Psalm 7:11 God is a righteous judge, a God who displays his wrath every day.
Today is the perfect example of why it is not good to pull a verse from context and why you should also read other translations. When I first looked at the verse I thought, “Why does God have to show wrath? Can’t He just be unaccepting of sin? Why wrath?” But the ESV translates it a bit differently. That version says, “God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day. ”
So I thought, “Let’s check on the original Hebrew and get the definition. See if maybe wrath is just a poor translation.” But that is not the case. If anything, it was even more angry than I thought it would be. The Hebrew word is za’am. It is a word that conveys profound anger, rage, indignation, or fury. But not just any fury. It is often interpreted as foaming at the mouth. It describes the consistent, everyday righteous wrath of God towards persistent sin. Wow. God has such a deep, righteous indignation that is like a foaming at the mouth anger on a daily basis towards us?
In my mind this didn’t measure up with the God Who I see as loving and forgiving. It didn’t make sense to me that He would be so angry with mankind on a daily basis. I understand that He is a just God, as we saw yesterday. But if you look at the entire Old Testament we see time and again how He was angry at mankind and then relented when they repented and humbled themselves. The chance after chance after chance is more in line with the Father I have always seen Him as, One Who may be upset with us but loves us enough to give us another chance.
As a parent myself, I know what it is like to love my children deeply and want what is best for them but to also feel anger or be upset at their behavior. I don’t like the disciplining of my children but know it is essential that they understand there are consequences for breaking the rules or misbehavior. As a daughter, I know what it feels like to disappoint my parents with my choices and behavior, as well as to feel their anger.
But daily wrath? That still doesn’t sit well with me.
Keep in mind the first thing I said in today’s devotion – don’t take things out of context. Now that we have all of this background and are feeling a little uncomfortable, let’s stop and read the entire psalm.
David is seeking divine justice while he is being slandered by an enemy. He pleads with God to be a fair judge, to defend him from these attacks. He asserts his innocence and he begs God to judge, knowing He is a just God and all-knowing. David turns to Him because he knows He is a moral Judge who sees the heart and mind of each of us.
He recognizes that God is opposed to sin and wickedness (wrathful). He knows God’s judgement is not something that is sporadic, but is continually opposed to sin and wickedness. He is holy and righteous and will not tolerate sin and evil.
But the psalm continues… It ensures that while God will vindicate those who are innocent, He is also a just and righteous God, not tolerating sin. And we all sin daily, multiple times, continuously. He punishes those who refuse to repent but forgives those who come to Him humbly and ask for forgiveness.
This verse shows us that God is active in His daily commitment to justice and unaccepting of evil. But we have to remember He loves us and forgives us when we come to Him with a humble, apologetic heart and seek His ways. He wants none to perish, for all to be saved (2 Peter 3:9).
We can remember that though we know He loves us and wants the best for us, He is also a God Who refuses to accept sin. And as we said, sin is a part of our daily life. Thus, anger and indignation are a part of His daily response. But it is not a forever thing. It is not permanent or condemning. He forgives. And that is where we find hope. That is where we see His nature, a Father Who wants us to be with Him, Who wants fellowship with us.
Turn from your sins. Confess them and repent. Apologize. Seek forgiveness. Do this and His wrath will change to forgiveness. There is no need to fear condemnation unless you refuse to change. He loves you regardless of what you do, but He is not going to accept continuous sin and evil.
Prayer: Lord, Thank You for teaching me new things daily. Thank You for being a just God, a Father Who will not tolerate wrongdoing. And thank You for forgiving us when we sin. Amen
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