1 Peter 3:12
For the eyes of the lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the lord is against those who do evil.”
Truth to Learn
God is watching over and listening to His righteous children, but He frowns on those who aren’t.
Behind the Words
“Eyes” is from the Greek word ophthalmos, meaning “eye.” It is derived from the verb optanomai, meaning “to see.”
The Greek word epi, meaning “on, over, or upon” appears twice in this verse. The first time it is translated “on” and the second time it is translated “against.” The reason for this is explained below.
The word translated “righteous” is dikaios, which means “one who does right” or “one who is just.”
“Prayers” is from the Greek word dēomai, meaning “to make known one’s particular need.”
The word “face” is translated from prosōpon, which is made up of pros, meaning “toward” and ōps (derived from optanomai, “to see”), referring to the area of the face around the eyes. Prosopon is nearly always translated “face.”
Meaning Explained
Today’s verse and the previous two verses are taken from the book of Psalms where it says:
Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry; the face of the LORD is against those who do evil … (Psalms 34:12-16a)
This demonstrates that even this common fisherman (Peter) had studied and memorized the scriptures of his day. Let us not use the excuse that the Bible is too complicated or too difficult to understand as our reason for not studying and memorizing it, since this common, uneducated fisherman was able to do it!
Isn’t it interesting that the Greek translation of this Old Testament passage used the same word (epi) for the eyes of the Lord being “on” the righteous and the face of the Lord being “against” evil doers. Here’s why. The Hebrews of that day believed that having God’s eyes on you indicated the presence of His blessing whereas having God’s face on (or over) you was an indication of His condemnation and coming wrath.
If you study the book of Romans, you will find that it is because of our faith in the blood of Jesus that we have been declared righteous by God. We have this righteousness credited to us the same way Abraham was declared righteous, because he believed God. Because we believe God’s message about His Son (He died in the cross to pay for our sins, and He arose from the grave), His eyes of blessing are on us. But those who reject God’s message regarding His Son will suffer His wrath because His face is over them watching all their faithless sin.
Application
Are God’s eyes on you or is his face against you? It all depends on your position in Christ. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, His eyes are on you. Otherwise …
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2009 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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