UNDERSTANDING GOD'S WRATH

This morning, during my devotion, I felt deep concern for the people losing their lives in Ukraine, Russia, Gaza and Israel. 

As I prayed, I wondered—did God cause this to happen, or did He allow it? I asked the Holy Spirit, "Does the Father have a hand in these wars?" There was silence. I waited, but no answer came.  

Then, I thought about King Belshazzar, the son of King Nebuchadnezzar. He and his officials mocked God, and God judged him quickly. (Daniel 5:27) . That very night, Darius the Mede and the Persians killed him and took over Babylon (Daniel 5:30-31).  

So, I asked, Lord, is this the same? Have these nations sinned, and You passed judgment on them? Again, there was  silence.  

Then, my mind went to King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. God gave him power to rule the world (Daniel 4:17). He could kill or spare anyone he wanted.  

I asked again, Lord, is this the case? Did You give a nation the power to start wars and kill, even the vulnerable women and children? But here was still silence.  

As I knelt, the answer came softly but clearly. The Lord said to my heart, "Go to Genesis, the book of beginnings. Look at the story of Cain and Abel, what do you think? He asked me, do you think I had a hand in Cain killing his brother Abe? Secondly, how do you think I handled it? And immediately, my heart was illuminated with this truth. 

God adviced and warned Cain 

Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it (Genesis 4:7) . But Cain did not listen. 

"Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him" (Genesis 4:8). Jealousy and envy led him to do it.  

And The Lord said to my heart, "This is the cause of every war and chaos today."  

Then I understood. The world's chaos comes from human greed, envy, and jealousy. "For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice" (James 3:16).  

The Bible also says, 

"You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight" (James 4:2).  

You may also have wondered if wars and killings are God's will. No, they are not.

The bible says

 "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love"  (Psalm 103:8). 

 "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace" (1 Corinthians 14:33).  

But what about when God told the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites? 

The answer is simple. What should be done to people who sacrifice their own babies in fire to false gods? " 

The bible says, 

They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods (Deuteronomy 12:31 ) 

"They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to false gods. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood (Psalm 106:37-38).  

Should they be spared or wiped out?  

In my opinion, they should be wiped out. Yet even then, God gave them a chance to repent. He waited patiently for over 400 years (Genesis 15:16), but they refused, so He judged them.  

Pastor Johnson Emmanuel 

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