Hate
Hate is a strong word. Christians should not hate people, as Jesus, our example of the divine attributes, did not hate those who nailed Him to a cross, slapped Him in the face, spit upon Him, scourged Him, etc., but instead prayed to the Father to forgive them because they know not what they do. Jesus said in Matthew 5:44 to "love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you." We are to deal with evil with good, God says. The second great command is how to deal with your neighbour, and we know from Jesus' teaching that our neighbour is anyone in need.
We are to hate sin (Amos 5:15) however, and not be allured by it. We are to abstain from evil and cling to what is good. To the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:6, Jesus said, "this you have, you hate the deeds of the Nicolatians, which I also hate." When we grow to hate sin we will be more like God and put on the divine nature.
From Proverbs 6:16-19, God hates six things, yes, seven are an abomination to Him. Knowing that God hates these actions and that we seek to be pleasing to God, the Christian needs to avoid these like the plague:
A Proud Look
Remember the prayer of the Pharisee who prayed, "I am" (glad I am not this man), "I give", etc.? He had "I" trouble, and was full of himself. The publican would not even lift his eyes to heaven and said be merciful to me a sinner. Jesus asks, which of these two men went home justified? God says He will exalt those who humble themselves and debase those who think too highly of self.
A Lying Tongue
I hear many Christians say that honesty is a policy. Honesty should be more than that because you can change a policy to suit you (like an insurance policy). A Christian needs to be honest all of the time, even when honesty does not reward you physically. We seek the blessing of God which is a great deal higher than mere physical blessing. So a Christian does not tell lies, even white lies, half-truths, failure to declare information, etc..
Hands That Shed Innocent Blood
As a Christian we shudder to think that our hands will shed innocent blood. One way we can shed innocent blood is to have an abortion, where we kill the baby. God considers the fetus to be a baby no matter how old it is. When Mary visited Elisabeth, it was said that the baby leaped in her womb.
“...the Christian needs to avoid these like the plague...”
A Heart That Devises Wicked Plans
The rich Israelites were derided by a prophet who said they lay awake at night scheming on how to make the poor poorer. Solomon said in Proverbs 1 to avoid those who lead you to darkness. God hates the action of a heart that devises wicked plans.
Feet That Are Swift In Running To Evil
In Psalm 1:5-6, it is written, "the ungodly will not stand in the day of judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the ungodly shall perish."
A False Witness Who Speaks Lies
God will not excuse the one who treats his neighbour falsely. In Psalm 101:5, it is written, "whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy."
One Who Sows Discord Among The Brethren
We have to be careful of this one. Naturally, when a brother or sister sins against us we tell others about it, but that is wrong. Matthew 18:15-17 tells us how to resolve a dispute, at first we go to our brother or sister (in love) alone. If he or she hears you, you have gained them. For brethren to dwell in unity, God says in Psalm 133:1, "how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."
We have seen that God does not hate people, but their actions are a different story. We all come from the same place, namely sin. Thank God that He loves everyone that He is longsuffering toward us, and He gave His own Son to be a propitiation for our sin. May we sin no more, but grow to maturity in Jesus. May we have holy boldness to talk to people, as we are glad that someone took the time and effort to talk to us.
Article Navigation:
Answering The Atheist
The Atheist's Complaint:
Did the Israelites kill every male in Midian? Numbers 31:7, 16-17 says they did, but Judges 6:1-2, 5 indicates they didn't, as the Midianites are described as being "without number". Is there a contradiction?
Response:
Indeed, the Israelites were commanded to kill all the males among the Midianites, and the record of Numbers 31:7 says that they did so. In fact, they also put to death the males among their little ones, and all the women who had known a man intimately (Numbers 31:17). As a result of these actions, the people of Midian were almost completely annihilated.
I say almost completely annihilated, since it is evident that some Midianites remained. Who are these Midianites who remained? Some may have fled away from the region when the Israelites came upon them, others may have already been in other areas, and thus were not affected personally by the Israelite attacks.
Between the attack of the Midianites which is recorded in Numbers 31 and the events recorded in Judges 6, there is perhaps 150 to 200 years. The population of the Midianites rebounded during this time.
One might question how a nation which was almost annihilated could in such a short time rebound to be sizeable enough to wage war against the Israelites. Recall that Israel "...went down to Egypt and dwelt there, few in number, and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous." (Deuteronomy 26:5). In a matter of 215 years, Israel grew from just 75 people (Acts 7:14) to a nation with an army of 603,550 (Numbers 1:45-46), and likely a total population of well over 2,000,000.
Judges 6 tells us that it was not only the Midianites who came into the land of Israel, but "...also Amalekites and the people of the East..." (v 3). In Judges 7:12, we read, "Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude." Again, it is not just the Midianites that the writer is referring to, and in fact, the "without number" statement seems more a comment about the camels than the people themselves. It is simply an emphatic phrase to indicate the large number which came into Israel.
There is no contradiction.
This article is in response to Skeptic's Annotated Bible.