From Brittanica.com:
Tyrant, Greek tyrannos, a cruel and oppressive ruler or, in ancient Greece, a ruler who seized power unconstitutionally or
inherited such power. In the 10th and 9th centuries BCE, monarchy was
the usual form of government in the Greek states. The aristocratic
regimes that replaced monarchy were by the 7th century BCE themselves
unpopular. Thus, the opportunity arose for ambitious men to seize
power in the name of the oppressed.
God did not usurp authority not righfully His. He created the universe and we belong to Him.
God is not the oppressor of mankind but its liberator. He set the Hebrew people free and gave them laws to keep them free, if they would only follow them.
When God performs miraculous events considered harsh or tyrranical, consider the objets of his wrath: murderers, adulterers, slave traders and harsh masters, empires and religions that command their people to offer child sacrifice, adult human sacrifice, etc.
God freely pardons all who confess their sins to Him.
A mark of the tyrant is to sacrifice others (or get them to sacrifice themselves in his service) for the sake of his power and self-aggrandizement. Jesus offered his life as a sacrifice for others.
I just don't see how the label of tyrant fits. The wrath of God could only be tyrannical if it was
- undeserved
- executed without warning
- implemented with no recourse for the subject to appease
- offered switftly, without permitting a reasonable chance for reflection and action
God is slow to anger and abounding in love. The Bible is filled with ample examples of God issuing warnings centuries in advance. The warning of the flood was given 969 years before it happened. One of the tribes wiped out by the Israelites as they entered the promised land was warned at least two hundred years before. Despite that, when Rahab helped the spies, she was spared by Joshua.
God also does not show favoritism. Has he not executed the same punishments against Israel that he did against her enemies when they rebelled?
These are not the marks of a tyrant. It is our vain belief that we are "basically good people" that blinds us (willfully!) to the fact that we deserve hellfire immediately, but every day are spared until we die.
What is the proper attitude to take? The most righteous man to ever live (apart from Jesus) was Job. He lost his oxen (used to produce crops), his sheep (for clothing), his camels (for transport), his children (for posterity and companinship), his health, his reputation, the respect of his wife, the loyalty of his servants, the compassion of his siblings, was persecuted by his friends, and then chastised by a young man. Finally, he was rebuked by his own creator. To all this, Job said,
My ears had heard of you
but now my eyes have seen you.
Therefore I despise myself
and repent in dust and ashes.
Job questioned God's justice and fairness until he met God face to face and understood why he was wrong. So, like Job, you can call God a tyrant. Just be sure that when you meet Him, that you take it back.
