“A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.”
My Notes
What Does Proverbs 12:2 Mean?
"A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn." Goodness attracts God's favor. Wicked scheming attracts God's condemnation. The proverb presents divine response as reactive to human character: God doesn't favor or condemn arbitrarily. He responds to what He sees. Goodness draws favor. Wickedness draws condemnation.
The phrase "obtaineth favour" (yaphiq ratzon — draws forth delight/pleasure) means the good person DRAWS OUT God's approval: the favor is in God already, but the good person's character draws it forth. The way a well-made argument draws forth agreement, or a beautiful painting draws forth admiration, the good person's life draws forth God's pleasure. The favor is elicited by the character.
The "man of wicked devices" (ish mezimmot — a person of plots/schemes) is condemned not for a single bad act but for a CHARACTER of plotting: the wicked devices aren't one mistake. They're a pattern — a lifestyle of scheming, calculating, manipulating. The condemnation matches the pattern, not just the incident.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Are you drawing God's favor through simple goodness or accumulating condemnation through scheming?
- 2.What does goodness 'drawing forth' God's delight teach about the responsive nature of divine favor?
- 3.How does being a 'person of wicked devices' (pattern of plotting) differ from making a single mistake?
- 4.What would simple goodness — no schemes, no calculations — look like in your daily interactions?
Devotional
A good person draws out God's favor. A schemer draws out God's condemnation. The proverb makes the divine response proportional to the human character: what you ARE determines what you RECEIVE from God. Goodness elicits favor. Wickedness elicits judgment.
The 'obtaineth favour' — literally 'draws forth delight' — means God's favor is responsive to character: the good person's life DRAWS OUT God's approval the way a performance draws out applause. It's not arbitrary. It's not random. The favor is the appropriate response to what God sees when He looks at you. Your goodness makes God's favor the natural response.
The 'man of wicked devices' describes a person defined by scheming: not someone who made one bad decision but someone whose life is a pattern of plotting. The Hebrew 'mezimmot' means plans, schemes, calculations — the mental machinery of manipulation. This person's inner life is a factory of plots. Every interaction is a calculation. Every relationship is a strategy. And God condemns the pattern, not just the individual plots.
The contrast is between the simple goodness that draws favor and the complex scheming that draws condemnation: the good person doesn't need to calculate. They're just good — and the favor flows. The schemer calculates constantly — and the condemnation accumulates. The simplicity of goodness is more effective than the complexity of plotting.
Are you drawing forth God's favor through simple goodness — or accumulating condemnation through complex scheming?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
A good man obtaineth favour of the Lord,.... One that is made so by the grace of God, for no man is so naturally; there…
Note, 1. We are really as we are with God. Those are happy, truly happy, for ever happy, that obtain favour of the Lord,…
Cross References
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