Proverbs 6:16-19 enumerates seven things God hates.
There are six things the Lord hates,
seven that are detestable to him…
While divine hatred is not a major theme of Scripture, it is present in both the Old and New Testaments. See, for example, Deuteronomy 12:31, 16:22; Psalm 5:5; Isaiah 1:14, 61:8; Amos 5:21; Zechariah 8:17; Malachi 2:16; Romans 9:13; Revelation 2:6. In these verses, the usual object of God’s hatred is a sin of some sort. But occasionally, the object of God’s hatred is the person who commits these sins.
Now, I think we all believe that God is a God of love (1 John 4:8). But can a loving God hate? Is the notion of divine hatred reasonable, or is it a hateful and detestable concept?
I think it is possible for a loving God to hate. Indeed, I think it is necessary for a loving God to hate. Let me give you an analogy. I love my wife. Precisely because I love my wife, I hate anything that would harm her. I would hate for her to be assaulted or molested in any way. And I would hate anyone who tried to harm her. Could I truly love my wife if I were indifferent to the harm that came her way or the people who brought it? Obviously not! But if my love for my wife requires hatred for certain things or people, why can’t a loving God also hate certain things or people?
With that question in mind, look at the seven things God hates according to Proverbs 6:16-19:
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 man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
These seven sins pit people against one another. Every haughty person has someone he’s insulted. Every liar someone he’s deceived. Every murderer a victim. Every conspiracy a dupe. Every evildoer an evil-done-to. Every perjurer a wrongly accused defendant. Every dissenter a broken friendship.
If God is a loving God, he cannot be morally neutral. He cannot put his arm around the victim while simultaneously patting her victimizer on the back. God takes sides in every moral controversy. He loves the good side; he hates the bad side. It is because God takes sides that he calls for different responses from different people. He offers comfort to those who are distressed, but he requires repentance from those who distress them. “The time has come,” Jesus said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:14-15).
The good news is that God’s hatred for sin and the people who commit it is not his last word. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God simultaneously judges every sin and all sinners and offers them righteousness in its place (Rom. 3:25-26). Divine hatred is a necessary but minor theme of Scripture when compared to the wonderful news of God’s forgiving love.
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