Introduction: A dangerous poison against spiritual life and health, anger remains and remains outside the furrows traced by the Bible, a gangrene for Christians. How is it born, and where should it stop? This is what we will answer in the following lines.
1 – Definition: According to Larousse/VUEF, 2001, anger is an irritation, a strong discontent accompanied by violent reactions.
Let’s remember two things in this definition
a – Strong discontent: accidental breakdown of internal peace
b – Accompanied by violent reactions (either spontaneous insults, blasphemy, actions of hostility or rebellion, or the destruction of materials or accessories, entering into battle against the person who caused this irritation, etc.)
NB: Contrary to popular belief, anger is natural (Eph. 4:26/ Ps 4:5/ James 1:19). The natural man can experience discontent when an action, a word, or a situation does not meet with his support. Also, anger can manifest itself when an individual who expected something good, encounters failure or the opposite of what he expects, the case of Cain in Gen 4:3-5. He can “react” this is the manifestation of his irritation.
But what is dangerous is the violent reaction that accompanies irritation. These are the bad thoughts of revenge, of war, of loss of continued joy. It is also the destruction of other people’s property, or one’s own property because anger has set in, it is also the abandonment of good and attachment to evil based on anger, etc. It is these reprehensible acts generated by irritation that the Bible in all its energy condemns (Ps 4:5).
2 – What causes anger?
** Good to know: In the Bible,
– The Old Testament Hebrew words “Harah” (92 times), Haron (41 times), Hemah and qatsaph all apply to anger.
– The New Testament uses the Greek words: “orgê”, parorgismos to designate anger.
In our Bibles, they are translated as:
– Fury: (Gen 27:44)
– Anger (fiery): Exodus 32:12/Jos 7:26/Esd 7:23
– Be indignant (Exodus 16:20/Mark 3:5)
– Getting angry (Jonah 4:1)
– Discontent (Ecl 7:9)
** What provokes anger: anger is born as a result
– A harsh word (Prov 15:1)
– The law (Rom 4:15)
– Insults, slander, blasphemy.
– Contempt – bad news – an unfortunate situation
3 – What anger causes
a – It grieves the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30)
b – It leads to quarrels (Prov 30:33)
c – It hinders our prayer (1 Tim 2:8)
d – It leads to sin (Gen 49:6)
e – It leads to condemnation, to prison (Prov 19: 19)
f – It leads to hatred (Gen 27: 41-45)
g – It makes you stupid (Prov 14:17)
NB: What the Bible condemns are the perverse effects of anger. It is the violent reaction that accompanies discontent. Because it can lead to hatred or devouring passion.
4 – What should the Christian do?
– He must not get angry with his brother (Math 5:22)
– Let anger be removed from his heart (Eph 4:31)
– We must reject anger (Col 3:8)
– To abandon anger would be wrong (Ps 37: 8)
– You must restrain your anger (Ps 78:38)
– You must be slow to anger (Prov 14:29/15:18/Jas 1:19/Pr 22:24/Pr 27:4/Pr 16:32/19:11)
– Do not hurry to be discontent (Eccl 7:9)
Application: – To avoid anger,
1 – you must leave the presence of the one who caused it.
2 – We must avoid any violent reaction that can accompany irritation (Eph 4:26)
3 – Let the sun not set on anger. We must therefore go see the brother or sister to resolve the conflict with him in order to let the irritation pass (Eph4:26).
4 – We must not give access to the devil by letting our irritation fester.
Gen 1:28/Gen 17:6/Gen 3:2/Gen 41:52. Said of someone who can reproduce. Fertility is the ability to procreate and the fruits of procreation remain (let us point out that Fertility is different from fertility).
A- SOME WOMEN IN THE BIBLE WHO SUFFERED FROM STERILITY
Sarah, wife of Abraham: Gen 11: 30/21:1-2; Gen 18:10-12, 14; Gen 21:1-2/Gen 16:2; Gen 20:12; Gen 12:10-20.
Rachelle, wife of Jacob: Gen 30:2
Hannah, wife of Elkanah: 1 Sam1:5
Rebeka, wife of Isaac: Gen 25: 21 (20 years of living together without children) (Gen 25: 20,26).
Manoah’s wife: Judges 13:2
Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah the priest (Luke 1:7)
NB: The fact that someone is sterile is not necessarily the fruit of sin. But this, with a view to the manifestation of the glory of God (Luke 1: 5-7).
B- NATURE OF THE BLESSING PRONOUNCED
Adam & his descendants
Noah & his descendants
Israel before entering Canaan, the promised land (Ex 23:26).
God blessed them and said: “Be fruitful…” Gen1:28/Gen9:1
1- This blessing is universal and without any conditions towards these patriarchs and all their descendants, and up to us today.
That you are in Christ, the promise is for you (Deut 7:14)
Even though you are without Christ, it is also for you (Gen 17:20)
NB: The capacity to be fertile does not depend on the will of man but on the sole exclusivity of God, who desires to achieve an objective through this fertility; know how to perpetuate the human race (Gen 10:5).
This universal blessing does not only concern man, but also animals according to their species (Gen 8:17; Gen 1:22)/ Gen9:9.
2-This universal blessing transcends time and space.
Regardless of where the man and woman are, they are capable of procreation.
As long as the earth and sky exist, man will continue to procreate.
Note 1: Compare the population of the earth from Noah (8 people) to now (+6.5 billion inhabitants). Do the same exercise for each country from 1900 to the present. You come to the same conclusion: The meteoric growth of the human race, Glory to God!
However, throughout history, there have been men and theories with economic concerns who have resolutely attempted to slow down or even stop this human growth. But great was their disappointment, look towards China and you will be convinced.
Because as man tries to obstruct this divine will by all means in man’s life, the results instead of decreasing become exponential on the contrary.
Note 2: Today, China, having understood that its greatest wealth constitutes its human potential (+1.7 billion inhabitants), is in the process of upsetting the global economic hierarchy, even scaring the United States.
Note 3: This blessing is without any conditions, which is why the Christian, as well as the pagan, manifests it.
Even men of wicked life, women of all kinds of fraud, are blessed with this divine blessing.
God’s desire is that they repent of their sins in order to save their lives and the lives of their families, because God does not desire the death of the wicked.
Let us not forget that in the Bible he had virtuous children born to corrupt parents (2 chron 34:3).
II-OBSTACLES
It happens that this universal, unconditional blessing, which transcends time and space, finds some obstacles in its accomplishment, in the lives of certain couples.
Let us study some reasons through the Holy Scriptures.
– An abortion: Exodus 23:26 /Deut 7:14
– A disease: Oligospermia, which manifests itself by spermatozoa in very small quantities in the semen; azoospermia: absence of spermatozoa in the semen.
– A spell or curse
– A demon: night husband/wife
– God, to accomplish a purpose in the lives of these
– For blasphemy or contempt of God (2 Sam 6:23)
III- THE SUFFERING ENDURED BY THESE WOMEN
Sarah
They have been in the promised land for 10 years; Sarah, Abraham’s wife, suffered from infertility (Gen 16:2-3). She will carry this infirmity for 25 years.
Sarah suffered from the mockery of the Cananites, the Girgasites, the Amorites… Faced with this situation, Sarah is forced to apply to her life the rules and principles of the barbarian peoples; read the code of Ammonrabi which in possible cases, proposes Hagar, the servant to Abraham, her husband, because she is incapable of having children.
She is on the verge of losing her home to Hagar, the Egyptian who had just proven the sterility of her mistress Sarah, by the birth of Ishmael (Gen 16:4).
Sarah is insulted, despised by the Cananites, the people of her household and even by her servant (Gen 16:5-6).
Faced with all these mockery, these insults, Sarah could no longer hope to have children (Gen 18:11).
The sterility situation has infected and affected Sarah’s faith deeply and seriously, to the point where in the presence of God, Sarah no longer believed his promises (Gen 18:13-15). (Following).
Pateur Baudoua Kouadio
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