From the Pastor's Pen: A Response to Wrath

"On the third day, when they were sore, two of the sons of Jacob, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, took their swords and came against the city while it felt secure and killed all the males." (Genesis 34:25)

Growing up, I heard my fair share of "hellfire and brimstone" sermons. Our day reels from even the suspicion of such a sermon. To many, the very thought of wrath seems almost repugnant to a pure preaching of the gospel. However, if we are to be balanced as the Bible is balanced, judgment must be faithfully taught and proportionately preached. Judgment is exactly what we find in this passage.

Something has been done that ought not to be done in Israel, and a daughter of Israel has been utterly humiliated. Yes, the sons of Jacob responded in a deceitful way, but their act demonstrates a key principle - sin has consequences. For them to not respond would belittle Dinah, would trade justice for injustice, love for hate, right for wrong. A world with all sin and no judgment is a world that no man would dare occupy.

When we turn our eyes to the wrath of God, what we find is a wrath free from deceit. When God unsheathes His sword, He does so after many repeated warnings from His Word and with a crystal-clear picture of our sin (Heb. 4:13). His justice truly gives man what he is due, for He metes out an infinite punishment against those who would defy an infinite God.

As Thomas Watson would say, "God has leaden feet but iron hands." When the blow does land, it strikes true. More of all of this, God's wrath stems directly from God's love. Whereas the sons of Jacob felt angry that their sister was humiliated, how much more does Christ feel that His Bride has been treated as such? That His supreme majesty, that His peerless glory has been defiled? His perfect wrath is an expression of His perfect love, and we cannot have one without the other.

Today, we may recoil from such displays of wrath, of retributive justice. Hear me now. The day is coming when many will feel secure, and the wrath of the Lamb will come with a sword in His mouth and garments soaked in blood. Many will fall into an eternal death because of how they trampled the Son of God underfoot and humiliated His Bride.

Though they may tremble in fear, the people of God will rejoice to see the love of their Savior displayed in His and their vindication. The wrath of God may cause some to tremble in fear, but the people of God will melt in love.