January 10, 2015
John, Chapter 12, verse 14-15:
14 Jesus found an
ass and sat upon it, as is written: 15“Fear no
more, O daughter Zion; see, your king comes, seated upon an
ass’s colt.”
This verse is referring to our Lord's entrance into Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday when the people acknowledged Christ as the Messiah. The daughter of Zion is a term used by the
prophet Zachariah for Jerusalem and according to eastern traditions Kings
traditionally rode on donkeys rather than horses. Another symbol of Christ’s entrance into
Jerusalem is that of the Prince of Peace:
He rode in on a donkey rather than a war horse into a city whose name
means peace.
According to Deut. 17:15 it was forbidden for a King of Israel to acquire horses. Based on that prohibition, the Israelites didn’t ride horses into battle either, but were told to rely on the Lord to help them overcome superior enemy forces. (Deut. 20:1) And Zechariah prophesied that the Messiah-King would enter Jerusalem on a donkey.[1]
In
modern times, with all the violence that is going on in the whole world and
with America at the center of any response to terror and terrorists, how should
we respond? First and foremost without fear for the Lord is our King. We should search our hearts and seek to retain
a heart of peace. Our response must be
measured and used with no malice. We
must stop evil but not with hatred. We
should love the humanity of our enemies, pray for them and do good to them if
we can.
"If
your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to
drink." (Romans 12:20)
According
to the CIA world fact book many of the countries in which we have the greatest
troubles have the lowest per capita income per person in the world. For example per capita in the US is $52,800 a
year versus $600 in Somalia (note the US is 14th in per capita;
it is interesting to note the number one nation in per capita is Qatar at $102,100). Our enemies are hungry and used or abused by
ruff creatures of men. Imagine what
could happen if we could use the great economic power of this county and other countries of goodwill to raise
the good men in these regions up: to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty:
to empower men of goodwill and remove the ruff creatures of men from
power.
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