The Scripture passages are identified with bold upright font and the author’s notes are identified with italic regular font.

Note – All words or phrases found in quotation marks are actual parts of the Hebrew or Greek definition(s).

² A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

In or Out of Favor?

To be in the favour of God is one of the greatest blessings in life. However, to be out of favour with God in the manner addressed in this verse is the worst, it is a form of condemnation.

Good people obtain favor with God. People who practice evil live with the condemnation of God. So let us look at what both the “good” and the “wicked” person looks like.

“good” in the Hebrew is defined as:

2896. טוֹב ṭôwb, tobe; from 2895; good (as an adj.) in the widest sense; used likewise as a noun, both in the masc. and the fem., the sing. and the plur. (good, a good or good thing, a good man or woman; the good, goods or good things, good men or women), also as an adv. (well):— beautiful, best, better, bountiful, cheerful, at ease, × fair (word), (be in) favour, fine, glad, good (deed, -lier, -liest, -ly, -ness, -s), graciously, joyful, kindly, kindness, liketh (best), loving, merry, × most, pleasant, + pleaseth, pleasure, precious, prosperity, ready, sweet, wealth, welfare, (be) well ([-favoured]).

2895. טוֹב ṭowb, tobe; a prim. root, to be (tran. do or make) good (or well) in the widest sense:— be (do) better, cheer, be (do, seem) good, (make) goodly, × please, (be, do, go, play) well.

There are many characteristics to be seen in this definition to help you assess what a “good” person should look like. The main ones to keep in mind is that a good person is “kind” and” loving” toward people. They are “at ease” with themselves and others because they know their heart and life is pure, they are “good” inside and out. Some of the definitions in the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary include “virtuous” and “of the highest worth and reliability” – yes, a person considered good in God’s eyes would be of great worth and would have to be godly as well as faithful.

“favour” in the Hebrew language is defined as:

7522. רָצוֹן râtsôwn, raw-tsone’; or

רָצֹן râtsôn, raw-tsone’; from 7521; delight (espec. as shown):— (be) acceptable (-ance, -ed), delight, desire, favour, (good) pleasure, (own, self, voluntary) will, as … (what) would.

7521. רָצָה râtsâh, raw-tsaw’; a prim. root; to be pleased with; spec. to satisfy a debt:— (be) accept (-able), accomplish, set affection, approve, consent with, delight (self), enjoy, (be, have a) favour (-able), like, observe, pardon, (be, have, take) please (-ure), reconcile self.

The idea of the favor of God is a wonderful thing. It holds so much, much of which is beyond description. God has “delight” and finds the good person “acceptable” in His sight, taking “good pleasure” in having them as part of His family. He is “pleased with” that person because they have chosen goodness, godliness, in return or to pay Him back for the great sacrifice Jesus made on their behalf; they are in their small way trying “to satisfy a debt” they owe to Jesus by living for Jesus in a godly manner. Favor brings the ability to “accomplish” in life because God now “approves” of you, and He “delights” himself in you and allows you to “delight” within yourself. The favor of God is the greatest “pardon” in life, and it brings about the ability for God to “reconcile self”- meaning reconcile you to what you were created to be.

Again, to be condemned by God is the worst thing that could happen to a person in this life. Though to the wicked it is their lot, because by their choice, they choose to be a wicked person.

“wicked” in the Hebrew is defined as:

4209. מְזִמָּה m^ezimmâh, mez-im-maw’; from 2161; a plan, usually evil (machination), sometimes good (sagacity):— (wicked) device, discretion, intent, witty invention, lewdness, mischievous (device), thought, wickedly.

2161. זָמַם zâmam, zaw-mam’; a prim. root; to plan, usually in a bad sense:— consider, devise, imagine, plot, purpose, think (evil).

“machination” means to be a plotting, scheming, or maneuvering person.

For many Christians, myself included, we do things that are wrong, we even know they are wrong when we do them, but to have a mind and heart that sets out to do “wicked, mischievous, lewd” things, to actually “plan out evil” is a bit beyond my full grasp of understanding, yet I know it to be true of some people. My spouse use to say to me, ‘Why are you so surprised, so hurt, when people with an evil heart, do evil things that hurt you?’ I have never come to a place in life where it was what I expected from a person. However, for those who practice such evil, they live in the reality of God’s condemnation.

A look at what that condemnation looks like and how it might manifest in a person’s life.

“condemn” in the Hebrew language is defined as:

7561. רָשַׁע râsha˓, raw-shah’; a prim. root; to be (caus. do or declare) wrong; by impl. to disturb, violate:— condemn, make trouble, vex, be (commit, deal, depart, do) wicked (-ly, -ness).

God will have no part with a wicked person; His method of dealing with them is to “depart” from them in any positive or good sense. He does however bring “trouble” into their lives “to disturb” and “violate” their existence. God will “vex” their life, which is a very serious thing. To have one’s life vexed is a rough road – to vex means to bring “worry” to a person. It also means “to bring trouble, distress, or agitation, to bring physical distress, to irritate or annoy by petty provocations, or to shake or toss about” according to the Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, none of which sounds like a way any person would want to live. God is judge however, and God has “cause to declare wrong” the actions of an evil person and deal with those actions as He deems best.

Each person has a choice to live as a “good” person or an “evil” person in accordance with the Standard for good and evil that God has set. What will your choice be?

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Spiritual/Political Disclaimer:

This blog will not be for the faint of heart or the easily offended. It will not be in any way politically correct. It will make every effort to share the truth in love, [Ephesians 4:11-16], to a decaying and dying society and church. I share what I share not to hurt, harm, or offend any person[s] or group; I do it because Christ’s Standard and Truth is not being represented by enough of His Followers, and I do it out of love. I love enough to tell His Truth.

Ephesians 4:11-16 NKJV

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.