Throughout the Bible, we find certain activities and practices condemned as “abomination” in the eyes of our Creator. But what does this word mean, and why should we avoid at all costs the activities to which God gives this label?
We can begin by looking at the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance definitions of those words translated into our English-language Bible as “abomination.”
H887: to smell bad; figuratively to be offensive morally: to be abhorred, had in abomination, loathsome, odious, cause to utterly stink.
H8262: to be intensively filthy, to loathe, pollute: abhor, make abominable, have in abomination, utterly detest.
H8441: properly something disgusting (morally), that is, (as noun) an abhorrence; especially idolatry or an idol.
G946: a detestation, that is, (specifically) idolatry.
Clearly, those who are truly seeking to follow Jesus Christ will not want to involve themselves in situations or activities that God calls “abominations.” Yet, the fact remains that in the course of our lives, many if not all of us have engaged in some practices that God has labeled an “abomination”—and that greatly displease our Father in heaven.
We Are What We Eat
The eleventh chapter of Leviticus gives us clear instructions about the food that is fit to take into our human bodies. It is plain common sense that not everything we could put in our mouths is actually good for us or appropriate to be eaten. Would we put arsenic on our food instead of salt? Would we eat berries we knew were poisonous? Of course not! And since God is our Creator, He knows even better than we do what is actually good and right for us to eat.
Not every creature that lives in the seas and rivers was meant to be food for mankind: “These you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers—that you may eat. But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you. They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination. Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales—that shall be an abomination to you” (Leviticus 11:9–12).
Human activity on the land generates a great deal of pollution that finds its way into the rivers and eventually the oceans. So, it is no surprise that God made many creatures whose purpose is to feed on the after-effects of man’s activity, allowing the ecosystem to flourish.
Just as there are various kinds of sea life that serve as a “cleanup crew” for our rivers, lakes and oceans, so too are there various birds that feed on dead animals whose carcasses would otherwise carry diseases that could imperil human society. Regarding these, God tells us: “And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, the kite, and the falcon after its kind; every raven after its kind, the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the seagull, and the hawk after its kind; the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat” (vv. 13–19).
Even if you live in a developed part of the world, you may occasionally see vultures circling overhead, awaiting the imminent death of a creature below. You may have seen a flock of buzzards feeding on the carcass of a deer or other animal at the side of the road, or crows picking at “road kill” in the middle of a busy street. It is easy to see why birds that eat the flesh of animals are unfit for human consumption, and fall under the proscription of God’s law regarding unclean meats.
What about insects? God tells us: “All flying insects that creep on all fours shall be an abomination to you. Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on all fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. But all other flying insects which have four feet shall be an abomination to you” (vv. 20–23).
You may have watched a television show in which contestants were challenged to consume a large number of very unappealing bugs. It may be hard to believe that insects are used as a major source of protein in some cultures around the globe. Flies and mosquitos are among the many insects that can carry and transmit diseases. A colony of ants can reduce a dead animal to a picked-clean skeleton in a surprisingly short span of time. Yet there are a few insects, like those described in the above scripture, that feed strictly on vegetation and can be healthful food for human beings.
Unclean Meat
Verses 24–47 of Leviticus 11 go on to describe animals that God intended to be used for human food, and others that were not. Around the world, pork is one of the most popular meats, as pig farming is relatively inexpensive and does not require a high standard of cleanliness. Yet, even the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine has reported that this meat which God has prohibited can be very dangerous to consume (“Clinical Features of Nipah Virus Encephalitis among Pig Farmers in Malaysia,” April 27, 2000). Not only does its high fat content bring risks of heart and artery problems; it can be contaminated with nematodes, a parasitical worm that causes the disease trichinosis. Other carnivores’ meat can also be contaminated with this organism, and even potentially “clean” meats can be rendered dangerous when greedy farmers change their livestock’s diet for the worse. Cows are normally herbivores, but can contract a disease known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) when they are fed a diet that includes the flesh of dead cattle. A related syndrome, Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease, can then occur in human beings who eat the flesh of cows afflicted with BSE.
God made human beings in His image (Genesis 1:27). Our Creator knows which foods He designed for our nourishment and the maintenance of our health. If “we are what we eat,” we can appreciate that when we consume the flesh of unclean mammals, birds, insects and sea creatures, we are ingesting not only meats that God did not intend for us, but indirectly all the poisons and garbage that those creatures had taken into themselves.
Indeed, much human illness and disease is a direct result of people failing to live by God’s clear instruction to avoid the abomination of unclean foods. For a more in-depth study on this subject, request our free reprint article, Don’t Eat the Cleanup Crew!
Sexual Abominations
God gave men and women a natural physical attraction to one another, and when a husband and wife join together as “one flesh” (Genesis 2:24), their union is a God-ordained blessing—not only for the two of them, but for the family they will create and nurture. We read: “But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth” (Malachi 2:15).
Sadly, in our present day, the bond between husband and wife is increasingly belittled. Men and women often expect to be “sexually active” before marriage, and society is becoming more and more accepting of same-gender sexual relations, even though God calls it an abomination (Leviticus 18:22).
How widespread are these attitudes? An April 2011 CNN poll disclosed, “A majority of Americans now believe that same-sex marriages should be legal.... the first time that a CNN poll has found majority support for same-sex marriage.... Sixty percent of Americans under 50 support same-sex marriage, but only four in ten of those over 50 feel the same” (“More Americans Favor Same-Sex Marriage,” April 19, 2011). Politicians are aware of this change in attitude, and same-sex marriage is becoming a contentious issue fought at the ballot box and in the courts.
How far we have drifted from the simplicity of God’s word, which reveals to us: “And Adam said: ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed” (Genesis 2:23–25).
God flooded the entire earth in Noah’s day, and His displeasure with Sodom and Gomorrah led to their destruction. How much longer can society continue on its present course without God’s intervention? God the Father and His Son are not “asleep at the wheel.” Scripture attests to God’s resolve in the face of evil. “‘But as for those whose hearts follow the desire for their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their deeds on their own heads,’ says the Lord God” (Ezekiel 11:21).
The Abomination of Idolatry
False religion is, of course, an abomination in the eyes of God. “Then He said to me, ‘Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these.’ So He brought me into the inner court of the Lord‘s house; and there, at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east. And He said to me, ‘Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence; then they have returned to provoke Me to anger. Indeed they put the branch to their nose. Therefore I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare nor will I have pity; and though they cry in My ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them’” (Ezekiel 8:15–18).
No one who calls himself a Christian would dare even to think of bowing down before an idol. But how many of us, even after baptism, are holding on to “idols” that we maintain in our hearts (Ezekiel 14:3–7)? Are we allowing the pursuit of wealth to come between us and our Creator? Are we loving God less than we love our family, our work or our leisure time? God is real, and His power is real, and we need to put Him first in our lives in order to receive what He wants to give us. If you have not already done so, read our booklet, The Real God: Proofs and Promises to learn more about the true God and how He wants to intervene in your life.
Abominations of the Mind
If, physically, we are what we eat, then mentally we are what we allow into our minds. The Apostle Peter told Christians to “gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Peter 1:13). Our thoughts lead to actions. As Jesus Christ warned, “out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man” (Mark 7:20–23).
We may make a great effort to deceive others about the condition of our heart. But Scripture admonishes us: “He who hates, disguises it with his lips, and lays up deceit within himself; when he speaks kindly, do not believe him, for there are seven abominations in his heart; though his hatred is covered by deceit, his wickedness will be revealed before the assembly” (Proverbs 26:24–26). And, long before our wicked thoughts have become known to those around us, God will have seen them for what they are. “But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, ‘Why do you think evil in your hearts’”? (Matthew 9:4).
There came a time, earlier in the history of mankind, when human hearts had become so wicked that God felt He had no other choice than to intervene and stop the wickedness. God inundated the earth with water, and “started over” with Noah and his immediate family. “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6:5–6).
Jesus Christ warned that, at the end of this age, mankind will again be full of wickedness “as the days of Noah were” (Matthew 24:37). Are we doing all we can to keep our minds free of the abominations God hates? Or are we going along with a world rushing headlong into such evil that only Christ’s return will be able to put an end to it?
The End Is Near!
Is society reaching a point of collapse? How long will it be until these words of the prophet Ezekiel come to pass: “Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘And you, son of man, thus says the Lord God to the land of Israel: “An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. Now the end has come upon you, and I will send My anger against you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will repay you for all your abominations. My eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity; but I will repay your ways, and your abominations will be in your midst; then you shall know that I am the Lord!”’ Thus says the Lord God” (Ezekiel 7:1–5).
The world’s society, under the sway of Satan, the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:4), has given itself over to false anti-God values. Our world is so upside down that, as Christ described, “what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).
Scripture records the prophecy that, at the end of this age, a great false religious system will expand its power over the earth. That power is described as “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth” (Revelation 17:5). That power will be the force behind a great desecration known as the “abomination of desolation” (Daniel 11:31; Matthew 24:15).
Thankfully, there is hope! Even if society continues to decline and decay, we as Christians must resist this downward slide. But do we have the power to resist? By ourselves, our strength would not be sufficient, but as Christians we have the power of God’s Holy Spirit within us. Even as society becomes more and more satanic, we can individually (and as a Church) become more Christ-like.
A time is coming when God the Father will descend to the earth with the New Jerusalem. Who will be able to inhabit that glorious city? God tells us that “there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:27). Let us all strive to avoid abominations in our lives, and remain obedient to our Savior, that we may have a part in that glorious future!
—LCG Editorial Staff