Proverbs 11:20 Commentary and Bible Study

God’s tastes, his hatred and his delight, ought to be of supreme importance to us, for he alone is our judge and decides our eternal destiny. It is the great folly of the wicked to think that God overlooks their way of life, either because he is too exalted to be concerned with individual conduct, or because he is not really as holy as Scripture declares. But God clothes the flowers of the field, and certainly the sins of those made in his image do not pass him by. His likes and dislikes start with what goes on in the heart. A perverse or morally twisted heart is an abomination to him. Why? Because it is so different to his own nature. That twisting cannot take place without the deliberate pursuit of evil at the expense of righteousness, and in violation of his commandment which is known to every one born under the law. How can truth, honesty, kindness, gentleness, and meekness survive in such an environment? Likewise, integrity cannot go unnoticed by the Lord, and he knows each one of his own and brings them surely to heaven. It is for their sake that the world is allowed to continue. Both halves of the verse refer to the heart, for God alone knows the heart. In looking on the heart he sees the real person, for it is in our hearts that we make our real choices. The wicked believe their hearts are private and unknown to any other; the righteous desire to have God dwell in their hearts but think they are unworthy to have this privilege. His delight in them takes them by surprise and is incomprehensible to them, given what they know of themselves.