1. Hitting The Rock A Biblical Understanding of Anger

2. I.Introduction to Anger Some questions to ask…

3. Question #1 Is doing a study on the topic of anger really worth it?

4. "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit murder' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Matthew 5:21-22 Matthew 5:21-22

5. If murder is the oak tree, then anger is the acorn Therefore: Rash anger is heart murder

6. Part II Good Anger In Action Or, (The Upside of Anger)

7. Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry. I Samuel 11:6 I Samuel 11:6

8. Summary Three Responses to Anger: Saul = Righteous response Saul = Righteous response David = Impotent response David = Impotent response Simeon / Levi = Evil Simeon / Levi = Evil response response

9. Part III God Talks To Three Angry Men

10. Only on very rare occasions has God ever transcended space and time and talked with man directly. Of these few occurrences, three times he deals with three different men on the issue of their specific anger. Great insight can be gleaned from these encounters.

11. Three Men’s Anger Profile Man 1 – Unregenerate man whose angry leads to murder Man 2 – Believer with a lifetime of anger problems which cost him his greatest earthly dream Man 3 – Believer whose anger toward God leads to depression

12. In one sense, we see God as the perfect therapist as He works with Cain on anger management

13. (Clip from Anger Management)

14. Meet Moses The angriest man in the Bible

15. Let’s look at an anger profile of Moses’ life from the recorded record of Scripture.

16. Now it came about in those days, when Moses had grown up, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their hard labors; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his brethren. So he looked this way and that, and when he saw there was no one around, he struck down the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. Exodus 2:11-12 Comment: Moses was angry over the injustices to his people and decided to do something outside the will of God about it.

17. And Moses said to them, "Let no man leave any (manna) of it until morning." But they did not listen to Moses, and some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul; and Moses was angry with them. Exodus 16:19-20

18. And it came about, as soon as Moses came near the camp, that he saw the calf and the dancing; and Moses' anger burned, and he threw the tablets from his hands and shattered them at the foot of the mountain. Exodus 32:19 Comment: Should Moses have thrown down the two tablets?

19. But Moses searched carefully for the goat of the sin offering, and behold, it had been burned up! So he was angry with Aaron's surviving sons Eleazar and Ithamar, saying, But Aaron spoke to Moses, "Behold, this very day they presented their sin offering and their burnt offering before the Lord. When things like these happened to me, if I had eaten a sin offering today, would it have been good in the sight of the Lord?“ And when Moses heard that, it seemed good in his sight. Leviticus 10:16, 19-20 Comment: Moses apparently reacted and got mad rather than first looking into the matter.

20. Then Moses became very angry and said to the Lord, "Do not regard their offering! I have not taken a single donkey from them, nor have I done harm to any of them." Numbers 16:15

21. And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, who had come from service in the war. Numbers 31:14 Numbers 31:14

22. The angriest man in the Bible: 1.It appears that Moses had a lifetime of anger issues. 2.Even though much of Moses’ anger is righteous in nature, it seemed to cross over to sinful anger also. 3.Moses was the most humble man on the earth (Numbers 12:3) and yet struggled with anger.

23. It appears that Moses has had a lifetime of anger issue. Now we come to our key passage.

24. Case Study #2 Moses Hits the Rock Passage: Numbers 20:7-12

25. Moses Hits the Rock Passage: Numbers 20:7-12 Passage: Numbers 20:7-12 Background: Moses is told by God to speak to the rock and Moses out of anger hits it instead. Although significant aspects of the event are left out, God disciplines Moses harshly for this action. Background: Moses is told by God to speak to the rock and Moses out of anger hits it instead. Although significant aspects of the event are left out, God disciplines Moses harshly for this action.

26. Some observations: This is the second time God used Moses and a rock to provide water – Exodus 17:6 (40 years earlier) This is the second time God used Moses and a rock to provide water – Exodus 17:6 (40 years earlier) The first time Moses is told to hit the rock, this time to speak to the rock. The first time Moses is told to hit the rock, this time to speak to the rock. Even though Moses didn’t follow the Lord’s Even though Moses didn’t follow the Lord’s directions correctly, the Lord still provided water. directions correctly, the Lord still provided water. Psalm 106:32-33 give us additional insight to the sin of the people. Psalm 106:32-33 give us additional insight to the sin of the people.

27. They also provoked Him to wrath at the waters of Meribah, So that it went hard with Moses on their account; Because they were rebellious against His Spirit, He spoke rashly with his lips. Psalm 106:32-33 Psalm 106:32-33

28. God is not shown to be angry with the people and are not punished God is not shown to be angry with the people and are not punished At least at this point, the Jews were not punished for their grumbling At least at this point, the Jews were not punished for their grumbling Aaron also gets penalized for Moses’ anger Aaron also gets penalized for Moses’ anger

29. Moses’ penalty of a lifetime of anger But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." Numbers 20:12 This would be like building the Hubble Telescope and then not being able to look at its pictures

30. What was Moses’ sin? 1.Pride. His actions indicate that he was not under God’s authority and direction but his own. 2.Unbelief. Vs: 12 3.Treated the Lord with irreverence (holiness). Vs: 12 4.Moses messed up the type. In I Corinthians 10:4 the rock which produced the water was to represent Christ. In I Corinthians 10:4 the rock which produced the water was to represent Christ.

31. …and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they were drinking from a spiritual rock which followed them; and the rock was Christ. I Corinthians 10:4 I Corinthians 10:4

32. Moses tried to get God to reverse his sentence but was denied. 'Let me, I pray, cross over and see the fair land that is beyond the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.' "But the Lord was angry with me on your account, and would not listen to me; and the Lord said to me, 'Enough! Speak to Me no more of this matter. Deuteronomy 3:25-26

33. Why did Moses receive such a harsh sentence? The punishment was so severe because Moses was “given much.” He spoke face to face with God.... And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. Luke 12:48b

34. The great lesson about anger from Moses’ life: Lesson: If you don’t get a handle on your anger, you will pay the price. Moses lost the most valuable earthly prize he could image, the right to see the promised land.

35. What does anger cost? 1.A job 2.A marriage 3.Joy 4.One’s family 5.Others don’t want to be around you 6.Prison 7.Intimacy with God 8.Pain 9.Guilt 10.Unhappiness

36. Case Study #3 Jonah Angry with God

37. Jonah Angry with God Passage: Jonah 4:1-11 Passage: Jonah 4:1-11 Background: Of all the prophets the Lord could have sent to Nineveh, He apparently sent the one who hated Nineveh (modern day Mosul, Iraq) the most. He was a modern day racist. After God commands Jonah to preach repentance, Nineveh repents. Jonah is now angry and wants to die. Background: Of all the prophets the Lord could have sent to Nineveh, He apparently sent the one who hated Nineveh (modern day Mosul, Iraq) the most. He was a modern day racist. After God commands Jonah to preach repentance, Nineveh repents. Jonah is now angry and wants to die.

38. Please turn to Jonah 4 The last verse in chapter 3 is: When God saw their deeds, that they turned from their wicked way, then God relented concerning the calamity which He had declared He would bring upon them. And He did not do it. Jonah 3:10

39. What’s with Jonah? And he prayed to the Lord and said, "Please Lord, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Jonah 4:2

40. What kind of things are people angry with God over? 1.Losing my job 2.Not getting in life what I believe I deserve 3.Health problems 4.Not having the money I need 5.Not having relationships I want 6.Past painful events

41. A friend comes to you and shares that they are angry with God and they don’t know what to do about it. They ask you for your advise. What do you say?

42. Tell them that their diagnosis of their anger at God is the first step toward help. Tell them that their diagnosis of their anger at God is the first step toward help. Share with them that they need to humbly share with God their feelings Share with them that they need to humbly share with God their feelings They need to pray that God would reveal that the pain behind the anger will be used for His glory and something bigger in their future. They need to pray that God would reveal that the pain behind the anger will be used for His glory and something bigger in their future.

43. 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord,' plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11 Jeremiah 29:11

44. Anger’s Lightning Rod