The Great Antithesis: God's Hatred and His Love Text: Proverbs 15:9
Introduction: The Unbridgeable Gulf
We live in a sentimental age, an age that has tried to domesticate the living God. The modern conception of God is that of a doting, slightly befuddled grandfather in the sky, who winks at our transgressions and wants nothing more than for everyone to just be happy. He is all love, no holiness; all affirmation, no judgment. This god, of course, is an idol, fashioned out of the syrupy imaginations of men who want a god they can manage, a god who makes no ultimate demands.
The book of Proverbs, and this verse in particular, takes a sledgehammer to that idol. Here we are confronted with the great antithesis, the unbridgeable moral and spiritual chasm that runs through the center of all human history. This is the fundamental divide of the universe: the way of the wicked and the way of the righteous. And God is not neutral. He is not a dispassionate observer. He has a passionate, settled, and holy reaction to both. He detests the one, and He loves the other. There is no middle ground, no third way. You are on one of these paths.
This verse forces us to confront a truth that is deeply offensive to the modern mind: God hates. He is not a universal lover of all behaviors and lifestyles. He has a holy aversion, a divine disgust, for certain things. The word here is "abomination." It is not mild disapproval. It is a visceral, covenantal revulsion. And on the other side of this chasm is His covenantal love, a pursuing, steadfast love for those who are chasing after righteousness. Understanding this stark contrast is not just a theological exercise; it is the very foundation of wisdom, the beginning of salvation, and the fuel for a life of grateful obedience.
The Text
The way of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh,
But He loves one who pursues righteousness.
(Proverbs 15:9 LSB)
A Divine Revulsion (v. 9a)
The first clause sets before us the settled disposition of God toward a particular kind of life:
"The way of the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh..." (Proverbs 15:9a)
Notice what is an abomination. It is not just a particular wicked act, though individual sins are certainly hateful to God. It is the "way" of the wicked. This refers to the entire course of life, the direction, the path, the lifestyle. It is the road a man travels, defined by his habits, his thoughts, his ambitions, his loves, and his hates. The wicked man is not just someone who messes up occasionally; he is someone whose entire trajectory is set against God. His life is a long argument against the throne of Heaven.
And God's reaction to this path is not indifference. It is "abomination." This is one of the strongest words of disgust in the Hebrew language. It is used to describe idolatry, sexual perversion, and dishonest business dealings. It means something is ritually and morally putrid, foul, and utterly detestable to God. Think of the visceral reaction you might have to something rotten or vile; magnify that by the infinite holiness of God, and you begin to get a sense of what is being communicated here. God does not simply disagree with the wicked; He is revolted by their chosen path.
This is Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God of Israel, who feels this way. This is not an abstract philosophical principle. This is personal. The God who revealed Himself to Moses, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who is holy, holy, holy, cannot abide the stench of a life lived in rebellion to His created order. The way of the wicked is a rejection of reality itself. It is an attempt to build a life on a foundation of lies, to declare oneself autonomous, to be one's own god, and the true God finds this entire project disgusting.
A Divine Affection (v. 9b)
In stark, glorious contrast, we see the other side of the ledger. This is the beauty of Hebrew parallelism; the truth is thrown into sharp relief.
"...But He loves one who pursues righteousness." (Proverbs 15:9b)
The contrast is absolute. From abomination to love. This is not the generic, universal love that our culture preaches. This is a specific, covenantal, and conditional love. Whom does God love, according to this text? He loves the one who "pursues righteousness."
The word "pursues" is active, energetic, and relentless. It is the picture of a hunter chasing his quarry or a soldier chasing a fleeing enemy. It is not a picture of someone who has perfectly arrived at righteousness. It is not about sinless perfection. It is about the direction of the heart, the orientation of the life. The righteous man is not one who never stumbles; he is one who, when he stumbles, gets up and keeps running in the right direction. He hungers and thirsts for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). His life is a chase, a hot pursuit of conformity to God's character and God's law.
And God loves this person. This love is not a passive sentiment. It is an active, delighting, and sustaining affection. While the way of the wicked is a stench in His nostrils, the pursuit of the righteous is a pleasing aroma. God looks upon the man or woman who is earnestly striving, by His grace, to walk in His ways, and He says, "That is my beloved. I delight in him." This is the love of a father for a child who is learning to walk, the love of a master craftsman for an apprentice who is eager to learn the trade.
The Great Exchange
Now, here is the bind. As we look at this verse, our conscience, if it is working at all, must condemn us. Who among us can say that our "way" has been anything other than wicked by nature? Who can claim to have pursued righteousness with a whole heart, every minute of every day? The law of this proverb, like the law of God everywhere, serves to shut our mouths and show us our need for a savior (Romans 3:19-20).
By nature, our way is an abomination. By nature, we pursue unrighteousness. We are all, apart from grace, on the wrong path, heading in the wrong direction, and the object of God's holy revulsion. So how can we ever cross this unbridgeable chasm from being an abomination to being beloved?
The answer is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus Christ, the only truly righteous man who ever lived, the one who pursued righteousness perfectly, took upon Himself the abomination of our wicked way. He became a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). The full, unmitigated disgust that a holy God has for sin was poured out upon His own Son. He became the abomination so that we, the abominable, might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
And in this great exchange, not only is our sin imputed to Him, but His perfect righteousness is imputed to us. When God the Father looks at a believer, He no longer sees the wicked way that is an abomination. He sees the perfect righteousness of His Son. And therefore, He loves us with the very same love with which He loves His Son. He loves us because we are now the ones who, clothed in Christ's righteousness and empowered by His Spirit, have been turned around to begin the pursuit of righteousness.
So, this proverb is not a ladder for us to climb to earn God's love. It is a description of the two humanities that Christ creates. Those in Adam are on the way of the wicked, and their end is destruction. Those in Christ have been placed on a new path, the path of pursuing righteousness, and God's love rests upon them. Our pursuit of righteousness is not the cause of His love, but the evidence of it. It is the proof that He has performed the miracle of regeneration in our hearts, turning us from the path that He hates to the path that He loves.