For today, One Year Bible Online links here.
The proverb writer tells us how to recognize who the truly wicked and worthless are. They are constant liars, plot evil and constantly stir up trouble. Look in the news today and I think you will quickly see to whom he is referring.
I will not comment on this psalm, except to say that this is another psalm which makes a great prayer. I will make this my prayer for today (although my life does not feel nearly as hard to me right now as the psalmist’s appears to have been when he wrote this).
When Jesus entered Jerusalem the Sunday before His crucifixion, He chose to ride in on a donkey. This referenced a prophecy by Zechariah. Jesus was riding in, not as a king about to lead His people to war, but as a king returning from war victorious. This was in distinct contradiction of those who were expecting the Messiah to come and lead the Jews to military victory over the Romans. Jesus was not about to lead a revolution. He had already won the victory. This story has the same message for us as it did for the people of that day. We do not need to wait for some future victory which Jesus will win. He has already won the victory and we live in the Kingdom He has brought into being.
Before the plagues began, God told Moses that Pharaoh would not just let the Israelites go, he would force them to leave Egypt. The night of the first Passover, when the first born of every Egyptian died, Pharaoh ordered the Israelites to leave. The Egyptians wanted the Israelites out of their midst so badly that they gave up much of their wealth to see them go. The outcome in this passage is one that those who are today persecuting Jews may want to consider.