Lesson 11
Ecclesiastes
The Things That Don't
Work!
2. God hates
those who practice evil.
- Some try to shrug off these passages and say that
that is just the God of the OT, that's different than the God of the NT.
- Ps 5:5;
- Ps 11:5
- Ps 45:6-7
- Prov
6:16-19
3. God hates
sin in His own people. i.e. whenever or wherever He finds it. He has to; Why
because of His character, +R, J.
Isa 1:11f this was true even when it was ritual
prescribed by Him as is the case here.
- So the B.L. is if we're doing even what He has
prescribed, but doing it for the wrong reasons, wrong motivation, it becomes
the object of the hatred of God.
Amos
5:21-26 they were doing exactly what was prescribed; Yet God hated it.
Ø
Application:
Whenever
- However, we can say that God hates false religion
wherever and whenever He finds it!
Ø
Let's shift now and look at
the man to God flow of hatred.
The fact that man opposes God is a basic assumption
of the Bible.
- Dt 5:9; Ps 81:9-15; 50:16-17
- Rom
- Illustration:
- So the fact that scripture talks about God
haters, says that they exist, in reality
they exceed those who truly love God and are responsive to Him!
When
we come to the God of scripture; truly understand who He is; His attributes; many people quickly become essentially God
haters, saying that they can't tolerate
that kind of God.
- In the Samekh paragraph of Psa 119:113f
we find that the good man has a hatred toward the evil and this hatred is based
on God's attitude in every sense of the word!
- Rem: Diagram at the beginning of this section; Attitudes are
neutral; Whether love or hate or
anger; we must examine the context; the
focus and object of the attitude;
- The Psalmist in Ps 139:21-22 comes to God; with the flavor of a
pleased kid; and says Lord, I have hated the wicked, those who hate you; and the idea expressed in the context is that
God will be pleased with Him!
Since
God is Holy, He is too pure, the prophet Habakkuk says to even look on
evil. Hab. 1:13
Ø
Psa 119:113 Points out Love
- Hate as an Attitude
- At the
very start of this stanza we see exactly what the Psalmist is thinking, just
what his mental attitude is. No veneers
with him!
- Note first
a difference in txln:
KJV "I hate vain thoughts"
NASB:
"I hate those who are
double-minded.."
-
In the Heb text only 2 words in this
first line. (anEf' = hate)
- The word
for vain thoughts/double minded = [@[ese se`eph] (plural) and it means basically divided.
- Lit: I hate
the divided ones!
- The divided
can mean one of 2 senses or uses.
1. divided as to opinion; have 2 ideas and your not sure which
to choose, what to think.
2. divided as to loyalty; who or what your going to
pursue; (priorities
impacted)
- The way
that the NASB txln goes it takes on the flavor of
divided opinions;
Look
at
So what does the Psalmist hate here in vs:113??
- Those who
have 2 viewpoints or as he is saying he hates those who have a divided sense of
loyalty?
- So as he
begins this stanza, the thought flow would continue with, "I hate divided people, those who are not
committed, not loyal to YHWH or His Word!"
The contrast
"But I love your law."
Note:
There's a very strong likeness to John's attitudes and approach in 1 Jn especially and the Psalmist and OT in general.
- When the
Psalmist here looks at those with divided loyalties; he says I have 2 options; I can love them or I can hate them!
His response in this context is that he hates them!