Job 36:13
“The godless in heart cherish anger;
they do not cry for help when he binds them.
A lot of what I’m about to say may come across as extremely obvious on its face, but I find can be a project in practice for building good habits in the heart. Another passage from Job (this is the Lord speaking to Job):
Job 40: 11-14
11 Pour out the overflowings of your anger,
and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.
12 Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low
and tread down the wicked where they stand.
13 Hide them all in the dust together;
bind their faces in the world below.[b]
14 Then will I also acknowledge to you
that your own right hand can save you.
Of course, this – along with the surrounding context – involves God speaking of His own might to Job. That is to say, He is telling Job that such an accomplishment for man is impossible, that we ourselves might rise in indignation and defeat all the proud and wicked forces in the world ourselves.
James 1:19
Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
James 5:13
Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.
It seems like a painfully obvious. However, in a world where people are obsessed with feeling like they can have control over their circumstances, this is another message that’s very important.
2 Corinthians 10:5
5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
Anger is always a response to some sort of suffering from a real or perceived injustice. Ungodly anger amounts to a flexing of our own abilities to right a wrong and administer justice (or some idea of justice). Some say “revenge is sweet,” but – taking a break from the obvious that we are commanded not to take revenge – what if revenge simply isn’t even possible from our own power? Recall what God said to Job: we do not have the power to bring down the proud and ungodly, or at least certainly not altogether!
Of course it’s easy to get angry over things that aren’t particularly any person’s fault. We can feel frustrated and angry because something (not necessarily a person) is slowing us down. How many of us can feel such things just while we sit trying to get a car or computer to do what we need? Anger doesn’t even necessarily involve another person, though it ultimately reflects pride and a lack of faith, because from pride we want to believe that we are always our own solution: that our own hand can save us, as the Lord pointed out to Job is impossible (as Job became very angry), and a lack of faith that the Lord has a higher justice than ours, that He cares, He loves us, and He is faithful and powerful to make right any wrong.
Anger, then, is a response to some sort of suffering. It comes from our reflex of trying to right the wrong ourselves with our own strength. What’s more, in the context of Elihu’s comment to Job, the wicked will feel a rebuke from the Lord and they “cherish anger.” Rather, the thing to do is pray, such as:
“Lord, please get me through this”
Sometimes our trials are meant to test us and build character (James 1:2-4). In so doing we are often reminded of everything aforementioned, that our only hope is in the Lord as our helper and not our own strength (2 Corinthians 1:9). Scripture is clear in countless ways that the salvation of our souls absolutely depends on our own willingness to acknowledge and understand that it is God’s strength and not our own, and of course, the Lord who also supplies our strength and every good thing about us that makes us capable of righteousness through His Holy Spirit (Philippians 4:13).
“Lord, please right this wrong”
There are many injustices going on in the world and the Lord is on His way to exact justice and vengeance for every single one of them. Naturally, we are also done injustices and find others in debt to us for sins they commit against us, albeit in pennies compared to what we owe the Lord. But once again, that’s another opportunity for us to remember our dependency on the Lord as an alternative to anger or expecting that we can right the wrong ourselves – He does avenge Himself, and He also avenges us (Luke 18:1-8, 2 Timothy 4:14, Revelation 6:10). Scripture describes protocol for how to approach sins among the brethren (Matthew 18:15-17), though if someone is cut off from the brotherhood because of sin, while we’re not agreeable to the injustice in the slightest, nor accepting of the sinner, we still ministering mercifully as much as possible (Romans 12:18) while leaving room for God’s wrath (Romans 12:19) – as in: no really, God actually is going to exact justice toward an unrepentant sinner against you.
I intend these thoughts to be an internal meditation; it should go without saying that I need to keep these in mind for myself very badly, as much as anyone. There is SO MUCH sin in the world, egregious sins committed from one person to another that deserves ministry and attention (i.e. things to be done and discussed on the subject of justice to lay the groundwork for grace). There are also so many frustrations in our lives that can make us angry; as Job understood full well, despite not witnessing God’s interaction with Satan, yes, it was God who essentially ruined him and NOT as a response to a fault of Job (Job 2:3), and James in the New Testament refers to Job’s trial of perseverance and the fruitfulness of it (James 5:11). And it was the Lord’s rebuke to Job to remind him of the futility of his anger, that it is only the Lord who has the ability to make right all suffering. Job did not incur his own trial through sin, but as James likens it to perseverance, the trial did test him and as it reached the level of afflicting his flesh, exposed his weakness and imperfections, and grew him to increasingly trust in the Lord and defer to His justice and power, as James tells us, the trial helped build his character.
What’s more, frustrated anger can be turned against ourselves (causing depression) because we can feel it is our own duty that our own hand should save us – and by that I mean as something completely apart from seeking the Lord, but self-judgment, especially when (of all the foolish things) based on the results that our environment gives us based on our human efforts; once again, anger comes from the feeling that our own hand must save us, pride, a foolish assumption of justice in the world (love of the world, such that it treats people fairly) and/or forgetting the Lord’s love, power, and faithfulness to make things right.
It should be understood by believers that all the chaotic occurrences in our lives are essentially God’s story for each of us. The harm can tempt us to anger, but the alternative is prayer. Speaking for myself, I am developing this as my protocol: am I tempted to be angry? I should pray instead and trust the Lord. Righteous indignation is good, and crying out to the Lord in response is excellent (this can sum up many or most of the sentiments of the psalmists in the book of Psalms). In so doing, we can avoid man’s anger, which involves the pride of believing we can restore justice ourselves, and our lack of faith that entertains a lack of hope in God’s power, justice, and love that will ultimately make things right in the truest and most powerful way.
Self-Defensive Christian Man 
james
/ October 8, 2018I lack faith that God cares about men. It’s always about women’s issues, and if anyone does anything about it it’s blasted down. Never mind the fact that men can be abused, even violently so by women and less would be done than if the reverse happened.
The ERA back in the 70s didn’t pass, and the MRA won’t. The government cares about women more than men surprisingly. Well, in a way it’s not as society has always tried to protect the woman except those matriarchies where men were considered inferior.
Where in the bible, except in a few small verses, does it say anything about God caring about men specifically? From what it seems it’s usually women.
selfdefensiveman
/ October 8, 2018James,
I’d encourage you to notice everything Scripture says about men and women and you should be able to see why the world is so hostile to men; as 1 Corinthians 11: and on shows, man is the image of God, and woman is the glory of man, etc. There are many ways the world expresses its hostility to God, and one of those ways is its portrayal and treatment of men. I’ve written about that quite a bit on this blog and encourage you to check it out.
For example, do some of us treat God like He was created for man (just to conform to our desires) rather than the other way around? To express that, portray men (the image of God) as beasts of burden, not themselves worth protecting, for women. Of course the paradox of feminism is “independence” when it’s after men’s wallets to solve women’s problems all over again – is it “independence” or just the same old ,without giving men honor, value and respect? And of course that’s why true feminists are especially crazy because deep down they know the innate paradox: they simply have not escaped dependence of men, nor have they proved their independence when (again) its men’s job to fix their problems and build so they can come aboard and be “equal.”
Much of what Scripture says about men and women is protective of men. It’s one of the reasons why Eve was “demoted” beneath Adam at the fall, since she clearly led Adam to sin and so later Paul mentions this to prohibit female authority in congruent fashion (1 Timothy 2:12-14).
You might read Deuteronomy 25:11-12 for a particular judgment of a woman who attacks a man. I think that command is (again) a particular warning to women to respect men to the EXTREME – it gives a VERY particular scenario that I believe says to women “not even then . . .” and in the modern world we can see how many women are obsessed with such sickness in the head over attacking men’s genitals.
Mainly, God is not as weak toward the sins of women in general as society is today – that much I think we can see in Scripture. We can see the Lord doling out judgment to women with not the slightest weaker hand than he does to men. And His principles for doing so are the same.
Think about it: did God give Adam a “suitable helper” just to be a force that eats everything for nothing to be left for the one she was sent to help? However well they serve as wives (allegedly), surely we can conclude it is NOT God’s will for men to be abandoned because “no no no, can’t can’t can’t, because women women women” all the time, right? Surely if women receive such monumental investment, the end result shouldn’t be SO little left for men who provide it, right?
I know we can have faith that God’s judgment will fall HEAVILY on women for this. And do not neglect to pray to the Lord in faith to protect yourself and other men from sins of women (and don’t forget to pray for women’s souls as well! Even the sinners, I mean!). He DOES hear those who are weak, and “God upholds the cause of the oppressed,” (Psalm 146:7) and when we admit that we are weak, depend on the Lord, believe in His love and justice, things can and WILL happen! But a lot of men do need to abandon pride for this to work.
Keep the faith, my friend.
James (Another James)
/ November 26, 2018Dear Brother, at some point I also doubted the Father’s love for me because the church and the world only seemed to care about women and not about us men. I was led to think that I had no purpose or use if my life didn’t involve sacrificing myself to help fulfill some woman’s desire to reproduce. The modern preachers would have us believe that the purpose of our lives is to listen them and the women in the church while taking no consideration for our own well being or desires. They want want machines to manipulate and control. I sorry to say that modern churches are not institutions of God but rather synagogues of satan. The Lord wants you to seek Him so that you can learn for yourself that He loves you. You need to study His word by yourself instead of following regurgitated opinions. This crisis in your life is His invitation to you. It is the most beautiful thing to learn that the Lord loves and cares for you. To know that you are unconditionally loved irrespective of your performance. To know that you are a descendant of Adam, and that no creature on earth is of a higher stature than you. I could go on and on,.. however I would say that you are in the right place. Read the material on this site and also search for verses where God warns men against women,.. for example the ones in Ecclesiastes,.. slowly you will learn that God loves men and this gynocentric nonsense is just that,.. nonsense. The patriarchal system was set up by God in Eden, rebelling against it is a rebellion against God.
James (Another James)
/ November 26, 2018PS. Please excuse my typing errors.
jackz
/ February 10, 2020He doesn’t love me dumshite.If he loved me he could give me justice, but he doesn’t because he loves iniquity and Jezebel but not me. Frauds and hypocrites every last one of you.
selfdefensiveman
/ April 25, 2022Job 35: 9-13
“9“Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out;
They cry out for help because of the arm of the mighty.
10But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker,
Who gives songs in the night,
11Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth,
And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’
12There they cry out, but He does not answer,
Because of the pride of evil men.
13Surely God will not listen to empty talk,
Nor will the Almighty regard it.”
You can’t expect God to hear your plea for out from under oppression without being fully submitted to God. Beyond that, the wicked always exist and they make trials for the righteous often; otherwise, it is very much possible for the saints to cry out for justice and receive it (Luke 18:8), but that’s IF you are submitted to Christ in the first place.
jackz
/ April 25, 2022Submit before getting justice and never get justice. God is not trustworthy to submit to him before he stops his wrongdoings.
Mat. 20: 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Nothing good about this fraud. If that’s how he does then f— his penny, not going to agree for that. I’m not doing the work worth a 1000 pennies for him, only so that those that work nothing but iniquity can receive those 1000 pennies and I receive 0.1.
selfdefensiveman
/ April 25, 2022I don’t know that I understand your attitude about that parable. In it, all of the workers received sufficient payment. The ones who worked less were ones just called at later parts of the day, not workers of iniquity. They are like people who repented later in life than others and so worked for shorter amounts of time.
jackz
/ April 26, 2022It indicates that there will be no compensation for the iniquity you have to suffer. They worked longer and harder but got the same amount, so they got less.
Meanwhile the workers iniquity lived most of the day in blissful ignorance inflicting suffering on those hard workers with their works of iniquity, and not having to suffer the same, but in the end they got the same amount, so actually they got more as a thank you for doing wrong. God really loves iniquity, and his object is to maximize iniquity in everything.
And do you really think people even have to repent from evil disorderly behavior like women speaking in public and usurping authority which is forbidden in the Bible? I fear not, but I will rather go to hell than share accomodation with such workers of iniquity, precisely because they are not required to repent and no compensation is given to their victims.
God himself doesn’t forgive without repentance and compensation (blood of Jesus) and neither will I.
selfdefensiveman
/ April 26, 2022True, Paul for example was forgiven for his past iniquity.
1 Peter 4:
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”
Unrepentant sinners do not enter the kingdom of heaven. There is some indication that some of the “least” of these lawbreakers enter heaven. (Matthew 5:19)
Women who oppose the authority/submission relationship between man and woman commit a very extreme sin that is comparable to Satan’s rebellion. “He is the image of God, but woman is the glory of man.” (1 Corinthians 11:3-8) A rebellious woman represents her rebellion to God. I would very much think that that cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Moreover, whatever harm they’ve done to a man by insisting on their rebellion I do not believe will go unpunished at judgment.
Part of what believing on Jesus means is what he represents. I have another article on this: “Jesus is Lord,” as in he is the king. A rebel is a rebel, and for a woman, a rebellious heart opposes symbols of authority, which is a man. So yes, I really do believe that rebellious women will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
For those who repent and stay repentant, yes they are forgiven. But I have no doubt that the life of sin that many (or maybe even most) “Christian” women live will prevent them from entering the kingdom of heaven; as you say, the harm they deal is tremendous.