Froward, March

(Proverbs 2:14 KJV)  Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;

In looking at the KJV I was again struck by the archaic word “frowardness” (perversity NASB) (8419).  It is so easy to confuse with “forward” if you are reading fast or assume it is a misprint.  It is actually a contrast to forward.  The difference is in the prefix.  “Fro” and “for” are like “pro” and “con.”  They are opposites.  That helps us understand this characteristic of evil. 

Frowardness means to be turning back from the direction that God would have us go.  We meet people like this.  Sometimes we are those people.  Here it is implied, not that they have minds of their own, but that they have minds that thrive on being contrary to God.  When they see evil going on and it is obviously working to counter righteousness, they rejoice.  For example when a judge declares that pornography is covered by the free speech clause in the Bill of Rights, they celebrate and praise the decision even though it is obviously advancing evil.

So?  Consider what you support and advance.  A current example would be the recent decisions of the Boy Scouts.  They may be politically correct and in tune with the times but are they forward or froward?