Mad About Anything Today?


Last Sunday’s sermon at The Donelson Fellowship dealt with the subject, “An Angry Spirit Can Cause You Problems.” It was about Moses and His temper. To do a simple Bible study tracking Moses and his anger issues, check out these passages:

  • Read between the lines of this passage to see the conflicted nature of Moses’ personality and the murderous levels of his temper – Exodus 2:11-14
  • Then Moses, hot with anger, left Pharaoh—Exodus 11:8
  • So Moses was angry with them—Exodus 16:20
  • When Moses approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, his anger burned and he threw the tablets out of his hands, breaking them to pieces at the foot of the mountain—Exodus 32:19
  • When Moses inquired about the goat of the sin offering and found that it had been burned up, he was angry….—Leviticus 10:16
  • (Moses) asked the Lord, “Why have You brought this trouble on Your servant? What have I done to displease You that You put the burden of all these people on me? Did I conceive all these people? Did I give them birth? Why do you tell me to carry them in my arms, as a nurse carries an infant, to the land You promises on earth to their forefathers/ Where can I get mean for all these people? They keep wailing to me, ‘Give us meat to eat!’ I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now….—Numbers 11:11-15
  • Moses became very angry…–Numbers 16:15
  • He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock.” Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank—Numbers 20:10-11
  • Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds…–Numbers 31:14

There are nine times in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers when Moses let his temper flare up. His career began with murderous anger; it effectively ended with his striking the rock in anger and disqualifying himself for entry into the Promised Land.

Moses was a great man and a great hero of the faith. His anger is understandable—who wouldn’t have been frustrated with some of the situations he encountered. His anger wasn’t always wrong, but it was wrong enough often enough to cause Him trouble. Perhaps if he had possessed the entire Bible in his day, he might have been helped by a verse that is constantly available to you and me:

When you are angry do not sin,

and be sure to stop being angry before the end of the day.

Do not give the devil a way to defeat you.

Ephesians 4:26-27 (New Century Version)