Can God hate?

The gospel’s message is built on God’s love, isn’t it? For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).

How do we reconcile David’s words in Psalm 11 with a God who loved us so much that He sent His son to die for us?

Psalm 11:1-7

In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain; for, behold, the wicked bend the bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string to shoot in darkness at the upright in heart. If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked, and the one who loves violence His soul hates. Upon the wicked He will rain snares; fire and brimstone and burning wind will be the portion of their cup. For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.

David has been anointed as the next king of Israel, yet he is persecuted and pursued by Saul and his men. He opens this psalm with a declaration: In the LORD I take refuge. He draws a line in the sand, even before he begins to describe the conflict going on in his life and heart.

He speaks of the advice of his friends: Flee as a bird to your mountain! Run, David! The wicked are going to win…they are coming after you, and there’s no recourse, for even the laws of the land are against you!

But David responds with firm conviction. The LORD is in His holy temple. There is a God in heaven, and He sees what is happening. Not only does He observe the actions taking place, but He can also see into the hearts and minds of all men. He is allowing things to proceed—for evil men to appear to be winning—as a test of their hearts. The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked.

It’s here David makes a statement that challenges our thoughts about God:

The one who loves violence His soul hates.

Does God truly hate those who love violence? Doesn’t God love all men?

The Hebrew word for hate is śānē’, referring to an enemy or foe, one who is utterly odious. Matthew Henry observes, “He [God] hates nothing that he has made, yet hates those who have thus ill-made themselves.” Those who have rejected and scorned their Creator have become something God in His holy nature must hate, for He hates all sin.

In fact, He hated sin so much, that He did what was necessary to destroy sin and all its effects: He sacrificed His own Son.

God hates sin; He is wrathful against it. This is why He tests both the righteous and the wicked—to see what we will do with our sin. Will we hold onto it, and pay the price of His wrath ourselves, or will we repent, trusting that Jesus Christ took the wrath of God on our behalf, for our sin?

David had experienced God’s forgiveness of his sin; he understood God’s hatred for sin. This does not mean he never sinned again. We know he did, and he sinned greatly. But he never justified it. When God finally confronted him, he mourned deeply and turned away from it. He grew to hate his own sin because God hated it.

God hates all sin, but scripture tells us some specific things He hates, things which are an abomination to Him.

Proverbs 6:16-19 – There are six things which the Lord hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.

Pride…lies…hands that shed innocent blood. Hearts that plot wickedness. An unhealthy obsession with what is ungodly…strife and broken relationships. I can’t help but observe that for this verse alone we know God hates abortion!

And these strong verses…

Zechariah 8:17 – “Also let none of you devise evil in your heart against another, and do not love perjury; for all these are what I hate,” declares the Lord.

Malachi 2:16 – “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

We can only understand the depths of God’s love when we hold it in contrast to the depths of His hatred of sin. This is why Paul prayed, “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17-19). To know God’s love is to also know His hatred of sin.

I love how David began and ended this psalm. In the LORD I take refuge…The upright will behold His face. He could confidently face his enemies without running away or trusting others to rescue Him because He knew how deep God’s love was for him. God had rescued him from his own sin; he was no longer an enemy of God, but safe in the care of the One who reigned from His holy temple.

As followers of Jesus, let us love what God loves and hate what He hates. And if you are not yet a believer, I pray that you respond to the testing of your heart, and escape from the wrath of God against sin.

John 3:36 – He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.