Read Part 1.

I. INTRODUCTION 

Last week we examined part one of this Bible study, scrutinizing those things that God loves—and the benefits of our aligning with those things. It follows that this week we should do the same with hate. 

Again, running up to the election I challenge you to channel your emotions to love and hate the things God loves and hates. Through the study that follows, allow the Scriptures to determine the aim of your heart’s passions. This will require much putting on, determination, and willpower! This can only be accomplished by your controlling your emotions, which result from your deliberate mental choices. And to have any victory in making proper mental choices, they must be biblically informed, well-seated in Scripture, and pleasing to God. Only then will you find personal stability and success in your love and hate attitudes (cf. Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1). 

Solomon instructs us regarding six things we should always love (part I of this study) and nine things we should always hate (in this study, part II). As you study, think about applications of each to your personal life and the upcoming elections. You will see what I mean as you absorb the wisdom of the Scriptures. I will leave many of the political relevancies and applications up to you and your conscience—but I can’t help but name a few that are so obvious. 

May our convictions and emotions during the campaign season parallel His. 

Specifically discover what God loves and hates. 

II. NINE THINGS WE SHOULD HATE 

Seven of the nine sins that the Lord especially hates (kedos) are listed in one place, Proverbs 6:16–19: 

There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. 

Similar litanies of sins are common in the Old Testament (OT); note such in Job 5:19; Proverbs 30:15, 18, 21, 29; Ecclesiastes 11:2; and Amos 1:3. As well, the New Testament (NT) contains passages chock full of various sins as in Mark’s gospel, 7:21–22, and Paul’s pastoral epistles, 2 Timothy 3:1–6, among others. 

The Hebrew word summarily descriptive of God’s reaction to these particular seven formulative sins in our cited Proverbs passage, translated into English as hate is the word kedos.1 While these above cited passages all list a myriad of sins that God hates, He nonetheless loves all sinners! He hates that people do certain things to others! In fact, the additional word in our passage that Solomon chooses to heighten God’s hatred of these particular sins is the Hebrew word piggul, which translates into English as abomination. It was used at the time of Solomon writing this to describe the stench that resulted from sacrificial flesh that had been left out too long. Abomination, then, is the biblical word that further deepens the nadir and heightens the zenith of the sum total of God’s hatred. 

These seven sins are a stench in the nostrils of God—as they should be in the mind and actions of every godly man or woman. 

God’s attitude toward these things which the Lord hates is more than extreme dislike; God finds what follows to be putrid! Decrepit creatures that we are due to our fallen nature, studying the Scriptures is necessary to help us stay on the straight and narrow. 

The first five wicked acts are described with bodily imagery (for the purposes of aiding in memorization via pictorializing). So, if you are in the mood to hate during the election season, pictorialize and hate these things, but not the people who, apart from the indwelling grace of God, will most likely commit towards you! What follows are the seven things, sins, listed in 6:17–19. 

A. HATE PRIDE 

Literally, the Hebrew word found here for haughty eyes means “high eyes.” The idea is a proud look that portrays a haughty heart. Haughty eyes therefore connotes a superiority attitude that in essence deems others as less important than self. In Isaiah 10:12–14 the same Hebrew phrase is used to depict the pagan King of Assyria, the world’s most powerful nation at the time, who willfully and defiantly took all the credit as he ruled in autonomy. 

God hates arrogance, so should you! 

Detect this scent— this detestable scent—in yourself and others. 

To God be all the glory, not you! 

As I wrote this, there was a birthday party held for a prominent political leader and all he did for quite a long time was talk about how great he was; I had to turn the TV off, I couldn’t stand the putrid stench of pride any longer! God will bless you if you hate pride—but not the prideful person. In fact, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ( James 4:6–7). 

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When the temptation arises in your election cycle to praise yourself and to say how great you are, remember the principle of Proverbs 27:2: Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips. Note from this passage, as an elected public servant that it is biblically permissible to seek praise for yourself. But most important: let another praise you. Just make sure the praise is not from your own mouth! Refraining from self-praise will bring you more praise. Constituents will take note of the fact that you are not in the self-praise business (like so many of your colleagues). You will stand out more than if you go on a narcissistic rant.

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B. HATE LYING 

The underlying Hebrew phrase for a lying tongue is also found in Psalm 109:2 wherein David cries out to God describing others who slandered him with deceitful words. The context of a lying tongue, as used in this passage proves insightful: David says of his accusers, They have also surrounded me with words of hatred and fought against me without cause. In return for my love, they act as my accusers (109:3–4). In this passage a lying tongue is translated as words of hatred. In modern day vernacular, David is saying, “And this is the thanks I get?” I recently heard one present-day U.S. Senator (known for his colorful speech in interviews) describe this sin among his colleagues in this way, “They are willing to unplug your life support system in order to recharge their iPhone.” 

God hates a lying tongue, best understood as betrayal, which is so common in our modern political ecosystem. So should you. 

C. HATE THE SHEDDING OF INNOCENT BLOOD 

With this crystal-clear instruction from God’s Word, combined with the biblical and scientifically-authenticating FACTS that life begins and exists in the womb, every individual, local, state, and federal government, and every national political party platform should decry and hate abortion—the shedding of innocent blood! God’s Word says this sin is putrid in His nostrils. 

God hates the hands of those that shed innocent blood, be it inside the womb or murder of any sort.2 Note the powerful, summary words of commentator John A. Kitchen on this wicked abomination: 

How descriptive of modern life, where thousands upon thousands of children are killed while yet in their mother’s womb, all because of some perceived right to make a “choice!”3 God announces us as an abomination and declares His hatred of our ways.4 

Fifty years of Roe vs. Wade’s abortion on demand nationalized the supposed “right” to kill innocent human beings. This resulted in a societal shift. People became desensitized to baby killing which led to a numbing of the national conscience and the dismantling of our biblical and long-standing conviction that everyone—including unborn babies—have a right to live. It has seemingly, in our generation, led us to believe that the shedding of innocent blood is acceptable in the eyes of God. It is not; this passage clearly states that God hates murder and so should you and I! 

It stands to reason that if you desire to please God with your life, you won’t be pro-murder. 

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade which expunged the constitutionally unfounded national “right” to an abortion and returned to the states the authority to regulate through laws the moral decision on abortion. Accordingly, and in light of that, this passage should serve as the ultimate, preeminent informant to state decision makers. Considering this Scripture against shedding innocent blood, can state lawmakers grant citizens a license for in-the-womb homicide? Incumbent in this biblical passage is this: legalizing abortion radically alters the individuals’ and the states’ standing with God. He now finds them abominable versus positioned to receive His blessing. Memorize and meditate on this passage: the Lord hates this abomination: hands that shed innocent blood. 

Summarily, in the larger context of the passage, King Solomon of Israel is instructing his son, Rehoboam, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that as the next political leader of the country, he must publicly stand for life—no matter what the consensus of the people might be regarding this—he must be adamantly pro-life no matter the cost if he desires God’s blessing on his leadership and the nation. Keep in mind when Ronald Reagan ran for his second term, he had already written the book, Abortion & the Conscience of a Nation. Everyone knew where he stood on the issue—adamantly pro-life. God blessed him; he won the electoral college in 49 out of 50 states.5 For a more comprehensive understanding on this subject, please see my Bible study, “God’s View on Babies, Inside and Outside the Womb.” 

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In America, not all biblically-pronounced sins are deemed illegal, including gluttony, adultery, drunkenness, and homosexuality. 

Should abortion fall into that category? No. So why not? 

All states deem homicidal acts of whatever varying degree, to be illegal. Since abortion is the taking of another’s life (babies in the womb have different DNA than the mother), it stands to reason that the killing of a human being needs to be, in a federalist form of government, illegal in every state that is desirous of God’s blessing.

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God is not okay with abortion, nor should any political party be okay with abortion, nor should the state that you live in be okay with abortion, nor should you or I be okay with abortion. Like God, we should hate abortion. 

In a broader sense, there are those who murder others with their words (cf. Matthew 5:21–22). 

Lashon hara, which literally means “evil speech” in Hebrew, conveys the idea that speaking poorly of another is nearly the moral equivalent to murder because you can apologize for the assault, but the damage can never be repaired. This Judaic concept warns that such evil speech does as much damage to the speaker as it does the person being verbally assassinated. 

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit (Psalm 34:13–14, cf. Exodus 23:1). 

God hates slander because it is murder; so should you. 

D. HATE WICKED PLOTTING 

The Lord hates, yes, … a heart that devises wicked plans. The Hebrew word devise (charash) means “to plow.” Likened to a farmer who plans and plots out his field so as to maximize his labor and yield, this person premeditates a scheme to hurt his neighbor. The verb charash is in the continuous tense, further denoting that this man’s wicked plans are ongoing; his ways are not a one-time event. 

The word wicked (aven) is used 27 times in the OT. Contextually, aven is always descriptive of someone who is intent on harming those given to the worship of God. Several huge, current illustrations of this are Putin’s attempts to expunge all Evangelical churches from occupied Crimea; another is the Russian Hoax promulgated by many in the last presidential election. Both exemplify this abominable sin; both are current and vivid illustrations of a heart that devises wicked plans. The wicked use power to enact harm by constantly persuading others by use of their false mouth; they distort and twist reality through half-truths, white lies, deception, and distortion. 

God especially hates the actions of those who are deliberately wicked; so should you. 

E. HATE WICKED IMPLEMENTATION 

If the word heart (leb) in the preceding descriptor of a wicked person represents the totality of the inner man, including one’s reasoning powers, emotions and will (and it does), then the feet (regel) that run rapidly to evil represent the implementation of those desires. Herein then, is the manifestation of what the heart has previously devised: the corrupt man, dead in his trespasses and sins, void of Christ in his heart (Ephesians 2:1), who is held captive by him [Satan] to do his will (2 Timothy 2:26) will too often manifest devious outward actions. 

During the campaign season as candidates become increasingly desperate, the temptation to manifest evil plans increases. 

Decide beforehand to follow God’s directives. Don’t succumb to such actions. 

God hates the actions of feet that run rapidly to evil; so should you. 

F. HATE PERJURY 

The sixth abomination in God’s eyes is a false (sheqer) witness who utters lies. In Zechariah 8:17 God says, “Do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,” declares the Lord. This Hebrew word means “a distorter, a deceiver.” It is contextually used here with the Hebrew word for lies (kazab) which literally means “to breathe out.” This describes someone who is capable of complete fiction; their lying utterances are as natural as breathing! They own and operate both the manufacturing plant and the delivery system as they respirate falsehoods. In the heat of campaigns, as candidates read the polls and become increasingly desperate this temptation only grows. 

But remember this: God hates perjury; so should you. 

G. HATE DIVISION 

Solomon culminates the above descriptors with a crescendo summation of characteristically wicked individuals: And one who spreads strife among brothers. Not only do they create strife, but they spread strife to the end that they cause discord amongst close friends, those who are brotherly. 

Whereas God desires unity, the wicked desire schisms. 

God hates the actions of those who cause divisions; you should too. 

In summary of these seven sins, we too should hate the sin, but love the sinner. Here then is the mix of rotten, stench-filled ingredients for which God pronounces disdain and hatred. But there are an additional two in Proverbs found elsewhere in additional passages: 

H. HATE ADULTERY 

Chapter seven of Proverbs is all about adultery. The woman found in these passages charms her prey via the use of seductive vocabulary (7:2; 7:12), privacy (7:9), dress (7:10), and touch (7:12). Allow me to develop two of these: seductiveness and vocabulary. 

“Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with caresses” (7:18). 

The Old Testament word used here for love (dod) meaning “to boil” and is distinguishable from other Greek words in the NT describing love: brotherly love (phileo), and unconditional love (agape). The OT Hebrew word dod is similar to the NT Greek word eros and is descriptive of sexual, erotic love which is limited to and intended by God for married couples only. 

In addition to the adulteress’s misuse of physical eroticism, notice further Solomon’s portrayal of her use of vocabulary in 7:21, With her many persuasions she entices him; with her flattering lips she seduces him. You get the idea. Solomon goes on to state the remedy, Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths. (7:25). In other words, the wise man will arrange his life to avoid this combined, easily-overwhelming temptation altogether. The parallel passage to Proverbs 7:25 is the NT passage of Hebrews 12:13. It states, make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Both passages provide the safeguard and remedy against physical erotic appearance combined with flattering lips. File this too in the back of your mind, Numbers 32:23: and be sure that your sin will find you out. Is a moment’s fling worth the price of your marriage and your career? 

God hates adultery; so should you. 

I. HATE SURETY 

The ninth transgression Solomon instructs us to hate is becoming liable for another’s debts. 

He who is guarantor for a stranger will surely suffer for it, but he who hates being a guarantor is secure (11:15). 

Apply this not only personally but professionally: every time you vote for a debt increase as a public servant, in essence, you make your constituents a guarantor—I should add—a guarantor who will surely suffer for it! Do you represent the best interests of your constituents when you bind them to fiscal irresponsibility, i.e. the nation’s debt? 

As an individual, it is foolish to make yourself responsible for another person’s debt (cf. Proverbs 6:1–5). It is just as foolish for legislators to encumber the assets of other people—their constituents—whose best interests you have sworn to represent. Yet, legislators continually display great fiscal irresponsibility by yoking the nation with increasing debt which financially cripples taxpayers who are footing the bills—even to future generations! Solomon says we should hate being made a guarantor for debt! Why? Because we will surely suffer for it. A nation’s debt will always, eventually snuff out individual citizens’ prosperity. More specifically, we should hate being the guarantor on a 35 trillion dollar note! Unfortunately I do not think the electorate hates being a guarantor to the degree they should! 

God hates surety, and so should you. 

During this election season these are the nine things you should be intensely hostile to and avoid! 

III. CONCLUSION 

Think about it: because God is holy and just, He cannot be anything less than hateful as He relates to sin. He loves the sinner but hates the sin. We who are His followers are called to reflect this same characteristic in our being and demeanor. To hate sin, in the sense of righteous indignation is to be Christlike, it is to be Godly. 

A fitting concluding proverb is, Righteous lips are the delight of kings, and they love him who speaks what is right (16:13 NKJV). 

Christians and non-Christians alike will resonate with you when you routinely pronounce your hatred relative to whatever is biblically speaking, sinful. Why? Because all people, followers of Christ or not, come with the Manufacturers chip inside—His chip, found in every market of the world, goes by the brand name “CONSCIENCE.” All people—they— love him (the political leader) who speaks what is right!6 Do you desire to be loved by your constituents? Solomon is summarily underscoring and using a bold italic font in this passage when he drives this point home to Israel’s next political leader. And by way of application, God is shouting this to you who are present-day political leaders! Speak what is biblical, what is right, and the voters will love you. But more important, God will love you. 

Meditate today, as you push toward the November elections, as to how you will rightly love and hate. Align your love and hate with and according to God’s revelation, and He will bless you even if it does not seem politically expedient. At the end of the day, at the Bema Seat judgment of Christ, you ultimately serve a Supreme Audience of One. 

Our decrepit sin nature too often gets this concept backwards, and we, to our own peril, love what God hates and hate what God loves. Commit today to correcting your thinking. 

Get these things straight in your mind and actions and you’ll garner favor with The Almighty.

1. When I was a young boy, my father expressly demanded that I never use the word hate. To this day I can remember his stern admonition, “Son you do not hate anything! Never use that word!” (I used the word often in the context of personal anger.) Broadly, in America at least, we possess a cultural aversion to using the word hate in terms of acceptable etiquette speech. But in this passage, God hates in terms of righteous indignation toward particular things that hurt other people. He hates the fact that people hurt other people. 

2. “Choice” is a deceitful diversion that circumvents and perverts the real issue. A woman may choose what happens to her body, but an unborn child is not her body; he is a separate human being from the point of conception with different DNA, whose life, like all human beings, biblically and explicitly, deserves State protection (cf. Romans 13:1–8; 1 Peter 2:13–14). No state or federal law grants anyone the “right” to “choose” to slay an innocent human being. The “right” to “choose” should never be postulated as a license for murder! 

3. John Kitchen, Proverbs, (Christian Focus Publications, Geanies House, Scotland, 2006), 143. 

4. Kitchen, Proverbs, 144. 

5. President Biden misrepresented statistics in a post-NATO televised press conference on July 11, 2024, when he said, “More children are killed by a bullet than any other cause of death.” Statistics show that abortion is the number one killer of children. Pew Research reported that 2,590 children and teens were killed by guns in 2021, and that figure includes suicides. (John Gramlich, “What the data says about gun deaths in the U.S.,” April 26, 2023, Pew Research Center, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/04/26/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/) In that same year, Pew Research reported that 625,978 babies were killed by abortions in the District of Columbia and the 46 states with available data for 2021. (Jeff Diamant, Besheer Mohamed, and Rebecca Leppert, “What the data says about abortion in the U.S.,” March 25, 2024, Pew Research Center, https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/03/25/what-the-data-says-about-abortion-in-the-us/#how-many-abortions-are-there-in-the-us-each-year) In fact, Louisiana Right to Life reports that every day, 2,350 babies die in abortion in the U.S. More than 64 million unborn children have died since the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that provided for, and blanketed all state laws to the contrary, abortions on demand. (National Right to Life, press release, Jan. 20, 2023, “More than 64 Million Unborn Children Have Died Since Roe v. Wade,” https:// nrlc.org/communications/more-than-64-million-unborn-children-have-died-since-roe-v-wade/). 

6. The exception to this principle are persons in Romans 1 who are said to have cauterized their conscience.