Bible verses about God's hatred?

[followingtheway]

Hey everybody, for a while I’ve always been concerned over passages of “the hatred of God.” As a Catholic, I was always raised to believe that God loves everybody, as were all Catholics I know and other Christian denominations but there have been verses in the Bible where it talks about God hating people which always confused me even as a kid. These Bible verses have used a lot by the infamous Westboro Baptist Church to justify the idea that God hates the sin AND the sinner.

Some of these verses include:

1. 
   *]Deuteronomy 32:19 - “And when the LORD saw it, he abhorred them, because of the provoking of his sons, and of his daughters.”
   *]Hosea 9:15 - “All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.”
   *]Psalm 5:6 - “Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.”
   *]Malachi 1:3 - “And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.”
   *]Romans 9:13 - “As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”
   *]Psalm 11:5 - “The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.”
   
   These verses have always confuse me. What do they mean? Doesn’t God love everybody? Isn’t God love?
   
   I’m confused

 

[Avila123]

Dear followingtheway,

You are not alone. I looked up hate in Scott Hahn’s Catholic Bible Dictionary because we covered Jacob and Esau recently and I shared your concern. Scott Hahn offers the following explanation:

"Hate in the Bible has a broad range of meanings. It sometimes means “love less” or “not love” as we see when the Lord loves Jacob but “hates” Esau (Mal 1:3) or when a husband “hates” his wife because he no longer loves her (Deut 21:15, 22:13, 24:3; Judg 11:7; cf Gen 29:31; Mal 2:16). In other places, “hate” may imply genuine loathing (Gen 26:27; Lev 19:17; Deut 19:11; Judg 11:7; 2 Sam 13:22; 1 Kgs 22:8). Hatred of a family member was forbidden by the Law (Lev 19:17).

When speaking of God “hate” was used in anthropomorphic descriptions, as we see in his love of Jacob and hatred for Esau. The image of God “hating” describes the insuperable gulf between God and idolatry (Duet 12:31; 16:22: Jer 44:4), injustice (Isa 61:8; Jdt 5:17), and especially sin and sinners (Num 10:35; Duet 7:15; 33:11: Ps 5:6; Hos 9:15; Sir 27:24).

In the New Testament, acceptance of the Gospel entails a conflict of love and hate in ways largely unknown in the Old Testament, as seen especially in 1 John. Christians must hate the life of sin and love Jesus more than everything and everyone else (Matt 10:37; Luke 14:26). Christians must love those who hate them (Luke 6:27), and must understand that the world will hate them (Matt 10:22; 24:9; Mark 13:13; Luke 6:22, 27: 21:17) because the world hates Jesus (John 7:7; 15:18)."

I hope that this helps?

 

[fred_conty]

I have said I hate sourkrout. What it meant was I didn’t like the taste. Words have different meanings and depend on how they are said. Cain’s sacrifice God didn’t care for because it wasn’t flavored with love.

Besides how can God really hate when his is one simple act(I am) and John says he is Love? He can’t be both. God would not hate anything that he has created. That would mean he made a mistake.

If he really hated, God could annihilate it. And as far as we know, he hasn’t and never will, for he creates out of his aboundant love.

In the Psalms it says that when God punishes he does it to correct and not out of hatred.
This is probable what is being intended in those phrases containing the word of hate.

 

[HolySepulchre]

Just my thoughts.

God hates sin so when it says he hates something its probably the sin in that persons life. God is love and he doesnt create anyone for the purpose of hating. Hes just very intolerant of sin because of what it has done to his beautiful creation and especially us. Another thing is dont let the devil use scripture against you to doubt the love of God. Just know he loves you. Also when asking about Scripture go to good people and Christians who are knowledhable. If its someone that starts to make you doubt God they are not of him. Also ask God to help you understand in prayer.