Welcome to Wisdom Today with Bill Kelley. Today we will be going over Proverb 24. I will then key in on verse 1 - Do not be envious of evil men, Nor desire to be with them; For their heart devises violence, And their lips talk of troublemaking. Friends, we are going to meet some people in today's lesson that are evil men. But before we meet these people, let's look at the passage of scripture where Peter will deny Jesus three times. Beginning in verse 69 I will read through the end of the chapter. Peter initially denies Jesus without showing much emotion. The second time he denies Jesus he swears an oath and begins to get serious. The third time he denies Jesus he is cursing and ranting and raving. He is no longer the disciple who, just a few chapters ago, told Jesus that he was ready to die for Jesus. When push came to shove, Peter didn't do that. He was thinking that he didn't want to go through what he sees that Jesus is going through. And - when he hears the rooster crow (after the third denial) he is overwhelmed with remorse and goes off by himself and cries bitterly). As we begin Chapter 27 we meet these evil men (talked about in verse 1 of Proverb 24). These evil men are the chief priests and the elders of the people. They are plotting the death of Jesus - even though they know that He has done nothing wrong. That is as evil as one can get. In verses 3-8 Judas Iscariot tries to bring the 30 coins back to the chief priests and tries to recant on his betrayal of Jesus - but to no avail. They would not take the money back or undo what they have already done in the process of preparing the crucifixion of Jesus. So - Judas goes and hangs himself. Finally I will close with verses 11-14 - where Jesus is silent before Pilate as He hears all the charges and accusations that the Chief priests are bringing against Him. Call to action - ask yourself which side would you have been on at this time? Would you have taken sides with the chief priests? Would you have been silent? Suggested scripture reading: 1. Reread today's proverb, Proverb 24 in its entirety; 2. Reread Chapter 27 of Matthew's gospel. I believe it will be a blessing for you.
