Introduction

We have only to look at the daily newspaper and we read it is filled with these sins. They go on all around us every day. Read of the cruel things that happened to people in the past which sound unbelievable, but things are no better today. All seven of these sins overlap, there are elements of them all in each of them.

‘There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.’ Proverbs 6:16-19

Haughty Eyes

Why does God hate those with ‘haughty eyes’? Haughty eyes are referring to those who are proud and arrogant, Matthew 23:12 / James 4:6.

It means showing great pride in oneself and disdain, contempt, or scorn for others. Proud, arrogant, Mr. Know it all. Mr. Expert. Someone who is quick to criticize some statement someone else makes.

When Nebuchadnezzar looked out upon his kingdom, he became full of pride and his own achievements, Daniel 4:28-37. Nebuchadnezzar demonstrated great pride when he had the desire to be like God, Isaiah 14:13-14.

When a Pharisee compared himself to the tax collector in Jesus’ parable, he was full of self-righteousness, Luke 18:9-14. Even Jesus’ disciples became full of pride when they wrestled for positions of prominence, Mark 10:35-45.

The Book of Proverbs is filled with warnings about haughty eyes, Proverbs 16:8 / Proverbs 18:12 / Proverbs 21:4. Israel’s sin made Sodom look righteous, Ezekiel 16:49-50.

Lying Tongue

Why does God hate a liar? Simply because they are hypocrites, Proverbs 6:17 / 1 John 1:10 / James 3:7-10.

People who lie usually do so to gain some advantage other another, or to cover their tracks.

The devil lied to Eve when he told her she wouldn’t die, Genesis 3:4. Cain lied to God when he said that he didn’t know where his brother Abel was after murdering him, Genesis 4:9. Joseph’s brother lied to their father by telling him that Joseph had been eaten by a wild animal, Genesis 37:31-21.

Peter lied about knowing Jesus three times, Matthew 26:69-75. Ananias and Sapphira lied to God about the amount of money they received from selling their land, Acts 5:1-11. There will be no liars in heaven, 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 / Revelation 21:8.

Hands That Shed Innocent Blood

Why does God hate the shedding of innocent blood? We are all made in the image of God, Genesis 1:27.

God is the one who gives us life, Deuteronomy 32:39, and God is the one who numbers our days, Psalm 139:16. In the Old Testament God commanded His people not to murder, Exodus 20:13. Committing murder was punishable by death, Leviticus 24:17.

God values human life, and made a covenant with all of creation that life wasn’t to be taken from anyone, Genesis 9:1-6. Jesus says murder starts in the heart, Matthew 5:21-22.

Cain murdered his brother Abel, Genesis 4:8. Moses killed an Egyptian and tried to hide the evidence, Exodus 2:11-14. David orchestrated the killing of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah in an effort to cover up his adulterous behaviour, and her pregnancy, 2 Samuel 11:1-17. The Jews orchestrated the murder of Jesus, Acts 2:36.

A Heart That Devises Wicked Schemes

Why does God hate a deceitful heart? A deceitful heart is exactly that, it’s deceitful, Proverbs 23:7.

These are people who want to deceive you and take advantage of you. They devise tricky schemes to deceive you into trusting them with your money. People who are not willing to be honest with others, never mind themselves.

The heart is what He wants from all people, Deuteronomy 6:5 / Jeremiah 17:9 /Proverbs 4:23 / Romans 13:14. When Joshua led the people into the Promised Land and all the land was given to the Israelites Joshua asked the Israelites where their hearts were and declared that his heart and his family’s hearts belong to God, Joshua 24:20-24.

Feet That Are Quick To Rush Into Trouble

Why does God hate those who are quick to get into trouble? Whatever we are thinking about in our minds, our feet tend to lead us to do those things.

People rush into trouble, simply because they don’t care what the consequences are, Isaiah 59:7-8. They just don’t care about who they hurt, or the consequences, they don’t even care about God and His punishment. There are those who spend all their time plotting and scheming evil deeds. They have plans in place and know exactly what course of action to take.

We often make quick decisions which end up being bad for us. Sarah asked Abraham to sleep with Hagar in order to have a child, Genesis 16:1-3. Moses struck the rock twice instead of just speaking to it, Numbers 20:10-12.

Samson was set upon having a wife, despite being foreign, Judges 14:1-3. The mother of Zebedee’s sons rashly asked Jesus to give her sons positions of authority in the Lord’s kingdom, Matthew 20:20-21.

A False Witness Who Pours Out Lies

Why does God hate false witnesses? Giving false testimony was forbidden by God in the Law of Moses, Exodus 20:16.

Have you ever had someone say false things about you? Maybe they have accused you of something you didn’t do. How did you feel? What damage does that cause? It causes destruction, it destroys people’s lives and reputations.

Satan accused God of lying to Eve concerning eating the fruit, Genesis 3:1-6. Potiphar’s wife accused Joseph of trying to seduce her into bed, Genesis 39:7-20. Multitude people accused Jesus of being a glutton and drunkard, Matthew 11:19.

The Scribes and Pharisees falsely accuse Jesus of blasphemy, when he forgave sin, Matthew 9:2-6 / Mark 2:7 / Luke 5:21. Many religious people accused Stephen of blasphemy, Acts 6:7-15.

A Man Who Stirs Up Conflict In The Community

Why does God hate people to cause trouble? Division is of the devil as it tears down instead of building up, James 4:1.

Conflict is everywhere and has become a part of our lives. We read about it in our newspapers and hear about it on the news. Country fighting country, gangs against other gangs, family against family, conflict is everywhere.

Division causes the church to stop functioning properly, 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. Each part has to do its work, it may have a different task, but it is just as important as the other parts, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

Those who cause division are usually those who have hidden agendas, those who love to gossip, Romans 1:29 / 2 Corinthians 12:20, but no one should tolerate them, Proverbs 22:10-20/ Titus 3:10.

Conclusion

I’m sure you noticed that haughty eyes refer to how we see people.

Lying tongues refer to how we speak to people.

Hands that shed innocent blood refer to how we treat people.

A heart that devises wicked schemes refers to how we plan our lives.

Feet that are quick to run into trouble refer to our moral decisions.

A false witness who pours out lies refers to how we influence people’s perceptions of others.

The man who stirs up conflict within the community refers to how we influence people’s relationships with one another.

We may be forgiven for thinking all of the things which God hates are not linked together, but they actually are. What we read is one action or sin leading to another.

‘A troublemaker and a villain, who goes about with a corrupt mouth, who winks maliciously with his eye, signals with his feet and motions with his fingers, who plots evil with deceit in his heart—he always stirs up conflict.’ Proverbs 6:12-14

In Proverbs 6:16-19, Solomon describes six qualities that God hates and the seventh as worse than them all. We know that the number seven symbolizes completeness, so what we read here are actually the qualities of the very person he described earlier in Proverbs 6:12-14.

All of these things listed, totally destroy the unity of God’s purpose, 1 Peter 2:11-17. Christians are called to be united with each other, 1 Peter 3:8 / 1 Corinthians 1:10, and Christians are called to maintain the unity of the Spirit, Ephesians 4:3.

God wants His people to be humble, Micah 6:8 / Philippians 2:3-4 / 1 Peter 5:6.

God wants His people to tell the truth at all times, Proverbs 12:22 / Zechariah 8:16 / Ephesians 4:15 / Ephesians 4:25.

God wants His people to protect the innocent, Isaiah 1:17 / Acts 7:24 / James 1:27.

God wants His people to have hearts which make good plans, Proverbs 16:3 / James 4:13-15.

God wants His people to run quickly towards good, Psalm 34:14 / Romans 12:9 / Romans 12:21.

God wants His people to be true witnesses who speak nothing but the truth, Proverbs 14:25 / Matthew 5:16 / 1 Peter 3:15.

God wants His people to sow peace, not conflict, Psalm 34:14 / Matthew 5:9 / Romans 12:18.