Proverbs 29:18 (ESV) — 18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.

This is an oft-misunderstood verse. Many have taken this proverb to mean that unless a spiritual leader, like a pastor, has a vision for where the church is going to go, then the people flail and fail. "Without a vision, the people perish."

There is a grain of truth in the concept, but this passage does not teach the concept. It is, of course, good for God's leaders to cast and declare a vision of where God is trying to take the group. That's good, but I don't think that's what Proverbs 29:18 is saying.

It's saying where there's no prophetic vision, or when there's no prophet around in Israel at the time Proverbs was written, the people begin to wilt spiritually. They perished because no one is brought them the fresh revelation of God.

But Proverbs often gives you the other side, the contrast, of an issue. Here, the contrast is this: "but blessed is he who keeps the law." The blessing is not to have someone come into your life to declare the vision of where we're going to go, although that might be nice. The blessing, the contrast, is a Bible-keeper.

And I say this, not to offer a corrective, but because I need the word of God in my life. I need the law of the Lord. I need the prophetic vision. I need Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel and Ezekiel. I need the prophets. I need the gospels. I need the epistles. I need the incredible apocalyptic literature, like the book of Revelation or Ezekiel. I need the Psalms and the Proverbs. I need the wisdom and the poetry. I need the historical books. I need the life of David. I need Genesis. I need all of it.

I need the word of God because without the word of God, without the prophetic vision, I perish. I need the word, and you need the word as well. Without the fresh application of God's word, I'll put it that way, the people perish. But when we love the word of God, read the word of God, study the word of God and apply it to our lives, we're blessed.