The Complete God
To all those who think our God is powerless, a toothless lion with a muted roar: May you never discover how wrong you are. Society paints a picture of God as a fairytale, a fantasy, and a small dog with a big bark. We know this to not be the case. Love is not weakness. Patience does not mean He cannot act. One of the most beautiful aspects of God’s personality is how His anger and wrath are always coupled with love. Joel has given us a picture of the destruction which can come from the hand of God. He has painted an image of utter annihilation. Yet, we will see tomorrow a glimmer of hope. This is the balance which we always see in scripture. Nahum 1:6-7 shows us a very similar coupling of wrath and love. It says, “Who can withstand His indignation? Who can endure His fierce anger? His wrath is poured out like fire; the rocks are shattered before Him. The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him, but with an overwhelming flood He will make an end of Nineveh; He will pursue His foes into darkness.”
Malachi 3:2 says, “But who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.” We often associate the “Day of the Lord” solely with the Second Coming of Christ, but the phrase truly means any day in which God pours out His judgment while manifesting and magnifying Himself. In this regard, there have been many days of the Lord just as there will be many more. The truth of this scripture shows us that when God moves, nothing in heaven or earth can stop Him! Nothing alters His plans. Nothing stops His judgment except our repentance. We must take note of how this day of wrath is described. Malachi compares God’s action to a refiner’s fire and a launderer’s soap. The action of burning out impurities or scrubbing delicate fabric with harsh soap may not be the least bit pleasant, but the end result is beautiful purification. God never pours out His wrath without a purpose and a cause.
Nahum spoke of the end of Nineveh, but we all know the story of Jonah and this ancient city. God sent Jonah to pronounce judgment on the wicked inhabitants of Nineveh. Jonah 3:4 records the Lord’s proclamation spoken through His prophet. It reads, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” We know that about 150 years passed from the days of Jonah till the life of Nahum. So what happened? Verse 5 of Jonah 3 tells us, “And the people of Nineveh believed God; they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.”
God’s wrath is complete, but so is His mercy. We should never mistake His acts of grace and forgiveness as weakness or failures. It is because of this love that we do not perish as we deserve. Throughout scripture, God is described in balance; however, our modern ideologies have separated God’s character. Those who contest against the Lord hold up His anger and judgment while His followers tend to only represent His love and mercy. We should present the Lord in completeness. He is capable of destroying us yet refrains because of His love. That capability defines His love. Were He too weak to act, His mercy would be meaningless. Were He always vengeful without mercy, His love would be a joke. Let us be sure that we present the God of the universe in all His glory, majesty and power. Let us tell of His deeds – both those of ultimate authority and those of unbelievable mercy.
(Written by Keegan Harkins.)
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