The War Horse of Proverb 21:31

"The Strength of the Horse in Battle"

In Shakespeare's “Richard III”, the King Richard III is felled from his horse:

“CATESBY:
Rescue, my Lord of Norfolk, rescue, rescue!
The king enacts more wonders than a man,
Daring an opposite to every danger:
His horse is slain, and all on foot he fights,
Seeking for Richmond in the throat of death.
Rescue, fair lord, or else the day is lost!
The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name. br>
KING RICHARD III:
A horse! a horse! my kingdom for a horse!

CATESBY:
Withdraw, my lord; I'll help you to a horse.

KING RICHARD III:
Slave! I have set my life upon a cast,
And I will stand the hazard of the die.”

(Shakespeare, The Tragedy of King Richard III, Act V, Scene IV).

I'll come back to this, but notice the urgency of the situation: the King's horse has been slain, and now Richard is highly vulnerable and unable to withdraw quickly. The immediate thought that comes to mind when we hear “my kingdom for a horse” is that fear has driven the king to beg. This couldn't be farther from the truth. It is rather, it is that my kingdom falters for lack of a horse, since his next statement is one of distain at the offer to withdraw to find a horse. I believe the phrase “The LORD is a man of war; the LORD is his name,” which we will see it again shortly, is a prayer of sorts, making the comparison to the king and divine providence.

Horses allowed heavily armed warriors to advance swiftly, to remain maneuverable, to sweep around battle arrays, or to plunge through lines of infantry. Horse drawn chariots gave a stable platform for archers, and soldiers with heavy spears or battle axes. Chariots were the strength of the Egyptian army. Egyptian armies at the time of Moses had many hundred of chariots, possibly more than a thousand. Pharaohs of later times may have had several thousand chariots.

Against this scenario God gives Moses instructions, “Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, in front of Baal-zephon; you shall encamp facing it, by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, ‘They are wandering in the land; the wilderness has shut them in.’ And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” (Exodus 14:1-4). God instructs Moses to deliberately place where the wilderness would shut them in. There was no way of escape when the Pharaoh pursues them. The Pharaoh, with arguably the most powerful army in the world at that time had reason for confidence. The Pharaoh's heart is hardened, and he decides to pursue the sons of Israel. He “took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt with officers over all of them.” (Exodus 14:7). This was a formidable army. The Israelites had reason to fear when that army had them backed up against the sea. As we know, God sovereignly delivered the children of Israel so that “the Egyptians would know that I am the LORD.” Miriam danced and praised God, “Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.” (Exodus 15:21).

God gives the Israelites this experience early and asks them to never forget it. “When you go out to war against your enemies, and see horses and chariots and an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the LORD your God is with you, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 20:1).

As you can imagine, in a world where invasions where common, the horse was a vivid picture of strength and security. Armies with large numbers of horses and chariots would cause any nation to tremble at that time. But God does not want Israel to rely on the strength of the horse. Moses gives them this song:

Exodus 15:1-18

01 "I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
02 The LORD is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation; He is my God, and I will praise Him; My father's God, and I will exalt Him.
03 The LORD is a man of war; The LORD is His name.
04 Pharaoh's chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
05 The depths have covered them; They sank to the bottom like a stone.

06 "Your right hand, O LORD, has become glorious in power; Your right hand, O LORD, has dashed the enemy in pieces.
07 And in the greatness of Your excellence You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble.
08 And with the blast of Your nostrils The waters were gathered together; The floods stood upright like a heap; The depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
09 The enemy said, "I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; My desire shall be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, My hand shall destroy them.'
10 You blew with Your wind, The sea covered them; They sank like lead in the mighty waters.

11 "Who is like You, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like You, glorious in holiness, Fearful in praises, doing wonders? 12You stretched out Your right hand; The earth swallowed them.
13 You in Your mercy have led forth The people whom You have redeemed; You have guided them in Your strength To Your holy habitation.

14 "The people will hear and be afraid; Sorrow will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be dismayed; 1 The mighty men of Moab, Trembling will take hold of them; All the inhabitants of Canaan will melt away.
16 Fear and dread will fall on them; By the greatness of Your arm They will be as still as a stone, Till Your people pass over, O LORD, Till the people pass over Whom You have purchased.
17 You will bring them in and plant them In the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O LORD, which You have made For Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O LORD, which Your hands have established.

18 "The LORD shall reign forever and ever."

This is a song that Moses gives the people. In this world, where reading and writing were for the very few, memories where kept by reciting the poem or song of great events. The sons of Israel were intended to remember and never forget that the strength of a thousand horses with choice warriors was no match for their God, who covered them and protected them.

To reinforce this, God tells them not to keep large numbers of horses themselves, least they come to rely on their strength. In Deuteronomy 17:14-20 God predicts that Israel will desire a king be set over them and so He lays down some general rules for the king. Rule number one: “he must not acquire many horses for himself or cause the people to return to Egypt in order to acquire many horses, since the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall never return that way again.’.” (Deuteronomy 17:16).

Proverb 21

The LORD Considers the Heart

01 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD,
00 Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.

02 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes,
00 But the LORD weighs the hearts.

03 To do righteousness and justice
00 Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

04 A haughty look, a proud heart,
00 And the plowing of the wicked are sin.

05 The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty,
00 But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.

06 Getting treasures by a lying tongue
00 Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.

07 The violence of the wicked will destroy them,
00 Because they refuse to do justice.

08 The way of a guilty man is perverse;
00 But as for the pure, his work is right.

09 Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop,
00 Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.

10 The soul of the wicked desires evil;
00 His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.

11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise;
00 But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.

12 The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked,
00 Overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness.

13 Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor
00 Will also cry himself and not be heard.

14 A gift in secret pacifies anger,
00 And a bribe behind the back, strong wrath.

15 It is a joy for the just to do justice,
00 But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.

16 A man who wanders from the way of understanding
00 Will rest in the assembly of the dead.

17 He who loves pleasure will be a poor man;
00 He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous,
00 And the unfaithful for the upright.

19 Better to dwell in the wilderness,
00 Than with a contentious and angry woman.

20 There is desirable treasure,
00 And oil in the dwelling of the wise,
00 But a foolish man squanders it.

21 He who follows righteousness and mercy
00 Finds life, righteousness and honor.

22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty,
00 And brings down the trusted stronghold.

23 Whoever guards his mouth and tongue
00 Keeps his soul from troubles.

24 A proud and haughty man--"Scoffer" is his name;
00 He acts with arrogant pride.

25 The desire of the lazy man kills him,
00 For his hands refuse to labor.
26 He covets greedily all day long,
00 But the righteous gives and does not spare.

27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination;
00 How much more when he brings it with wicked intent!

28 A false witness shall perish,
00 But the man who hears him will speak endlessly.

29 A wicked man hardens his face,
00 But as for the upright, he establishes his way.

30 There is no wisdom or understanding
00 Or counsel against the LORD.

31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle,
00 But deliverance is of the LORD.

The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs was to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.

Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.

One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings

We the people are to blame, because we ignored God's guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.

Of the 31 Proverbs, only the first 24 were written by Solomon. King Hezekiah wrote 5, Proverbs 25 to 29, Agur wrote Proverb 30, and Lemuel wrote Proverb 31. Now many believe Lemuel was in fact King Solomon and Lemuel was just a nick name his Mother, Bathsheba gave him. We are told that Solomon write over 3000 Proverbs and composed 1000 songs, but the only Proverbs God decided to preserve for us are Proverbs 1-24. Like the New Testament epistle by James, it is impossible to get a chronological outline for a study since they all bounce from subject to subject.

Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. In the Months that have 30 days, or in the case of February, I just double up by reading more than one two proverb so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.