Proverbs 6:16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:
I hated falling off my motorbike. I remember overtaking a Mercedes one day on a tricky bit of road when the back wheel skidded on the wet white line, throwing me into a speed wobble that ended with me in the ditch with ripped clothes and blood everywhere.
I remember coming across another young man who had crashed his bike in a remote spot, he was unconscious, lying on top of a pile of rough-looking boulders, and I could hear him fighting for every breath. I hated waiting for the ambulance that took thirty minutes to arrive, I hated that his dad was the ambulance driver.
I hated that the person who caused me to have a motorcycle crash in the city centre got away with it and that I was left in hospital and hundreds of pounds out of pocket. And when we got to court she was found guilty and fined thirty pounds and three points on her licence.
I hated when I went to drive home from work and my motorbike had been stolen.
I hated trying to kickstart my Yamaha XT 500 on a cold winters morning, as it would kick back and near break my ankle nearly every cold day.
I hated when a speeding driver on a single track road forced me off the road and crashed my new BMW motorbike, leaving me stranded for two days in a remote area waiting on parts, while they sped onwards, careless.
So there are six things I have hated. Doesn’t really compare, does it?
KNOWLEDGE
When I was little, I hated Brussels Sprouts, and also spring onions. I remember one day as a very young child being at Whipsnade Zoo in London with relatives. We were having a picnic and I ate some spring onions. I cried my eyes out. That is the lasting memory.
I remember I hated having a bath when I was younger as my dad would come in and pour cold water over me. Once he held me over a bath full of cold water as a punishment. I can’t remember if he put me in it. But I do remember I hated those moments that were full of terror.
I hated being locked in the coal cellar.
What comes to your mind when you think of hate? Is it for things you have heard about that others did, maybe like me a few things that have been done to you?
Whatever it is that brings up that shudder, that sense of disbelief and desperation, like when we read the individual stories of the Holocaust.
All this pales into the background when we think of all of God’s full life force hating sin, because of what it has done to his only son, Jesus, and to his creation.
UNDERSTANDING
Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?
The word “abomination” is not heard much these days. In Hebrew it is pronounced as “to’ebah” and this word appears 118 times in the Old Testament. This word is translated 115 times in the ESV at “abomination”.
Psalm 88:8 has it as “horror” and in 2 Kings 16:2 and 2 Kings 21:2 it is translated as “despicable practices”.
For our reading here in verse 16, we catch on to the idea of something that is loathsome and detestable. It’s hard I think to find descriptive enough words to emphasise the weight of this word. We are of course talking about actions that would cost God the life of his only Son, Jesus.
WISDOMÂ – what things in our life should we move away from now?
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Discipline, won’t walk away from its’ own standards, and builds complementary reliance with a willingness to do the hard yards.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version – [six things that our covenant-keeping, personal saviour, is an enemy towards, and shuns, seven things that are detestable to his whole life force.]
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me to recognise those things that are detestable to you, whether external or internal and to purposefully and intentionally distance myself from them. Thank you.
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