God has spoken and revealed himself through the written record that we have, the Bible an in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, 17 in order that the person of God may be competent, equipped for every good work”. And this would have been enough, but God was not satisfied to stand afar off, He has also given us prophecy which is a word, a message, a revelation of God’s will and purpose for our life and future. These insights are to show us things to come and to prepare us for the path God has for us as in 2 Peter 1:21 (LEB) “for no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke from God”. Our will though is still involved. The children of Israel delayed God’s prophetic word in Joshua 5:6 (LEB) For forty years the Israelites traveled in the wilderness until all the nation, the warriors that left Egypt, perished, because they did not listen to the voice of Yahweh” but God is gracious and while Proverbs 29:26 (LEB) “Many are those who seek the favor of a ruler, but from Yahweh one obtains justice”. Whether we listen or not, God is still there and Proverbs 30:5 (LEB) “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield for him who takes refuge in him”.
When There is No Prophecy
Proverbs 29:15–18
Discipline is important in our development as responsible and “wise” social beings in
Proverbs 29:15 (LEB) As for a rod and reproof, they will give wisdom, but a neglected child is disgraced by his mother.
Without discipline, “transgression will increase” in Proverbs 29:16 and these “wicked” will fall. This discipline is the training given to children by their parents. There is though, another kind of discipline that comes by doing the will of God. This certainly happens as we learn God’s will by reading the written word and acting on it because there is power in what God has already said. Prophecy though is the power of God manifested through what God is saying to us right now. This manifestation, a prophetic word, often shows us something to come and then we go and do it as God did with Moses in
Exodus 3:9–10 (LEB) “And now, look, the cry of distress of the Israelites has come to me, and also I see the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10 And now come, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and you must bring my people, the Israelites, out from Egypt.”
It then took time for Moses to carry out this command from God and part of that time was convincing the children of Israel that God was with them and would deliver them. The prophet brings God’s word for the present situation as a way of building faith to believe that God will act and the initial vision, the initial word is followed by the power of God to do it. Without prophecy, the people lose faith, they lose hope and go their own way in
Proverbs 29:18 (LEB) When there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint, but as for he who guards instruction, happiness is his.
This is why Jesus told his disciples to wait until the power came, the Holy Spirit in
Luke 24:49 (LEB) “And behold, I am sending out what was promised by my Father upon you, but you stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”
A Man of Anger Will Stir Strife
Proverbs 29:19–23
From Yahweh One Obtains Justice
From Yahweh One Obtains Justice
Proverbs 29:24–27
There is a saying that “It is not what you know but who you know” and it suggests that to gain in your own life you need favor from people in authority or those with influence. But if you are living from the scraps from someone else’s table, that favor you may experience can just as quickly go to the next person that comes along because “such men are themselves the servants of appetites and pressures (cf. Acts 24:25–27), irrationality (1 Cor. 2:6, 8) and instability (Ps. 146:3, 4) which rob their interventions of all trustworthiness”1. True favor, justice that lasts is from the Lord in
Proverbs 29:26 (LEB) Many are those who seek the favor of a ruler, but from Yahweh one obtains justice.
Every Word of God is Flawless
Proverbs 30:1–6
The speaker in these Proverbs recognizes that he falls far short of understanding God and His ways in
Proverbs 30:2–3 (LEB) “Certainly I am more stupid than a man, and the understanding of humankind is not for me. 3 And I have not learned wisdom, nor will I know knowledge of the Holy One”.
or as it says in
Isaiah 55:8–9 (LEB) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways,” declares Yahweh. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
but God’s ways are not beyond finding out because God is speaking to us by His Spirit and then confirming His word to us as in
Isaiah 55:11–12 (LEB) “so shall be my word that goes out from my mouth. It shall not return to me without success, but shall accomplish what I desire and be successful in the thing for which I sent it. 12 For you shall go out in joy, and you shall be led in peace. The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you, rejoicing and all the trees of the field shall clap hands”.
We may not know it all or understand it all, but we can say this as it says in
Proverbs 30:5 (LEB) “Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield for him who takes refuge in him”.
Keep Falsehood and a Lying Word Far From Me
Proverbs 30:7–10
There is a Generation That is Pure in its Own Eyes
Proverbs 30:11–14
They Are Not Satisfied
Proverbs 30:15–19
Under Three Things the Earth Trembles
Proverbs 30:20–23
Study Verses
- Proverbs 29:15–18 When There is No Prophecy
- Proverbs 29:24–27 From Yahweh One Obtains Justice
- Proverbs 30:1–6 Every Word of God is Flawless
Today’s Reading
- Proverbs 29:15-27
- Proverbs 30:1-23
References
- 1. Kidner, D. (1964). Proverbs: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 17, p. 169). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
