For Reading and Meditation:
Deuteronomy 32:36-47
We turn now to focus on an aspect of God's character which for some reason many see as a blotch or blemish in the divine nature. I refer to the matter of God's wrath. Though the subject may be missing from many modern-day pulpits, it is not missing from the Bible. If you look up in a Bible concordance all the texts that refer to the wrath, anger or the severity of God, you will find that there are more references to these than there are to His love, graciousness or tenderness. A proper study of God can never be complete unless consideration is given to the fact that God is not only a God of love but a God of wrath and anger also. I remember in the early days of my Christian experience that whenever I heard any reference to the wrath of God I would feel a deep resentment arise within me, and instead of regarding this aspect of God's nature with delight, I looked upon it with disdain. Later, however, when I came to understand it and saw it in its proper light - as something to rejoice in rather than to be resented - I found my love for God and my awe of God swell to new proportions. Arthur W. Pink describes the wrath of God as the "eternal detestation of all unrighteousness – the displeasure and indignation of divine equity against evil – the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin." Never view the wrath of God as a moral blemish or a blotch on His character. It would be a blemish if wrath were absent from Him.
Father, I would face all reality - even those aspects that do not fit into my preconceived ideas. Help me not to balk at the idea that You are a God of wrath as well as a God of wonder. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.