Meditationen am Gnadenstuhl: Friday, July 29, 2022, Proverbs 6:16-19

Friday, July 29, 2022

Proverbs 6:16–19

[16] There are six things that the LORD hates,

seven that are an abomination to him:

[17] haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood,

[18] a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that make haste to run to evil,

[19] a false witness who breathes out lies,

and one who sows discord among brothers. (ESV)

Six Things Which are an

Abomination to the Lord

Proverbs 6:16-19 continues the book's eighth address of a father to a son. This time the father gives the son a list of six things that are abominable in the sight of the Lord. Steinmann, as well as Keil & Delitzsch, number them as seven things. How you number them does not matter as long as you take the father's warning to heart. One could say that the "seventh" in the list is simply the sum total of the other six for emphases. One who displays any of the behaviors in the list of six is guilty of being the seventh, one who "sows discord among brothers."

Solomon has associated various sins with parts of the body. He does so here with the first five on the list. These body parts run from head to toe: eyes, tongue, hands, heart, and feet. Steinmann asks the question, “But why are these seven sins chosen above all others to group together? With the exception of the third—murder—all of these sins are difficult, if not impossible, for human authorities to control. They are either internal attitudes (arrogance, plotting evil, a disposition to do evil), behaviors that are hard to prove (lying, false witness), or behaviors for which blame is hard to assign (spreading conflict).”1

Solomon's teaching foreshadows the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, who taught us that it is not what goes into a person that defiles them but what comes out (Mark 7:21-23; Matthew 15:19-20). In other words, the "heart that devises wicked plans" governs the other members of the body to act outwardly from the sinful impulses within. It all begins in the heart. The father is teaching his son that poor impulse control leads to what is abominable in the eyes of almighty God. From there, we can use our body to defile ourselves, or worse yet, to work evil upon our neighbor.

When we consider this list, let us look at these sins in the same manner as we should consider the ten commandments. Where the commandments say, "thou shalt not," there is an implied, "but rather, thou shall." A heart that by nature wants to devise wicked plans should therefore devise constructive plans to benefit not only oneself but his neighbor. Haughty eyes should rather look upon others with compassion and seek opportunities to come to their aid. The tongue which seeks to tell lies should speak words of encouragement. Hands that seek to destroy should rather build. Feet that seek the easy path of self-centered sin should strive to enter by the narrow door. Rather than be a false witness who breathes our hurtful gossip and untruth should seek to lift up our neighbor's reputation. Rather than be a sower of discord, we should seek to bring unity.

In other words, living as Christ would have us live and as He lived Himself. That is indeed a high bar. But the wise man also knows his inability to do these things on his own and turns to the Lord in humble repentance, receives the Lord's forgiveness, and then seeks to aid his neighbor in thanksgiving for the mercy God has shown him.

1Andrew E. Steinmann, Proverbs, Concordia Commentary (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009), 173–174.