Does God Get Angry?
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If people were asked the question “Does God get angry?” the answers would be different – probably polar opposites of one another. Some might say that they don’t imagine God getting angry at anything, viewing God as someone always abounding in love, never anger. The opposite would be those who think of a fire-and-brimstone God who is only present to judge us and never to prosper us.
What people may not remember at times is that we are made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), so the emotions we have are only reflections of the emotions our heavenly Father has. You get angry, or sad, or disappointed, or happy, because God has those same emotions as well.
Scripture also supports this fact about God’s emotions, accentuated more by the truths of Jesus in the Bible when He showed emotion during His ministry on earth: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35) and Jesus turning over the moneychangers’ tables at the temple in anger (John 2:13-17).
But there are differences in God’s anger compared to our anger. And for that, we must go to the Scriptures to uncover the real answer to this intriguing question.
Does God Get Angry?
The short answer is yes, God does get angry, and Scripture gives countless examples of God’s anger. This differs from human anger in that ours can be for selfish reasons, while His is always righteous and to further truth.
God probably first showed anger when He learned that Adam and Eve had eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, and hid from Him in guilt for their doings (Gen. 3). Even though God knew all that transpired, He was still angry with Adam and Eve blaming one another and the serpent for their sins, as well as feeling they could hide what they did from God, who knows and sees everything.
Another memorable time of God’s anger happened when the Israelites were being led by Moses to the Promised Land, as recorded in the book of Exodus. Several times, the Israelites complained about the journey, the food God provided, and why they couldn’t know from God personally the future ahead. It wasn’t until they made the golden calf that God’s anger was aroused, and death occurred as a consequence (Exodus 32).
Other examples of God’s wrath are shown in the book of Judges, the four Gospels, and especially in the book of Revelation, as Jesus returns and God’s anger is unleashed on the devil to end his reign of darkness.
Does God Have Other Emotions?
However, God doesn’t just express anger to those in the Bible and to us today, but also the emotions of love, joy, peace, sorrow, jealousy, compassion, and hate. God is, first and foremost, a God of love, as love for His creation determines what other emotions God displays openly to all of us. John 3:16 shows the extent of God’s love for us in that He allowed His only Son to give His life for us so that we could be saved from sin and reunited with Him in heaven.
God also rejoices over us when we do pleasing things for Him, as the book of Psalms shares regularly of God’s joy over David’s actions and prayers to the Lord, and how He rejoices over us as He did for our ancestors (Deut. 30:9).
God also hates, but not in the same way that we do. His hatred is regarding sin and what it creates in us in the process: a lying tongue, a proud look, a deceiving heart, hands that cause bloodshed (Prov. 6:16-19). He also can be jealous if we place false gods before Him (Exod. 34:14), knowing that our faith in false gods will never bring the peace, joy, and blessings that faith in Him alone can.
When it comes to showing emotions, no one can say that God isn’t honest about His feelings!
Is God Angrier in the Old Testament Than the New?
Some might compare God’s anger in the Old Testament to that of the New Testament and come to the conclusion that He seemed a lot angrier with those in the Old Testament. But God’s anger is at the same level at any time in history.
The Old Testament shows more grandiose displays of God’s anger against people (sending fire down to kill people, bringing plagues), but His anger was still evident through the actions of Jesus when He turned over the moneychangers’ tables in the temple and when He would see people not acting in love as they should to others. The disciples also displayed God’s anger, as they witnessed from Jesus, when they encountered people unwilling to listen to the teachings of God, especially the Sanhedrin.
Paul’s letters reflect a lot of God’s anger too in reprimanding churches for their sinful behavior and disregard for God, as well as for his past and times when he was just as guilty as anyone for sin.
So, God’s anger was the same from the Old Testament to the New Testament; it was just reflected more through the emotions and actions of Jesus and His disciples and apostles.
Does God Get Angry with Us?
Sadly, we sometimes do, say, and think things that can cause God to be angry with us. Until we admit our sins and accept Jesus’s sacrifice, we will forever be descending into our own downfall of sin, not realizing how much we need God.
Probably every day, we do something that makes God upset and angry, just because we are flawed people in need of a flawless Savior. We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit daily to know what God created us to do and be in this time now, as He knows the plan ahead and how we can be a part of it more than we do.
We also need to realize that God’s anger is not like ours; though we mirror one another in emotions, God has more reason to be angry, but practices more restraint than we do with anger. When someone wrongs us, we usually want to retaliate to get justice in some way for the wrongdoing. We may not recall that we have probably been in the same position as this person, needing forgiveness and grace that we find difficult to give to others.
But God’s anger is different from us. Although He is upset with us, as we would be upset also, He knows trying to seek justice from us won’t help us in the long run. We won’t strengthen in faith and awareness of God’s teachings and direction if God exacted His anger on us as we do to others.
Why Is It Important for Us That God Is "Slow to Anger"?
God is classified as being “slow to anger,” accompanied with verses that state He is a loving and merciful God, abounding in mercy and grace, and filled with lovingkindness. Slow to anger doesn’t mean that God is mentally slow in realizing we have wronged Him in some way, but as the other characteristics describe in these passages, His anger is eclipsed by His mercy, love, grace, and power.
God’s anger is righteous, in that it is good, and He has every right to be angry, but it is also because He knows displaying anger doesn’t always solve every situation or turn people back to Him. God uses other ways to show His love and correction without having to exercise His anger. If we pick up on this calmer guidance from Him, we can avoid having God unleash His anger that only brings painful consequences.
God knows His power and He knows, as we read in the Bible, to bring about His anger when people are unwilling to listen to His guidance or are rejecting Him openly. He is the God of second chances, but don’t take that for granted in thinking He won’t let His anger be known. His anger is good and is always meant to prevent bad situations from getting worse.
Let Our Emotions Match God’s
Some may say they can’t imagine God ever being angry, especially toward people, while others would say they only see God as angry, ready to unleash His wrath at any possible moment.
However, the Bible shows instead a God who is slow to anger because He wants us to follow His guidance and discern the directions He is giving before having to resort to anger and destruction. As we follow His teachings and show His love to others, our emotions about the matters of life will match His, especially in wanting people to turn away from sin.
Whether it is reading stories of God’s anger personally being shown in the Old Testament or seeing Jesus and the disciples displaying God’s anger towards sin, God’s anger proves time and again that it is righteous, happens at the right time, and is always to help us grow in faith instead of to hinder us.
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