The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Genesis 4:3-5, “So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the LORD of the

fruit of the ground.

4 And Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD

had regard for Abel and for his offering;

5 but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard. So Cain became very angry (exceedingly furious)

and his countenance fell.”

Our brief examination of Lucifer/Satan in the two previous Letters depicted the shallowness of his character in that he became exceedingly angry exactly in reverse purportion to his beauty. What is worse, Cain’s anger (charah) showed on his face. It almost always does. Close to the same thing occurred with Jacob when his wife Rachel accused him of being responsible for her not having children (Gen. 30:2). Jacob did issue a retort to Rachel, but not with the fury depicted in Cain. Jacob’s “anger” (aph) showed itself in the twisting of his mouth and nose. In other words, he made an angry face, along with words of self-exhonoration.

Such expressions as we see in Cain and Jacob, although different, are never helpful. They seem so in the light of the moment; but it’s always in the dim light of the fallen Lucifer that our anger is revealed and assessed. Satan is always present in those moments when we feel justified in expressing anger. Satan’s anger, however, is not primarily focused on us. He’s still sore that he was demoted from Archangel. His anger, therefore, is aimed squarely at the LORD. Satan is the often-secluded force behind all anger, our’s included. That leaves us with the question: Is anger ever justified?

When Christ Jesus discovered the money-changers operating openly in the Temple of God, He expressed open hostility. Christ Jesus, of course, was His own justification. When we discover a book or hear a sermon or observe iniquity that is thoroughly opposed to the biblical counsel of God, we are

justified in being angry. How we express our anger, however, must be clearly discernable as defending the stated counsel of Almighty God. Further, it must not be so spontaneously eruptible as to confuse hearers into thinking our objection is only an excuse to be voalitile. Knowing and lovingly using the Word to refute wrong-doing is always the best policy. I had to learn that myself. But, in the long-run, it’s always the best policy.

My prayers for you ascend daily. Hopefully, yours ascend daily for me.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”