Abhor

God will bring destruction into our lives if we abhor His laws.

• Leviticus 26:14-33 HCSB "But if you do not obey Me and observe all these commands-- 15 if you reject My statutes and despise My ordinances, and do not observe all My commands--and break My covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will bring terror on you--wasting disease and fever that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. You will sow your seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. 17 I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee even though no one is pursuing you. 18 "But if after these things you will not obey Me, I will proceed to discipline you seven times for your sins. 19 I will break down your strong pride. I will make your sky like iron and your land like bronze, 20 and your strength will be used up for nothing. Your land will not yield its produce, and the trees of the land will not bear their fruit. 21 "If you act with hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will multiply your plagues seven times for your sins. 22 I will send wild animals against you that will deprive you of your children, ravage your livestock, and reduce your numbers until your roads are deserted. 23 "If in spite of these things you do not accept My discipline, but act with hostility toward Me, 24 then I will act with hostility toward you; I also will strike you seven times for your sins. 25 I will bring a sword against you to execute the vengeance of the covenant. Though you withdraw into your cities, I will send a pestilence among you, and you will be delivered into enemy hands. 26 When I cut off your supply of bread, 10 women will bake your bread in a single oven and ration out your bread by weight, so that you will eat but not be satisfied. 27 "And if in spite of this you do not obey Me but act with hostility toward Me, 28 I will act with furious hostility toward you; I will also discipline you seven times for your sins. 29 You will eat the flesh of your sons; you will eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies on the lifeless bodies of your idols; I will reject you. 31 I will reduce your cities to ruins and devastate your sanctuaries. I will not smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices. 32 I also will devastate the land, so that your enemies who come to live there will be appalled by it. 33 But I will scatter you among the nations, and I will draw a sword to chase after you. So your land will become desolate, and your cities will become ruins.

God abhors idols. He commands us to utterly detest anything that can take His rightful first place in our lives.

• Deuteronomy 7:25-26 HCSB You must burn up the carved images of their gods. Don't covet the silver and gold on the images and take it for yourself, or else you will be ensnared by it, for it is abhorrent to the LORD your God. 26 You must not bring any abhorrent thing into your house, or you will be set apart for destruction like it. You are to utterly detest and abhor it, because it is set apart for destruction.

Instead, we choose to be bigoted - detesting foreigners and others who are different from us, even though God specifically ordered us not to.

• Deuteronomy 23:7-8 HCSB Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you were a foreign resident in his land. 8 The children born to them in the third generation may enter the LORD's assembly.

God has listed seven things which He abhors: pride, dishonesty, abusiveness, scheming or conniving, a predisposition to evil, false witnesses and divisiveness.

• Proverbs 6:16-19 HCSB Six things the LORD hates; in fact, seven are detestable to Him: 17 arrogant eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet eager to run to evil, 19 a lying witness who gives false testimony, and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.

We should abhor our arrogance and hubris that causes us to question God.

• Job 42:1-6 HCSB Then Job replied to the LORD: 2 I know that You can do anything and no plan of Yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, "Who is this who conceals My counsel with ignorance?" Surely I spoke about things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. 4 You said, "Listen now, and I will speak. When I question you, you will inform Me." 5 I had heard rumors about You, but now my eyes have seen You. 6 Therefore I take back my words and repent in dust and ashes.

Abhorrence is integral to the concept of love. We are told be the apostle Paul that true love abhors what is evil while clinging to what is good.

• Romans 12:9 HCSB Love must be without hypocrisy. Detest evil; cling to what is good.