Proverbs 6:16-19 is one of more familiar passages in the Book of Proverbs. In four brief verses Solomon addresses the question—“What does God hate?” and answers the question with a list of seven sins, seven “abominations” that are contrary and loathsome to the nature of God Who is Holy, Just and without error. My focus today is on the first three of the seven abominations.
Proverbs 6:16-17 – “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,”
A “proud look” is first on the list of things God hates. Pride is in essence a haughty spirit, an attitude that projects superiority above others. Pride is the root sin of all sins!
Pride was first manifested in the Bible when the fallen angel Lucifer, that wicked one we identify as the devil, entertained pride in his heart and rebelled against God (Isaiah 14:13-14). Pride was seen a second time when Eve succumbed to temptation in the Garden of Eden and believed she and her husband Adam could be “as gods knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Pride plagues humanity and rears its ugly head when we pursue recognition for ourselves and resent the success of others. Pride is the antithesis of what God would have us be: “Blessed are the poor in spirit [humble]: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3).
Lying is second on Solomon’s list of sins God hates—“a lying tongue” (6:17b). Lying, deceptions, partial truths are common practice in our society and Christians are practitioners of the same patterns God hates. Like many of you, I have experienced the sorrows and bear the scars from those who deceive, lie and “color” conversations and events to paint themselves in the “better light”. Most believe lying is wrong, but “shading the truth” is acceptable. Not so my friend! King David, Solomon’s father, confessed of God–“Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts…” (Psalm 51:6a).
In a later proverb Solomon writes: “Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight” (Proverbs 12:22). Paul exhorted Christians in Ephesus:
Ephesians 4:25 – “Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.”
Third on Solomon’s list of sins that God abhors is Murder — “hands that shed innocent blood” (6:17c).
The soul of every man, woman, boy and girl; every infant (born and unborn) and every elderly person—is priceless to God because man is created in His image. Human life is so precious to God that He directs that a man who takes another man’s life must forfeit his own.
Numbers 35:16 – “…the murderer shall surely be put to death.”
Genesis 9:6 – “Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.”
Numbers 35:31 – “Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.”
I close today’s devotion with a reminder of the tragedy of abortion in our nation. Advocating the practice of abortion in defense of “Women’s Rights” is a damnable practice. The graphic stories of partial-birth abortions and botched abortions is a horror and a national disgrace that not only invites, but also demand God’s judgment. http://abortionno.org
Copyright 2014 – Travis D. Smith