This biblical proverb says that nations are prospered or punished based upon “righteousness.” This is surprising because one would think it would be power, or wealth, or intellect that exalts a nation.

But it isn’t. According to the contrarian wisdom of King Solomon, it’s not national might, or success, or innovation that brings blessing to a country. Instead, it’s character—the character of its people.

Righteousness is about character. It’s about the moral constitution of a people—the shared beliefs and common convictions that makeup the soul of a community or a country.

Their collective righteousness IS the issue. So, what exactly is “righteousness”? In the Old Testament Hebrew, the word is tsdaqah, and it means justified. If something is “justified,” it is in a right relationship.

And what is a right relationship? Its New Testament Greek counterpart is dikaioó, and the word refers to making two lines “right.” When two lines are justified, they form a right or justified relationship.

This is also true of mankind and God. The biblical concept of “righteousness” is about a proper relationship between God and man and about a right ordering among nations.

In other words, there is a vertical part to righteousness and a horizontal part. The former is the right alignment between man and God and the latter a congruence between man and his community.

According to Proverbs 14:34, that right alignment and congruence is the key to national and generational flourishing.

So, if justification is the key, then the question is with what? The answer is with God and His revealed will in the Scriptures. That is, the key to national blessing and prosperity is alignment with God and His Word.

And what does alignment look like? It looks like honoring God by applying His Word to our cultural centers, to our civic institutions, and particularly to our government institutions.

After all, it is only when we align society with biblical truth that we will see our nation exalted. In other words, our blessing, our flourishing, and our prospering as a people fully depends on the quality of our national moral character.