When the wicked rule, the hope of a nation falls. When the foolish abound, the hope of a successful life disappears.
Yet, in God’s great wisdom, the book that contains the most practical look at life also contains assurance of hope. There is a future and a hope for every godly and wise individual in a wicked and foolish world.
Proverbs 23:17 is a corrective word of counsel not to envy the success of those who are wicked, brutal, and without principle. Instead it directs us to fear the LORD in all we do.
Then, it says this in the next verse
Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 23:18
Then again in chapter 24, the insight of Proverbs is obvious when it speaks of those who plan to do evil (Pro 24:8) and invent new ways to sin (Pro 24:9) and the likelihood of the weak perishing in such conditions (Pro 24:10). But Proverbs 24:12 casts the eye of the discerning into the future where God will repay each man according to his work. Then God had this written down for us:
My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 24:13-14
Acknowledge and consider the great evils of our world, but enjoy the blessings in the meantime, for there is always a future and a hope for the one who knows the LORD.
The rest of Proverbs 24 is wisdom on how to live in a world with no future. The instructions go against our foolish and sinful instincts and require of us to be strong in the faith, convinced of the truth of the Word, and unwavering in righteousness. This is how the wise man maintains his hope in a world with no future.