7 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of the Philistines and into the hand of the Ammonites,
Scripture’s portrayal of divine emotion is both powerful and pervasive. One cannot read Scripture and come away with the conclusion that God is affectionless. On the other hand, Scripture itself…also establishes a framework for us that prevents us from concluding that the passion of God is completely univocal to ours…. Some of the most passionate language for God in Scripture indicates his deepest affective stability.
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When it comes to God’s anger and wrath, we need to remember that “God’s delight in his own glory is always unwaveringly uppermost in his affection (Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 4:23–24; Deuteronomy 6:14–15; Isaiah 48:9–11; Ezekiel 36:21–23; Ezekiel 39:25–27). And it is this constant disposition that, in turn, gives rise to God’s wrath in the face of sin (e.g. Romans 1:18), thus providing us with another example of how some of the most powerful emotional dispositions of God counterintuitively wed impassible stability and peak affective commitments."2
Texts about God’s anger being provoked occur in the context of idolatry. The first commandment makes clear that the relationship between Israel and her God is to be absolutely exclusive. So when Israel turns from God to idols, anger is the perfectly fitted expression of God’s commitment to his own glory. Indeed, God’s display of striking passion in the context of covenant relationship is the outworking of his eternally unwavering affective commitments.
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14 So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. And he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, so that they could no longer withstand their enemies.