Chuck Larsen

The last of the seven things that God hates seems to have an emphasis that the others lack. You see the emphasis in the opening phrase of Proverbs 6:16. It says, “There are six things the Lord hates…” But then the writer says “no wait….There are seven that he detests.” Although it’s listed as last in the list it is positioned and addressed as the most important of the seven. Lennox says, “The conclusion of this list, number one on God’s ‘Top Seven Things I Hate,’ is the man who stirs up dissension among brothers (6:19). By repeating words from 6:14, the writer has joined these two sections into one warning: God wants people to get along with one another. For those who have become part of the family of God, such a reminder is especially important, whether we are at home or church.” It’s a family affair. Did you notice the mention of “brothers?” I know that God loves people, even sinful people, and He hates the sin. But this verse has always given me pause. You might notice that the other six things that God hates refers to parts of a body; a tongue, heart, feet, eyes, hands or mouths. But this seventh thing refers to a person. It says God hates the “one who stirs up dissension” in the family. This may be a literary devise to focus attention on this last thing giving it prominence in the list as Lennox suggested. Yet, the focus on the “person” rather than the thing should give us all pause.

Cadmus, in mythology, slew a dragon. He then sowed the dragon’s teeth in a field which later sprouted giants. Being fearful of what those giants might do, Cadmus turned the giants against each other. He struck one of them with a stone and pointed to another one. This giant then started a fight with the other one and before long they were all fighting each other. As they killed each other, Cadmus watched and laughed. Morgan rightly observes that, “Our churches are full of potential spiritual giants, but Satan often sows discord among the members and they end up as spiritual pygmies, fighting one another.”

When Jesus develops this negative into a positive he blesses those who stop dissension and strife and pronounces a blessing on the “peacemakers” In Matthew 5:9. The blessing consists of a new classification. Jesus says “they shall be called sons of God.” The Greek word order makes this title emphatic. It literally reads, “for they, sons of God, shall be called.” Regarding this structure Hughes says, “The idea is that they, and no others, shall be called God’s sons. Moreover, the passive voice indicates that it is God, not man, who assigns the title ‘sons.’ The sublimity of this promise comes from the fact that the title “sons of God” refers to character. The peacemaker partakes of the character of God. He is like God in the way he lives. No wonder God says, ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.’” The Psalmist gives us a blessing similar to Jesus’ blessing on peacemakers. In Psalm 133:1, we read, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”

The fourth and fifth items might be seen as a pair. They are “the heart that schemes evil” and “the feet that race to do wrong” (Proverbs 6:16-19). The natural person is motivated and driven by selfish motives. We think of ways to get what we want, when we want it, often at the expense of others and God’s will. We have hard hearts in this respect. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?” It was the nature of man’s heart that broke God’s heart. In Genesis 6:5 we read, “then the Lord saw that wickedness was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Kitchen says, “The ‘heart’ describes the totality of the inner man, including his rational powers, emotions and volition. The ‘feet’ are what engage a man in what his heart has devised. Together, they describe the inner man and his outward activities. The Lord hates the one whose nature is bent toward, and quick to pursue, that which is contrary to His (God’s) nature.”

Solomon discovered and recorded for us all that pleasures, wealth, power or possessions will never satisfy the longings of man’s heart. Regarding the pursuits of the hearts of man, J. M. Boice writes, “They fill for a time. But they are rather like a Chinese dinner, and the person is soon left empty again. Consequently, those who pursue them are doomed to a constant and relentless search for that which will never satisfy the true hunger and desire of their soul.” Our hearts push our feet to run after the selfish pleasures of life. These frantic pursuits serve to distract our attention from God’s truth. The truth is, as C. H. Benson puts it, “Sin is the undertaker that digs every grave and officiates at every funeral. Sin is the occasion of all want and wretchedness, all pain and privation. There are some men who say there is no heaven. They wish to know nothing better than this earth. If this is heaven, it is a very strange one—this world of sickness, sorrow, and sin. The man who has that idea is to be pitied. This world, which some think is heaven, has nothing in it to satisfy the soul.”

Paul thus urged his young disciple, Timothy, to “…flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11). Again, in his 2nd Letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:22) he says, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” In Matthew 5, Jesus develops these two negatives into positives and blesses “the pure in heart” and those “who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” What will be the result of the pure heart that drives our feet to run after righteousness? Jesus says that those who long for righteousness will be satisfied. He says that those with pure hearts “will see God.” While all the worlds wealth and pleasures will never satisfy our souls, seeing and knowing Christ, the true wisdom of God, will! As the pure wisdom of God, Christ has “made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin” (1 Corinthians 1:30).

In Proverbs 6:16-19, God lays out some things that he hates. Two of those things are a lying tongue and hands that shed innocent blood. When Jesus develops those negatives into positives he says in beatitudes, “blessed are you when say all kinds of evil against you falsely. Continuing in this vein of blessing, he continues, “Blessed are those who are persecuted…” (Matthew 5:10-12). When God turns these two negatives into positives he does something a little unexpected. While the lying tongues and the persecuting hands are cursed with God’s hatred, the victims of such actions are blessed by God. God loves the victims who meet unjust abuse at the hands and lips of others. He goes on and says, “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.”

Rejoicing and celebrating while suffering an injustice is rather a rather unique idea. It’s totally contrary to our natural inclinations. When I suffer injustice or am lied about, my tendency is to defend myself! My ire is raised like a red flag and I demand justice! Entrusting the injustices to God in faith is a difficult thing to do. That’s why it requires the “born again” experience. One can never respond like that in their flesh. It’s only as the Holy Spirit moves us in our lives is such a response possible.

Max Lucado explained the necessity of such a change if we’re to experience the blessings Jesus pronounced in the Sermon on the Mount. He says, “… what Jesus promises is not a gimmick to give you goose bumps nor a mental attitude that has to be pumped up at pep rallies. No, Matthew 5 describes God’s radical reconstruction of the heart. Observe the sequence. First, we recognize we are in need (we’re poor in spirit). Next, we repent of our self-sufficiency (we mourn). We quit calling the shots and surrender control to God (we’re meek). So grateful are we for his presence that we yearn for more of him (we hunger and thirst). As we grow closer to him, we become more like him. We forgive others (we’re merciful). We change our outlook (we’re pure in heart). We love others (we’re peace-makers). We endure injustice (we’re persecuted). It’s no casual shift of attitude. It is a demolition of the old structure and a creation of the new. The more radical the change, the greater the joy. And it’s worth every effort, for this is the joy of God.”

I’m always surprised when I get a fresh glimpse of the imagery that the Bible uses to communicate the most profound truths. God just doesn’t say “be wise.” He takes snapshots for us to look at and as is often the case a picture is
worth a thousand words. One of the more interesting passages with this is Proverbs 6:16-19. The New Living Translation renders these verses like this: “There are six things the Lord hates—no, seven things he detests: haughty
eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord among brothers.” Just notice the images. There are eyes, a tongue, hands, a heart, feet, mouth (spewing or pouring out), sowing seeds of discord. Each of these things conjures images in our minds that more profoundly impress us with the sharpness of the intended message.

This passage presents us with things God hates. It’s the negative images that are projected. I remember the days when cameras would take negative images and you had to take them to the drugstore to have them developed. The store would take them into a darkroom and impress them (somehow) on paper and soak them in some kind of solution that would impress upon the paper the positive impression. The positives are what you’d get back as your developed photos. I’ve been preparing, when I get the chance, for our upcoming visit to Israel I’ve been thinking about the location of the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus preached his famous beatitudes as recorded for us in Matthew chapter 5. It dawned on me, that this sermon is the positive development from the negatives of Proverbs chapter 6. Instead of relating to us the things that God hates, Jesus gives us the things that God loves. Some of these positives are obvious, others require a little interpretation, but these are how I understand them.

As surely as God hates “haughty eyes,” He loves the “poor in spirit” and pronounces them blessed. Poor in spirit is often related to a humble attitude. God hates lying tongues, but he loves the victims of lying tongues. He says, “blessed are you,” in Matthew 5:11-12, “when men cast insults at you, and…say all kinds of evil against you falsely…Rejoice, and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” He hates hands that harm the innocent, yet in Matthew 5:10, he pronounces a blessing on those who suffer innocently. He hates hearts that plot evil deeds, but he loves the pure in heart in Matthew 5:8. He despises feet anxious to do wrong while he loves those hungering to do right (Matthew 5:6). He hates mouths spewing out lies to get what they want from others while Jesus blesses those who receive wrong from others and offers mercy (Matthew 5:7). Finally, God curses those who sow strife in relationships while Jesus blesses those who plant the seeds of peace.