Provérbios 29

Provérbios 29:18

Meyer - Our Daily Homily - Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision. What a difference it makes to our teaching and preaching where there is no vision! The people perish for want of seers of those who can say with the apostle, “That which we have seen and heard, declare we unto you also, that ye may have fellowship with us.” It is not difficult to know whether a poet or painter has a vision. If he have, there is glow and passion in his work. And it is not more difficult to detect in the accent of the speaker on divine things, whether he is speaking at secondhand, or as the result of direct vision. This vision of God was vouchsafed to Moses and Elijah and the apostle Paul. Concerning the latter God said, “He shall be a minister and a witness of things which he has seen.” This is our only qualification for teaching others; not intellect, nor imagination, nor rhetoric, but to have seen the King and beheld the pattern on the mount. For such a vision, on our part, there must be humility, patience, and faith, a definite withdrawal from the life of sense, and a definite fixedness of gaze on the things that are unseen and eternal. But on God’s part there must be revelation. (ED: INDEED HIS WORD IS THE KEY AND WITHOUT IT WE TEND TO "RUN WILD!") “It pleased God,” said the apostle, “to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach Him.” The apostle said, “I could not see for the glory of that light.” A party of tourists was divided one dull morning in Switzerland; the majority thought that it was useless to attempt the mountains. A few started, soon got beyond the low-hanging clouds, spent a day in the heights under marvellous skies, and returned at night, radiant, and overflowing with what they had seen. Ah, speaking is easy when one has seen! EDITORIAL ADDENDUM - PERHAPS WE MIGHT CONSIDER FREQUENTLY PRAYING THE INCREDIBLE WORDS OF MOSES... “I pray You, show me Your glory!” (Exodus 33:18+) THEN WHEN WE OPEN HIS REVELATION, HIS SPIRIT MAY GIVE US VISIONS OF HOLY MAJESTY AS WE HAVE NEVER SEEN BEFORE! LET IT BE SO LORD FOR ALL WHO DARE PRAY THIS BOLD PRAYER. IN JESUS' NAME. AMEN. RECOMMENDATION - Watch and/or listen to Dr Steve Lawson's message - Show Me Your Glory David Jeremiah - HAPPY IS HE WHO OBEYS PROVERBS 29:18 Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but happy is he who keeps the law. Roger Staubach, who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in 1971, admitted that it was difficult for him to be a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals. Coach Tom Landry told Staubach when to pass, when to run, and only in emergency situations could he change the play. Even though Staubach considered Coach Landry to have a “genius mind” when it came to football strategy, pride told him he should have been able to run his own defense. Staubach later said, “I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey, there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory.” Every Christian needs to come to terms with the issue of obedience as well. True happiness and fulfillment come in obeying God’s commands. Many have turned down the wrong corridor in search of happiness. They have chased after possessions, pleasures, and positions, only to find themselves at a dead end. Disillusioned by a world that promised happiness, they stand before a chasm of emptiness and trouble. Have you been searching for happiness in all the wrong places? True happiness awaits those who obey Christ. (See context in Sanctuary: Finding Moments of Refuge in the Presence of God) Oswald Chambers - Grasp without reach Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint. Proverbs 29:18 (R.V.). There is a difference between an ideal and a vision. An ideal has no moral inspiration; a vision has. The people who give themselves over to ideals rarely do anything. A man’s conception of Deity may be used to justify his deliberate neglect of his duty. Jonah argued that because God was a God of justice and of mercy, therefore everything would be all right. I may have a right conception of God, and that may be the very reason why I do not do my duty. But wherever there is vision, there is also a life of rectitude because the vision imparts moral incentive. Ideals may lull to ruin. Take stock of yourself spiritually and see whether you have ideals only or if you have vision. (ED: THIS FOCUS IS ON OUR VISION NOT GOD'S VISION, GOD'S WORD.) ‘Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?’ “Where there is no vision …” When once we lose sight of God, we begin to be reckless, we cast off certain restraints, we cast off praying, we cast off the vision of God in little things, and begin to act on our own initiative. (ED: THIS STATEMENT GETS CLOSER TO WHAT THE PROVERB IS ALLUDING TO) If we are eating what we have out of our own hand, doing things on our own initiative without expecting God to come in, we are on the downward path, we have lost the vision. Is our attitude to-day an attitude that springs from our vision of God? Are we expecting God to do greater things than He has ever done? Is there a freshness and vigour in our spiritual outlook? WHAT VISION? - Walter Kaiser in Hard Sayings of the Bible "For many years this proverb has been misinterpreted, probably because the KJV translates it “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” One can infer from that translation that wise groups must have a five-, ten- or twenty-year plan for the future if they do not wish to become defunct as an organization. And many have taken just that meaning from this text. However, the word vision does not refer to one’s ability to formulate future goals and plans. Instead, it is a synonym for the prophetic word itself. It is what a prophet does. It refers to the prophetic vision, revelation which comes as the word of God. Israel endured times when the prophetic word was silent. When Samuel was a young boy, “in those days the word of the LORD was rare” (1 Sam 3:1). For all the times Israel rejected the word, God sent a famine on the earth; not a famine of food and water, but an even more damaging famine: a famine of the word of God (Amos 8:12; see also 2 Chron 15:3; Ps 74:9). Besides vision, a second key word has been misunderstood in this verse: the word perish. This does not refer to the perishing of churches with inactive planning committees (a fact which may be true on grounds other than those presented here in this text). Nor does it mean the perishing of the unevangelized heathen who will die in their sin if someone does not reach them quickly (a fact which is also true on other grounds). The word translated in the KJV as “perish” has a very impressive background to it. It means “to cast off all restraint.” It clearly warns that where the word of God is silenced so that it no longer comments on the local situation, the results are terrifying. The populace becomes ungovernable as they cast aside all that is decent and civil for whatever their own baser appetites wish to indulge in. The best picture of how this takes place can be found in Exodus 32:25. While Moses was absent for a mere forty days on Mount Sinai receiving the law of God, the people began to fear that he would never return. Without the input of the prophetic word, the people began to get out of control. They cast off all restraint and began to dance about a newly made golden calf. They ate and drank and indulged in open immorality, apparently recalling what they had seen in Egypt. Without the announcement of the word of God, teaches this text, the people will become unrestrained, disorderly and grossly obscene in their manner of life. The verb means to “let loose,” that is, “to let one’s hair down,” whether literally or figuratively (see also Lev 13:45 and Num 5:18). On the other hand, this proverb continues, “Blessed is he who keeps the law.” Thus, on the one hand, people are in an untenable position when the voice of the preacher ceases, because they let loose and nothing is left to restrain them; but, on the other hand, they are only truly happy when they have the good fortune of possessing the word of God and then place themselves under the hearing and doing of that word. (Scroll down to page 262 in Hard Sayings of the Bible) ILLUSTRATION OF Proverbs 29:18 - October 7, 1969 the Montreal, Canada police force went on strike. Because of what resulted, the day has been called Black Tuesday. A burglar and a policeman were slain. Forty-nine persons were wounded or injured in rioting. Nine bank holdups were committed (almost a tenth of the total number of holdups that occurred the previous year) along with 17 robberies at gunpoint. Usually disciplined, peaceful citizens joined the riffraff and went wild, smashing some 1,000 plate glass windows in a stretch of 21 business blocks in the heart of the city, hauling away stereo units, radios, TVs and wearing apparel. While looters stripped windows of valuable merchandise, professional burglars entered stores by doors and made off with truckloads of goods. A smartly dressed man scampered down a street with a fur coat over each arm. With no police around to reign in crime, anarchy reigned! (A modern day picture of the book of Judges!) JUDGES 21:25 A POIGNANT PASSAGE The book of Judges is vitally important for our post-Christian culture and the relatively somnolent American Church to consider and comprehend for it stands as a vivid, albeit tragic testimony to the fact that most of the nation of Israel continually went astray in their hearts (not all Israel for God always had a believing remnant). In other words their general "direction" (their walk, their conduct) was toward disobedience, not obedience to God's will and way! Centuries later the writer of Hebrews documented Israel's rebellious heart even from the very beginning. In Hebrews 3:10+ we see that the first generation of Israel, despite experiencing the miraculous Divine deliverances through the Passover Lamb (a foreshadowing of Christ, cp Ex 12:3-14+, Jn 1:29+, 1Co 5:7, 8+, 1Pe 1:18, 19+, Lk 22:20+, Re 5:6+) and the Red Sea, nevertheless continually went astray in their hearts and did not know God's ways. While the Passover and the Red Sea are clearly beautiful OT pictures of salvation, they were still but shadows of genuine salvation. Salvation then as now is critically dependent upon one exercising his or her personal faith in the Good News (Gospel) of the Messiah (Study the following passages - Jn 1:11-13+, Jn 6:29, Jn 9:35-38, Jn 12:36, 44, Jn 14:1, Acts 4:12+, Acts 16:31+, Ro 10:9, 10+, 1Ti 1:16+, 1Pe 1:8,9+, 1Jn 3:23, 24+, 1Jn 5:13+, Jesus' own testimony Mk 1:15+). This belief or faith (See studies of pistis = faith and pisteuo = believe) is not merely intellectual assent, but is "directional", in that it puts a new desire in one's heart (2Co 5:17+, Ezek 36:26, 27+, Php 2:12+, Php 2:13+) to walk generally (not perfectly) in the direction of God's will and way (holiness, godliness, righteousness, etc). In other words while salvation was then and is now and forever entered into ONLY by personal faith, that faith is demonstrated to be real, genuine, saving faith by one's subsequent walk of obedience. To reiterate, obedience does not save a person, but it does show that one's faith is genuine. Related Resources: Relationship of faith and obedience; Obedience of faith - Ro 1:5, 16:25 Jas 2:14-26+ Vision (02377) (chazown/chazon) describes a divine revelation by means of an oracle, a vision or a word from God (as to His prophets). The meaning is not so much the means (vision, oracle) but the end achieved (the message). This word speaks of God's direct revelation to people via His prophets, His "mouth pieces" as it were. Notice that in this passage "vision" is paralleled with the law, which further supports that the writer intends "vision" to mean a divine word or a word from God and, not someone's personal vision or dream. Chazon - 35x in 34v - vision(31), visions(4) - 1 Sa 3:1; 1 Chr. 17:15; 2 Chr. 32:32; Ps. 89:19; Prov. 29:18; Isa. 1:1; Isa. 29:7; Jer. 14:14; Jer. 23:16; Lam. 2:9; Ezek. 7:13; Ezek. 7:26; Ezek. 12:22; Ezek. 12:23; Ezek. 12:24; Ezek. 12:27; Ezek. 13:16; Dan. 1:17; Dan. 8:1; Dan. 8:2; Dan. 8:13; Dan. 8:15; Dan. 8:17; Dan. 8:26; Dan. 9:21; Dan. 9:24; Dan. 10:14; Dan. 11:14; Hos. 12:10; Obad. 1:1; Mic. 3:6; Nah. 1:1; Hab. 2:2; Hab. 2:3 Note the first use of chazon in Scripture is found in 1Sa 3:1. Could this have anything to do with the fact that 1 Samuel historically immediately follows the book of Judges (Jdg 21:25)? Unrestrained (06544) (para') means to let go, to let loose (literally was used to describe hair that was "loose" or unkempt - Lev 10:6NIV, cp Lev 13:45, "unbind the hair" = Nu 5:18), to unbind, to let run wild, to become ungovernable, to become unable to be reined in. Para' means to let loose, e.g. to let one’s hair down, literally (Lev 13:45; Nu 5:18) or figuratively as in Ex 32:25+ where it is translated out of control. Note that the children of Israel were out of control when Moses (who received the "vision") was out of vision (pun intended)! Gilbrant - The Hebrew word pāraʿ means "to be loose." By extension, the term may be understood as "to let alone," "to release" or "to show lack of restraint." The general sense of the word is to loose something, and pāraʿ is occasionally used in reference to hair which hung loosely and uncut. For example, the priests were prohibited from letting their hair become unkempt (Lev. 10:6; 21:10). Also, in the community of Israel, a person infected by a disease was required to leave his hair disheveled as one of the observable indicators to others of his uncleanness (Lev. 13:45). Furthermore, loosening the hair of a woman accused of adultery was part of the priestly test of her fidelity (Num. 5:18). Permitting an individual or group to get out of control is another aspect of "letting loose." For example, while Moses met with God on Mount Sinai, Aaron allowed the Israelites to run wild into pagan practices so that they became a "laughingstock to their enemies" (Exo. 32:25, NIV; cf. 2 Chr. 28:19). Proverbs 29:18 indicates a similar sense by stating, "Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law" (NIV). Several times in Proverbs, pāraʿ denotes willful rejection of wise instruction which results in suffering such consequences as poverty and shame (Prov. 1:25; 8:33; 13:18; 15:32). Elsewhere, the wise man avoids a dangerous option such as the path of the wicked (Prov. 4:15). According to Pharaoh, the Hebrews in Egypt were exhorted by Moses and Aaron to discontinue the slave labor forced upon them (Exo. 5:4). Finally, the Lord will not ignore nor relent from punishing the wicked conduct of Israel (Ezek. 24:14). Para' - 17x in 14v - avoid(1), brought about a lack(1), control(1), draw the away(1), get out of control(1), go loose(1), lack of restraint(1), let(1), neglect(1), neglected(1), neglects(2), relent(1), uncover(2), uncovered(1), unrestrained(1). -Exod. 5:4; Exod. 32:25; Lev. 10:6; Lev. 13:45; Lev. 21:10; Num. 5:18; 2 Chr. 28:19; Prov. 1:25; Prov. 4:15; Prov. 8:33; Prov. 13:18; Prov. 15:32; Prov. 29:18; Ezek. 24:14 Happy (0835) 'esher/'eser related to the verb 'ashar = to go or be straight, to go on, to advance, to be right) and always refers to people but never to God. Vine writes that "Basically, this word connotes the state of “prosperity” or “happiness” that comes when a superior bestows his favor (blessing) on one. In most passages, the one bestowing favor is God Himself = Dt. 33:29. The state that the blessed one enjoys does not always appear to be “happy” = (Job 5:17-18). Eliphaz was not describing Job’s condition as a happy one; it was “blessed,” however, inasmuch as God was concerned about him. Because it was a blessed state and the outcome would be good, Job was expected to laugh at his adversity (Job 5:22). God is not always the one who makes one “blessed.” = 1Ki 10:8." Keeps (careful, guard, kept, observe, watch) (08104) shamar means to keep, watch, preserve, to guard, to be careful, to watch over, to watch carefully over, to be on one’s guard. Hedge about as with thorns - the word the Hebrews used for a shepherd’s keeping watch over a flock of sheep. Conveyed the idea of protection as in Ps 121:7-8+ (used 3 times!) In the great Aaronic blessing Nu 6:24+ The first use of shamar in Ge 2:15 is instructive as Adam was placed in the garden (a perfect environment) and was commanded to "keep" it which in the Septuagint is translated with phulasso (which is used to translate many of the OT uses of shamar) which means to guard like a military sentinel would at his post. Clearly Adam did not do a good job at "keeping" the garden safe from intruders! And because of this failure he was cast out of the garden and angels stationed to "guard (Lxx = phulasso) the way to the tree of life" so that he would not eat of it (Ge 3:24+). After Cain murdered Abel he answered God "Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Ge 4:9)