The difficulty with all these interpretations hangs on the question whether this is the word of God or man’s word? Every reading of the Bible is an interpretation. Who decided which books belong in the bible? This was not decided until over 300 hundred years after Christ. Many of the Christian churches have different books in the Old Testament. How can you have justification from the texts themselves? There have many weird interpretations of the Bible. The Bible has had a history under the influence of God’s Spirit. The Bible should not be watered down.
justification
Unjust anger (Sir 1:22-1:24)
“Unjust anger cannot be justified.
Anger tips the scale to one’s ruin.
Those who are patient
Stay calm
Until the right moment.
Then cheerfulness comes back to them.
They hold back their words
Until the right moment.
The lips of many tell of their good sense.”
There is no justification for unjust anger. If fact, getting angry may tip the scales to your ruin. The patient ones stay calm until the right moment, until their anger calms down. Then they are cheerful again. They hold back their words until the right moment. Many people will talk about their good sense.
Dislike of the Promised Land (Ps 106:24-106:27)
“Then they despised the pleasant land.
They had no faith in his promise.
They grumbled in their tents.
They did not obey the voice of Yahweh.
Therefore he raised his hand.
He swore to them.
He would make them fall in the wilderness.
He would disperse their descendants among the nations.
He would scatter them over the lands.”
Based on Numbers, chapter 14, the Israelites were reluctant to enter the Promised Land. In fact, some wanted to return to Egypt. They had no faith in the promise of Yahweh. They grumbled. They said that they would not obey the voice of Yahweh. This made Yahweh angry. Once again, Moses intervened. This time Yahweh said that the grumblers would not see the Promised Land. Instead they would die in the wilderness before they got there. On top of that, their descendents would be scattered among many nations and various lands. This seems to be a justification for the later Exile.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 