Deuteronomy 7:26
And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This verse is a powerful warning: if you let something devoted to destruction into your home, you yourself become devoted to destruction. It highlights that our association with "abominations" isn't just a matter of external observance, but directly impacts our spiritual state, making us as cursed and doomed as the thing itself.
This verse comes at the end of a section where God commands the Israelites to utterly destroy the Canaanite nations they are about to conquer. He emphasizes that they must not show mercy to these people or adopt their idolatrous practices, as these things are utterly detestable and cursed. The command here is a final, forceful warning to ensure that absolutely nothing connected to these detestable idols enters their homes, lest it bring the same curse and destruction upon them.
The verse uses strong language: 'abomination,' 'cursed thing,' 'devoted to destruction.' What exactly does this mean, and why such a harsh decree?
The Hebrew word here, 'cherem' (or 'herem' in some transliterations), signifies something set apart, but not for blessing – for utter destruction. It was a total ban.
A Holy Ban
When Israel was commanded to utterly destroy certain nations or forbidden items, it wasn't about random violence. It was about maintaining holiness in the land God was giving them.
The command isn't just about grand, public acts of idolatry. It's about what you bring into your home. What does this teach us about personal holiness?
The term 'abomination' (Hebrew: 'to'ebah') refers to something deeply offensive to God, often associated with idolatry and detestable practices. The command to keep these out of the home was crucial for spiritual survival.
Protecting Your Sanctuary
Your home, like the land of Israel, is meant to be a space where God's presence is honored. Introducing 'abominations' risks bringing spiritual ruin.
Understand the original words
to'ebah · Hebrew Noun
Something that is morally disgusting, morally offensive, or ritually impure in the sight of God, often associated with idolatry and pagan practices that provoke divine wrath.
cherem · Hebrew Noun/Adjective
That which is under a divine curse or ban, set apart exclusively for destruction by God’s command because it is spiritually contaminated or forbidden; anything so designated must not be touched or kept, as it invokes judgment.
shaqats · Hebrew Verb
To express extreme hatred, repugnance, or loathing, especially toward things that are sinful or idolatrous; it signifies a total rejection of that which is spiritually dangerous.
ta'ab · Hebrew Verb
This passage directly illustrates the principle of the 'ban' or 'devotion to destruction' (herem), showing how even possessing a forbidden item, like the spoils of Jericho, brought divine judgment upon the entire community.
Joshua 7:11-13Achan's sin of taking forbidden plunder (a Babylonian garment, silver, and gold) brought disaster upon Israel, highlighting the severe consequences of bringing 'abominations' into one's life and how such actions can make an individual and their household 'cursed.'
Psalm 119:113This psalm expresses a heart that detests and abhors anything contrary to God's Word, mirroring the strong emotional and active rejection commanded in Deuteronomy for abominations, demonstrating this is a principle for all believers.
Romans 6:13Paul's exhortation to 'present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness' parallels Deuteronomy's command to reject what is devoted to destruction and instead dedicate oneself wholly to God.
1 Corinthians 10:20Paul warns against participating with demons, stating that 'what pagans sacrifice they sacrifice to demons, not to God,' which resonates with Deuteronomy's prohibition against engaging with anything connected to idolatry, lest one become entangled with evil spiritual forces.
gillDeuteronomy 7:26: "Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing."
Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thy house,.... An idol, so the Targum of Jonathan, the abominations of idols and their utensils, or what is ministered to them, with anything that appertains to them, or is used in the service of them, as well as the gold and silver upon them; th…
calvinDeuteronomy 7:16-26: "And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare unto thee."
The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out; so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid.
Probationum magnarum quas videru…
This verse is a powerful warning: if you let something devoted to destruction into your home, you yourself become devoted to destruction. It highlights that our association with "abominations" isn't just a matter of external observance, but directly impacts our spiritual state, making us as cursed and doomed as the thing itself.
This verse comes at the end of a section where God commands the Israelites to utterly destroy the Canaanite nations they are about to conquer. He emphasizes that they must not show mercy to these people or adopt their idolatrous practices, as these things are utterly detestable and cursed. The command here is a final, forceful warning to ensure that absolutely nothing connected to these detestable idols enters their homes, lest it bring the same curse and destruction upon them.
This verse comes at the end of a section where God commands the Israelites to utterly destroy the Canaanite nations they are about to conquer. He emphasizes that they must not show mercy to these people or adopt their idolatrous practices, as these things are utterly detestable and cursed. The command here is a final, forceful warning to ensure that absolutely nothing connected to these detestable idols enters their homes, lest it bring the same curse and destruction upon them.
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To view something with profound moral revulsion and intense dislike; it expresses a reaction of deep hostility toward that which is holy God's enemy.
"And you shall not bring an abominable thing into your house and become devoted to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest and abhor it, for it is devoted to destruction." — This verse is a powerful warning: if you let something devoted to destruction into your home, you yourself become devoted to destruction. It highlights that our association with "abominations" isn't…
