Pro 21:27 | KingComments | STEP | God abhors “the sacrifice” or worship “of the wicked” because they come to God without acknowledgment of their sins and are therefore without righteousness before God ( ; ; ). The sacrifice or worship that such a person brings is not only unacceptable to God, but it is also an abomination to Him. God first requires of the worshiper true repentance and the purpose to live righteously. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” ( ). Hypocritical worship is bad enough; worship “with evil intent” is totally reprehensible. God does not want acts of worship without repentance, and He abhors them altogether from one who thinks he can bribe God with his sacrifice to give him his desires. ‘Quid pro quo; I make a sacrifice to God – for example, I give money to the church or occasionally visit a sick person – then He must give me what I want or at least make sure that nothing happens to me.’ Shameful intentions are a great abomination to God. The hypocrite in stands opposite God. The hypocrite in stands opposite people. “A false witness” is one who knowingly gives false testimony against someone. He will perish. God will judge him. If it turns out before people that he gave a false testimony, he will already be judged by the judge on earth. Opposite the lying witness in the second line of verse is “the man who listens”. Such a person is a true, trustworthy witness. The man who constantly listens first to what is said about a case in which he is to testify, who says nothing but what he has heard or seen, can testify forever. He is trustworthy; he may testify every time in appropriate cases. Because he knows and understands what the truth is, he need never be silent. No one will be able to contradict or refute him. Stephen was such a witness. He listened to God’s voice through His Word. The wisdom and spirit with which he spoke could not be resisted ( ). Even after he died, he still spoke (cf. ). Above all, the Lord Jesus is the faithful and true Witness. He has always listened to God and therefore may always speak. He is the truth and speaks the truth. “A wicked man” gives the impression of being a convinced man ( ). His face is bold. He is not ashamed of anything and does not know how to blush ( ). The hardened face reflects a hardened, unrepentant heart ( ; ; ). With an expressionless face, he tells the crudest lies and commits the most heinous deeds. The second line of verse shows that a wicked man is going down a way that has no hold whatsoever, no matter how powerful he pretends to be. He will sink into unfathomably deep misery when he is judged by God. “The upright ... makes his way sure” because he looks upward, to God, and asks Him for guidance. He positions himself as dependent and weak. As a result, he is strong because God gives him strength. God’s pleasure rests on him. The Lord Jesus is also the perfect example here. In His imitation, we also see an example in Paul. He was upright ( ) and acknowledged his dependence on grace: “When I am weak, then I am strong” ( ).

‏ Proverbs 21:27

The Hypocrite Will Perish

God abhors “the sacrifice” or worship “of the wicked” because they come to God without acknowledgment of their sins and are therefore without righteousness before God (Pro 21:27; Jer 6:20; Amos 5:21-24). The sacrifice or worship that such a person brings is not only unacceptable to God, but it is also an abomination to Him. God first requires of the worshiper true repentance and the purpose to live righteously. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise” (Psa 51:17).

Hypocritical worship is bad enough; worship “with evil intent” is totally reprehensible. God does not want acts of worship without repentance, and He abhors them altogether from one who thinks he can bribe God with his sacrifice to give him his desires. ‘Quid pro quo; I make a sacrifice to God – for example, I give money to the church or occasionally visit a sick person – then He must give me what I want or at least make sure that nothing happens to me.’ Shameful intentions are a great abomination to God.

The hypocrite in Pro 21:27 stands opposite God. The hypocrite in Pro 21:28 stands opposite people. “A false witness” is one who knowingly gives false testimony against someone. He will perish. God will judge him. If it turns out before people that he gave a false testimony, he will already be judged by the judge on earth.

Opposite the lying witness in the second line of verse is “the man who listens”. Such a person is a true, trustworthy witness. The man who constantly listens first to what is said about a case in which he is to testify, who says nothing but what he has heard or seen, can testify forever. He is trustworthy; he may testify every time in appropriate cases. Because he knows and understands what the truth is, he need never be silent. No one will be able to contradict or refute him.

Stephen was such a witness. He listened to God’s voice through His Word. The wisdom and spirit with which he spoke could not be resisted (Acts 6:10). Even after he died, he still spoke (cf. Heb 11:4). Above all, the Lord Jesus is the faithful and true Witness. He has always listened to God and therefore may always speak. He is the truth and speaks the truth.

“A wicked man” gives the impression of being a convinced man (Pro 21:29). His face is bold. He is not ashamed of anything and does not know how to blush (Jer 6:15 ; Jer 8:12). The hardened face reflects a hardened, unrepentant heart (Isa 48:4; Jer 5:3; Eze 3:7). With an expressionless face, he tells the crudest lies and commits the most heinous deeds. The second line of verse shows that a wicked man is going down a way that has no hold whatsoever, no matter how powerful he pretends to be. He will sink into unfathomably deep misery when he is judged by God.

“The upright ... makes his way sure” because he looks upward, to God, and asks Him for guidance. He positions himself as dependent and weak. As a result, he is strong because God gives him strength. God’s pleasure rests on him. The Lord Jesus is also the perfect example here. In His imitation, we also see an example in Paul. He was upright (2Cor 1:17) and acknowledged his dependence on grace: “When I am weak, then I am strong” (2Cor 12:10).