In this passage, Solomon talks about the “scoundrel,” or as the NASB puts it, the “worthless person.”
In other words, a man of no use to man or God because they live only for themselves and place themselves under no authority but themselves.
The word here for “worthless” is actually Belial, and is sometimes used to refer to the devil. So such a person is a “child of the devil.”
Jesus gives us more insight into this in talking about the Jews who were hostile to him.
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire.
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. (John 8:44)
Such people are given to doing evil with their every word, and even with their every movement, whether it’s the wink of the eye, or the motion of a hand, or a signal from his feet.
And Solomon says God will eventually punish that person. He then talks about the seven things God hates.
Haughty eyes.
Eyes that are proud and always looking down on others. More than that, eyes that look defiantly at the God who made them.
C. S. Lewis once called it the “Great sin” because it is the one sin that not only puts a distance between us and others, but puts distance between us and God as well.
A lying tongue.
We sometimes don’t take lying seriously enough, but God takes it very seriously.
It is the children of the devil who practice lying, because as Jesus said, Satan is the father of lies. How truthful are you?
Hands that shed innocent blood.
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot often said, “I don’t approve of murder.”
God not only doesn’t approve. He loathes it, because you are destroying something that he created to be of great worth.
However, it would also be well to remember that when we hate someone, we are murdering them in our hearts (1 John 3:15).
When we murder someone, either physically or in our hearts, we are following after the way of Satan, who was a murderer from the beginning.
A heart that devises wicked schemes.
Sometimes we sin on the impulse of a moment. For example, something bad happens to us, we get angry, and we respond sinfully. That’s bad enough.
But to God, it’s worse when you take the time to plot evil in your heart. It’s one thing to do evil when you had no intention to do so. It’s quite another to plot it out.
Feet that are quick to rush into evil.
These are people who have no hesitation to do what is evil. They have no battle with their consciences. They have so subdued their consciences that they are automatically drawn to what is wrong.
Not only that, they delight in it and even take pride in it.
A false witness who pours out lies.
This is someone who not only lies, but lies about his neighbor—who falsely accuses him, if not in front of a court, then in front of other people, damaging their reputation and possibly much more. Gossip also falls into this category.
A man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
God calls us to be peacemakers. But some people, instead of trying to bring peace, delight in bringing dissension. They spread gossip. They’re always saying, “Do you know what so‑and‑so said about you?”
And when they pass messages between people, it’s for the purpose of widening the gap between them instead of bringing them together. God hates this type of behavior.
How about you? Are there any behaviors in your life that fall into these categories? God calls us as his children to repentance.
Are you acting as his child, or as Satan’s?
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 