The verse is surprising!

Things the Holy Spirit might do, might produce in our lives!

First Samuel 11:6 says of the Spirit and Saul (King of Israel) … “And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.”

The Holy Spirit … then anger?

Yes, fellow Jews had been mistreated, maligned … belittled.

Something needed to be done.

And God initiated the response!

But who would have ever thought such?

Startling, the Holy Spirit and anger!

“And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.”

The verb “camp upon” is interesting. It’s “tzsalach” in Hebrew, meaning “to rush upon, to break in.” It dozens of times (in the Old Testament) means “to cause to prosper!”

The Holy Ghost of God made Saul angry … in a righteous way.

The noun for “anger” is “aph,” normally the word for one’s “nose, nostril!” It suggests the kind of anger that affects one’s breathing! Fierce anger!

Red-in-the-face, hard-breathing wrath!

So (at times anyway) the Fruit of the Spirit is not just love, joy, peace, longsuffering (and the other things on Paul’s Galatians 5:22-23 list) … but also anger!

Jesus too. “And when He (our sinless Lord) had looked round about on them with ANGER, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts ….” Mark 3:5

This example as well. “The Wrath of the Lamb,” God’s Darling Lamb (Jesus again) … yet filled with (holy) Wrath! Revelation 6:16, Meekness blended perfectly with Sternness!

All anger must not be sin, then.

Paul agrees, writing to the Ephesian Believers. “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”

Wow!

“Righteous indignation,” the old-timers called it.

Anger … over a just cause being abused … anger birthed into our souls by the Spirit of God!

Thank You, Lord, for these thoughts. They sure do explain some things in my Christian experience. A Holy displeasure!

— Dr. Mike Bagwell