“The arrogant cannot stand in your presence. You hate all who do wrong.”
Psalm 5:5
The God who hates? Surely that’s a typo. That can’t be right. Isn’t God a God of love? Who would want to pledge allegiance to a God who hates?
When we describe God as the God who hates, don’t we validate all the critics who insist that God is an angry God—the ones who claim that God is unreliable, unstable, even unrighteous?
And yet, when we think about it more deeply, aren’t some things worthy of hate? We hate the ugly realities of child molestation, addiction, AIDS, sex slavery, rape, and racism.
Wouldn’t we want and expect God to hate these things as well? Wouldn’t we be leery of a God who was indifferent about such matters and reject a God who was okay with or, even worse, approving of these things?
Scripture tells us that God hates idolatry (Deuteronomy 12:31; 16:22). It tells us He despises people who are bloodthirsty and deceitful (Psalms 5:4–6; 11:5).
Proverbs 6:16–19 lists seven things the Lord hates: pride, lying, murder, evil plots, those who love evil, a false witness, and troublemakers.
God’s hate stems from His goodness. Because He is always good, He is always just. Because He is just, He intrinsically hates unjust things.
God’s hate is also propelled by His love.
Because He loves us fiercely, He loathes any and every thing that would harm us: sin, death, disease, Satan, destruction, and division.
The hatred of God is tied to His purity. In the same way a surgeon is intolerant of a germ-filled OR, or an oncologist hates even one malignant cancer cell, God cannot and will not tolerate, much less celebrate, impurity.
It goes against His nature. We serve a God who is utterly committed to His own glory and our good. Therefore, He hates whatever would stand in the way of those things.
Does God hate? Absolutely He does—because of His goodness, love, and holiness. But when we understand God’s hatred, it makes us love Him more.
How would you defend the biblical claim that “God hates” to someone who didn’t understand it?
