Startling events are recorded in Scripture in which God took action against those who had no regard for him, who rebelled, or who kept on sinning.
- God poured out His wrath on Israel when they rebelled against Him after having been delivered from slavery in Egypt. Read Exodus 32.
- God took the lives of two priests who had no regard for His instruction when they offered ’strange fire’ to God. Read Leviticus 10.
- God took the lives of all who followed Korah, Dathan and Abiram in their rebellion against God’s leadership. Read Numbers 16.
- During the period of the Judges Israel strayed from God into idolatry. For that, he allowed neighboring nations to oppress the people.
Prophets were sent to warn God’s people that He was about to take action against them due to their sin. The people mocked the prophets and would not listen. They were not afraid of God.
The descriptive language of the prophets warning Israel and Judah of God’s wrath is often terrifying. It was meant to be terrifying because God could not overlook the sins of the people. He wanted them to turn back to Him. So, He used vivid language that would communicate the terror of being the object of His wrath. There are no empty scare tactics with God. God is a God of justice and must take action against sin. It is His nature.
The prophet Ezekiel was sent with a message to idolatrous Judah. Recorded in the 21st chapter, God warned His people of His coming wrath. It was pictured as a sword. The sword was sharpened and polished. Yet, this sword was not an object of beauty. The sword was “sharpened to make a slaughter” and “polished to flash like lightning” (v. 10). The latter description is not about its appearance but more about the manner in which the sword struck, like a flash of lightning. The sword was sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer!
Ezekiel was told to clap his hands, presumably signaling the beginning of God’s destructive judgment. The sword would strike in a flash going to the left and then to the right suggesting a powerful double-edged sword. God’s judgment would be thorough and complete. He would also clap His hands together, “and I will appease My wrath” (v. 17).
The word translated ‘appease’ was used elsewhere in the Old Testament for rest or the idea of being settled. God’s wrath had been aroused by the sins of the people. It was appeased (settled) after His wrath had been poured out on the people as a destructive sword.
While God speaks through Ezekiel in rich figurative language, the meaning of the prophecy was clear. God had prepared a sword, and the figurative sword would come as a real king with a real army, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. God warned His people that He would use the nation of Babylon to carry out His divine judgment against them. That should have struck terror in their hearts and caused them to turn back to God. Foolishly, they did not. They did not fear God.
How foolish we are to read the Old Testament prophets as mere Bible stories. How foolish we are to read the warnings in the New Testament that tell us of God’s wrath because of sin and not feel a sense of dread. God has never lied in His warnings.
“It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Take the warnings seriously.
Jesus will return.
There will be a judgment.
Only those who are in Christ are safe from God’s wrath!
Mark Stinnett
Mark Stinnett
June 21, 2026
