No riding

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

NO RIDING

Prov 21:31

31 The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.

NIV

There is something interesting in this saying. The idea of horses. From our research we find the Lord had told the Israelites not to acquire horses, not to go back to Egypt to get more. Perhaps they may have had a couple of horses but were not supposed to have great numbers of them. Amoung the ancient nations, horses were used strictly for war. Oxen plowed the fields and pulled the cart, the ass and the camel carried the loads, mules and asses were used to ride. However Solomon acquired massive numbers of horses and chariots for the purpose of war.

1 Kings 10:26-29

26 Solomon accumulated chariots and horses; he had fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses, which he kept in the chariot cities and also with him in Jerusalem. 27 The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore — fig trees in the foothills. 28 Solomon's horses were imported from Egypt and from Kue-the royal merchants purchased them from Kue. 29 They imported a chariot from Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for a hundred and fifty. They also exported them to all the kings of the Hittites and of the Arameans.

NIV

What we learn here is although Solomon was the wisest of all men, he still transgressed the command of God. He should have never acquired all those horses as God told his people not to.

Deut 17:16-17

16 The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again." 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

NIV

This is exactly what Solomon did. The idea is the horse was used for war and having many of them gave the king the advantage over the army of foot soldier. How could even ten thousand men on foot win a battle against an army riding upon fourteen hundred chariots and twelve thousand horses? They could not. Here Solomon makes it clear he thought the horse, the power of man was the mighty arm that could win the victory, but alas that is not true, for the victory belongs to the Lord. Today we want to win our own victories under the power of our own strength. This might, this strength might come in various forms. It may manifest itself in our brain power, our intelligence, or in our ability to acquire wealth, or skills to advance in business, or even our knowledge of scripture. It is easy to trust in our own abilities rather than trust in God. We know our abilities and our weaknesses, we train ourselves to overcome our weaknesses, or learn how to lessen them, gaining more or new abilities. We even want the credit for our learned abilities, we might even have a sense of pride in them. We admire those who have great education, or numerous degrees. We admire those who are successful in business. We admire those who have great knowledge of the scriptures, or write many biblical based books and become famous among the Christian community. We admire those who have beautiful voices and are able to sing with the angels. Some become famous and we even pay to gather together to applaud their singing. There are so many ways we, as mere man, can think we have attained something. How foolish is all that. The victory is the Lords. All we are, all we have and all we do is due to the hand of God working in our lives. We think we can win on our own, but in fact that kind of thinking is being a loser. The real winner is he who trusts in the Lord. God has already told us time and time again that we are cursed if we trust in our flesh, our own ability, but blessed if we trust in him. Sure many relate that to salvation, we surely cannot save ourselves, but God is also speaking about life in general. This proverb is one of those instances. Jesus taught us not to worry about our life, not to strive for our own victory.

Matt 6:24-34

24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. 25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry , saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

NIV

Trust in the Lord for all aspects of life, for all things this life brings, praise him, thank him for to God belongs the victory. We cannot serve both our own abilities, and God. We cannot trust in our own horses to win the battle, even the battle against the forces of evil, the devil. We cannot win the battle against the foe of our soul, but God can and he does. He already won the victory over death and he will win every victory in our lives, if we but allow him to. That requires we set ourselves aside, set aside trusting in our horses. That means put the horses out to pasture and walk alongside God.