Learning To Hate What God Hates

"There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours our lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers" (Proverbs 6:16-19)

There are two words in Hebrew found in the Old Testament for the word "Hate."  (1) Satam: used 6 times and its meaning is to persecute, to lurk for, or to oppose.  (2) Sane: used 146 times, 136 times as the word hate. It is the word for hate in the above scripture.  Its meaning it to hate (personally) and caries with it an emotion ranging from intense hatred to a much weaker "set against." This strong emotion typifies the emotion of jealousy and it is used of persons and things including ideas, words, and inanimate objects. The NIV translation translates to'ebah as detestable and that is a good word yet the KJV gives the better translation: an abominable thing. To'ebah defines something or someone as essentially unique in the sense of being dangerous, sinister, and repulsive to another individual. When used of God, this word describes people, things, acts, relationships, and characteristics that are detestable to Him because they are contrary to His nature.

Seven Things God Hates:
(1) Haughty eyes: Conceited persons who have contempt for others
(2) A lying tongue:  Falsehood, fraud, to disguise and conceal under a false appearance
(3) Hands that shed innocent blood:  Cruelty, bloodthirstiness: this is what the devil was from the beginning (John 8: 44)
(4) A heart that devises wicked schemes:  Contriving to sin in subtleness,  a wisdom to do evil showing itself in designing crafty ways to sin, then more it is done the more abominable to God.
(5) Feet that are quick to rush into evil:  It is with vigor and in diligence to do sin, without thought as to its results, almost and maybe in some cases coldly in eagerness we rush towards these pursuits.
(6) A false witness who pours out lies:  This is one of the great mischiefs that the mind can devise, there is no defence against such a person.
(7) A man who stirs up dissension among brothers: Discord, petty arguments that irritate, and separate brothers and sisters by ill-natured stories, by suggesting jealousies and evil conjectures, aggravating every thing that is said and done.

We must shun all such practices and pray that God would help us to avoid such propensity to them.  Wisdom calls out (Proverbs 8:1) and we are to gain prudence (vs 5); to listen for God's worthy things (vs 6). Choose God's instruction and knowledge (vs. 10) and to fear the LORD and hate evil (vs. 13).  "I love those who love me, and those who seed me find me" (vs. 17). We are not without help in our pursuit of God's righteousness.  "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe" (Proverbs 18:10). "but there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother" (vs 24b). Who is this friend? "You are my friends, if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you"  (John 15:14-15).  It is Jesus, God the Son!

It is the cross that Jesus endured for our sakes, to gives us what we cannot give ourselves: forgiveness based on a perfect sinless sacrifice to atone for our sins. Therefore, make it our compulsion to shun those things that God has explicitly shown that He hates.  This is the way to life, and the world who knows not Jesus the Savior needs to see in us that we truly do follow our God and see the difference (as it should be seen) in our lives.  We do hold the keys to heaven, the Word of God.  Let us be diligent to share this Good News!

Daily Prayer:

Father, You have shown us the better way, for You have not hidden from us Your perfect Law.  Thank You for being my Savior and for helping me to do Your will.  It is in Your strength that I can meet and overcome those evil tendencies in me.  May my life represent You and Jesus to my world.                    Amen