Seven
Things The LORD Hates
These six
things the LORD hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look,
A lying tongue,
Hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil,
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren.
(Proverbs 6:16-19)
Can a loving,
peaceful and merciful God hate? Yes, He can, and yes, He does. He
hates sin. And He hates it with extreme disgust and displeasure!
Simply because sin causes man to draw away from God, away from His
love and away from His abundant life!
There are six,
yea, seven things that the LORD hates! God hates sin. He hates every
sin. He can never be reconciled to sin. God does not compromise with
sin. And God hates nothing but sin! That's why He sent His Only
Begotten Son to die for our sins, paying the penalty of our sins and
bringing us forgiveness when we believe and receive Jesus Christ as
our personal LORD and Saviour, repenting of our sins and sinning no
more.
However, there
are some sins that God hates more than the rest because they are an
abomination to Him! They are detestable to Him! And all these sins
mentioned below are harmful and injurious to our neighbours:
- A proud
look,
- A lying
tongue,
- Hands that
shed innocent blood,
- A heart
that devises wicked plans,
- Feet that
are swift in running to evil,
- A false
witness who speaks lies, and
- One who
sows discord among brethren.
This clearly
shows that God desires all mankind to dwell in unity and love:
Behold, how
good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity! (Psalm 133:1)
Anything that
causes harm to human life and society provokes the LORD! These same
things that God hates should also be the same things that we hate!
1. A Proud
Look
Pride goes
before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before a fall. (Proverbs 16:18)
God hates a
proud look because our pride will elevate our egos against God and
other people. Pride causes us to trust in ourselves and not in God.
Pride will lead to arrogance so much so that we resist the godly
instruction and counsel of others. We will begin to shut our ears
and hearts from receiving from the Holy Spirit and other godly men.
Pride causes us to become unteachable and judgmental. When we are
judgmental, we set ourselves up to be judged also!
Pride prevents
us from entering into all the wonderful blessings and plans God has
for our life.
But He gives
more grace.
Therefore He says:
"God resists the proud,
But gives grace to the humble."
Therefore submit to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
Cleanse your hands, you sinners;
and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Lament and mourn and weep!
Let your laughter be turned to mourning and
your joy to gloom.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord,
and He will lift you up. (James 4:6-10)
God gives
strength to the humble but sets Himself against the proud and
haughty. As we humble ourselves before God, He gives us more and
more strength to stand against all evil longings and desires. Thus,
let's give ourselves humbly to God, resist the devil, and he will
flee from us. And when we draw close to God, God will draw close to
us. Wash our hands and hearts so that we will do what is pleasing to
God, letting our hearts be filled with God alone, being pure and
true to Him. Let there be tears of repentance for the wrong things
we have done. Let there be sorrow and sincere grief. Let there be
sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Then when we
will realize our worthlessness, we humble ourselves before the Lord,
He will lift us up, encourage, strengthen and help us.
2. A Lying
Tongue
God hates lying
so much that it is included as one of the Ten Commandments
(Exodus 20:16):
You must not
lie. (TLB)
It is impossible
for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18), and every one of us who belongs to
Him and bears His name should keep our tongues from evil, and our
lips from speaking deceit (Psalms 34:13).
Do not lie
to one another,
since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
and have put on the new man
who is renewed in knowledge
according to the image of Him who created him,
(Colossians 3:9-10)
Lying is a part
of our old life with its evil practices. We ought to put off our old
man, and put on the new man in Christ. In the past, we lie because
we are under the influence of the devil. The devil is a liar and the
father of lies. He is a murderer, and there is no truth in him.
You are of
your father the devil,
and the desires of your father you want to do.
He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth,
because there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a lie,
he speaks from his own resources,
for he is a liar and the father of it. (John 8:44)
Now we are
born-again and washed in the blood of Jesus, we must walk in truth
and talk the truth. No more lying.
Then Jesus
said to those Jews who believed Him,
"If you abide in My word,
you are My disciples indeed.
And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32)
3. Hands That
Shed Innocent Blood
God gives breath
and life to all mankind. To shed innocent blood is to commit murder,
taking away precious breath and life away. God hates hands that shed
innocent blood so much that it is included as one of the Ten
Commandments:
You shall
not murder. (Exodus 20:13)
Murder is the
unlawful killing of one person by another, especially with
premeditated malice. It is an inward act before actualizing
outwardly. After the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden, the first
murder occurred (Genesis 4:8) as Cain killed his own brother Abel.
Mankind is
created in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27). Murdering a human being,
therefore, is a serious crime and must be punished.
Whoever
sheds man's blood,
By man his blood shall be shed;
For in the image of God
He made man. (Genesis 9:6)
In the New
Testament, Jesus brought the Old Testament teaching about murder to
a greater light and a higher spiritual dimension. Whoever harbors
anger and hatred against his brother is in danger of God's judgment.
You have
heard that it was said to those of old,
'You shall not murder,'
and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.
But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!'
shall be in danger of the council.
But whoever says, 'You fool!'
shall be in danger of hell fire.
(Matthew 5:21-22)
Murder begins in
the heart through evil thoughts and meditations:
But those
things which proceed out of the mouth
come from the heart, and they defile a man.
For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts,
murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
These are the things which defile a man,
but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.
(Matthew 15:18-20)
However the sin
of murder can be forgiven:
Assuredly, I
say to you,
all sins will be forgiven the sons of men,
and whatever blasphemies they may utter;
but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit
never has forgiveness,
but is subject to eternal condemnation
(Mark 3:28-29)
A very good
example is Apostle Paul. Before his conversion, Saul of Tarsus
launched threats and murder against the church (Acts 9:1). But by
the grace of God, he was converted and eventually became a chosen
vessel of blessing, bringing the gospel to the Gentiles.
4. A Heart
That Devises Wicked Plans
Behold, the
wicked brings forth iniquity;
Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.
He made a pit and dug it out,
And has fallen into the ditch which he made.
His trouble shall return upon his own head,
And his violent dealing shall come down on his own crown.
(Psalm 7:14-16)
The wicked man
conceives an evil plot, mapping out all the dark details, and
bringing to birth treacheries and lies. But he will fall into his
own trap. The violence he plans for others will boomerang back unto
himself, and he will face destruction instead.
God hates hearts
that devise wicked plans. He does not want us to waste time thinking
about and planning evil for others, because mischief will come back
on our own selves. It would be better to spend time planning good
things to do to and for others. Loving God and loving others!
5. Feet That
Are Swift In Running To Evil
My son, do
not walk in the way with them,
Keep your foot from their path;
For their feet run to evil,
And they make haste to shed blood.
Surely, in vain the net is spread
In the sight of any bird;
But they lie in wait for their own blood,
They lurk secretly for their own lives.
So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain;
It takes away the life of its owners.
(Proverbs 1:15-19)
We are to stay
far away from evil men whose feet are swift in running to evil.
Crime is their way of life, and murder is their specialty. When a
bird sees a trap being set, it stays away, but not these men; they
trap themselves! They lay a booby trap for their own lives. Such is
the fate of all who live by violence and murder. They will die a
violent death.
When we are
eager to sin and do evil, we destroy not only the lives of others,
we also destroy our own lives. God does not desire any life to be
destroyed. We must always watch our steps, sticking to the path of
righteousness and be safe. Never get sidetracked, pulling back our
foot away from danger.
Let your
eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.
Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.
(Proverbs 4:25-27)
6. A False Witness Who Speaks Lies
The ninth
commandment, in Exodus 20:16, says that we should not bear false
witness against our neighbor. God hates a false witness who lies
about someone else, and gives a false testimony.
A false
witness will not go unpunished,
And he who speaks lies shall perish.
(Proverbs 19:9)
A man who
bears false witness against his neighbor
Is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.
(Proverbs 25:18)
A witness is a
person who gives testimony either for or against someone, often in a
law court setting. As such, there is considerable concern for the
truth of the testimony. As God is the Sovereign Judge, we must not
bear false witness against our neighbor.
7. One Who
Sows Discord Among Brethren.
A perverse
man sows strife,
And a whisperer separates the best of friends.
(Proverbs 16:28)
An evil man sows
discord among brethren, separating the best of friends. God hates
strife and discord.
Where do
wars and fights come from among you?
Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your
members?
You lust and do not have.
You murder and covet and cannot obtain.
You fight and war.
Yet you do not have because you do not ask.
You ask and do not receive,
because you ask amiss,
that you may spend it on your pleasures.
(James 4:1-3)
What is causing
the quarrels and fights among us? Simply because there is a lot of
evil desires within us. We want to have what we don't have, so we
strive to get it. We long to have what others have, and can't afford
it, so we start a fight to take it away from them. And yet the
reason we don't have what we want is that we don't ask God for it.
And even when we do ask, we don't get it because our whole aim is
wrong. We want only what will give us pleasure and lust.
These sensual
desires are ever warring in our bodily members. They arise out of
our ungodly desires, resulting in division and separation. God
desires oneness and unity in His body, not strife and separation.
When we are united, we are strong. Then we can protect and help one
another.
Source:
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Written on:
10 June 2008