March 6

Mar 6 - Today from Proverbs 6 we look at verse 16
"There are six things the Lord hates, seven things that are detestable to Him:"

By just a quick read, this proverb seems to go against everything we ever learned about God. He is perfect love. He loves with an everlasting love. He loves the world so much that He gave His only Son. Now we are confronted with the notion that God hates. How can that be?
As we begin to think deeper about God, we remember that He is a person, with a personality, and we are made in His image. We have a full range of emotions - we got them from God. Our emotions were corrupted, but that does not invalidate them. If there is love, then it stands to reason there must be hate. The hate that is being spoken of in this passage is better defined in the second half of the verse. It is not a hate with a destructive murderous intent. It is a hate that detests. The object of this kind of hate tends to be extremely offensive and disgusting. The writer of this passage is telling us that there are indeed things that are offensive and disgusting to our holy and loving God. "Six things . . . seven" is a poetic way of saying that the list is not complete. The list however is quite substantial. In reading through the list, one discovers that which God hates is not people, but various attitudes and behaviors that people display. We have all heard the phrase "God hates sin but loves the sinner." That is kind of the idea here. The lesson for the sinner is to separate himself from the sin, and be free of the wrath of God, which is coming to judge all sin.
How is that possible - to be separated from the record of the sin in our lives? There is a beautiful truth in one of the most profound Messianic passages in the Bible, found in Isaiah 53. Verse six says, "The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." There on the cross, Jesus Christ took the record of our sin and bore it in His own body. All that any individual needs to do is to recognize Jesus as the Messiah, confess their sin and repent, and receive the free gift of eternal life. Now we are free from God's eternal hate and wrath. Any who perish without making this decision have perished in their sin. Never having been separated from their sin by the shed blood of Jesus, they will be personally responsible to God for it. That is not a good place to be. God is light. God is love. Judgment is a place where there is darkness and agony.
The other lesson in this passage is that once we have received the gift of life in Christ Jesus, God purposes to transform us into His image. Now that we are His children, He wants us to bear the image of Christ so that others will be drawn to Him. Displaying improper attitudes and behaviors in His Name drives people away rather than draws them toward. God hates that. He hates it when His children hinder and incur emotional injury to others. When we learn what our Father hates, our love for Him is to compel us to stop any form of that attitude and behavior in our own life. And the amazing thing is, He even gives grace for that. All we need to do is ask - particularly in the time of temptation.