The Evil Man Does Not Stand Under Justice

“Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.” (Proverbs 28:5)

The evil man is a bad and immoral person. It is obvious that this type of person would not understand justice because they themselves do not do what is right. After all, they are the evil man. The primary thing the evil man does not do is seek the Lord, the standard and source of justice.

The contrast of the evil man is the righteous man. This man does understand justice. Matter of fact, he understands it completely because he seeks the Lord.

Justice is a favorable verdict in lieu of what is right. To understand justice is to have the ability to stand under, discern, and then separate things and ideas into the categories of good and bad, right and wrong, true and false. Evil people can not do this.

Because of the forgiveness I have received through Jesus, I would not consider myself an evil person any longer. I am surely fallen and depraved. But this is not the way in which the writer of the proverb intends to speak. He is speaking about the individual who will not seek the Lord, but rather thinks of himself as autonomous and the end decider of what he should or should not do in life. He is the judge and not God. This is the evil man.

But how can it be possible for the one who seeks the Lord to understand justice completely? Because, like all of the Bible, the truths here are intended to point us to Jesus. There has been only one person to have ever walked upon our earth that understands justice completely. And that person is Jesus Christ. This text humbles us because it shows us our lack, and also fills us with hope because of who it points us to. One day, we will be with the Lord and understand justice like Jesus does. Until that day, we are to seek the Lord, and he will continually increase our ability to discern.