#22. Romans 1:18 - Indignation (Indignation Series, Part I)

Part II: The Conduct of Humanity

For God’s indignation is being revealed from heaven on all the irreverence and injustice of men who are retaining the truth in injustice…

Take a moment, and consider it: God’s indignation is revealed from heaven. This is God, and for His first teaching, He’s going to share indignation with humanity.

A bit of info on the word “indignation,” before we begin. First: the word orge (“or-geh”) means indignation, per its Greek elements. The King James translates this word as “wrath,” “anger,” and “vengeance” as well. The King James translators failed to note that “wrath” and “anger” are the meaning of the word – not its translation. When translated concordantly, we find the word “indignation” appearing 36 times in the New Testament.

Second: the “indignation” of God is very real. It is not something that I, in believing of the reconciliation of all mankind, deny (though many will claim that this is the case, I am covering these verses word by word in the oldest Greek manuscripts available.) But the indignation of God is simply not going to reveal God’s innermost Being. It will teach us of His authority, but not His heart. It is a temporary aspect of His character, but it is not the core. “Indignation” means anger, yes, but it is also the indignation “of God,” and this qualifier for the emotion is important. The anger is of a Deity that, through this evangel, is also going to reveal His righteousness, His upright standing in all. Unlike the rage of man, which is oft-times unfounded, hypocritical, unwarranted, sometimes flat-out wrong, and sometimes never-ending, God’s indignation is founded, just, warranted, and remains temporary. Observe Psalm 30:5–

For there is only a moment under His anger, but a lifetime under His benevolence. In the evening, lamentation may lodge, but in the morning there is jubilant song.

Many in the Christian community typically don’t know, or really don’t like this verse, because it speaks directly against their notion of “eternal” punishment. That this indignation is for a moment highlights the temporary nature of His proposed punishment – yet here it is, front and center, not saying “turn or burn.”

One may say, “God isn’t really doing Himself any favors. I mean, He’s getting started with this “good news” by telling us He’s pissed with us. What kind of sense does that make?” And I must humbly remark, sir, that you over-simplified a bit, there. It’s okay; I did the same thing. When I first read this verse above, I believed – because of the traditions of my church – that it must be speaking of an eternal torment! Can you believe that?

No, God doesn’t say He’s pissed with you. He… well, He hasn’t really mentioned you, did He? He stated His anger, and stated His issue – irreverence and unrighteousness.  These two aspects of sin – that is what He said He’s pissed at (we will cover these in more detail in the next article.) Yes, there is a greater purpose as to why God brought up His indignation first. And yes, I agree completely that it isn’t quite the first thing I would say if I were trying to get you to listen to me. But we aren’t really dealing with a “man,” are we? We’re dealing with a God, and He seems to be the kind of Doctor that will misdirect you and make you laugh while you take your vaccine shot (He’s a fast-band-aid-off kinda Fella.)

It must not be understated: God does not like sin. It’s as simple as that. Sin is abhorrent to this God, and He will demonstrate how and why here. God is abhorrent toward Sin, not the sinner. The sinner is the effectual enemy – not the source of God’s frustrations. Like a 2 year-old that swung his plastic bat into your new plasma screen TV, humans don’t know any better (in case you haven’t noticed, we aren’t all that bright.) We are all victims of sin (as we will come to study throughout the letter – Rom. 7:14-25.) Thus God does not state that He hates you because you sin, but that He is angry and wrathful toward sin itself, of which you are currently partaking.

That this Sin is dwelling in our bodies… well, it complicates things. God has love toward the sinner – an unconditional love – but when it is shown to the sinner, it goes unappreciated. Why? Because the poor sinner has Sin working in them. You, then, are guilty by association, but you are not the cause. Regardless, this will not do for Love, and anyone that has been in love with another knows what I mean. When love is not reciprocated, it is unfulfilling. Love’s satisfaction is sparked within, but dies without requital. This is, arguably, the strongest feeling within our emotional palettes, and for good reason! It is the foundation for God’s expression of emotion in the texts we are considering (“God is love” – 1 John 4:8, 16.)

Yet this indignation must be. The problem is “irreverence” and “injustice,” and His indignation against these two aspects are a given for a righteous God. Where there is irreverence and injustice, His indignation must be revealed. This indignation comes first, and will be directly followed by the solution, which is found in the faith of Christ. The indignation (and judgment therein) will always be followed by the solution, which is grace found in the “faith of Christ.”

Paul is, admittedly, not telling us anything new, here. We can see this indignation as early as Genesis. We saw it with Adam and Eve, in the garden of Eden. Was the sin “small” in relative comparison? Sure! From our perspective, it was one dumbass eating from a tree because another dumbass with tits told him to. But it was not the small “act” that caused God to hate Adam and Eve personally – but to hate the motive behind the act, being sin, of which the creatures he made were now partaking.

We all know the story; Adam eats the fruit of knowledge of good and evil, becomes aware of his wrongdoing, and hides from God (Adam then hid among the banana trees; the fool should have hidden in the mulberry bushes. God never looks there.) God, of course, finds Adam and Eve, and questions them. Observe Gen. 3:9-14–

Yahweh Elohim called to the human and said to him, “Adam, where are you?”

He replied to Him, “I heard the sound of You walking in the garden, and I was fearful because I was naked… so I hid.”

Then He asked, “Who told you that you are naked…? Unless… you have eaten from the only tree that I instructed you by no means to eat from it?”

The human replied, “The woman whom You have given to be with me– she gave me of that tree, and I ate.”

Yahweh Elohim said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”

The woman replied, “The serpent – he lured me, and I ate.”

Heavy scene there, from the garden. What can we make from this? Well, a lot, actually, but I want to focus on Yahweh’s pressing line of questioning. Adam is clearly afraid – hence his excuse. Yahweh doesn’t insult. He doesn’t laugh, doesn’t mock. He honestly sounds… hurt, above all else. It’s odd, considering this angle, but God doesn’t immediately enter the garden, boast in His knowledge, loudly and angrily proclaim that He knows what Adam did, snap his neck, and then pillage the garden (that would be Michael Corleone’s indignation – not God’s indignation.) Before enforcing any penalty, God turns to Adam, His soulish son, and expresses, through this line of questioning, a pain that is unique to Him alone – that has only multiplied over the last 6,000 years.

Yahweh, instead, gives a far more reasonable assertion. After laying the curse of death onto Adam, Yahweh then does something that no vile, spiteful, vengeful character would do:

And Yahweh Elohim made for Adam and his wife tunics of skin and clothed them.

So Adam’s initial fearful objection – that he was afraid, because he was naked – has been handled. God displayed his authority, by carrying out the penalty for breaking His rule in His garden, and then clothed them.

Why am I telling you this? Surely, you thought I was about to break down Genesis 3:14-19? Those are the indignation verses, yes? Those are the verses which display the penalties for the serpent, for Eve, for Adam… right?

Well, yes. Yes, they are. It’s true that I read you the disposition of Yahweh before the indignant penalties are unveiled. Adam begins to die. The earth will work against him. Eve will have a painful childbirth, and is stuck under man’s physical thumb. The serpent eats dirt. God’s penalties here are clear, and decisive, with direct consequences for His creatures’ dispositions. The man did not appreciate God’s garden – the paradise in which he received everything. The woman did not appreciate her man, or his word toward her. And the serpent – being the only one amongst them with ill-intent – did not appreciate God’s new creatures, but sought to mislead them.

What are the consequences of these penalties? The man learns how hard it is to irrigate – to plant. The woman learns how hard it is to produce a man – to give life. The serpent learns its place – it is humbled. Man learns, in this, of the extraordinary power of God, that He produced these things with little effort. But what of the practical effects? Well… now the fruit will not die out, right? Now there’s a creature on earth to grow more. Now the human race is not stagnant, right? Now there’s a creature on earth to populate. The two do, undoubtedly, learn what love is, through their dependency on each other, in this experience, correct?

Such a dichotomy shows us, intuitively, that there is a purpose to the anger. A direction with the story. Look, when we’re hurt, or angry, or betrayed, how do we react? Surely, not with as much grace and tact as Yahweh does, here? We can see this careful restraint – a wonderful balance to the situation, which does not completely and overwhelmingly dismiss Adam and Eve (save from His presence,) but prepares them for a much harder road which will ultimately bring them to a greater appreciation for what (Who) they had and lost.

There are many more examples. Take Noah and his family, with that big ass boat! Yahweh orders the destruction of all land-dwellers. Take a look at Gen. 6:5-7–

Yahweh saw that the evil of humanity was multiplying on earth, and every form of the devisings of its heart was surely evil all the day. Yahweh regretted that He had made humanity on earth, and He grieved in His heart. So Yahweh said, “I shall wipe out humanity that I have created, off the surface of the ground, from human unto beast, unto the creeper and unto the flyer of the heavens; for I regret that I have made them.”

Here, again, we see the hurt of Yahweh – the regret and the grief – directly followed by the revelation of His indignation. The evil on this earth was horrific – so wrong, indeed, that the Creator of the universe sought to impress upon us the severity of it with the powerful figure of regret and grief. We feel this way when we witness a suicide, or hear of the death of a loved one. Here Yahweh expresses it before, in essence, putting a sick world out of its misery.

Do you not like my interpretation, there? Well, maybe you don’t, but I do believe you would be a minority, there. Observe Gen. 6:8–

Yet Noah, he found grace in the eyes of Yahweh.

Grace is in the (figurative) eyes of Yahweh, here. We see Yahweh’s indignation inflicted upon the horrific ancient world, and the salvation of a select few in grace. This, of course, did not save the world, but did clear the stage, so to speak, for a new chapter to unfold – one which is facing its parallel on earth right now (more on this in part four of “Let’s Talk About the Eons,” later in this study.)

It is because of this grace upon Noah that Noah became righteous. Gen. 6:9–

Noah was a righteous man; he became flawless in his generations; with the One, Elohim, Noah walked.

Note that the revelation of Yahweh’s righteousness did not stem from a recognition of the indignation of God on the earth. Noah saw the grace long before this indignation took place. Noah clearly understood the necessity for this indignation just fine – or, by necessity, he would not have the grace of God to appreciate in the foreground of his own life. He had to notice the impending indignation, in order to appreciate the grace. This led to Noah’s righteousness – not of his own conviction, but at God’s authority.

Interesting juxtaposition like this is not exclusive to the first eight chapters of Genesis (believe it or not.) The binding question with these events – of God planning these events, in particular – is such: “Why would God feel this hurt, or this emotional, when He Himself caused these events?”

The answer is found in the fact that God has, of course, counseled that humanity would be this corrupt, deceitful, and loathe-some (Eph. 1:11.) It has always been known by the all-knowing Deity that the mortal creature is sick and ignorant. If the all-knowing Deity is putting Himself through something that may hurt Him temporarily, but will benefit Him in the future, would He not do it? If He sought to reveal all aspects of His character to His creatures, how could He show His love if He does not show us what the lack thereof feels like?

On its surface, the principle fails. To us mortal creatures, there is no justification for the harsh evils of the world. Torture. Rape. Human trafficking. Dehumanization. Murder. These horrors are far too much for us, and we do not find in ourselves a reasonable explanation for their existence. For the bulk of us, these actions are, and forever will be, unforgiveable, and, dare I say, the One responsible for enabling them is to be held responsible.

Let us observe one more example of divine indignation, and then we’ll pause. The story of Job is a perfect example of God’s method of inflicting evil upon the world. Job 1:6, 8-11–

There was a day when the sons of Elohim would come to station themselves before Yahweh, and the Adversary came also in their midst.

Yahweh said to the Adversary, “Have you set your heart on My servant, Job? For there is no one like him on earth, a man flawless and upright, fearing Elohim and keeping away from evil.”

Then the Adversary answered Yahweh, saying, “Does Job fear Elohim gratuitously? Have you yourself not hedged him about, and about his house and all that is his all around? The work of his hands you have blessed, and his cattle breach forth throughout the countryside. Nevertheless, now put forth your hand and touch all that is his. He shall assuredly scorn you to your face!”

You know the story; Job loses everything, from his cattle to his children to his own flesh. All he has by the beginning of chapter 3 is a mound of dirt and his ding-a-ling. His hurt is so great that he does not speak for a week, and his three remaining friends sit there in solemn silence with him.

This, on its surface, is a painful document to read. We see a good guy – the guy with the sponge cake baking in his oven in case you visit today, or who would gift you and your family a few tickets to a baseball game – getting completely sideswiped by circumstances that he did not cause. This leads him, of course, to bemoan his life, his loved ones, and launches him into the greatest existential crisis one could ever read (Job 3:1-37:24.)

At the end of this grand debate between Job and his friends, Yahweh himself puts Job’s life in context. Here’s Job 38:1-7–

Then Yahweh answered Job from the tempest, saying,

“Who is this who darkens counsel by declarations without knowledge? Belt up your loins now, like a master; I shall ask of you, and you inform Me:

Where were you when I founded the earth? Tell if you know with understanding. Who determined its measurements? For surely you know! Or, who stretched out a measuring tape upon it? On what were its sockets sunk? Or, who directed its cornerstone in place, when the stars of the morning were jubilant together, and all the sons of Elohim raised a joyful shout?”

Four chapters. For four whole chapters Yahweh speaks like this. He gives such classic lines, such as, “I said, ‘Unto here shall [the ocean] come, but shall not proceed further,’ yet here a limit is set to your swelling billows?” (Job 38:11,) and “Can you tie up the windings of the Pleiades? Can you unloose the draw-cords of Orion? Can you bring forth the constellations of the zodiac in their season?” (Job 38:31-32.) One would call this boasting if it were not factually true. At the end, Job is speechless. What can he say? What could anyone say?

Then Job answered Yahweh, saying, “I know that You are able in all things, and no plan of Yours can be thwarted. I have professed ideas when I was not understanding.

Therefore I recant and repent on soil and ashes.

A defeated Job. If this is where the story ended, we wouldn’t know what to make of it. I mean, yeah, Yahweh’s correct, but this realization of God’s absolute authority is one that comes with it its own sense of fear. Job accepts his fate – like a submissive fawn who just lost her tail to her predator. If this were all there were, one may submit that God is relatively narcissistic, yeah?

Thankfully, this is not the case. Yahweh could, truthfully, not have been able to show Himself in this authoritative position to Job if Job still had that sponge cake in the oven. When everything goes swell and dandy, men become complacent.  They spoil, in a literal sense of the word, and their hearts have the propensity to rot faster than an orange in the summer heat. With Job’s mind and heart changed, Yahweh then blesses – Job 42:10-12–

Then Yahweh turned back the captivity of Job when he prayed on behalf of his associates. And Yahweh added to all that Job had by a double portion. All his brothers and all his sisters came to him and all his acquaintances from before, and they ate bread with him in his house. Then they sympathized with him and comforted him over all the evil that Yahweh had brought upon him. Each of them gave to him one kesitah, and each, one pendant of gold.

Thus Yahweh Himself blessed the latter years of Job more than his beginning.

You see, dear reader – this is not just senseless “anger” that will denote a complete decimation of all mankind with no returns. In His four-chapter reply, Yahweh properly dealt with the irreverence (that is, the disrespect toward Him,) and the unrighteousness (that is, the lacking qualities of Job.) These were necessary and evidential to humble Job – not to depress him. The truth must first be established that Yahweh is the One Who inflicts evil. Yahweh plans for it. Just as He planned for His indignation to wash over the ancient world, and contrasted it with the deliverance of Noah, so also He now plans for His indignation to burn hot against this world, and contrasts it with the deliverance of the body of Christ, which encompasses those who are believing the evangel today.

In this, He intends and plans for sin’s relative, short reign today, serving as a foil to His indignation and subsequent grace which follows every pattern of indignation in scripture. Adam finds his contrast in Christ – just as failure contrasts success, and the pain of loss precedes the relief of being found. The indignation will come first, and the revelation will contextualize said indignation afterward. You may not learn during your experience, but you will most certainly learn from it, in the hindsight of recognizing God’s ultimate plan for us. We will come to appreciate the righteousness more fully as the stage is set.

- GerudoKing