Pit

Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling. Proverbs 26:27 ESV

I remember once as kids we decided to build a "massive" pit in my friend's back garden. We tried to cover over the top so my friend's dad would fall into it. Thankfully he didn't, so we ended up jumping in ourselves! 

People digging pits are usually up to no good, like I wasn't! But as happened with me and as Solomon warns- people who dig pits often fall into them. You might try and lay a trap for someone else, but you may just catch yourself out, or be caught out as a trickster. 

I love what Matthew Henry said about this verse. He mentions Haman- a genocidal enemy of the Jews, being hung on a gallows of his own making. Then he quotes a Latin phrase which means "Nor is there any law more just than that the contrivers of destruction should perish by their own arts." 

It's like Jesus said: those who live by the sword will die by the sword. The righteous poor rejoice when their evil oppressors get their comeuppance. They might not take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that they will gain some respite from their man-made woes. 

"Almighty Lord, bring harm upon those who seek to bring harm to others! Or even better, cause them to repent of their evil schemes. We ask these things for Your honour, amen"