The Broken Seven

"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).

The six-seven pattern used to list things is fairly common in the Bible. It is used in Job as well as several other Proverbs. The list "plus one" is not used in order to give a complete list but rather the emphasize the final entry to the list. In other words, the seventh thing listed is the product of the first six.

In today's passage, Solomon is describing the fruits of the wicked man's life. The life that man leads is marked by pride, the telling of lies, shedding of innocent blood (murder), a heart that maps out wicked actions, and feet that run quickly to that which is evil. Telling lies, by the way, is listed twice for emphasis. These six things cause discord among brothers. All of these things cause suspicion among friends. They all come together to ruin relationships. Death to unity is the spoiled fruit of sin.

The wise man will allow his life to be tested against these six... seven things. The courage it takes to stand in front of God's spiritual mirror comes straight from God Himself. It is important that we all allow His Spirit to illuminate the truth regarding our pride, evil thoughts and intentions, the words we speak, and the plans that we make.

If we do not allow this kind of spiritual inspection, our lives will be the source of great discord. Relationships will be ruined and unity will be destroyed. The Scripture describes the broken seven traits of ungodly living. These broken seven, we are told, God hates.