“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained…”
Proverbs 29:18a

The Purpose of Revelation

1.  Direction
One of the purposes of revelation (or law) is to give direction. Our modern world depends upon the direction given by revelation. God’s Word gives us the direction we need to live our lives in a manner consistent with God’s will.

2. Protection
Another purpose of revelation is to offer protection. Our traffic signs and signals illustrate the point as much as a warning of thin ice on an ice skating pond. Our lives depend upon the protection that comes from revelation. God’s Word contains the instruction necessary to keep our lives from danger and destruction.

3. Correction
Still another purpose of revelation is to offer correction. Revelation can serve to guide us back onto the path from which we have strayed. We need the benefit of this aspect of revelation as much as the other aspects. Revelation includes provision for repair. God’s Word offers provision for repair and restoration. His Word can guide the wandering traveler back onto the right path and help him to stay on that path and out of harm’s way.

4. Affection
A very important aspect of revelation concerns its ability to tell us what to love and what to hate. God’s Word clearly tells us what we should love and what we should shun and despise.

The Absence of Revelation

1. Division of Purpose
Proverbs 29:18a speaks of the consequence of the absence of revelation. Where there is no revelation there is, as a matter of consequence, a division of purpose. The absence of revelation means the absence of direction. Revelation (or vision) helps to unify and direct people toward a common objective.

2. Diffusion of Power
Without revelation there is also a diffusion of power. When people have no unifying purpose or common direction, their efforts are spent fulfilling their individual agendas.

3. Destruction of Potential
Without revelation there is a destruction of potential. Revelation serves to harness and direct the potential, energy, and resources of people toward a common objective.

4. Death of the People
“Where there is no vision (revelation), the people perish,” says one translation. How do the people perish without revelation? They perish because they have no purpose in which invest their power and develop their potential. They perish also in the sense that they live far below their potential.