What God hates, what God loves
[Proverbs 15:8-33]
We Christians need to be clear with black and white. We need to know clearly how to distinguish good and evil. In particular, as we continue to meditate on the book of Proverbs, the Book of Wisdom, we must learn to clearly distinguish between what God loves and what God hates. And we must hate what God hates, and we must also love what God loves. This is what Proverbs 15:9 says: “The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves one who pursues righteousness.” Today, I would like to receive the grace and instruction given by meditating on what God hates and what God loves under the title of "What God hates, what God loves."
First, we want to think about three things that God hates:
First, God hates the sacrifices of the wicked.
Look at Proverbs 15:8a – “The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked ….” What is the sacrifice of the wicked that God hates? It is a sacrifice who is outwardly offering a sacrifice to God, but is evil in his heart. The sacrifice of the wicked can be found particularly in the Old Testament. For example, the Jews honored God with their lips and their hearts were far from God (Isa. 29:13, Mt. 15:8, Mk 7:6). Regarding such sacrifices, Isaiah 1:11-14 says: “’What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?’ Says the LORD. ‘I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams And the fat of fed cattle; And I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, Who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, Incense is an abomination to Me New moon and sabbath, the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly. I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts, They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them.’” Why did God hate the countless offerings and sacrifices of the Jews, and couldn’t endure their meetings on the New Year's Day, the Sabbath, and the assembly? Why did God hate such offerings and gatherings and say, “I am weary of bearing them”? The reason is because the Israelites did evil as well while thoroughly performing all these religious ceremonies (v. 13). In other words, they respected God with their lips and offered sacrifices to God with their actions, but their hearts were pursuing evil, and their lives were doing evil. Look at verse 15-17: “So when you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; Yes, even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; Remove the evil of your deeds from My sight Cease to do evil, Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.” When I came to the New Testament and thought of the sacrifices God hates, I remembered Romans 12:1-2: “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.” If we are living in the same way as this generation and don’t know God's good, pleased, and perfect will, and live according to our will, then such worship isn’t appropriate in God’s sight even though we come to the church every Sunday and worship God. Rather, it can be said that such worship is a worship that God hates. If we live in harmony with the world and are changing rather than being transformed by renewing our hearts and worshiping God according to our will, will God really love or hate such worship?
I remember the Korean gospel song ‘Like the sun in the day and the moon in the night’. If we look at verse 2 of the lyrics of the song, it says: ‘… But I like receiving more than giving. My lips look like You, but my heart is still ugly. So I am counting only the love I will receive. Lord, help me.’ Isn’t this our confession? Our lips seem to resemble the Lord, aren't our hearts still ugly? Will God love or hate our worship with such an ugly heart? Looking at the second half of Proverbs 15:14, the Bible says “…But the mouth of fools feeds on folly.” Isn't our mouth foolish? Aren’t we enjoying the fact that our hearts are far from God and our lips are like the Lord? A way to know that our hearts are far from God or not is by checking whether we are worshiping God while obeying His commandments or not. For example, look at Proverbs 15:18 – “A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute.” If we come to the church on Sunday and want to worship God, but when we come to a family member or a church member and think that there is something that might be resentful to our brothers due to quarrels, Matthew 5:24 says, “leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” However, if we know that we should do that, but we don’t obey God's word and don’t reconcile with our brother, we cannot help but question whether God will love that worship.
The Bible Proverbs 15:8 says that God hates the sacrifice of the wicked. Even though we aren’t the wicked, if our lips say that we love God like the wicked, but our hearts are far from Him and we continue to live a life that aren’t obeying His commandments, then our worship will never be the worship that God loves. If we live a life of disobedience to God's word and come before Him to worship without any repentance, such a service will not be a worship that God is pleased with and loves. I remember what the prophet Samuel said to Saul, Israel's first king: “Samuel said, ‘Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams’” (1 Sam.15:22).
Second, God hates the way of the wicked.
Look at Proverbs 15:9a – “The LORD detests the way of the wicked ….” The wicked man who walks the way of the wicked that God hates is he who forsakes the way of God (v. 10). I don't know if his lips obey God's way. But his actions forsake God's word and live a life of disobedience. One of the reasons he does so is because he is eager for profits (v. 27). In other words, the reason why the wicked who walks the way of the wicked forsakes the God's way and disobeys His word is because of his covetousness in his heart. And because he doesn’t fear God, he wants to enrich himself even though he disobeys the word of God in his greed (v. 16). And he actually gets rich. But the problem is that he lives a life of hating each other even though he eats “a fatten ox” (v. 17). If we look at the second half of Proverbs 15:6, the Bible says, “But trouble is in the income of the wicked.” At that time, even though the wise rebukes him, he does not like to receive it (v. 12). Rather, he hates the rebuke of the wise (v. 19). He even rejects his father's discipline (v. 5). This is to reveal one's ignorance and foolishness (v. 21). And this is despising himself (v. 32). Proverbs 13:18 says that poverty and shame come to those who neglect discipline. Furthermore, in Proverbs 15:25, the Bible says that God will tear down the house of the proud wicked. Therefore, the wicked will suffer (v. 15). His heart will be sad and his spirit will be broken (v. 13). Furthermore, it is said that the wicked will face severe discipline, even death (v. 10). Because the wicked enjoy ignorance and foolishness, rather than walking the right way (v. 21), they walk the way of the wicked that God hates. The way of the wicked isn’t the way of following God's word, but the way of following his own greed and desire. In walking that way, the wicked love bribes (v. 27). The way seems like a way that can be greatly enriched. But it is the way with a lot of trouble (v. 16), hatred (v. 17), anger and strife (v. 18). We should not walk this way. The reason is because it is the way that God hates.
Third and last, God hates evil plans.
Look at Proverbs 15:26a – “Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD ….” God hates not only the sacrifices of the wicked and the ways of the wicked (vv. 8-9), but also He hates the evil plans of the wicked (v. 26) or wicked schemes (6:18). Although the wicked may think that no one knows the evil plans or schemes he has planned, the Bible clearly says that the all-wise God knows. In Psalms 139:1-2, it is said that God is not only looking at us and knowing when we sit and rise, but also clearly knows all our thoughts. And Proverbs 15:11 also says, “Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of men!” Nevertheless, the fool and wicked man intends to do evil (24:8). The reason is because he is proud (15:25) and doesn’t fear God (vv. 16, 33).
If we look at Proverbs 1:10, the Bible says, “My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.” The reason is because the wicked entices us to get all sorts of valuable things and fill his house with plunder (v. 13). In other words, the reason the wicked conspires evil is because he covets other people’s possessions and try to make them his own. In the end, as Proverbs 15:27 says, the reason why the wicked devises evil is because he is eager for profit in his greed. Therefore, the wicked also exchanges bribes and use corrupted methods. The problem is that the wicked man tries to act in a corrupted way by using evil schemes without even hard working. In the end, because the wicked does a lot of tricks, he is bound to become lazy (v. 19). He has no choice but to be lazy because he wants to be rich by only trying evil tricks without thinking of laboring while working in sweat. However, in Proverbs 15:19, the Bible says, “The way of the lazy is as a hedge of thorns”. In other words, even in the life of the wicked man living lazily with evil plans, he is surrounded by difficulties such as thorns from east to west.
In Job 5:12, the Bible clearly states that “He frustrates the plotting of the shrewd, So that their hands cannot attain success.” Even though it seems to us that the wicked man seems to succeed because his wicked scheme increases his possessions and becomes rich, the Bible clearly says that God doesn’t allow the wicked man to succeed. Therefore, we don’t have to be envious of the wicked's success (prosperity) (Ref.: Ps. 73). We will never fall for the wicked. Rather, we must hate the sacrifices of the wicked, the ways of the wicked, and the evil plans that God hates.
What, then, should we love? Finally, I want to think about three things about what God loves:
First, God loves the prayer of the upright.
Look at Proverbs 15:8 – “The LORD detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright pleases him.” God isn’t pleased with the countless sacrifices (worships) we offer as we disobey God's word. Rather, God is pleased with the sacrifices (worships) we offer while obeying His word. And God is pleased with our prayers to God as we obey His word. This prayer we offer to God while obeying His word is referred to as “the prayer of the upright” in Proverbs 15:8. Who is the upright one? Is he who doesn’t sin at all? I think the upright man obeys Psalms 51:17 – “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” In other words, the upright man is a person who offers sacrifices that God asks for. In other words, the upright in God's sight is he who comes to God with the broken and contrite heart, confesses and repents his sins. The Bible Proverbs 15:19 says that God listens to that kind of prayers of the upright
Like the Israelites, we should not honor God only with our lips, and our hearts far from Him. What we will keep away from in our hearts is the wicked man (v. 29), the sacrifice of the wicked (v. 8), the way of the wicked (v. 9), and evil plans (v. 26). We must draw close to His word and obey it by honoring Him with our hearts. As we obey His word, we must pray to God. God is pleased with this prayer of the upright.
Second, God loves he who pursues righteousness.
Look at Proverbs 15:9 – “The LORD detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue righteousness.” The wicked man who walks the way of the wicked that God hates forsakes God's way (v. 10). But the righteous man whom God loves obeys His word. Because the righteous man fears God (vv. 16, 33), he humbly obeys His word (v. 33). Therefore, he loves his neighbor according to God's word. He loves each other (v. 17), is slow to anger (v. 18) and diligent (v. 19). God keeps the righteous man’s boundaries intact (v. 25) and makes him walk the right way (vv. 8, 21). God makes the righteous man to walk the path of life that leads upward (v. 24). The righteous man has ears to listen to a life-giving rebuke (v. 31). So he likes to be corrected and disciplined (vv. 10, 12, 32). The reason is because the mind of the discerning righteous seeks knowledge (v. 14). Therefore, the discerning righteous man not only opens his eyes and has joy in his heart (v. 30), but he also brings joy to his parents (v. 20). And because of his joyful heart (vv. 13, 15) his face shines (v. 13) and has continual feast (v. 15).
We are forgiven and justified through Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Therefore, we must walk the way of righteousness as righteous people. As those who follow righteousness, we fear God. So we must live by obeying the word of God. We have joy in our hearts because we humbly obey God's commandments. God loves those who follow such righteousness
Third and last, God loves he who speaks pleasant words.
Look at Proverbs 15:26 – “Evil plans are an abomination to the LORD, But pleasant words are pure.” The righteous man who offers upright prayers obeys the word of God and speaks pleasant words in loving his neighbors. What are “pleasant words” here? Look at Proverbs 16:24 – “Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” The pleasant words are happy and kind words (Park). They are words that please the neighbor. He who says pleasant words that please his neighbors delivers the good news that gives health to the bones of his neighbors (15:30). Also, he who speaks pleasant words thinks deeply about how he will answer (v. 28). He doesn’t carelessly pour out the folly and evil in anger. Rather, he turns away his neighbor's anger with the gentle answer (v. 1). And he speaks the timely words to his neighbor that pleases his neighbor (v. 23). Therefore, he who speaks pleasant words has good (loving) relationship with his neighbors. Therefore, the man who speaks pleasant words discusses with others and gets advice in plan (v. 22). He is able to cooperate with others because he doesn’t covet other people's profit and hates bribes (v. 27). Also, the man who speaks pleasant words has a lot of counsel in plan (v. 22). Therefore, plan is successful (v. 22). The reason is because God accepts the pleasant words like pure offerings (Park). In other words, the righteous man who obeys God's word and speaks pleasant words while offering upright prayers to God will make his plan successful because God accepts his life as a pure offering. Look at Proverbs 16:1 – “To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.” We simply commit our plans to the Lord by faith. Then, God will succeed our plans (v. 3).
We learned 3 things that God hates and 3 things that God loves based on the words of Proverbs 15:8-33. What God hates is the sacrifices of the wicked, the way of the wicked and evil plans. What God loves is that He loves the prayer of the upright who pursues righteousness and who speak pleasant words. I hope and pray that we can be able to love what God loves and to hate what God hates.