Provérbios 29

Provérbios 29:18

Henry commenting on Pr 29:18 calls us to observe "How bare does a place look without Bibles and ministers! and what an easy prey is it to the enemy of souls! The misery of the people that want a settled ministry: Where there is no vision, no prophet to expound the law, no priest or Levite to teach the good knowledge of the Lord, no means of grace, the word of the Lord is scarce, there is no open vision (1Sa. 3:1), where it is so the people perish (contrasted with)…The felicity of a people that have not only a settled, but a successful ministry among them, the people that hear and keep the law, among whom religion is uppermost; happy are such a people and every particular person among them. It is not having the law, but obeying it, and living up to it, that will entitle us to blessedness. (Proverbs 29 Matthew Henry's Commentary) Harry Ironside on Pr 29:18 - When ministry of this nature is lacking among the people of God and the assemblies of His saints, they soon become lawless, substituting for the Spirit’s energy the mere busy meddling of nature, and opening the door to what is simply of man in the flesh. But we would not forget the second part of the couplet. Even let ministry of an edifying character be rarely known, yet where the word of God controls there will be blessing. He who keeps it will be happy amidst the existing confusion, enjoying fellowship with Him who inspired it…Lack of vision will be manifested in a cold, dry, theological, or philosophical, treatment of the Scriptures, as though given to exercise the intellect, rather than the heart and the conscience. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians is one applicable for all Christians while in this scene of trial and testing (Eph. 1:15-23). (Notes on the Book of Proverbs). Henry Blackaby commenting on Pr 29:18 writes that "The world operates on vision. God's people live by revelation. The world seeks grand and noble purposes and goals to achieve. People dream up the greatest and most satisfying things in which they can invest their lives. Institutions establish goals and objectives and then organize themselves to achieve them. God's people function in a radically different way. Christians arrange their lives based on the revelation of God, regardless of whether it makes sense to them. God does not ask for our opinion about what is best for our future, our family, our church, or our country. He already knows! What God wants is to get the attention of His people and reveal to us what is on His heart and what is His will, for God's ways are not our ways! (Isa. 55:8, 9).Whenever people do not base their lives on God's revelation, they “cast off restraint.” That is, they do what is right in their own eyes. They set their goals, arrange their agendas, and then pray for God's blessings. (See context Experiencing God Day by Day: Devotional) When we do not have the constant influence of God’s Word in our lives, we become unrestrained -- POSB Preacher's Outline and Sermon Bible - The righteous are happy because they keep God’s law. The wicked reject God’s revelation and perish. God’s Word is a powerful force that preserves, protects, and keeps us on the path of righteousness. Commentators differ as to the meaning of vision, but the second statement of the proverb defines it. Law is parallel to vision and establishes that the subject of the proverb is the Word of God. Vision is divine revelation given through the prophets: “And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision” (1 Sa.3:1). “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah” (Is.1:1). “I have also spoken by the prophets, and I have multiplied visions, and used similitudes, by the ministry of the prophets” (Hos.12:10). “And the Lord answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Hab.2:2-3). “The law, the prophets and the wisdom literature meet in this verse.” We need to fill our minds, hearts, and lives with the Word of God. This is why it is important to read the Bible daily and to consistently sit under its preaching and teaching. God’s Word guides us along the right path and protects us from straying into sin. Furthermore, God’s Word is a cleansing agent in our lives: “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (Jn.15:3). “That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word” (Ep.5:26). When we do not have the constant influence of God’s Word in our lives, we become unrestrained. Perish means to loosen or cast off restraint. When we ignore, neglect, or deny God’s Word, we eventually loose ourselves from the boundaries set by God Himself. We “run wild” (NLT). As a result, we are likely to fall into sin and ultimately perish (Jas.1:15). Grasp the correct meaning of this word picture: it does not present the Bible as a rope that binds us or a prison that confines us. The Bible is a hedge that protects us from the dangers that lurk outside its boundaries. If we keep (shamar) God’s Word—hedge our lives with it—we will be happy. We will walk about freely inside its borders and remain unharmed by the dangers of sin. “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed” (Jas.1:25). “And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts” (Ps.119:45). “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it” (Amos 8:11-12). (Proverbs The Preacher's Outline & Sermon Bible) Tyndale Commentary - Vision (AV, RV) is to be taken in its exact sense of the revelation a prophet receives. Law in line 2 is its complement. ‘The law, the prophets and the wisdom literature meet in this verse’ (The New Bible Commentary). Perish (AV): rather, ‘run wild’. The verb means to let loose, e.g. to let one’s hair down, whether literally (Lev 13:45; Nu 5:18;? Judg. 5:2) or figuratively (especially Ex 32:25 [twice]: RV ‘broken loose’, etc.). This latter verse is perhaps the intended background to the proverb, with its contrast between the glory on the mountain of vision and law, and the shame in the valley. 1 Samuel 3:1, with its context, also exemplifies the saying, in showing the dependence of public morality on the knowledge of God. (See context in Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries – Proverbs) David