“There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil,
a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” - Proverbs 6:16-19
Solomon states that there are six things The LORD hates and then proceeds to say that seven that are an abomination to him - so why is it stated this way?
Of course these numbers are always significant. The number six is two times three. Two is symbolic of the division of good and evil, and three can be seen as manifestation. Thus, six can be seen as the manifestation of evil, as it falls one short of physical perfection, which is seven. Six is the number of man, who was created in the sixth day.
We know that Solomon started off well, but he ended up being seduced by the world and done what was wrong in The Eyes of The LORD and his kingdom was divided because of it. We can see numeric implications of this throughout his story.
There were six steps on his throne:
“The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round at the back; there were armrests on either side of the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the armrests.” - 1 Kings 10:19
The annual revenue of his kingdom was 666 talents of gold:
“The weight of gold that came to Solomon yearly was six hundred and sixty-six talents of gold” - 1 Kings 10:14
Taken the signifance of the numbers, I believe that this is one reason why it is worded as "There are Six things that the LORD hates, Seven that are an abomination to him" As six represents the incompletion of evil and the seventh would present a impure mockery of Seven, representing His Physical Perfection, this being “an abomination to Him.”
Another possible explanation can be derived by examining the Chiastic Structure of this passage. Scripture is filled with Chiastic Structures but they’re not extremely obvious. Essentially, to the best of my understanding, a Chiastic Structure is a sequence of statements that build up to a main idea at its midpoint, followed by an equal number of statements with a mirroring main idea listed in the reverse order.
A Chiastic Structure enables the author to emphasize a broader theme in their writing. Found in all types of classical literature and poetry, they are always put there by the design of the author. The fact the forty plus men who scribed The Holy Bible over thousands of years, most of whom who had no formal education, these structures can be seen as a type of Signature of The Holy Spirit - the True Author of The Holy Bible.
I will point out just a few here, as scripture is absolutely filled with them. If we know what to look for, spotting these chiastic structures can enlighten us with new insights to difficult passages. There is much more to be said about these Chiastic Structures in The Holy Bible and how represent Yeshua. Yeshua literally spoke this way in many of His Teachings, here are some obvious examples.
“And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. - Matthew 23:12
“And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” - Mark 2:27
In the example below, we how the central two statements can be combined to highlight the main idea - I think that this will help us understand Solomon’s statement much better.
“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” - Matthew 6:24
A) No One Can Serve Two Masters
B) He Will Hate The One
C) and Love The Other
c) or else He Will Loyal To The One
b) and Despise The Other
a) You Cannot Serve G*d and Mammom
The central two statements (C & c) expresses our loyalty to The Master that we love - if we are Loyal to Our Master, The ONE True G*d, we will also extend our love to others. These are a simple reflection of The Two Commandments which ultimately lead us to fulfill them all.
“Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’
This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” - Matthew 22:37-40
Now that we have established what type of structure to look for, let’s examine the Chiastic Structure of these three verses in Proverbs Chapter Six:
A) Haughty Eyes
B) A Lying Tongue
C) Hands That Shed Innocent Blood
D) A Heart That Devises Wicked Plans
c) Feet That Make Haste To Run To Evil
b) A False Witness Who Breathes Out Lies
a) One Who Sows Discord Among Brothers
A & a - Haughty Eyes & One Who Sows Discord Among Brothers
“Haughty” is an adjective that describes pride and arrogance. It can be argued that Satan tempts us through our eyes. “Discord” is best defined as a disagreement among people. We see this all the time in today’s society as “woke” culture. Arrogant people, filled with pride, who define truth as something subjective to their own emotions. Something is either true or false, but when people blur the lines that distinguish these intentionally, they surely sow discord in society. Of course, to proclaim something as “my truth” instead of accepting the actual truth is about the most prideful thing anyone could ever do. I could go on and on about this, but I think that you get the picture.
B & b - A Lying Tongue & A False Witness Who Breathes Out Lies
Obviously, these two are both about lies and deceit. There is a Hebrew term that is used for evil speech, “Lashon HaRah” ( לשון הרע ), literally translated as “Evil Tongue” or “Evil Speech” and this term includes all types of gossip and slander, basically any type of speech about someone that is negative or harmful to them, even if it may be true. To assassinate one’s character is akin to committing murder.
C & c - Hands That Shed Innocent Blood & Feet That Make Haste To Run To Evil
I find it very interesting how both of these statements reflect the extremities of our physical body, the hands and feet. These two statements are a reflection of the manifestation of evil into this reality through our own physical actions.
If we evaluate these statements through the view of this Chiastic Structure, it is clear that only one of these things stand alone:
D) A Heart That Devises Wicked Plans
A Heart That Devises Wicked Plans is “An Abomination To Him” - for this is the root of all of these Six Things The LORD Hates. The heart is the source of our emotions, negative or positive. If our heart is not inclined to The LORD, then it will surely lead us astray.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” - Jeremiah 17:9
Yeshua gave us much more clarification and valuable insight about the “Evil Things” that come “Out of The Heart of Men” and how that is what truly “Defiles a Man”.
“And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man.
For from within, OUT OF THE HEART OF MEN, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness.
All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” - Mark 7:20-23
Of course, there is a remedy for this affliction of the human heart. We must ask, with all humility, for The LORD Yeshua to change our heart to reflect His Own Nature. To remove our selfish “Heart of Stone” and to bless us with a new “Heart of Flesh” - and to write His Laws Upon It. This is the true meaning of being Born Again.
“Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh,
that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God.” - Ezekiel 11:19-20
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” - Ezekiel 36:26-27
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” - Jeremiah 31:33-34
“Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.” - 2 Corinthians 3:3
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” - Hebrews 8:10
I’ve been working on this one for a while now and as I was putting all of this together, I see that in Chapter Four, Solomon actually gives us the keys to overcome all of these things - but as you can see below, these keys are as perfectly structured and as concise. That’s because The Most Important Key had not yet been revealed, The Gift of Grace through Yeshua. I’m telling you right now, we can do nothing without The Covering of His Precious Blood. No amount of good deeds will ever begin to make us fit to stand before The Holiness of Our Creator.
“The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.
My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.” - Proverbs 4:19-20
Haughty Eyes / A Heart That Devises Wicked Plans
“Do not let them depart from Your Eyes; Keep them in the midst of Your Heart;
For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
Keep Your Heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” - Proverbs 4:21-23
A Lying Tongue
“Put away from you A Deceitful Mouth, And put Perverse Lips far from you.
Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. - Proverbs 4:24-25
Hands That Shed Innocent Blood
“I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths.
When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble.
Take Firm Hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.” - Proverbs 4:11-13
Feet That Make Haste To Run To Evil
“Ponder the path of Your Feet, And let all your ways be established.
Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:26-27
A False Witness Who Breathes Out Lies / One Who Sows Discord Among Brothers
“Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil.
Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.
For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.” - Proverbs 4:14-17
חסד ושלום עליכם והרבה אהבה וברכות
May Grace and Peace Be Upon You and Much Love and Blessings!
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