Proverbs 15:8-9 The sacrifice of the WICKED is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. 9 The way of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord: but he loveth Him that followeth after righteousness.

God Despises Man-Made “Religion”

Word Study: What does the Bible mean when it speaks of the “WICKED”? This is the Hebrew rāšāʿ, which means “to be wicked or criminal, to violate the Law, to be guilty of sin or hostile to the command of God”. The word is not used of casual sin, but of those who do wrong regardless as to what God has said. The FIRST use of the word is in:

Genesis 13:13 … the men of Sodom were WICKED (rāšāʿ) and SINNERS before the LORD exceedingly.

They were “WICKED” because their outward actions violated the Will of God. They were “SINNERS” because their hearts were far from God. God determined that He was going to destroy Sodom because of its wickedness. Telling Abraham of His plans, Abraham pled for the life of his nephew Lot. He humbly asks God:

Genesis 18:23 (AP) … Will You destroy the RIGHTEOUS with the WICKED (rāšāʿ)

Those who are “RIGHTEOUS” do what God’s Will says is “RIGHT”. Those who are “WICKED” do what God’s Will says is “CRIMINAL or GODLESS”.

God had told Abraham that He was going to destroy Sodom, and Lot resided in Sodom. Though Lot was living in Sodom, the Apostle Peter wrote that after this prayer:

2 Peter 2:7-9 (NKJV) {God} delivered RIGHTEOUS LOT, who was oppressed by the FILTHY CONDUCT OF THE WICKED 8 (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)— 9 then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment

Word Study: Lot was stressed daily while living in the cesspool that Sodom had become. The conduct of the “WICKED” {Greek athesmos} or those who denied the Law of God, criminals, or wicked tormented Lot. Why? Because Lot had to “see and hear their lawless deeds”. The person who is “WICKED” as opposed to the one who is “RIGHTEOUS” is based on whether they order their lives according to the will of God or not. In the Book of Malachi God tells Israel that, when they return from exile, that they are to:

Malachi 3:18 (KJV) … discern between the RIGHTEOUS and the WICKED, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not.

The “RIGHTEOUS” are marked by serving God in their daily lives. The “WICKED” however do not serve God, but themselves. Our Lord Jesus called:

Demons “wicked” (Matthew 12:45)
Satan “wicked” (Matthew 13:19)
The children of Satan “wicked” (Matthew 13:38)
Those who demanded “signs” as “wicked” (Matthew 16:4)

The Apostle Paul declared that the professing Christian in sexual sin is “wicked” (1 Corinthians 5:13). The Apostle John said that Cain who killed his brother was “wicked” (1 John 3:12).

It is possible to be RELIGIOUS and yet be WICKED. When the Pharisees said that “Jesus casts out devils by Beelzebub the prince of devils” (Matthew 12:24) our Lord chastised them, and warned them against committing the unpardonable sin (Matthew 12:31-32). Jesus went on to say to the highly religious Pharisees:

Matthew 12:34 (KJV) O generation of vipers, how can ye, being EVIL {ponēros}, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

Word Study: Here Jesus uses another Greek word – ponēros – which means “to labor for evil things, for bad or wicked intents”. These Pharisees were outwardly religious, just as many people are outwardly religious. They were careful with what face they showed to the public. But as with all “religious” people, they were more concerned with looking righteous than they were in being righteous.

Beloved, God does not care is you are “religious”. In November 1095 AD Pope Urban II called on the Catholic Church to arm itself, and take back the Holy Land from the Muslims. From 1096-1291 AD the religious Catholic “Church” warriors wearing the “Cross” marched in eight major expeditions into the Holy Land. Crusaders massacred Jews in various towns in the Rhineland (1096). In June 1099 Crusaders attacked Jerusalem. When promised that the inhabitants would be spared if they surrendered, hundreds of men, women, and children were killed as the Crusaders entered the city. John M. Robertson wrote in his book A Short History of Christianity (1902):

“It is a reasonable calculation that in the two centuries from the first crusade to the fall of Acre (1291) there had perished, in the attempts to recover and hold the Holy Land, nine millions of human beings, at least half of them {professing} Christians. Misery and chronic pestilence had slain most; but the mere carnage had been stupendous.” (page 278)

This was the action of “religion”. God hates religion. The word “religion” is found a few times in the Bible. The stepbrother of Jesus defines “region” for us:

James 1:27 (KJV) Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Jesus has never asked us to kill a bunch of people to get the Holy Land back from the Muslims. He asked us to minister to the weak and needy, and to not follow the evils and wickedness of this world. What else does James tell us about “religion”?

James 1:26 (KJV) If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

If your tongue is not controlled or BRIDLED by the Word of God, your RELIGION is EMPTY and useless. We are told:

Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the WICKED is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is his delight.

If you are “WICKED” and contrary to the will of God, the Lord is not impressed with your “SACRIFICES”, your outward religious actions. God wants you to follow Jesus, not a Church movement or a worldly religion. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 10:27-28 (ESV) My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

Who are “The RIGHTEOUS”? They are the “SHEEP” of Jesus. They are not Shepherds, but SHEEP. They follow Jesus. He knows them, and they know Him. They HEAR His Voice, and follow His Voice rather than the siren call of the world. People think, “If I go to Church, if I give a tithe, if I do this religious act – like counting beads and praying rote prayers – then God will be pleased with me”. But God says:

Proverbs 15:8 The sacrifice of the WICKED is an ABOMINATION to the Lord

Word Study: You can do a religiously appropriate action – like the Lord’s Table – but if your daily fruit is WICKED God says “this is an ABOMINATION”. The word translated “ABOMINATION” is the Hebrew tôʿēḇâ, which means “that which is disgusting or idolatrous, reprehensible”. God classified homosexuality (Leviticus 18:22), idolatry (Leviticus 18:26), to profit from idolatry (Deuteronomy 7:25), to sacrifice your children to the gods (Deuteronomy 12:31), to give broken things to God (Deuteronomy 17:1), to be transsexual in dress (Deuteronomy 22:5), to be perverted (Proverbs 3:32), to cheat in business (Proverbs 11:1), to habitually twist the truth and lie (Proverbs 12:22), and to be puffed up with pride (Proverbs 16:5). God does not want the empty religious ritual of the wicked, no matter how much it might be. But we are told:

Proverbs 15:8 the prayer of the upright is His delight.

God delights in the prayer of His children, those who have given their hearts to Him through faith in Christ Jesus. The Pharisees, much like the religious Catholic, Non-Denominational, Pentecostal, Apostolic and Mainline groups in America today made the ritual more important than the relationship with God in Christ. Many of the religious groups create man-made standards that are not in the Word of God. The Apostle addressed this in:

Colossians 2:20-23 (NKJV) … if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations— 21 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” 22 which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? 23 These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

When we depart from the Word of God into the traditions and word of man, we move into bad religion, what God considers an abomination.

What does God want of us? We read:

Proverbs 15:9 (KJV) The WAY of the wicked is an abomination unto the Lord: but he loveth him that followeth after righteousness.

Our WAY is not to walk after our desires, but to “FOLLOW AFTER RIGHTEOUSNESS”. To live our lives according to the will of God, which is to be obedient to following the WORD of GOD. We are told in:

1 Peter 1:14-16 (ESV) As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”

God Punishes Sin

Proverbs 15:10-11 (KJV) Correction is GRIEVOUS unto him that forsaketh THE WAY: and he that hateth reproof shall die. 11 Hell and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the hearts of the children of men?

The Christian is called to follow “THE WAY”. When we ignore this Way, we bring upon ourselves grief. If we continue to reject “THE WAY”, God can take our lives. What do we mean by “THE WAY”?

In the Old Testament, God uses the phrase “THE WAY” to describe the direction He wants His people to go. We read in

Exodus 13:21 (KJV) … the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them THE WAY …

God commanded the leaders of Israel to …

Exodus 18:20 (KJV) … teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them THE WAY wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do

The Psalmist said, “the LORD knoweth THE WAY of the righteous: but THE WAY of the ungodly shall perish” (Psalm 1:6). David went on to say in Psalm 25:8, “Good and upright is the LORD: therefore will He teach sinners in THE WAY”. And again:

Psalm 119:1 (KJV) Blessed are the undefiled in THE WAY, who WALK IN THE LAW OF THE LORD …

There is the Way of the Lord, and the way of mankind. The Way to God is through obedience to Jesus. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV) Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and THE WAY is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and THE WAY is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

To live by and walk in the darkness of the world is easy – but it leads to destruction in this life, and damnation in the next life. But to follow Jesus, to give yourselves to Him, is to find life, eternal life, though you will be at odds with the world. Jesus said:

John 14:6 I am THE WAY, the Truth, and The Life: No one comes to the Father but BY ME …

Jesus Christ came to give us “light in darkness, to guide our feet in THE WAY of peace” (Luke 1:79). To forsake His Way is to bring grief on yourselves. We are told:

Proverbs 15:10 … he that HATETH REPROOF SHALL DIE

When we give our lives to Jesus we become His Sheep, and He our Shepherd. The Bible tells us that God punishes His children when they get off course. God knows our hearts. He wants only the best for us. My commentary notes:

“When a man or woman departs from God’s path (the Way), in mercy God will send them harsh discipline. This discipline is a warning and opportunity to change one’s ways. … He who hates correction will die: The one who rejects God’s loving and merciful correction seals his own fate and sets his own course. They are on the way of death and will remain there.”

Proverbs 15:11 Hell {šᵊ’ôl} and destruction are before the Lord: how much more then the HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN OF MEN?

Word Study: The word translated “HELL” is the Hebrew šᵊ’ôl (pronounced Sheol), which is a reference to the underworld not of Heaven. Though we cannot see either Sheol or sudden destruction, but God can always see these things. The same is true of the “HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN OF MEN”. God can see the underworld – HELL or Sheol, but we cannot. He can see what brings forth DESTRUCTION on us. But God can also see the hearts of men. My commentary notes:

“God can see what we cannot. Hell and Destruction are presently invisible to us, but they are before the LORD. If we could see Hell and Destruction, we would think and live much differently. “We, silly fishes, see one another jerked out of the pond of life by the hand of death; but we see not the frying pan and the fire that they are cast into, that ‘die in their sins,’ and refuse to be reformed.” (Trapp)

Since God can see what we cannot see, we would best be blessed if we just take Him at His Word and do as He says.

The Scoffer Hates Correction

Proverbs 15:12 A SCORNER loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise.

Word Study: The SCORNER (Hebrew lûṣ, pronounced loots) is the one who “mocks, scoffs at, or makes fun of” another person. The righteous or wise person does not hate correction, but sees correction as a means to make us more like Christ. King David prayed:

Psalm 141:5 (NKJV) Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.

He did not see rebuke from God’s people and God’s Word as something to be disdained, but as a blessing. This was why King David was “a man after God’s heart” (1 Samuel 13:14; Acts 13:22). Compare David to the evil King Ahab. When Ahab was confronted by the Prophet Elijah over his allowance and promotion of idolatry in Israel, Ahab told Elijah “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”. Elijah told him,

1 Kings 18:18 (NKJV) … I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals.

Ahab would not hear. But when King David was confronted by Nathan for his evil acts against Uriah and Bathsheba, David heeded the Prophet and said:

2 Samuel 12:13 (KJV) … I have sinned AGAINST THE LORD ..

The mark of a lost person is that they will not hear nor heed rebuke from God’s Word, but instead mock the messenger and laugh at God’s Law. The saved both hear and HEED.

The Apostle Paul warned his student Timothy to stay true to God’s Word, no matter how many the scoffers. He said:

2 Timothy 4:2-4 (ESV) … preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

The scoffer, the lost person, will not “GO TO THE WISE”, because they enjoy the darkness of sin. Those who leave this life scoffing will wake up screaming and separated from God forever. Preach the Word! God tells us:

John 3:20 (KJV) Everyone that doeth evil hateth the light; neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Those who love the Lord with all their hearts (Matthew 22:36-40) will not mock God or His Word, but will cling to it as truth and blessing. We serve an awesome God! May God touch your hearts with His Word. Amen.