Abominations: Understanding the Detestable Things

The things that are detestable to our Heavenly Father are clearly spelled out in the Scriptures. These things that are detestable to our Father should also be detestable to us and we should not practice any of them.  

OT:8441 [used 117 times in OT] ow` ebah (to-ay-baw'); or to` ebah (to-ay-baw'); feminine active participle of OT:8581; properly, something disgusting (morally), i.e. (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or (concretely) an idol: KJV - abominable (custom, thing), abomination.

            OT:8581 a` ab (taw-ab'); a primitive root; to loathe, i.e. (morally) detest: KJV - (make to be) abhor (-red), (be, commit more, do) abominable (-y), X utterly.

OT:8251 [used 28 times in OT] shiqquwts (shik-koots'); or shiqquts (shik-koots'); from OT:8262; disgusting, i.e. filthy; especially idolatrous or (concretely) an idol: KJV - abominable filth (idol, -ation), detestable (thing).

            OT:8263 sheqets (sheh'-kets); from OT:8262; filth, i.e. (figuratively and specifically) an idolatrous object:KJV - abominable (-tion).

Idolatry

When it comes to Idolatry there are 19 Hebrew words which express the abhorrence which idolatry deserves and the shame and sorrow of the idolater. In a general sense idolatry is the paying of divine honor to any created thing; the ascription of divine power to natural agencies. Idolatry may be classified as follows: (1) the worship of inanimate objects, such as stones, trees, rivers, etc.; (2) of animals; (3) of the higher powers of nature, such as the sun, moon, stars; and the forces of nature, as air, fire, etc.; (4) hero-worship or of deceased ancestors; (5) idealism, or the worship of abstractions or mental qualities, such as justice. Another classification is suggestive: (1) the worship of Yahweh under image or symbol; (2) the worship of other Elohims under image or symbol; (3) the worship of the image or symbol itself. Each of these forms of idolatry had its peculiar immoral tendency.

The Ten Commandments explicity prohibit any type or form of Idol Worship:

Ex 20:3-6 3 "You shall have no other Elohims before me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, Yahweh your Elohim, am a jealous Elohim, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand [ generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Deut 27:15 15 "Cursed is the man who carves an image or casts an idol--a thing detestable to Yahweh, the work of the craftsman's hands--and sets it up in secret."  Then all the people shall say, "Amen!"

What if any types of modern idol worship exists today?

 Unjust weights and measures

The words, honesty and fairness are the core of this command. Our father wants us to treat each other fairly and with honesty because we are his representatives. Yahweh is our Father! Who does society normally blame when a young child or teenager goes astray? How does that relate to Yahweh who is our Heavenly Father?

 Deut 25:13-16 13 Do not have two differing weights in your bag--one heavy, one light. 14 Do not have two differing measures in your house--one large, one small. 15 You must have accurate and honest weights and measures, so that you may live long in the land Yahweh your Elohim is giving you. 16 For Yahweh your Elohim detests anyone who does these things, anyone who deals dishonestly.

Prov 11:1 YHWH abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight.

It is not the scales or measures that Yahweh is concerned but it is the condition of our hearts that he is aiming at.

Matt 15:10-11 10 Yahshua called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. 11 What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'"

1 Tim 1:4-6  5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

Divorce and remarriage to the same person forbidden under certain circumstances:

Deut 24:1 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, 2 and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, 3 and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, 4 then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of Yahweh. Do not bring sin upon the land Yahweh your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance.

This practice of remarrying your ex is more common than you might think. Since our Heavenly Father has indicated that he does not approve them of these remarriages under certain conditions, it should not be a surprise that most of these remarriages that go against his word, do not work. In fact a recent study posted in the magazine, Psychology Today, indicated that a whopping 60% of remarriages fail. The study does not indicate as to whether or not those 60% were people who divorced, married someone else and then remarried their first spouse however it is probably that those numbers in the 60% under those conditions are quite high. We must remember of course that we are not forbidden to remarry our spouse after we have become divorced, as long as it is done within the guidelines of the scriptures that we already discussed.

Adultery:

Adultery has always been forbidden in the Scriptures and it continues to be forbidden to this day.

Lev 18:20 20 "'Do not have physical relations with your neighbor's wife and defile yourself with her.

Lev 20:10 10 "'If a man commits adultery with another man's wife--with the wife of his neighbor--both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

It is hard to amass the numbers on individuals committing adultery because many of the people will not admit to it. But according to some statistics 17% of divorces occur because of infidelity. I personally believe that the numbers are probably higher but again we just don’t know. Either way, the scriptures are clear that adultery is a sin and an abomination to our Heavenly Father! It is interesting of course that during the time of the OT, even the threat of death did not stop people from committing adultery.  

Sorcery, divination and spiritism:

Deut 18:9-13 9 When you enter the land Yahweh your Elohim is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to Yahweh, and because of these detestable practices Yahweh your Elohim will drive out those nations before you. 13 You must be blameless before Yahweh your Elohim.

In the U.S. the numbers of people who seek spiritist’s and/or fortune reading or future tellers are pretty high.  According to statistics more women than men consult fortune-tellers. Some indication of this comes from the profusion of advertisements for commercial fortune-telling services in magazines aimed at women, while such advertisements appear virtually unknown in magazines aimed specifically at men. It is quite common for young women to seek out fortune tellers as they embark on adulthood, and many women maintain decades-long relationships with their personal readers or fortune-tellers. Telephone consultations with psychics (charged to the caller's telephone account at very high rates) grew in popularity through the 1990s but they have not replaced - and may never replace - the traditional card readers, tea leaf readers, palmists, and spiritual readers who see their clients in small storefronts or occult shops. The scriptures are clear that we are to abstain from such practices.

Homosexuality and Sodomy:

Other than the economy there is on other issue at the forefront of the media like the issue of homosexuality. Currently we are waiting for the passage of Senate bill S. 1105 which will make negative statements concerning homosexuality, such as calling the practice of homosexuality a sin from the pulpit, a “hate crime” punishable by law. There are currently about 6 states and more that are considering jumping on the band wagon of allowing and legalizing gay marriage. A California lawsuit which is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court would make the use of the words “natural family,” “marriage” and “union of a man and a woman” a “hate speech” crime in government workplaces.  The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has already ruled in favor of the plaintiffs! Essentially when this Bill passes, many churches will be prohibited from reading certain verses like the following.

Lev 20:13 13 "'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

1 Cor 6:9-11 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of Elohim? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of Elohim. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of Yahshua Messiah and by the Spirit of our Elohim.

Rom 1:26-32 26 Because of this, Elohim gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of Elohim, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, Elohim-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know Elohim's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

The Scriptures command us that we should teach our children the way we should go…it is interesting that those who support the gay agenda believe the same thing: Another part of the political agenda of the homosexual movement is the ability to teach homosexuality in public schools, the ability to get a license from the state to marry, to adopt children, and to be counselors of youth groups. There is currently legislation which will include provisions for transvestive and gay curriculum in schools.

In Maryland the Liberty Counsel sued the school district over its unbalanced presentation of the facts about homosexuality and won the case. A federal judge ruled that the district had engaged in viewpoint discrimination by refusing to allow alternative points of view to be expressed about homosexuality.

Massachusetts Representative Alice Wolf and John Garza, president of Citizens for a Responsible Curriculum in Maryland. Rep. Wolf is sponsoring legislation to require the teaching of homosexuality to students by the fifth grade. According to Wolf, the teaching of homosexuality is "part of a comprehensive health curriculum" and is designed to help children make healthy choices. Wolf asserts that the curriculum will be balanced and says the parents "should be involved in the development of these curricula." She also claims that there is an opt out provision for parents who do not wish their children to receive this education.

According to recent statistic the practice of homeschooling is on the rise, the main reason given why people were deciding to home school: to maintain moral, ethical behavior and family values.

The seven things that Yahweh hates:

Prov 6:16-19

16 There are six things Yahweh hates, seven that are detestable to him:  17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,  19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.