Proverbs for Living - 29

Proverbs 29:18 (CSB) - "Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy."

Many older translations give this verse as "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he." The Hebrew word used here for revelation, châzôn, means literally vision, and is speaking of a prophetic vision. 

We need God’s word and this proverb is a great reminder of that fact. The Bible, the inspired scriptures of the only true God, is crucial for us. Without a revelation of God’s will, mankind is desperately ignorant and will self-destruct. Individual examples of dysfunction are all around us. Man will soon destroy the world with their insane rebellion, except for God holding it all together. Neglect the Bible to our own peril. Fulfillment and happiness are by keeping God’s commandments, which can only be known by attention to the Bible. Your success and prosperity depend on you having a message from God. 

As often in the Proverbs, we see that the parallelism tells us that “vision” is the hearing and reading of God’s word. A happy man is contrasted with people perishing, and the law of God is contrasted with “no vision.”  The lesson is simple but powerful. God’s word is a great blessing, and obeying it is the basis for true happiness. But where the word of God is not preached, the people will die in ignorance and folly from starvation for knowledge.  The Holy Scriptures and the faithful preaching of them provide more value to us than any other blessing. For obeying God’s word saves us from horrible ignorance and trouble, leads us to the highest peace, prosperity, and pleasure possible in this world, and contains all the spiritual instruction to prepare us for the next world. It teaches us how to walk with God in confidence of eternal life and personal fellowship with Him.

As I remind the churches I have pastored - "Two things you need to do every day - Read Your Bible and Pray!"

Prayer: Make us good listeners, good learners of Your Word. You Word, Father, gives life, sustains life, and prospers us in life. I will seek to read Your Word and heed Your Word. Amen.