Christian Living

WHAT GOD ABHORS AND ADORES

by GLENN PEASE
03/19/22
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God loves and hates a great many things, and he has the same mixed emotions as we do as we look on this world with all of its both sinful and loving behavior. We would need a large book to cover it all, but in this brief study I want to present an insight into God's mixed emotions as he looks at the behavior of man. I will begin with an issue that is one of the things that God hates most, and that is dishonest

Prov. 11:1 The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight.

We serve a God who is fair and right

And accurate scales are his delight.

Those who cheat are not too bright,

For no deception escapes his sight.

God is not only interested in our personal life, but in our business life as well, and unfortunately too many people want to keep the two separated so that God does not interfere with their profit margin. The whole idea behind this proverb and many like it is that dishonesty in the business of making a profit is considered legitimate by men, but not by God. Dishonest business practices rub God the wrong way, and he considers it a serious sin and not a mere misdemeanor. The making of money by being dishonest and by ripping people off is such a universal temptation that God had to stress this issue over and over in his laws and in these proverbs. The Jews were his people, but he knew they would not be any different than other people when it comes to figuring out how to get more for giving less. If there is any way to cheat others and thereby gain for oneself, it will be found, and many found it in the tampering with scales and weights. It is no surprise that most nations have laws concerning weights and measures, for they have learned what God knew from the beginning, that business practices tend toward corruption constantly, and without protection of the law all business would eventually become dishonest.

Most of my life I have been in the ministry and had a salary from the church. I had no opportunity to increase my salary by fraud or dishonesty of any kind. But I had a few years in the business world, and I felt the pressure to use any means possible to increase the size of my paycheck. I saw the power of it work in owners and managers to cross the line in what was ethical in business. The bottom line was, what brings in the most dollars? I understand that mentality, and I recognize the constant competition that drives people to use dishonest means to deceive the customer so as to make them take more out of their pocket and put it in yours. That is the whole point of dishonest scales and false weights. This was a primary way of being dishonest in Bible times, but there are many other ways to do so today, and so we need to recognize that this abhorrence of God is not limited to the bad scales and inaccurate weights. God hates all of the ways people rip other people off, and basically steal their money by some unethical means. The paradox is that the same methods used for legitimate business are used by the con-man in separating a man and his wallet. Con-man, or confidence man is one who wins the confidence of others so that they trust him enough to give him money to invest or to accomplish some goal they desire. Then he takes off with it and keeps the money for himself and leaves the victim with nothing to show for his foolish confidence in a crook. The legitimate salesperson or business man has to do the same thing, for people need to have confidence in people with whom they do business. The difference is, the ethical person gains the confidence and then delivers what the client expects for his money. When their is no delivery there is fraud or dishonesty, and that is what God abhors. How badly does he abhor it? We get a clue by the number of times he expresses it. Anything that God refers to as many times as he does this issue of false scales and weights is a major issue at the top of his list of priorities. He is not kidding; he really hates them.

Leviticus 19:36 Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah [ An ephah was a dry measure. ] and an honest hin. [ A hin was a liquid measure. ] I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.

Deuteronomy 25:13 Do not have two differing weights in your bag—one heavy, one light.

Deuteronomy 25:15 You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

Proverbs 16:11 Honest scales and balances are from the LORD; all the weights in the bag are of his making.

Proverbs 20:10 Differing weights and differing measures— the LORD detests them both.

Proverbs 20:23 The LORD detests differing weights, and dishonest scales do not please him.

Ezekiel 45:10 You are to use accurate scales, an accurate ephah [ An ephah was a dry measure. ] and an accurate bath. [ A bath was a liquid measure.

Hosea 12:7 The merchant uses dishonest scales; he loves to defraud.

Amos 8:5 saying, "When will the New Moon be over that we may sell grain, and the Sabbath be ended that we may market wheat?"— skimping the measure, boosting the price and cheating with dishonest scales,

Micah 6:11 Shall I acquit a man with dishonest scales, with a bag of false weights?

What these verses make clear is just how easy it is to cheat the customer. The merchant just had to have two one pound weights. One of them would be heavier than one pound and this is what he would use when he was buying grain or fruit or whatever. This way he would get more than one pound for the price of a pound. But when the man who had just been ripped off turns to the merchant and wants to buy something from him, he switches to his other one pound weight which is less than a pound. This way he sells less than a pound for the price of a pound. He rips the man off for a second time and laughs all the way to the bank for he made a double profit. God is not laughing, however, but detests and abhors this deliberate dishonesty that deprives the innocent of justice in business transactions. God does not see his methods as profitable, but as the surest way to the loss of what matters in life-the man's integrity, and thus, his reputation. There is no greater folly than to practice that which is an abomination to God who will be the ultimate judge of the worth of our conduct and our lives. You can fool men, but only a fool tries to fool God.

This verse provides us with a basis for studying the emotions of God, for he has the same negative and positive emotions that we have. He has anger at dishonesty and other sins that defy his law and will for man, but he also has delight when those same laws are obeyed and his will is fulfilled. God's emotions fall into two basic categories: what he abhors and what he adores. Look at the verses that reveal what God abhors and what is an abomination to him.

I. WHAT GOD ABHORS

Psalm 5:6 You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the LORD abhors.

Amos 6:8 The LORD Abhors the Pride of Israel ] The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself—the LORD God Almighty declares: "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it."

The more common translation of this Hebrew word is ABOMINATION, and there are more verses that deal with this word.

6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:

6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,

6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,

6:19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.

11:1 A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.

15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

28:9 He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

The point is, God has strong feelings about all of the behavior of men that is an injury to other people. God is love, and, therefore, anything that is not loving toward others is an abomination. God hates it when men are not loving and instead do things to hurt and deprive others of what is right. God really wants peace on earth and goodwill toward men. He wants a world where people are honest and trustworthy, and where they can be counted on not to do things that make others miserable. This, of course, is not the world where we live. God's dream of such a world will have to wait until all who defy his will are removed, and that will not happen until Jesus comes again and there is a judgment day that ends all sinful behavior. Until then, the only hope of living in a world that has more loving behavior than hateful behavior is to get people into a positive relationship to God where they love him and want to conform to his will.

History proves that they only way to get man to love his fellow man on any consistent basis is to get them to love God and his will. "In their book, "The Lessons of History," Will and Ariel Durant asked an important question that relates to our nation today. That question was this: "Does history warrant the conclusion that religion is necessary to morality; that a natural ethic is too weak to withstand the savagery that lurks under civilization and emerges in our dreams, crimes and wars?" Their answer was this: "There is no significant example in history, before our time, of a society successfully maintaining moral life without the aid of religion." In other words, those who love God will refrain from all of these things that makes God angry, and thereby become blessings to the human family. Faith in God makes a world of difference in the amount of sinful behavior in the world. People who love God still fall and fail to always be loving to others, but the frequency is drastically reduced, and the result is that even this fallen world is full of behavior that gives God great pleasure and delight. So lets look at this side of God's emotions.

II. WHAT GOD ADORES

Starting with our text the list is quite long, and, in fact, there is more about what God feels good about and delights in than what he abhors.

A. He adores and delights in honesty and loving behavior.

Proverbs 11:1 The LORD abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight.

Proverbs 11:20 The LORD detests men of perverse heart but he delights in those whose ways are blameless.

Proverbs 12:22 They that deal truly are a delight to the LORD.

Jeremiah 9:24 but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.

B. He adores and delights in his own loving behavior.

Micah 7:18 Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."

Jeremiah 31:20 Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him," declares the LORD.

C. He adores and delights in the success and prosperity of his people because they live in obedience to his will.

Deuteronomy 30:9 Then the LORD your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The LORD will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your fathers,

1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.

Psalm 51:16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

Psalm 51:19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 147:10 His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; Instead his pleasure is in the prayer of the upright as stated in Prov. 15:8, "..the prayer of the upright pleases him." God adores and delights in relating to his people.

Psalm 149:4 For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation.

Isaiah 5:7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight.

Isaiah 62:4 No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called Hephzibah, [ Hephzibah means my delight is in her . ] and your land Beulah [ Beulah means married . ] ; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.

Isaiah 65:18 But be glad and rejoice forever in what I will create, for I will create Jerusalem to be a delight and its people a joy.

Isaiah 65:19 I will rejoice over Jerusalem and take delight in my people; the sound of weeping and of crying will be heard in it no more.

Jeremiah 49:25 Why has the city of renown not been abandoned, the town in which I delight?

D. He adores and delights in specific individuals

God was so pleased with the human life of his eternal Son the Lord Jesus Christ that he broke centuries of silence as he spoke from heaven and said he delighted in his Son. In fact, he said this in more places than he expressed his delight toward any other person in the following texts:

Matthew 3:17

And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have

found My delight.

Matthew 17:5

While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice

out of the cloud, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear

Him!

Mark 1:11

And a voice came out of the heavens: You are My Son, the Beloved; in You I have found My

delight.

Luke 3:22

And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form as a dove upon Him. And a voice came out of

heaven: You are My Son, the Beloved; in You I have found My delight.

2 Peter 1:17

For He received from God the Father honor and glory, a voice such as this being borne to

Him by the magnificent glory: This is My Son, My Beloved, in whom I delight.

Isaiah 42:1 [ The Servant of the Lord ] "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations.

Matthew 12:18 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations.

Psalm 35:27 May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant."

God delights in other specific persons as well. The book of Job starts off with God showing his delight in Job, and it ends with that also being obvious. Another of the most prominent people God delighted in was David. In Psalm 18:19 we read, "He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." It does not get any better than this, for what greater joy can there be in life than to know that God delights in you? God gets special pleasure out of individuals that love him in a special way as David did. He had plenty of flaws and was far from a perfect man, but he was special to God because he had the right spirit and wanted to always please God. God looked on David like a loving father looks upon his son that he admires so much, and for whom he wants nothing but the best in life. He wanted David to know that he got pleasure out of his life. Steve Zeisler writes about this delight of God in David and points out that it is a very personal delight. He says, "It is true that God does love us because he has committed himself to do so. But that's not what is highlighted here. David recognizes that God seeks and enjoys him. God's face brightens in a smile at the thought of his beloved. The word delight conveys the idea of joyful attraction. If we could believe of ourselves what David has announced of himself, we would never be the same. God rescues us because he is thrilled with us, he delights in our company." Pastor Zeisler gives this personal testimony that I found delightful:

"When our own children were very young, we had a favorite record of children's songs by a vocalist named Janet Smith. The title song of the record is I Am a Delightful Child. It's an upbeat, bouncy, funny song. I can remember our children bopping around the house to it. These are the lyrics:

Oh, I am a delightful child,

Don't you know, a delightful child.

The children follow me down the street

Just to find out how I can be so neat.

And I drive my parents wild

'Cause I'm such a delightful child.

Oh, you know the fishes leap out of the sea

Just to get a glimpse of me.

And the birds fly from all over the bay.

They want to come and sit on my head all day.

All the teachers down at my school,

 They just stare and look at me and drool.

And everybody pats me on the head,

And they say, "Oh, what a lovely kid."

And it drives my parents wild

To have such a delightful child."

One might easily conclude that the goal of life is to come to this point where you believe that God delights in you personally. This may seem to rise to a level of pride, but not so, for God wants his children to know how much they are loved, and he wants them to share in the delight of being delighted, for this gives worth to all they do and are. God has a river of delights, and when we grasp this we are no longer tempted to turn to the wicked delights of the world that do not last and do not please God, but lead to failure and judgment.

Ps. 36:7-9 How priceless is your unfailing love!

Both high and low among men

find [b] refuge in the shadow of your wings.

8 They feast on the abundance of your house;

you give them drink from your river of delights.

9 For with you is the fountain of life;

in your light we see light.

Psalm 37:23 If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm;

Psalm 147:11 the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Proverbs 3:12 God delights as a father because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father [ Hebrew; Septuagint / and he punishes ] the son he delights in.

Proverbs 12:22 The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful.

Proverbs 15:8 The prayer of the upright is his delight. Mark Roth has an interesting comment on this text. He writes, " God delights in the prayers of His delights. If that doesn't make sense to you, read Proverbs 11:20 again. God delights both in the upright individual and in the prayers of that individual. Hmmm. That sets me back. It certainly gives me a different perspective on my own praying. What about my praying is delightful to God, and what about my praying might be wearisome or irksome to Him? I want to be a greater source of blessing to God through my prayers."

When you look at all that God abhors and all that he adores, it comes down to this: The meaning of life from God's perspective is the simple summary of the Savior when he said, "Love God with all your being and your neighbor as yourself." That sums up everything God has revealed in the Old Testament. It is the essence of the good life, and the life of wisdom that Solomon and all the writers of Proverbs are trying to instill in the people of God. Every proverb is a piece in the puzzle of how to live so as to please God and your fellow man. When you are achieving that you are fulfilling the purpose of life as God intended. The beauty of such a life is brought forth in Proverbs 16:7 where we read, "When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." The answer to all of the problems of life revolve around loving and pleasing God, for this means loving and pleasing people. Avoid what God abhors, and achieve what God adores, and you are living the ideal life that is pleasing to both God and man. No one can do this without the Love of Christ filling their lives and hearts, for only his love is capable of loving God with the totality of ones being. Jesus Christ must become truly the Lord of ones life if one is to so live that all they do leads to this avoiding what God abhors, and achieving what God adores.