The Moral Complications Of Divine Favoritism In The Old Testament

Before analyzing the moral implications of divine favoritism, one should ask how is it defined? The word “favoritism” is not used directly in the Old Testament, instead “favor” is used, which alludes to a differentiation between humanistic and divine ideologies of favor. When God favors man, he essentially is utilizing him to convey a larger message to humankind. The Old Testament takes a varying stance on the justification of divine favoritism; moreover, there are cases when God favors man because of their righteous acts and there are cases when God arbitrarily favors man. In other words, there is earned favoritism and arbitrary favoritism. Earned favoritism is a reward of good acts, a consequence of obeying the word of God. The Old Testament …show more content…
Initially, humans are favored without external exemplifications of righteousness, such as pursuing wisdom or displaying obedience. Once humans disobeyed God and they were punished, humans had to live according to God’s definition of virtue, while battling temptations of the flesh. God allows humans to gain favor again, through righteous living and obedience. To be favored by God, one must live according to his standard of righteousness, which is described throughout the Old Testament. Scriptures such as Proverbs 8:35 implicitly explain how to obtain …show more content…
Correspondingly, divine favoritism does not equate to humanistic portrayals of favoritism; furthermore, humans exert bias in an effort to receive gains for their own pleasure. When arbitrary divine favoritism serves as a means to a beneficial end, then it is morally permissible. Purpose lies in divine favoritism, whether that is to teach a lesson for readers or for God to prove himself as the almighty one. God does not favor specific people to put them above others or to set them apart in a manner which would only be advantageous to the person being favored, rather God’s favor is intended to bless the