“An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.” (Proverbs 29:22, NIV)
If you read a verse of the Bible in English, you get a sense of what a scripture is telling you. Sometimes, reading it in the original language can give a deeper understanding of a scripture. Today, I am going to show you something in the verse above that any English-reader won’t see. The Hebrew version of this verse is going to give you a greater appreciation of this gem from our Bible.
The first half of today’s verse is crystal clear. It explains that “an angry person stirs up conflict” (Proverbs 29:22a). These words underscore that within a church as well as in society, an angry person will often agitate others. Angry people bring heightened emotions to any gathering. An angry person at a riot or protest will often cause others to break the law. An angry person at a church meeting may cause a meeting to go off the rails as people vent their frustrations or make demands. An angry person is apt to provoke others. Your anger may ignite negative emotions in others. Anger is like gasoline thrown on a fire; it ignites with fury.
The second half of today’s verse contains some interesting verbiage. On the surface, it seems to repeat the first half of the verse. It’s about anger, i.e. “a hot-tempered person” (Proverbs 29:22b). And it’s about conflict, i.e. “sins”. This second half of the verse reiterates what is said in the first part, adding that the conflict of an angry person may lead to “many sins”. Essentially, this second half of today’s scripture equates anger with “a hot temper” and a cause for “many sins”.
That’s what the second half of Proverbs 29:22 sounds like in English. The Hebrew original language adds a little more to our Bible study. In Hebrew, the verse reads “one mastered by fury causes much evil/sin/trespass/rebellion”. However, the Hebrew word for “one mastered by” is the word ba’al. It is the same Hebrew word from which the evil idol “Ba’al” is named in 2 Kings 17:16, 2 Kings 23:5, Jeremiah 7:9, Hosea 11:2, Romans 11:4 and more than a hundred other places in the Bible! Essentially, the Hebrew of Proverbs 29:22b suggests that if you are “mastered by a hot temper”, you have Ba’al-like fury. You are acting like the evil, idolatrous Ba’al.
Ba’al was the supreme god of the Canaanites. Idolatrous Ba’al worship became all too common a sin in the period of the Judges through the time of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Ba’al was a fertility god who was often worshipped by those who wanted productive crops or many children. Jeremiah 19:5 even alludes to the fact that children were sacrificed to Ba’al to ensure a productive harvest or a potential for future offspring. Ba’al means “Lord” or “Master” in its original language. To worship Ba’al was to make Ba’al the Master of your life and the Lord you worshipped. Ba’al was in direct conflict with Yahweh, Jehovah, and Jesus.
According to today’s scripture, when you are “mastered by fury”, you have a Ba’al-like hot temper. Your anger masters your emotions, leading you down a path toward “many sins”. In the same way that people worshipped Ba’al long-ago, hot-tempered people worship anger. The anger rules over them. They are subservient to that emotion. Anger controls their actions and determines their future.
Ephesians 4:26 warns that you should never “let the sun go down on your anger”. These words caution you to never let anger last too long. To do so, you become hot-tempered, ruled by your fury, even mastered by it. Righteous anger is important. Righteous anger hates sin and evil and idol worship. However, righteous anger turns into a “hot temper” when you let the anger linger, get out of control, and lord it over you. When anger spirals out of control, you succumb to its damage. Anger that goes out of control becomes your Ba’al. It bosses you around. It can damage friendships, even destroy marriages. Prolonged anger may cause heart attacks or strokes. Did you know that the Hebrew word for anger is the same word used in the Bible for “poison”?!!!! Anger may poison your heart, your soul, your friendships, your marriage, your church, your world!
In a small town in Illinois, two lifelong friends owned competing businesses. A disagreement over a business decision turned into harsh accusations and public squabbling, poisoning their friendship and dividing the community. For months, people took sides in the fight. Neighbors stopped speaking. Family members were divided. A church even split over the disagreement. Today, more than fifty years later, anger over this past incites arguments at city council meetings and church gatherings. Some say the disagreement still causes conflicts among neighbors and furious exchanges among business owners.
Long-standing anger is like a poison to any social group. It often causes suffering and war. The situations in Palestine, Iraq, Ireland, and many other places has been directly affected by those who were “mastered” by their anger. Thousands have lost their lives by holding onto and even worshipping bitter resentments. It’s modern day Ba’al worship of a deadly emotion.
Today, I urge you to deal with any lingering anger in your heart. Work it out with God. Don’t let it linger. Don’t let it poison you. Don’t let it become your Ba’al. Even if it is righteous anger, even if you were wronged, lingering anger can hijack your thoughts and erase any peace in your soul. Left to burn too long, anger will poison your life and your relationship with God. Anger requires repentance lest it turns into sin. Anger is defeated by a true love of God in Christ.
The first half of today’s verse is crystal clear. It explains that “an angry person stirs up conflict” (Proverbs 29:22a). These words underscore that within a church as well as in society, an angry person will often agitate others. Angry people bring heightened emotions to any gathering. An angry person at a riot or protest will often cause others to break the law. An angry person at a church meeting may cause a meeting to go off the rails as people vent their frustrations or make demands. An angry person is apt to provoke others. Your anger may ignite negative emotions in others. Anger is like gasoline thrown on a fire; it ignites with fury.
The second half of today’s verse contains some interesting verbiage. On the surface, it seems to repeat the first half of the verse. It’s about anger, i.e. “a hot-tempered person” (Proverbs 29:22b). And it’s about conflict, i.e. “sins”. This second half of the verse reiterates what is said in the first part, adding that the conflict of an angry person may lead to “many sins”. Essentially, this second half of today’s scripture equates anger with “a hot temper” and a cause for “many sins”.
That’s what the second half of Proverbs 29:22 sounds like in English. The Hebrew original language adds a little more to our Bible study. In Hebrew, the verse reads “one mastered by fury causes much evil/sin/trespass/rebellion”. However, the Hebrew word for “one mastered by” is the word ba’al. It is the same Hebrew word from which the evil idol “Ba’al” is named in 2 Kings 17:16, 2 Kings 23:5, Jeremiah 7:9, Hosea 11:2, Romans 11:4 and more than a hundred other places in the Bible! Essentially, the Hebrew of Proverbs 29:22b suggests that if you are “mastered by a hot temper”, you have Ba’al-like fury. You are acting like the evil, idolatrous Ba’al.
Ba’al was the supreme god of the Canaanites. Idolatrous Ba’al worship became all too common a sin in the period of the Judges through the time of the Kings of Israel and Judah. Ba’al was a fertility god who was often worshipped by those who wanted productive crops or many children. Jeremiah 19:5 even alludes to the fact that children were sacrificed to Ba’al to ensure a productive harvest or a potential for future offspring. Ba’al means “Lord” or “Master” in its original language. To worship Ba’al was to make Ba’al the Master of your life and the Lord you worshipped. Ba’al was in direct conflict with Yahweh, Jehovah, and Jesus.
According to today’s scripture, when you are “mastered by fury”, you have a Ba’al-like hot temper. Your anger masters your emotions, leading you down a path toward “many sins”. In the same way that people worshipped Ba’al long-ago, hot-tempered people worship anger. The anger rules over them. They are subservient to that emotion. Anger controls their actions and determines their future.
Ephesians 4:26 warns that you should never “let the sun go down on your anger”. These words caution you to never let anger last too long. To do so, you become hot-tempered, ruled by your fury, even mastered by it. Righteous anger is important. Righteous anger hates sin and evil and idol worship. However, righteous anger turns into a “hot temper” when you let the anger linger, get out of control, and lord it over you. When anger spirals out of control, you succumb to its damage. Anger that goes out of control becomes your Ba’al. It bosses you around. It can damage friendships, even destroy marriages. Prolonged anger may cause heart attacks or strokes. Did you know that the Hebrew word for anger is the same word used in the Bible for “poison”?!!!! Anger may poison your heart, your soul, your friendships, your marriage, your church, your world!
In a small town in Illinois, two lifelong friends owned competing businesses. A disagreement over a business decision turned into harsh accusations and public squabbling, poisoning their friendship and dividing the community. For months, people took sides in the fight. Neighbors stopped speaking. Family members were divided. A church even split over the disagreement. Today, more than fifty years later, anger over this past incites arguments at city council meetings and church gatherings. Some say the disagreement still causes conflicts among neighbors and furious exchanges among business owners.
Long-standing anger is like a poison to any social group. It often causes suffering and war. The situations in Palestine, Iraq, Ireland, and many other places has been directly affected by those who were “mastered” by their anger. Thousands have lost their lives by holding onto and even worshipping bitter resentments. It’s modern day Ba’al worship of a deadly emotion.
Today, I urge you to deal with any lingering anger in your heart. Work it out with God. Don’t let it linger. Don’t let it poison you. Don’t let it become your Ba’al. Even if it is righteous anger, even if you were wronged, lingering anger can hijack your thoughts and erase any peace in your soul. Left to burn too long, anger will poison your life and your relationship with God. Anger requires repentance lest it turns into sin. Anger is defeated by a true love of God in Christ.