Exploring What God Finds Disgusting

Exploring What God finds Disgusting.

“O the depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God! What a deep wealth of wisdom and knowledge He has! How incomprehensible are His decisions, how unsearchable His judgments! How undiscoverable are His paths, how mysterious His ways, beyond finding out! Who has understood the mind of Yahweh? Who knows how the LORD thinks, or what His thoughts are? Can anyone discern the LORD’s intentions, His motivations? Who knows enough to give Him advice? Is there anyone qualified to be His counselor? Who has given Him so much that He needs to pay it back? Who could ever have a claim against Him? For everything was created by Him, everything lives through Him, and everything exists for Him; So to Him must be given the glory forever! Amen!” (Romans 11:33-36, also Isaiah 40:12-14).

WANTED: Adventurers who want to explore creation’s Final Frontier, the greatest Wonder of the World; must be extremely curious about the nature of God’s Being; motivated to know more about God than you know presently; inspired by the thrill of discovery;  need to be challenged and changed in the process of exploration; have the courage to step into a safe unknown; able to invest considerable mental energy to pursue life inside God with a mustard seed of trust in Him; be comfortable with the certainty of endless exploring; have the patience to pursue the quest one step at a time for as long as it takes; must explore with the vision of C. S. Lewis in his Narnia tales, “Further Up and Further In!”

Contemporary Frontiers. What are the most compelling frontiers in our world that we could explore… Outer space with its 100 billion galaxies, each of them having 100 billion stars? Inner space where protons and electrons and all the subatomic particles seeming to be dancing in joy? The ocean floors across the earth, 80% of which are unexplored? Or perhaps land areas such as remote mountain ranges, untraveled deserts, impenetrable jungles and rainforests, the frozen tundra of the Arctic, isolated islands in the middle of nowhere, or virgin caverns and caves that are largely hidden from humanity? These are all worthy frontiers, but there is a final frontier that tops them all… God. And whatever might be discovered about the Person of God, it’s only the tip of the eternal iceberg. 

Exploring Divine Disgust:

“Enough! How long will you defend the evil-doers? How long will show kindness to those who do wicked things? You’re here to defend the defenseless, to give justice to the weak and fatherless, to maintain the rights of the oppressed and needy. Your job is to rescue the powerless and stand up for them, to deliver them from all who exploit them!” (Psalm 82:2-4).

Our Loving God is a Hater? As we continue to grow in our relationship with God, we discover that we yearn to progress in loving what God loves and hating what God hates.  If we are not growing in those two areas of God’s character, it’s doubtful we even have a relationship with God to begin with. Following the example of Jesus in the gospels, loving the sinner while hating the sin itself is crucial to our growing in the character of the Lord. If God finds certain behavior morally disgusting, but we find it acceptable, then we are not where we should be. It might be surprising to realize that God can have hate in His heart. We know that God is full of love, that He is in fact Love. But hate? That is a difficult concept to digest. But think about it more, and it starts to make sense. Like the Father He is, God loves us so much that He hates whatever might be destructive to us, whatever might come to harm us or our relationship to Him. God’s hatred for evil comes out of His eternal protective instinct. Another thing to think about… God is purely righteous, virtuous, filled with goodness through and through. Out of His goodness, He established a moral universe. Since the profoundly tragic fall of mankind, the overall moral universe remains, but immorality has to be dealt with and judged. Because of the way God created the world, there are rights and wrongs, the moral and immoral, the righteous and the unrighteous. God hates the wrongs. It’s no wonder the early Christians called them the ”deadly sins.” God wants to give us life, the evil one wants to give us death. God hates whatever might be deadly to us. God hates whatever in the world was not a part of His righteous plan for the world. Simply put, God’s hate comes out of His righteous love for us and His world. Yes, God hates. But He hates whatever is worth hating. God speaks plainly in His Word about what He loves and what He hates, about what God embraces and what He rejects. The following hatreds of the Lord can be entitled “Divine Disgust” and is intended to be a biblical catalogue of what God hates, what God finds abominable, that which is despicable to God. Naturally, as we are becoming aware of what God hates, we will also learn what God loves. The truth is, if we are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus and thus the character of God, we show our fearful love of God by joining Him in hating what is evil. (Proverbs 8:13).

ABOMINATION: (Hebrew, “towebah”) = An activity that God considers morally disgusting; a detestable behavior; any action or attitude that is loathed with a passion by God; behavior that God has judged as spiritually abhorrent and unacceptable; something that God hates and finds deeply repugnant; something that is deeply offensive to God’s sensibilities; any action or attitude that God thinks is repulsive, revolting and utterly alien to God’s nature.

1. God Hates Lifestyles of Wickedness. “The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord Yahweh, but He loves the one who pursues righteousness.”(Psalm 15:9). Other official versions of this verse include: “The Lord hates how sinners live, but He loves anyone who pursues godliness.” “The way of the evil-doer is disgusting to Yahweh, but the one who goes after righteousness is dear to Him.” “The Lord hates the path of the one who does evil, but the one who follows after justice is beloved by Him.”

WAY: Hebrew, “derek” = path, road, lifestyle, course of life, continuing pattern of living. There are times when a culture or a society, or an individual person for that matter, needs a confrontational John the Baptist. And other times when it needs a soft-spoken St. Francis. There are times when a grumpy old man has his place, and other times a Mr. Rodgers. How about now in America? What do we need? It seems that hate is up, and love is down; moral compromise is up and moral discernment is down; confusion is up and common sense is down. Much of the world seems to be scrambling for some type of grid that would help us figure out what is right and what is wrong. When a word like “wicked” is mentioned, people usually scratch their heads and wonder if there is such a thing as wickedness. On the other hand, I would think there are lots of thoughtful people out there who would want to know if God is finding something disgusting, or detestable, or offensive in the way we are living our lives. I would like to think that there are a few people in this society who have a sneaking suspicion that something is wrong. It is starting to dawn on some of us that the quality of our life together as a country is going downhill.  There may be many who would actually be grateful that our culture is becoming aware of a moral grid in Scripture that is intended to help us flourish. If a group of people is walking down a road, and it’s going in the wrong direction, wouldn’t it be helpful if they were persuaded to turn around and start going in the right direction, according to our Creator God? So, here’s my vote for a grumpy old man like myself to encourage our society that there is such a thing as absolute right and wrong, and moral standards, and behavior that is good for you or bad for you. For those who need to get back to square one, this focus on biblical abominations might bring joy and comfort and hope. There might be some who just might be encouraged to hear that there is a right way and a wrong way, a righteous path and a wicked path, according to Almighty God. There is a road in life that will bring meaning and purpose to our lives, and this will bring hope to those who are starting to become hopeless. Consider this a call to make holy wisdom our quest, and sainthood, and godliness. This is one little voice in a rather loud culture that asks us to do whatever it takes to become a wise people in the eyes of God.

2. God Hates Meaningless Worship. “I hate, I despise your religious feasts! I cannot stand your assemblies! Though you bring choice fellowship offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your songs!”  (Amos 5:21-23).

On the one hand, Yahweh loved the Feasts and Sacred Assemblies seen in the Hebrew Bible… the fasting and feasting, the family celebrations, the remembrance of God’s saving deeds, the acknowledgment of God’s character, the focus on God’s truth. Of course God loved the Feasts! They were his ideas in the first place! “These are my appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the LORD, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies.” (Lev. 23:2). The Jewish Feasts and Assemblies were opportunities to remember, to worship, to teach, to listen to the Word of the Lord, and speak of His care and presence. They were intended to cause believers to reenact sacred events, to confirm the Faith of the people of God. Celebrations like Sabbath, Passover, and Succoth filled a deep need to offer the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving and to be reminded of God’s actions on behalf of the believers.  The people are spiritually fulfilled when they gain the habit of pointing to God as the supreme reference point in all of history.

But on the other hand, if these appointed spiritual activities become personally meaningless, if the words become empty, if the people are just going through the motions of faith, then the celebrations become repugnant to God, a stench in His nostrils, an abomination. And how can the LORD tell if the Feasts are not truly sacred but instead merely rote, useless and pointless? The answer according to the prophets… When the religious celebrations, whether in large groups or family settings, don’t result in a lifestyle of justice and mercy. If the biblical celebrations don’t result in a changed heart, in a transformed way of life that reflects the heart of God, then He says, Don’t bother! I hate your religious feasts if your faith style is empty and your lifestyle is unrighteous, if you don’t take seriously My priorities! Keeping the Law doesn’t necessarily translate to pleasing God. As Jesus told the Pharisees in Matthew 23:23, how ridiculous it is to observe the tiniest details of the Torah and at the same time ignore the weightier matters of justice, mercy and faithfulness. “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress, and refusing to let the world corrupt you.”  (James 1:27).

3. God Hates These Seven Things. “These six things the Lord hates; Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look; a lying tongue; hands that shed innocent blood; a heart that devises wicked schemes; feet that are quick to run to evil; a false witness that utters lies; whoever spreads strife among believers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

God is Disgusted. God isn’t shy about lining up some of the things in human life that He finds deplorable. If one ever wonders what God objects to in no uncertain terms, what He finds deplorable, this passage in Proverbs 6 is a good place to start looking into the window of God’s character. It’s interesting to note in this passage that this is an example of the “plus one” formula in Scripture, a literary device to draw attention to the additional one at the end of list. This is a way of saying that the additional one at the end, the “plus one,” is the most important one on the list! Fascinating, how important it is in God’s eyes to maintain love in our community.

… A proud look: literally looking down on someone else with haughty eyes; an air of superiority and arrogance in one’s appearance and attitude; a prideful way of viewing others. This deadly sin is often highlighted in the Bible as the beginning of the end, a first step in rejecting God Himself. Pride is especially underlined in Proverbs 16:5 as an abomination… “Every arrogant heart is abhorrent to Lord Yahweh; every haughty person is an abomination to God.”

… A lying tongue: speaking dishonestly to others and to the Lord; being deceptive and deceitful; purposely omitting the truth through a dishonest silence, a mistruth, a half-truth, a “little white lie;” allowing someone to walk away from your conversation with the wrong impression or a deception. We worship the God of truth, we follow Jesus who is the Truth, and we recognize the fact that when we lie, we are joining forces with Satan, the “Father of Lies.” There is a mysterious power in the tongue, and we will be judged one day by our words.

… Hands that shed innocent blood: assaulting or murdering an innocent person or one who can’t defend himself; a lover of violence as if that is how all the problems in the world are solved; a bloodthirsty person who loves the taste of harmful conquest; someone who is murderous in his heart and harbors anger and resentment (Matt. 5:21-24); anyone who deliberately and continually hates another person (1 John 3:15); any attitude or action involving fatal injury or murder reflects the moral view of the Evil One, “who was a murderer from the start.” (John 8:44).

… A heart that devises wicked schemes: a lover of evil mischief; one who is adept at hatching evil plots; one who carefully devises schemes to gain an unfair advantage or hurt others; one who enjoys being up to no good; one who enjoys using his intelligence to do dishonorable things; one who believes he can outsmart goodness. Once again, this is a person who mimics the strategies of the devil, who is the ultimate schemer.

… Feet that are quick to run to evil: one who thinks running down the wrong track is life-giving; one who has a habit of pursuing wickedness; one who seeks out trouble and then scampers quickly into the middle of it; one who loves to race in the wrong direction; a sprinter who thinks the winner’s circle is for losers; one whose purpose in life seems to win the race to the bottom.

… A false witness who utters lies: one whose promises are untrustworthy; a bold-faced deceiver under oath; one who kindles injustice and unfairness; one who testifies to be honest but is actually breathing out lies and deceptions; one who commits perjury whenever the truth is expected; one who makes a legal confession become a mockery of the truth.

… Who spreads strife in the family of believers: one who loves to create dissension and disunity in a community or group of people; enjoys sowing discord through slander, gossip, rumor, the verbal spreading of mischief; loves to cause quarrels and unnecessary differences of opinion. Instead of being a peacemaker, this is a troublemaker in the home who inspires strife and broken relationships.

4. God Hates the Mistreatment of Children. “Jesus took a little child whom He placed into their midst. Taking the child into His arms and embracing him, He said to them, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.” (Mark 9:36-37). “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. But whoever gives these vulnerable ones a hard time, bullying them or taking advantage of them, or causes them to go astray, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Matthew 18:1-6).

The Eternal Worth of Children. It should go without saying that children are uniquely honored by Creator God, but the world seems to have forgotten. For those who read the Gospels, one can’t help but notice that Jesus valued children highly. No one understood better than Jesus that children are icons of God made in His image, they are living sacraments and visible signs of the invisible reality of God in the world. He didn’t overlook them, He didn’t underestimate them. Jesus honored children, not only for who they were as human beings but also for what they symbolized. There is one gospel scene in particular where He makes His feelings known about the importance of receiving children. What did Jesus mean when, after taking up a child into his arms, he said that whoever welcomes, whoever receives, one of these little children in his name in fact welcomes him? (Mark 9:36-37). There is no doubt our modern world has made a specialty of mistreating children, whether through abortion, IVF technology, infanticide, child trafficking, pedophilia and sexual abuse, fatherlessness and the breakdown of the family, surrogacy, abandonment, child pornography, and hopelessness of an inferior education.  All of these methods of child mistreatment is in the spirit of ancient child sacrifice, considered by God to be an abomination. “You shall not let any of your children to be offered as a sacrifice to Molech, for you must not bring shame on the name of our God. I am Yahweh. So obey my instructions, and do not defile yourselves by committing this abomination… I am Yahweh your God.” (Lev. 18:21, 30).

5. God Hates Occult Practices. “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. (Deuteronomy 18:9-12).

Don’t Let the Devil Ride. “This classic gospel blues song pictures each of us going along on our life journey in a car. Suddenly we see a hitchhiker on the side of the road trying to flag us down to get a ride. And that is what the devil is always trying to do… Getting us to let him into our life, where he will relentlessly try to take over our life till all we have are the flames of hell. The devil is never content to just sit in the passenger seat. So don’t even get started with the devil. Don’t even let him into your car by doing things you know you shouldn’t be doing. That’s the same as opening your car door and letting him in, whether we’re talking about the Ouija Board, an After-School Satan Club, or becoming infatuated with movies or television programs that have satanic themes. Here are the lyrics, and they are worth remembering, to say the least.

1. “Don’t let the devil ride, don’t let the devil ride. Oh if you let him ride, he’ll ask if he can drive; Don’t let him ride. 
2. Don’t let him flag you down, don’t let him flag you down. If you let him flag you down, he’ll turn your soul around. Don’t let him ride.
3. Don’t let him in your car, don’t let him in your car. If you let him in your car, he’ll take you way too far. Don’t let him ride. 
4. Don’t let him call your name, don’t let him call your name. If you let him call your name, he’ll throw you in the flame. Don’t let him ride. 
5. Don’t let him be your boss, don’t let him be your boss. If you let him be your boss, your soul will be lost. Don’t let him ride.
6. Don’t let him talk to you, don’t let him talk to you. If you let him talk to you, he’ll tell you what to do. Don’t let him ride.”
7. Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it. Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it. Don’t do it, don’t do it, don’t do it. 

Neal Roberson – Don’t Let the Devil Ride (youtube.com)

Don’t Let the Devil Ride (youtube.com)

6. God Hates Sexual Confusion. “If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination… Do not defile yourselves in this way.” (Leviticus 20:13, 18:22-30). “A woman shall not wear any clothing that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to Yahweh your God.” (Deuteronomy 22:5); “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural for the unnatural with each other. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful…” (Romans 1:26-27).

The Biblical Principle of Separation. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, God created the world with boundaries. Some things in Creator God’s structure of reality are meant to be separated. When this divine plan is not followed, there is chaos, confusion, and disorder.  The pagan religions embraced the idea of blurring the boundaries established by God. God made an ordered universe, with created things in their proper place in nature. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks maintains in his commentary on Leviticus, “Just as there is a scientific order to nature, so there is a moral order, and it consists of keeping separate the things that are separate, and maintaining the boundaries that respect the integrity of the world God created and seven times pronounced good.” The listing of sexual sins in Leviticus 18 are in this context of separation. There is to be no sexual blurring between male and female, humans and beasts, nor between blood relatives. That type of sexual activity is simply not how God ordered the universe, and so it is against His sacred plan for humanity. This principle of separation even extends to things like interbreeding different kinds of animals, weaving together wool and linen for clothing garments, planting a field with mixed seeds (Deuteronomy 22). The distinction of the sexes is sacred, a vital aspect of His creative design for humanity.  Jesus makes this point very clear in Matthew 19 (and in Mark 10), when he highlights the fact that God created us male and female from the very beginning. The genders are a part of God’s structure of our reality on earth.

7. God Hates the Prayers of the Close-Minded. “If anyone turns a deaf ear to my Word, even his prayer is an abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9).

God Hates the Prayers of … Arrogance. Stubbornness. Pride. Entitlement. Self-Sufficiency. Laziness. These are just a few of the character qualities of those who refuse to crack open the Scripture, who deliberately ignore God’s Word, and still demand an audience with the Almighty God. When that person continues to turn away from the Bible, his heart is far from God, and God ends up despising those prayers. IN OTHER WORDS, Part 1 (from various versions of the Bible):

1. “God detests the prayers of a person who ignores His teaching.” (NLT);
2. “God has no use for the prayers of the people who won’t listen to Him.’ (MSG);
3. “As for the person whose ear is turned away from Torah, even his prayer is disgusting to God.” (BBG);
4. “If you do not obey God’s Word, He will find your prayers too hateful to hear” (Good News);
5. “If you don’t pay attention to Scripture, even your prayers are hated by God.’ (NIR);
6. “If you refuse to obey what you have been taught by the Bible, your prayers will not be heard.” (NCV);
7. “His prayer shall be cursed, who turneth away his ear, so that he hears not the law.”(Wycliffe);

IN OTHER WORDS, Part 2 (random paraphrases from Steve Larson):

1. God hates the empty prayers of anyone who can’t be bothered to learn from His Word;
2. God despises the prayers of the foolish person who thinks he can talk to God any time he wants, but all the while closes his mind to listen to God in His Word;
3. The prayers of the person who thinks he is entitled to bend the ear of the Father without bending his own ear to Scripture are truly revolting to God;
4. The prayers of the person who presumes an audience with God without humbly joining the audience of the Word are despised by God;
5. God is disgusted with the self-deluded prayers of those who ignore Scripture and yet demand God’s attention;
6. Whoever closes his mind to God’s instruction makes his own prayers despicable to God;
7. Whoever thinks he can get God on ZOOM whenever he wants will find himself without reception;
8. How can you demand that God listen to you when you refuse to listen to Him? Your prayers are abominable to God;
9. Without receiving the wisdom and knowledge of God’s Word, your prayers are empty and meaningless, and are considered rubbish by God;
10. For those who only think to pray on Christmas or Easter, and can’t be bothered to pray except when in trouble, and yet who has an unused Bible collecting dust on the shelf… Guess what, God despises your prayers, He is utterly revolted by them, and won’t give the time of day to listening to them.
11. The one who isn’t open to receiving the power found in the Word of God, will offer nothing but impotent and meaningless prayers, and God hates those kinds of prayers.

       8. God Hates Indifference. “I know who you are, inside and out; I know your works. You are neither cold with apathy nor hot with passion. It would be better if you were one or the other, but you are neither. So because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth… Therefore, be shamelessly committed to Me and turn back. Be diligent and turn from your indifference.” (Revelation 3:15, 16, 19).

Unusable. Jesus stated that the believers were just like the water being delivered by their famous aqueduct… lukewarm in faith, undrinkable by God, indifferent during worship, stagnant in spiritual growth. They are just like that distasteful water, unacceptable to God, unsatisfying, worthy to be spit out. The believers are tepid, they have no passion for God, they have no fervor to live the Way of Christ. They are satisfied with a lukewarm faith. They meet no resistance from their highly secular neighbors because they don’t stand for anything spiritual in value, they offer no alternative lifestyles or world view. They would never have to pick up their cross and suffer indignities and be thus refined in God’s fire of suffering. They were content with how their comfortable life unfolded. Jesus made the point that the cold springs from nearby Colossae were refreshing and delicious, and the hot springs from nearby Hierapolis were perfect for soothing and healing. But the lukewarm water in Laodicea was neither here nor there, it tasted badly, it couldn’t be used for cooking or cleaning, and so was basically worthless. The Laodicean church had no passion or zeal, but were instead halfhearted and relatively indifferent, so it was worthless just like the lukewarm water. The self-satisfied faith of the believers was repugnant to the Lord and gave Him spiritual nausea to the point of vomiting them out of His mouth.

9. God is Disgusted with Crooked Hearts. “The crooked and devious in heart are detestable to the Lord, but He is delighted with those whose ways are innocent and blameless.” (Proverbs 11:20).

Here are some of the legitimate variations on those words above like crooked, blameless and delight:

• They who are perverse in heart are extremely disgusting in the eyes of the Lord, but He is very pleased with anyone who walks with integrity.
• Deceitful hearts are utterly vile to the Lord Yahweh, but those who are undefiled are a source of pleasure for Him.
• God will stand against those with a twisted mind, but He will take pleasure in those with a sound, healthy mind.
• The Lord detests the people who have purposely developed a perverted heart, but he takes joy in those with unblemished hearts.
• Yahweh will remain in opposition to anyone with a warped or distorted heart, but He will extend goodwill towards the person who is sincerely upright in his ways.
• The Lord will be an enemy of anyone with a deceitful mind, but He will show favor to the person who follows the right way.
• Depraved hearts are abhorrent to Yahweh, but dear to Him are those whose hearts are wholesome.
• God can’t stand those who are perverted, but He relishes those who are upright.
• Devious people are disgusting to the Lord, but He favorably accepts those who are innocent and genuine.
• The Lord hates the stubborn heart bent toward evil, but He treasures those whose ways are pure.”

The Bottom Line: A Righteous Hatred. Simply put, God’s hate comes out of His righteous love for us and His world. Yes, God hates. But He hates whatever is worth hating. God speaks plainly in His Word about what He loves and what He hates, about what God embraces and what He rejects. Naturally, as we are becoming aware of what God hates, we will also learn what God loves. The truth is, if we are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus and thus the character of God, we show our fearful love of God by joining Him in hating what is evil. (Proverbs 8:13). Or, as the psalmist proclaims in Psalm 97:10, “Let those who love the Lord hate evil.”