Proverbs 26:24

October 9, 2023

“He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself.”

This particular passage of Scripture out of the Old Testament was written by King Solomon. He was a very wise man in his time as king because of the wisdom that was given to him by the Lord. The book of Proverbs is saturated with direction and instruction that we need to take the time to understand.

One of the things that the Lord makes clear to us over and over again throughout the Holy Bible is the fact that He wants His children to radiate love. One of the best descriptions of this fact is found in 1 John 4:16 when it states, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”

So in other words, the Lord is telling us that in order for us to radiate the love of God we have to be able to truly love. He is a loving Father and He wants His love to shine through us to people that may not know it. That is why Solomon is disclosing this verse of Scripture as revelation to everyone that reads and understands it.

Make no mistake about it, there are people that you will come into contact with that have an evil heart. They want you to “think” that they are genuine and authentic but behind your back they are concocting evil plans for your destruction. Often times you will find that they will hide their wicked agendas with pretentious kind words and a lying tongue.

King Solomon is warning against developing these kinds of characteristics and surrounding yourself with people that display this behavior. A hateful man or women that harbors deceit behind pleasant words are the most dangerous people. Jesus Christ makes it clear to us that above any other feeling or emotion, love is the bond of perfection, Colossians 3:14. In other words, love is the glue and bond in all healthy relationships.

We have a loving Father that is love and He expects us as believers of Jesus Christ to be examples of His love. The Word of God is saturated with passages of Scripture on the importance of loving one another. In fact Jesus references loving God with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself as the greatest commandments in the law, Matthew 22:36-39. He does not take hatred and deceit lightly.

Now let’s take a closer look at the passage of Scripture that I am highlighting out of the book of Proverbs. The word “he who hates” is the Hebrew word “śānē’” which means: to hate and be hateful. The word “disguises” is the Hebrew word “nāḵar” which means: to disregard, ignore, stranger toward, to disguise oneself.

So we can conclude that what Solomon is trying to convey is that a hateful person will often times disguise their intentions and disregard the person’s feelings that they are deceiving. A malicious man or woman will use kind words to mask what is truly inside their wicked heart. They can fool that person, but they will never fool God.

That brings us to the next part of this passage of Scripture when King Solomon says, “…and lays up deceit within himself.” The words “lays up” is the Hebrew words “šîṯ” which means: put, lay hand upon. The word “deceit” is the Hebrew word “mirmâ” which means: deceit and treachery (betrayal).

Putting all of these words into context we can determine that Solomon through the leading of the Holy Spirit is telling us that a person that uses a flattering mouth to get away with their hatred is only deceiving themselves. They think that they are better than they really are when in actuality they are meditating on evil thoughts continually. They are putting on a façade of who they want you to think that they are.

Often times ungodly men and women will display characteristics of what is truly inside of their heart. Jesus explains it perfectly in Matthew 12:34-35 when He states, “Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.”

A hypocrite hides behind pretentious words but can only do so for so long. Eventually that hateful person will show you their true colors if you are around them long enough. The bottom line is someone that attempts to camouflage their true intentions is only fooling themselves because the Lord sees everything. He is not concerned with what you look like on the outside but He is concerned with the condition of your heart.

Your enemy’s wickedness will be exposed one way or another. God does not like to be mocked. An evil man or an evil woman’s wicked deeds will come to light and they will reap what they sow, Galatians 6:7. That is why it is so important that you make it a point to choose to love above hate all day and every day!

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

Who is the Prophet Isaiah

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Fight Back

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Feed Your Spirit

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Renouncing

Breaking Spiritual Strongholds-Confess and Repent

Recognizing Spiritual Strongholds