Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish:
but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
The loss of spiritual vision is tragic! Samson the last judge of Israel lost his eyes to the Philistines and as a result they mocked the God of Israel. Eli the priest lost his vision and he died an old, fat man, who would not deal with his sons or clean up God’s house. Zedekiah, the last king of Israel refused to listen to the warnings of Jeremiah concerning coming judgment; the last thing he saw with his eyes was the death of his sons after which he was blinded and carried off to Babylon. Laodicea, the seventh church of Asia, thought it could see but it was in fact blind; so blind in fact that the Christianity of the Laodicean’s locked Christ out of the church! Where there is no vision, the people perish. They disintegrate; fall apart; they go to pieces.
What is the cure for this curse? What is the answer to this tragedy of no vision? What is the fundamental cause or reason why one person has vision and another does not? Why is it that many can think they have a vision yet it is a vision of their own mind and heart? The answer is given in the text. We have a glorious “but” here which gives the answer. “…but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” It is an attitude towards God’s law (commands) that is vital in this realm of vision. Where you get churches and movements in our day that do nothing but talk about ecstatic visions, and in fact are overflowing with them, frequently have a low regard for the authority of God’s written Word and talk little concerning the commandments which Christ gave. Where you find this you should be extremely suspicious about their vision. A vision separated from the Word of God and the commands of God is not God’s vision. Look at the examples we mentioned: Samson, Eli, Zedekiah and Laodicea; each of them experienced disintegration as a result of no vision. This loss of vision was caused by a heart that did not keep the law. If they had kept the law they would have kept the vision. The loss of the law meant the loss of vision.
As I look out across our nations I see a church similar to Laodicea that places a low value upon God’s written Word and places little reverence on obedience to it yet the average Christian you meet has more dreams, visions and prophesies than Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all rolled up into one person. Visions are multiplied but they are utterly disconnected from keeping the law. The church is filled with those who want to tell you what God has shown them, revealed to them or spoken to them yet the very same persons don’t even obey basic commands from the Bible. Now what I’m about to tell you is essential to a God-given vision. What does keeping the law mean? The word “keepeth” (shamar) means to hedge about, to guard, to protect, to take heed to it. This word “keepeth” reveals a certain type of heart that God will entrust with His vision. It is a heart that is protective of God’s Word. It is very jealous over it, first in its own life, but also in the church. It watches over the commands of God to keep them. It takes them seriously. It is not willing to change them. It is not ashamed of them. It trembles at them. Such a man is “happy” (blessed) and such a man will have a God-given vision.
What is the cure for this curse? What is the answer to this tragedy of no vision? What is the fundamental cause or reason why one person has vision and another does not? Why is it that many can think they have a vision yet it is a vision of their own mind and heart? The answer is given in the text. We have a glorious “but” here which gives the answer. “…but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” It is an attitude towards God’s law (commands) that is vital in this realm of vision. Where you get churches and movements in our day that do nothing but talk about ecstatic visions, and in fact are overflowing with them, frequently have a low regard for the authority of God’s written Word and talk little concerning the commandments which Christ gave. Where you find this you should be extremely suspicious about their vision. A vision separated from the Word of God and the commands of God is not God’s vision. Look at the examples we mentioned: Samson, Eli, Zedekiah and Laodicea; each of them experienced disintegration as a result of no vision. This loss of vision was caused by a heart that did not keep the law. If they had kept the law they would have kept the vision. The loss of the law meant the loss of vision.
As I look out across our nations I see a church similar to Laodicea that places a low value upon God’s written Word and places little reverence on obedience to it yet the average Christian you meet has more dreams, visions and prophesies than Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel all rolled up into one person. Visions are multiplied but they are utterly disconnected from keeping the law. The church is filled with those who want to tell you what God has shown them, revealed to them or spoken to them yet the very same persons don’t even obey basic commands from the Bible. Now what I’m about to tell you is essential to a God-given vision. What does keeping the law mean? The word “keepeth” (shamar) means to hedge about, to guard, to protect, to take heed to it. This word “keepeth” reveals a certain type of heart that God will entrust with His vision. It is a heart that is protective of God’s Word. It is very jealous over it, first in its own life, but also in the church. It watches over the commands of God to keep them. It takes them seriously. It is not willing to change them. It is not ashamed of them. It trembles at them. Such a man is “happy” (blessed) and such a man will have a God-given vision.
“…but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.”
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