Verses 1-6

1 Praise the Lord! For all who fear God and trust in him are blessed beyond expression. Yes, happy is the man who delights in doing his commands.

2 His children shall be honored everywhere, for good men's sons have a special heritage.

3 He himself shall be wealthy, and his good deeds will never be forgotten.

4 When darkness overtakes him, light will come bursting in. He is kind and merciful—

5 and all goes well for the generous man who conducts his business fairly.

6 Such a man will not be overthrown by evil circumstances. God's constant care of him will make a deep impression on all who see it.

As men, we need to ask ourselves the question, "What does it mean to be a man?" To find the answer I thought we would take a look at what the Bible has to say about being a man, and examine ourselves in the light of God’s word. God told Job in Job 38:3, "Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me." If we have questions, the answers are found in scripture.

In Hebrew, which is the language of the Old Testament, there are many different words used for "man." Each one reveals a slightly different aspect of what makes up the whole picture of man. Let’s look at these eight different Hebrew words along with some Bible verses which teach us about being a man.

< #$wOn)v> enosh: weak or sick — This word indicates our true state even though we don’t like to admit it. We are frail human beings apart from the strength of the Lord. It doesn’t matter how strong we think we are or how self-reliant we are, or how much we feel we are in control of our life, God will allow something to happen to us to remind us of our frailty. God wants us to recognize our own weakness.

Psalm 33:16, "There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength."

2 Corinthians 12:9-10, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

< mytim;> methim: mortal — This word goes along with the first one: we are mortal and subject to disease, sickness and death. We are nothing but dust, and to the dust we will return. In fact, apart from God, our lives have no more meaning or value than the lives of animals. As men, we don’t like to talk about our own death. This is why many men don’t like to think about life insurance and don’t want to take the time filling out a will. And many others don’t want to face their eternal destiny. We don’t like facing our own mortality. But we are mortal, and we need to think about where we will be spending eternity.

Psalm 103:15-17, "As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, And its place remembers it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children."

Psalm 84:12, "O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee."

< mdf)f> adam: man of the earth — We are men of the earth. We spend many hours each day working. Adam was told to till the ground, and we are the sons of Adam. How we spend our time on the job will tell us a lot about our walk with God. Do we work grudgingly, are we a complainer, do we call in sick just because we don’t feel like working? Do we feel our job is a drudgery with uncaring co-workers and pay that is too low? Or are we enthusiastic about our work, a positive influence on the job, and rejoicing for the paycheck God has provided us to meet our needs? We are men of the earth; we will have to work, but we might as well make the best of it and praise God in even the most difficult of circumstances.

Psalm 104:23, "Man goeth forth unto his work and to his labour until the evening."

Psalm 74:5, "A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees."

< #$pene> nepesh: soul of man, inner being — Too often men don’t like to look at their inner self. But we have an inner side: a soul and a spirit. How are we doing emotionally, how are we doing spiritually? We need to learn how to express our inner self to our wife and family, and we need to learn how to express our deepest feelings to our God, our Creator, our Redeemer. Let’s not bottle up our emotions. Don't be afraid to admit your weaknesses, your fears, your concerns. God has made us body, soul, and spirit. Allow God to minister in all areas of your life.

Psalm 61:2, "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

Psalm 55:13, "But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance."

< rkfzf> zakar: remembered — This is an interesting word. The root word means "remember" in all variations. It came to mean man because a father’s memory was passed on through his son. You would see the son and remember the father. What legacy are we passing on to our children? How will we be remembered? A father can have a tremendous influence on children as they’re growing up if they take an active part in their raising. This means time spent. As our young children are growing up, we need to be willing to be interrupted, to sometimes even put aside the task we are doing. We need to include our children in our activities. If there are times we feel we don’t want to take the children with us because they are too much of a bother, then we probably have the wrong attitude. Include your family in all your activities. They will be grown up and on their own soon enough, and then you’ll have all the time in the world for your own pursuits. But you will never be able to make up lost time with your children.

Ephesians 6:4, "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."

Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Colossians 3:21, "Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged."

Psalm 127:4, "As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth."

< #$y)i> ish: husband — If we are married, God has called us to be a husband. The English word husbandry gives us a good idea of what a husband should be. Husbandry is the art of cultivating plants (or animals). The person must care for the plants, dress them, provide for them, and nurture them. By doing this he will see the plants blossom and become productive. He must be looking out for the best interests of the plants! Now there are all different kinds of plants: some must be indoors, others will grow in the shade, and others thrive in the sun. To place a house plant out in the sun would be the sign of a poor husbandman. And yet how often do we husbands try to get our wives to do things against their very nature. And then when they fail, we tell them, "What’s wrong with you? You act like a house plant." But the real question is, what’s wrong with us, that we don’t understand our own wives by now? Are you married so that your wife will give you something and do certain things for you? Or are you married, and you try to be the one who is giving and helping? Unfortunately, sometimes we husbands take better care of our car than we do our wife.

Ephesians 5:25, "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it"

< rbeg%e> geber: strong man — The Lord wants us to be strong. This may seem to contradict the earlier Hebrew word which told us we are weak and frail, but our strength comes from God. There are times when we must take a strong stand. On spiritual issues, on moral issues, we must be firm and not waver. When it comes to disciplining the children, there will be times when we will want to give in to those pleas, but we must be strong. There may be times when the pull of the world will try to interfere with our family’s spiritual walk, but we must remain strong. There will even come times when we will be personally tempted which could lead to harm to our family, in such areas as lust, alcohol, gambling. We must be strong.

Psalm 84:5, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them."

Psalm 28:7, "The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him."

Psalm 1:1, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful."

< l(ab@a> ba’al: master, lord — This word can also mean owner or possessor. We must conduct ourselves in the world according to Godly principles. We should be the master of our skill or profession: in other words do the best job we possibly can. But also we must take responsibility for our family. This doesn’t mean rule it with an iron fist, but rather realize that we are responsible to God for our family. When I hear fathers say, "I don’t know what to do with my children. I’ve given up trying," I realize they have forgotten that they have a responsibility to keep on trying no matter how difficult or impossible the task may seem. We may have to spend long time in prayer for our family. It’s hard work to try to teach our children the ways of God. And if we truly think of ourselves as the master of our house or our profession, then we realize there are things in our life that make us a poor example to others. We can tell others that we love God, but does our life show it? We must allow the Holy Spirit to change us to what he wants us to be so that we can be an effective father, an effective husband, an effective worker, and an effective witness for Jesus.

Psalm 112:5, "A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion."

Psalm 104:14, "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth"

Psalm 37:23, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way."

Conclusion

Wallace tells us, "The Genesis account of creation accords to man a supreme place in the cosmos. Not only is his creation the final work of God, but in it the work of the other five days finds its fulfillment and its meaning. Man is to possess the earth, make it serve him, and to rule the other creatures. ...in spite of the fall, man under the promise of Christ must still be regarded as in the image of God, not because of what he is in himself, but because of what Christ is for him, and because of what he is in Christ. In Christ is now to be seen the true meaning of the covenant which God sought to make with man in the Word, and the destiny which man was made to fulfill, for the unfaithfulness of man does not nullify the faithfulness of God."

So what does it mean to be a man? But only you can answer for yourself with God’s help what it means to you to be a man. Allow the Lord to minister through you and teach you. I would like to conclude this study of being a man with Exodus 10:11, "Go now, you who are men, and serve the LORD...."

Link to Study Notes

Footnotes:

This study on "What Does It Mean To Be a Man?" © 1997 by David Humpal. All Rights Reserved.

All scriptures unless otherwise noted are from the King James Version

Psalm 112:1-6 from The Living Bible © 1971, Tyndale House Publishers

Job 38:3 and Philippians 4:13 from the New King James Version © 1984, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Scriptures given are used to illustrate the main teaching of the Hebrew word, but may not actually contain that word.

Psalm 103:15-17 from the New King James Version © 1984, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Psalm 28:7 from the New King James Version © 1984, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Wallace: The New Bible Dictionary pg. 776, © 1962, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Exodus 10:11 from the New King James Version © 1984, Thomas Nelson Publishers

Schaff A Dictionary of the Bible pg. 541 ©1885! American Sunday School Union

Unger: The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary pg. 808, © 1988, Moody Press

Fausset: Bible Encyclopaedia and Dictionary pg. 447, Zondervan Publishing House

Hamilton: (cited twice) Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 535 © 1980, Moody Press

Waltke: Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 119 © 1980, Moody Press

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon pg. 659, The Clarendon Press: Oxford

Coppes: Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 11 © 1980, Moody Press

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament pg. 35, The Clarendon Press: Oxford

McComiskey: Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 38 © 1980, Moody Press

Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies pg. 266, MacDonald Publishing Company

McComiskey: Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 59 © 1980, Moody Press

Coppes: Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, vol. 1, pg. 10 © 1980, Moody Press

Wilson’s Old Testament Word Studies pg. 265, MacDonald Publishing Company