Our Hope In a Nation of Wickedness

Proverbs 28 brings to focus the need for Godly authority in our lives and in our nations.

Proverbs 28:1–2 (ESV) The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion. 2 When a land transgresses, it has many rulers, but with a man of understanding and knowledge, its stability will long continue.

There's a reward to righteousness we do not talk enough about. Here it is: Confidence. 

Think of how this Proverb addresses the fruit of sin - it causes people to fear and flee. We think sin is an embrace of freedom, it's actually slavery. And a slave is someone who lives in the fear of others. They let others dictate their lives. They have no confidence in being who they are because they have defined themselves apart from who God made them to be. If a child has no point of reference for authority, they have no assurance of self and fail miserably in life. 

The same is true of a people group ("land"). A nation without a firm commitment to what God wants will do what many people want. It will have "many rulers". Interesting that only ONE MAN with understanding and knowledge will stabilize such a place. Who is that one man but Christ!

The fruits of an unrighteous nation continue in Proverbs 28:

Proverbs 28:4–5 (ESV) Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them. 5 Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.

You know your country is corrupt when the righteous are persecuted and justice is redefined as favoring some people over others based on superficial realities such as skin color or social class. 

Moreover:

Proverbs 28:12 (ESV) When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.

Wicked rulers cause people to hide. Now what is hiding but another sign of fear and instability? Wicked rulers create this for the population because wickedness is untethered to truth. It is unaccountable and unpredictable. You never know what will come next. It seems like we are living in that very reality today. What was unthinkable years ago is now standard. What was scoffed in the past is now embraced and celebrated in the present. The advance of wickedness alarms us because we know there should be a restraint to the evil of men's hearts.

Why do people fear? Because of the nature of a wicked ruler:

Proverbs 28:15 (ESV) Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

Proverbs 28:16 (ESV) A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor, but he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

Now what is the hope of a nation engulfed by wicked rulers? Check out the last verse of the chapter:

Proverbs 28:28 (ESV) When the wicked rise, people hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase.

The only hope in some instances is the death of the wicked ruler. And while we do not hope for the death of any wicked person, we do understand that they are all temporary by nature of their humanity. No matter how evil, their evil comes to an end and dies with them. 

But in Christ Jesus we have an eternal Lord and King who never dies and who always lives for us to sanctify us and embolden us, to empower us to stand for righteousness in any age of wickedness. The eternal Lord is sovereign and in control. Our hope is not in national leadership but in the supernatural anointing Christ has placed on us!