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).
4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
5 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. 6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
Riches or Righteousness Protects
There comes a point in life that most people with wealth come to where they are faced with the truth that money cannot save you from everything in life. Where the fruit of your life, the fruit of your actions overtake any means to buy oneself out of a situation. People arrive at a place in life where all the money in the world cannot mend the broken health or the damaged relationship. Money though powerful in a secular world is not God even though many people think money is god.
There is protection to be found in righteousness. But what is righteousness?
“righteousness” in the Hebrew language is defined as follows:
6666. צְדָקָה tsedâqâh, tsed-aw-kaw’; from 6663; rightness (abstr.), subj. (rectitude), obj. (justice), mor. (virtue) or fig. (prosperity):— justice, moderately, right (-eous) (act, -ly, -ness).
6663. צָדַק tsâdaq, tsaw-dak’; a prim. root; to be (caus. make) right (in a moral or forensic sense):— cleanse, clear self, (be, do) just (-ice, -ify, -ify self), (be, turn to) righteous (-ness).
When trouble does arise the righteous are delivered by the power, wisdom, might, hand, will, and/or purpose of God(v.4). That deliverance is found in the form of the following, based on the definition.
“delivereth” in the Hebrew language is defined as follows:
5337. נָצַל nâtsal, naw-tsal’; a prim. root; to snatch away, whether in a good or a bad sense:— × at all, defend, deliver (self), escape, × without fail, part, pluck, preserve, recover, rescue, rid, save, spoil, strip, × surely, take (out).
God the Deliver, God the Protector, is going to take care of His righteous people(v.4).
In Christ Believers are made perfect. We are in a spiritual sense without spot or blemish, completely righteous in Christ. As we walk in the Spirit, which means to seek and follow Christ’s Will for us in all things, we can walk in a form of perfection only possible because of the strength and power of God (v.5).
Take a few moment to examine the definition of the words “perfect” and “direct” as defined in the Hebrew language.
“perfect” is defined as the following in the Hebrew language:
8549. תָּמִים tâmı̂ym, taw-meem’; from 8552; entire (lit., fig. or mor.); also (as noun) integrity, truth:— without blemish, complete, full, perfect, sincerely (-ity), sound, without spot, undefiled, upright (-ly), whole.
And then…
“direct” is defined as:
3474. יָשַׁר yâshar, yaw-shar’; a prim. root; to be straight or even; fig. to be (caus. to make) right, pleasant, prosperous:— direct, fit, seem good (meet), + please (will), be (esteem, go) right (on), bring (look, make, take the) straight (way), be upright (-ly).
Whereas the protection and direction for life is granted to the righteous through the power of Christ, Satan gives his people the fruit of their actions and his power as well. The wicked are undermined by their own wickedness. It will without doubt bring about their downfall, a downfall they played a major role in as they followed their leader, Satan (v.5,6).
“naughtiness” in the Hebrew language is defined as:
1942. הַוָּה havvâh, hav-vaw’; from 1933 (in the sense of eagerly coveting and rushing upon; by impl. of falling); desire; also ruin:— calamity, iniquity, mischief, mischievous (thing), naughtiness, naughty, noisome, perverse thing, substance, very wickedness.
And to be “taken” is defined in the Hebrew language as:
3920. לָכַד lâkad, law-kad’; a prim. root; to catch (in a net, trap or pit); gen. to capture or occupy; also to choose (by lot); fig. to cohere:— × at all, catch (self), be frozen, be holden, stick together, take.
Those individuals given to sin will find that sin seeks them and undermines them in their pursuits in life (v.6). In verse six “their own” was added to the text for clarity. Think for a moment about the two different ways that line in the verse could read, with and without the addition.
“but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.”
“but transgressors shall be taken in naughtiness.”
Thus, when you look at this portion of the verse in the two different ways, we can determine that a sinful person will be brought down by their own sin. Also we find that a sinful person’s sin will draw even more sin toward them, sin that will seek to destroy them.
Righteousness will breed more righteousness and sin will breed more sin. Destruction will be found at the end of the path of sin. Protection and deliverance will be found down the road of righteousness.
Please keep me in your prayers and know that if God should speak anything into your heart as you pray for me regarding my life, please feel free to share that with me. God speaks through His people.
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.