What does God delight in?

This is a profound thing to think about, isn't it? Most of the time I feel like I have a pretty good idea of what He loves, but it's always better to go to the source. What does He delight in? I looked up the words "delight," delighted" and "delights" in my Bible, and here's a (nearly) exhaustive list of what I found (except for the "Thee's" and "Thou's" which I changed to modern English.)

"Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?" The prophet Samuel speaking to King Saul. 1 Samuel 15:22

"Since I know, O my God, that You try the heart and delight in uprightness..." King David praying. 1 Chronicles 29:17

"The steps of a man are established by the Lord, and He delights in his way." I love that one. Psalm 37:23

"Then I was beside Him, as a master workman; and I was daily His delight..." Wisdom "speaking" in first person, referring to God. Proverbs 8:30

"A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight." Proverbs 11:1

"The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord, but the blameless in their walk are His delight." Proverbs 11:20

"Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight." Proverbs 12:22

"The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight." Proverbs 15:8

"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights." Spoken of Jesus, according to Matthew 12:18. Isaiah 42:1

"'...but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things,' declares the Lord." Jeremiah 9:24

"For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings." God speaking through the prophet Hosea. The word "loyalty" there is the Hebrew word "hesed," which means a loyal, steadfast, faithful love (love for God, in this case). It also carries the idea of a belonging together. Hosea 6:6

"Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love." There's the word hesed again. Micah 7:18

Uprightness. Wisdom. Honesty and justice. Unchanging love. And us! And I'm sure that's just a partial list. "Delight" has many synonyms. If you know of other verses, I'd love to hear about it.

Kindness and Truth

"Do not let kindness and truth leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good repute in the sight of God and man." (Proverbs 3:3-4)

I almost named this blog after these Bible verses. There's so much to talk about in just these two.

What happens if you have kindness, but not the truth? What happens when you're truthful, but unkind? It's interesting to think about people, societies and history with these questions in mind.

What do you think?