My dear readers,

Beware the Abominable Froward Man

Proverbs 11:20: “They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the LORD: but such as are upright in their way are his delight.”

The word “abomination” (Hebrew “to-e-vah,” meaning something morally disgusting) appears 117 times in the Old Testament. The word occurs most often in Ezekiel (61 times) and in the Book of Proverbs (40 times). The one who describes certain sins as abomination is the LORD, the God of Israel and the Bible. Here in Proverbs 11:20, God describes the person rather than the sin. When a man labels someone as an abomination, he does not have the power to do something about it, most of the time. Some with considerable military and financial power may hurt and punish the abominable person at will. The punishment is limited to all physical things and the person’s body. However, the LORD’s punishment on the abominable person includes all that he has on earth as well as his soul after he dies. God will cast all who die in their sins into hell, and after that, the Lake of Fire. Revelation 20:13-15: “¹³And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. ¹⁴And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

What is the Lake of Fire like? Revelation 19:20: “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” Wave upon wave of fire and brimstone will cover the ones who die in sin. It is a torment without end that no one should ever wish on their worst enemy!

Some examples of what the LORD considers an abomination:

Leviticus 18:22: “Thou shalt not lie withmankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”

Deuteronomy 7:25: “The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therein: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.”

Deuteronomy 12:30-31: “³⁰Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. ³¹Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.”

Therefore, we need to beware the abominable froward man.

Who is the froward man? He is one who possesses a froward heart. Since the Book of Proverbs was written for God’s people in the Promised Land, the application for us today is that the froward man is one who is also found in the church and not just in the world. Outwardly, he may appear as godly as Jesus, from his dressing to his words and actions. His outward demeanour is beyond reproach. His words are carefully measured, with a tenderness of tone like that of a sheep without guile. His body language is humble, like a slave speaking with his head downcast, afraid to look up lest he offend his master. Such outward demeanour deceives everyone in the church except for the One who matters most, the Almighty, all-seeing and all-knowing God! He judges the heart first and last, and is no respecter of persons, in all His sovereign judgments. Therefore, when God warns us that anyone who possesses a froward heart is an abomination to Him, we must take Him very seriously, for our destiny in the Lake of Fire is otherwise guaranteed, if we don’t.

What is a froward heart?

The literal translation of Proverbs 11:20 is, “Abomination to the LORD is one who has a perverse heart, but His delight is one who is upright in his well-walked way.” A perverse or froward heart in a person is a false heart. He pretends to have a heart washed by the blood of Christ by calling himself a Christian. He may even be baptised and take the Lord’s Supper as if all is well with his soul. He serves faithfully and appears kind and helpful to God’s people, giving the impression that he is there to help with no strings attached.

But what harm does he do if he is so “holy’ outwardly? He harms himself by his hypocrisy. The longer he lives a lie, the harder it is for him to get out of his lie because lying becomes normal. His heart is hardened by his own deception, thinking that he can even deceive God since nothing has happened to him thus far. He does not want God to harden his heart with all his rejection of God's truth that he has been hearing every Lord’s Day. He harms the people who trust him and who think he is a godly person. Their faith and trust in Christ will be devastated and severely shaken by the deception. He definitely will harm the holy name of Christ that he has been bearing. The warning from the LORD, “be sure your sin will find you out” (Num 32:23) must never be trifled with.

Conversely, Proverbs 11:20 says that the LORD’s delight, i.e. what the LORD is pleased with, is toward one who is upright in his well-walked way. Only a born-again believer in Christ can be pleasing in the LORD’s eyes, whose judgment begins with the heart and ends with a life lived in holiness from the beginning of salvation to the end of his life. The life of the righteous is just, not perfect. It means that when he makes a mistake, he repents sincerely before God, and also before man if his transgressions have hurt his fellow man. He will do his utmost to restore the holy Name of Christ that he knows his transgression has damaged. The only way is to apologise, as taught in the Holy Scriptures through all the testimonies the LORD recorded. He will strive, with God’s help, to do what is right according to the Bible at all times. He avoids all that the LORD has prohibited and warned against. He prays without ceasing. Daily he spends time reading and meditating on God's Word. He finds great joy in communing with God through his Bible-reading programme, which he designed specifically for his spiritual growth. He spends his money wisely and judiciously for his own spiritual well-being and that of his loved ones. He gives his tithe and offering prayerfully and always on time as he understands the importance of Christ’s teaching: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are
God's” (Mark 12:17).

He is not righteous sporadically. Such inconsistency would jeopardise his holy witness for Christ. He understands experientially that to keep his love for his heavenly Father and God burning hot, i.e. to love God with all his heart, soul, strength and mind, he needs to commune with God daily and hear His loving voice through his daily reading and study of God’s Word. As long as he lives, he loves to read and hear God's Word preached and taught. His life is a well-walked life of holiness, everywhere he goes. It is not for man to see only, but always to please His heavenly Father, who judges his heart first before anything else. This is the life of every Christian who is truly saved by Christ.

Beware the abominable froward man! Make sure that you are truly righteous before God by your well-walked way of life.