(233) Feb 29/2016 – A Measure of Their Hatred

Monday Meditation

February 29, 2016

From the desk of  A.J. Higgins

A Measure of Their Hatred

“The bloodthirsty hate the upright”

Proverbs 29:10

We normally think of Proverbs as containing maxims for living. And while they do, at times there are reminders of how the human heart responds to virtues and moral beauty, affording us insights into how men reacted to the Lord Jesus when He was here.

Proverbs 29 contains its share of wisdom for raising children and for ruling a kingdom. Within its truths, however, is contained a reminder of how depraved humanity responds to moral purity. The human heart is characterized as being bloodthirsty, indicating its self-centered attitude that opposes anything which presents a challenge. This attitude is especially evoked when moral virtue is confronted. The guilt which it recognizes must be either owned and confessed, or the reason for the guilt must be removed.

If this is true whenever the wicked are confronted by a just man, what must the response of the human heart have been toward the Perfect Man? If the repulsion in the natural heart is proportional to the moral perfection of the upright, how great must have been the hatred expressed against the Lord Jesus Christ by those who cried out for His blood.

Later in the chapter, we are told that, “he that is upright is an abomination to the wicked” (29:27). With blood curdling screams and venom spewing from their hearts and lips, men called for His death.

The second part of verse 10 has been open to a different translation: “And as for the just, they (the bloodthirsty) seek his soul.” While John 15:25 reminds us that He was hated without a cause, this Proverb reminds us that the cause was all in our hearts.

The hatred, malice, and venom, the thirst for His blood – the Lord Jesus was not insensitive to the feelings of men against Him. He was always a “tender plant” Who was never hardened by sin. He endured “the contradiction of sinners against Himself” to accomplish the Father’s will and provide salvation. But it was for the very race that hated Him without a cause. He did not endure the malice of His enemies to bring blessing to His friends. It was for the very same humanity that was marked by hatred. It was for us, once marked as “haters of God and hating of one another” (Titus 3:3).

But perhaps His deepest grief from the treatment He received from men, was not their hatred toward Him. He had come to reveal the Father. What they were rejecting was the revelation of the Father’s heart. When men rejected Him, they were actually rejecting the Father (John 13:20). The attitude of men toward His Father was a greater grief to Him than their treatment of Him. This was all part of being “a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

Psalm 69 reveals that what men and Satan would have done to God if they were able to ascend into heaven, was what they did to the Lord Jesus Christ. “The reproaches of them that reproached Thee are fallen upon Me” (Ps 69:9). His was sorrow upon sorrow, grief upon grief. And it was to glorify His Father and provide for our salvation.

Consider:

Go through the Proverbs and look for pictures of Christ. For example, He is the wise Son Who makes for a glad Father; the diligent man, etc.

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