The One in Which I Experienced the Wrath of God

First off, let me say I’ve never watched Friends (except over my daughters’ shoulders) so I’m not sure why I made that title sound like I have.

Anyhoo….

I want to talk about a time when I felt God’s wrath. But first we need to nerd out a little and talk about what I have come to understand wrath to mean.

The thing is, God’s wrath does a lot of burning in the Bible, for example, in the golden calf episode in Exodus 32:

“Now let me alone, so that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them; and of you I will make a great nation.” But Moses implored the LORD his God, and said, ‘O LORD, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?’” (verses 10-11)

I mean, God is no stranger to anger in the Bible. God displays his wrath against a lot of people.The Hebrew root is chemah, which means wrath or heat. It occurs 169 times in the Old Testament and almost always God is doing the wrathing. 

And don’t you worry. God is wrathful in the New Testament as well. The Greek word is orge (pronounced OR-gay). Of the 35 times this word appears, there are plenty of instances where orge means pretty much what it means in the Old Testament. 

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Luke 3:7)

But the Bible is also multivocalic–we see different views in different portions of the Bible.

In Romans alone it pops up 10 times, and I’d like to focus on one example and then get to my point about how I experienced God’s wrath.

The first reference to orge in Romans is in 1:18:  

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of those who by their wickedness suppress the truth. 

This is what Luke Timothy Johnson says about this verse in his excellent commentary on Romans:

Before entering into Paul's analysis of idolatry, we should pause for a moment over his use of the term "wrath of God," for it is precisely the sort of expression that would have been instantaneously grasped by Paul's first hearers but seems puzzling and off-putting to present-day readers. 

The"wrath of God" (orgè tou theou) is not a psychological category but a symbol (widely used in Torah) for the retribution that comes to humans as a result of their willful turning away from God; indeed, it is a concept that derives precisely from the prophetic warnings against idolatry (see Isa 51:7; Jer 6:11;25:25; Hos 13:11; Zeph 1:15). . . . 

God's wrath is therefore the symbol for the destruction that humans bring on themselves by rebelling against the truth. For those alienated from the ground of their own being, even God's mercy appears as "anger." It is a retribution that results, not at the whim of an angry despot but as the necessary consequence of a self-distorted existence.

There is a lot happening in this quote, but I’ve highlighted the parts that hit me. “Wrath” is something we bring on ourselves. It is a consequence of our actions. It is not about God going off impulsively as if he can’t help himself. 

It is more something we do to ourselves.

On that last point, Romans 2:5 says:

But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 

Johnson says this about the verse:

The concept of God as judge is difficult for some people. Perhaps influenced by memories of parental disapproval, they find it too harsh and negative to be associated with a loving God. Properly understood, however, God's judgeship is one of the most profoundly liberating of all theological concepts. Deep in the human heart, after all, is the fear of not ever being truly known, and if not truly known, then also not truly being real. How comforting it is (and yes, also how frightening) to know that the one who creates us also knows us utterly. And this is simply what God's judgment means: God's knowing humans through and through. 

Paul in fact emphasizes the "richness of [God's] kindness and forbearance and patience" with humans (2:4). God does not rush to condemnation. Again, we see in 2:5 that Paul speaks not of God's anger toward humans but rather of "the wrath you are storing up for yourself on the day of judgment," because of a "hard and impenitent heart" (2:5). 

Paul presents no harsh "hanging judge.” Indeed, the final word of God to humans, as we shall see, is one of mercy (11:32; 15:9); God is a loving and loyal creator who hopes that all creatures will come to the truth. But God's mercy is meaningless if God does not know humans in all their frailty, and God cannot save if God does not judge.

I hope these quotes aren’t too long and/or boring, but please indulge me.

I remember when I first read Johnson’s commentary and felt a sense of excitement about all of this wrath and judging business. I believe that God will judge me after I die, as only One can who knows me thoroughly. And that judgment is restorative, not punitive.

In fact, I believe God is judging me all the time already–because God knows me through and through now and wants to lead me on the path to restoration. 

And that brings me to my own experience of God’s wrath.

I honestly can’t remember if I’ve relayed this story elsewhere, but here is the short version. Years ago, probably around 2009 or 2010, I posted something about God on my blog that was intended to be clickbait. I don’t remember what it was, only that I needed a certain number of clicks by the end of the month to get paid more.

Bad move.

I had been going through the process somewhat mechanically, but as soon as I pressed “send” and got up to go to the kitchen I had not gone more than 2 steps when I felt. . . how do I put it. . . like the Spirit was grieved. If I had to describe (and I’m trying to), it was like the Divine Presence was whooshing out of me.

I did not feel any anger, but I felt judged–appropriately so. I felt like God was telling me, “Well, Pete, that was bullshit, using me to score some extra cash.” And I knew immediately that what i had done was making Gpd into a commodity. I have tried very hard not to do that ever again. I don’t think I have, but you can believe I am on the lookout for it.

Maybe God’s wrath is us experiencing the consequences of our actions. Maybe, as in this case, it is God removing the Divine Presence rather than doing a Hulk Smash!! Move. Maybe the wrath of God is truly restorative, and that “Love wins.”