Here is the type of anger we are to display toward what is happening in our country. The moral collapse of our nation, even its rapid descent to destruction, should anger us because God’s laws are being rebelled against; His Name is being blasphemed; and His Son, the Lord Jesus being shunned and ignored. This is righteous anger. If our anger over our nation is about our comfort, our lifestyles, or anything else about us being upset, it is not a properly motivated anger.
The other anger is sinful as referred to by the Apostle Paul. And what is a good definition of sinful anger? Try this. When people and circumstances are upsetting our wills, desires, not conforming to what we want, and we either seethe inside with irritation, impatience, or worse, let loose hurtful words of irritation or impatience, sinful anger is present.
Always keep before us the distinction between righteous and unrighteous anger. The former is about wanting God’s will to be done and it isn’t happening; the latter is wanting our will to be done and it isn’t happening. Let’s pray that the Lord helps us to display Elihu-like anger for His sake and our testimonies before the world.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when my anger is about my will not being done instead of Yours.”
QUOTE: “The wrong type of anger will bring great discredit to the Lord Jesus and our testimony.”
Because of Him,
Pastor Jim