> Isaiah 27:4 Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle?
> Nahum 1:2 God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious...

Critics point out a contradiction between God stating "Fury is not in me" and passages describing His fury and indignation. The Hebrew words for fury are indeed the same (chemah). However, Christians historically understand descriptions of God's fury as anthropopathic—accommodated language for human comprehension—rather than literal emotional volatility. Furthermore, the immediate context provides a textual answer: Isaiah 27:4 is not a universal statement; it is specific. Isaiah 27:2-3 says, "In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine. I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day." Fury is not in God with regard to this specific vineyard he tends in the last day, for it will not be necessary.

Problem: Nahum declares that God “avenges and is furious.” Indeed, God is often represented as being angry in the Bible (cf. Isa. 26:20; Jer. 4:8). At the same time, the Bible urges believers not to be angry, since it is a sin (cf. Gal. 5:20). But if it is a sin, then how can God do it?

Solution: Anger as such is not sinful. It depends on the purpose, nature, and/or object of anger. Even Jesus, our perfect moral example, was angry at sin (cf. Matt. 23:15–36). Paul exhorted us, “Be angry, and do not sin” (Eph. 4:26). In short, we should be angry at sin, but we should not sin in being angry. The problem with human anger, even in the good sense of anger at sin, is that it is easy to carry it too far so that we sin in our anger. Unlike God, who is “slow to anger” (Neh. 9:17), we are often quick to anger. In short, there is good and bad anger for humans.