Upright describes a path, objects, or moral character that is level. The one who walks upright is conforming to the fixed standard of God’s law.
In Exodus 15:26, God gave Israel an ordinance. If they diligently heed His voice and do what is upright in His sight, He will put none of the diseases on them that He used to bring them out of Egypt. To walk upright, they were to give ear to His commandments and guard His statutes. Deuteronomy 6:18 reiterates these instructions to Israel. They are to do what is upright and good in the sight of the LORD, that all may be well with them.
When Asa became king, he did what was upright in the eyes of the LORD as his father David (1 Kings 15:11). He banished the perverted persons from the land and removed all the idols his father had made (1 Kings 15:12). He removed Maachah his grandmother from being queen mother and cut down the obscene image of Asherah (1 Kings 15:13).
The term ‘upright’ can also refer to the right course of action. In Jeremiah 18:4, God illustrates this with the metaphor of a potter who takes a flawed vessel and reshapes it in a manner that is upright for his intended use, making it clear to Israel that, in His hands, they are like clay in the potter’s hands.
The way of the fool is upright in his own eyes, but the one who heeds counsel is wise (Proverbs 12:15). Those who speak truth declare righteousness. The false witness only speaks deceit (Proverbs 12:17). There is a way that seems upright to a man, but leads to death (Proverbs 16:25). The person who labor’s for himself, the ungodly who digs up evil, the perverse man who sow’s strife, the violent man who entices his neighbor. The LORD weighs the hearts of men (Proverbs 21:2). To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice (Proverbs 21:3).
The way of the LORD is upright, and all his works are done in truth (Psalm 33:4). The LORD is righteous, and His face is towards the upright (Psalm 11:7). The LORD is the One who declares a man to be righteous before Him (Genesis 15:6).
Uprightness does not carry over directly into the New Testament because the Christian is righteous in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30). The closest concept to uprightness for the grace believer is doing what pleases God.
Pleasing (εὐάρεστος) denotes that which is acceptable in conduct. By using the renewed mind, the Christian can discern God’s will and thereby do what is pleasing to Him (Romans 12:2). It is acceptable to God for the grace believer to present his body as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). The one who is willing to give up his freedom concerning food for the sake of a weaker brother does what is acceptable to God and approved by men (Romans 14:18). We were once darkness, but now we are light in the Lord. Let us walk as children of the light, finding out what is acceptable to the Lord, while having no fellowship with darkness (Ephesians 5:8–11).
The Israelite who walked upright was obedient to the commandments from the LORD. The Christian, who is righteous in Christ, is well-pleasing in his conduct by doing God’s desirous will (Hebrews 13:20–21).
