Horses
The Powerful Horse Gets His Bravery, Strength, Leaping Ability, and Flowing Mane from . . . God
In Job 39 we see a picture of the horse as heroically brave. “Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, ‘Aha!’ He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.” (Job 39:19-25, NIV)
I feel sure that the Lord’s horse will be so magnificent that he will defy description. I once joined a trail ride on the island of Maui, and because I was one of the larger people present, the ride leaders selected a huge white horse to be my trusty steed. He was a magnificent guy, extremely tall and heavily muscled, and I patted him and talked to him kindly for two reasons: admiration and fear. I admired his awesome beauty and was somewhat paralyzed to contemplate the sheer power of the creature beneath me. In a nutshell, I was hoping he would go easy on me. So sure enough, when we started up a hill, the trail leader’s awesome Arabian horse shot past on the left of the long line of horses. Well, guess which horse felt more than up to the challenge? That’s right—my very own huge white horse, who apparently thought he was a bolt of lightning, regardless of the apprehensive rider on his back. My horse, who had an interesting Hawaiian name, sprung off the line and into the passing lane on the left, right behind the Arabian. The trail leader and me, and our hot-shot horses, accelerated up the hill at a fantastic rate of speed, shooting dust everywhere and leaving the lineup of other horses far to the rear. Truly, this horse was fearless and relished the challenge of racing the Arabian, running with an abandon that was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. As if that weren’t enough, when I tried to water him at the end of his jaunt, he wouldn’t drink no matter how hard I cajoled him. He simply didn’t think his fierce running race warranted any special care. It became obvious that this marvelous athlete had only been using his low gears, that he had higher gears in reserve the whole time.
Leaping, snorting, listening for the battle cry, and pawing the ground in anticipation—these are some of the key aspects of the great creature we call the “horse,” qualities that the good LORD wanted to draw our attention to in the book of Job. Is it possible that the LORD puts horses in the fields in order to give courage to His people, among other things? At a coffee shop I met a neat man who was recovering from a stroke, and I put the question to him, “What does the horse mean to you?” His answer was rather pleasing. “I like its spirit,” he said, “the way it moseys around, the noises it makes with its throat, and generally what it adds to the landscape.” Brilliant.
Faithful and True Will Be Coming on a White Horse
In the book of Esther (Esther 6), King Xerxes honored Mordecai the Jew because of Mordecai’s having exposed two would-be assassins. Amazingly, the would-be assassins had been working s officers of the king, and even guarded the doorway to the king! For our purposes here, the important thing is how Mordecai was honored. Mordecai was robed with a royal robe, put on a horse the king had ridden (i.e. a royal horse), and led through the streets in this stately manner, while one walked in front announcing that this is what is done for the man that the king delights to honor.
So clearly the horse is not just another creature. It is a partial reflection of the LORD’s regalness and strength (Romans 1:20). It is interesting to note that King Xerxes’ honoring of Mordecai is only a precursor to the way in which King Jesus will honor his saints when He rides in to the Battle of Armageddon with His saints riding behind Him—the LORD and His saints all riding white horses. Clearly, the horse is a creature that embodies regalness and power, and King Jesus has reserved the horse for a key role in the war between good and evil.
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. . . . The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean.” (Revelation 19:11, 14, NIV)
Even the Powerful Horse Has Its Limitations, and Man Too Should Not Think He Can Wrest Victory Without God
In Amos 6, the LORD uses several analogies to make the point that it is unwise and even dangerous to think that one’s military victories come from one’s own strength. “Do horses run on the rocky crags? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into bitterness—you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar and say, ‘Did we not take Karnaim by our own strength?’” (Amos 6:12-13, NIV) The meaning is clear. The LORD hates it when people prance around after a military victory, admiring their own strength. In the same vein, “The Sovereign LORD has sworn by himself, the LORD God Almighty declares: ‘I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything on it. . . .’ For the LORD God Almighty declares, “I will stir up a nation against you, O house of Israel, that will oppress you all the way from Lebo Hamath to the valley of Arabah.” (Amos 6:8, 14, NIV)
Just as horses don’t run on rocky crags, and just as one doesn’t plow the rocky crags with oxen, so too a people cannot win a military victory by dint of their own strength. Stated another way, military victories come from the strength of the LORD. God rules in the affairs of men. Just as in the case of Israel, a nation that thinks it can win on its own is deluded, and is setting itself up for a comeuppance from the LORD God of Israel Himself. It’s as if a painting were to send a letter to its painter, saying, “I am great. I’m in the Louvre Museum in Paris, have won many awards, and have no further need of you.”
To imagine that one wins a battle on one’s own is the same as turning justice into poison, or turning the fruit of righteousness into bitterness. Such vain imaginings deny the involvement of the just hand of God. It is only by honoring the LORD God of Israel that one can truly appreciate one’s victories, and avoid turning a good or just thing into a bitter poison. Horses don’t run on rocky crags, and people don’t win on their own. Psalms 33 shows us that while a great creature, the horse is limited. “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.” (Psalms 33:16-19, NIV)
Amos 6 has a corollary in Psalms 20:7-8: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm.”