1: He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed; and that without remedy.

Do you know someone like this? My mom used to call it the ‘hard head’; but I guess God calls it the hard neck. This isn’t the person who nobody cares about; it is the person who is corrected often, with many attempts made to point them to the narrow path….but sadly, they are content to travel the broad road; to “Have it MY way”. Suddenly however, their destruction comes; and it comes without any way out of the mess they’ve made. You know, if God didn’t want our necks to bend, He would have made them like rigid walls. When we harden our hearts to His voice… our necks are next…and before long we are unwilling to turn back. Those who will not be reformed must expect to be ruined. What a dangerous place to be.

2: When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.

Does that remind you of anything about our world today? Don’t ever let anybody tell you that the Bible is ‘out dated’. It consistently speaks of things that are applicable to all people of all times. Its accuracy points to an Everlasting God who knows what each and every generation faces.

18: Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he.

The word ‘vision’ here means prophetic vision or revelation. If the people do not ‘see’  or ‘hear’….if there is no one to teach the truth, no one to share the word of the Lord…no one to open the Bible with the lost and hopeless …then there is no vision of the Savior…no view of grace…Without vision, we have no purpose in life…we just go through the motions…follow the sinful desires of our hearts….seek immediate gratification because there doesn’t seem to be anything more. But there IS SO MUCH MORE. Praise God for the revelation of the Word of the LORD and the vision of His precious Son to us personally.

25: The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.

There is no point in fearing man, ever. There is no point in fearing groups of men. Though it is so easy to do, (and all of us have done so more times than we’d like to count), we only become slaves when we fear man. We put man before God when we fear him, and become paralyzed to the purpose the LORD has for us. Only a healthy reverence and fear of God can keep us completely committed to our calling. Only our trust in the LORD shall deliver us to a place of safety where no man can snatch us out of His powerful Hand.