The Wrath of God in the Former Prophets

Book excerpt: Is the wrath of God capricious, arbitrary, irrational, unethical, partial, inexplicable...or is it the just expression of a providential God? Is His wrath true to HIs character in dealing with sinful man? In this scholarly book, the Rev. Dr. Herbert M. Haney interprets the wrath of God as exemplified in the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings. It is his view that interpretation of the Divine wrath as recorded by the Former Prophets is basic to an understanding of God's wrath as revealed in the New Testament. The term "covenant wrath" is used here because it was under the Mosaic covenant that provision was made for the wrath of God, the author explains. "The covenant wrath of God was found to be always punitive, often remedial, and sometimes condemnatory. It was always bound up in the very character of God Himself. His righteousness caused His wrath to be punitive wherever there was sin: His love caused His wrath to be remedial whenever there were repentance and faith: His faithfulness caused HIs wrath to be condemnatory wherever there were persistence unrepentance and faithlessness." Evincing a masterly sense of order in his exposition, Dr Haney interrelates each type of wrath and each subject of wrathful visitation, giving evidence that every case represented a violation of the covenant...constantly drawing from the Bible and other primary sources and from authoritative secondary sources to support his argument. THE WRATH OF GOD IN THE FORMER PROPHETS is Dr. Haney's doctoral dissertation, and it reflects the depth of thought and scholarship such a work requires. The problem with which he deals is an extremely important one for religious thinking in these days, when the notion of a wrathful God has been so tempered that this aspect of His nature is all too frequently minimized. Laymen as well as students of theology will find this book a truly inspiring aid to Bible understanding. -Publisher