unsafe?

[sutz]

I too am unwilling to imagine God as unsafe. But his ferocity as a lion surely needs qualification so as to not paint a picture of God as arbitrary, volatile, and untrustworthy.

But his wrath should not be underestimated, wrath against evil and sin. And sometimes God's flock are the sinners. The lamb has wrath too (Rev 6:16).

The image of the pastor as intercessor is helpful, standing in the gap before God on behalf of a rebellious, self-serving people. This too requires divine perspective. How much easier to simply want to wash my hands of this people, who are not deserving of God's mercy. Instead, like Moses, I should identify with them and cry out to God on their behalf, that their hearts might be changed, that they might become a flock worthy of God's name.

The Scriptures challenge our tendency to make God in our own image, as we would want him to be, a kind of old, toothless tom cat. Instead, the portrayal of God as a lion is sobering.