| THE HORSE Deut. 17:14-20 |
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| As with the other animals of the Bible, the horse seems to have one predominant implication. In no passage is that implication more apparent than in Deut. 17. These are God's instructions for teh future kings of His people to prevent their hearts from being lifted up with pride and from turning away from the Lord. The prescription for prevention of this ill was four-fold, three negative and one positive. The positive was that the king protect himself Spiritually by staying in the Word of God. The negatives were: 1) Financially - He was not to immerse himself in riches. 2) Morally - He was not to involve himself in pleasures 3) Militarily - He was not to trust in the arm of the flesh for his defense. In this context and throughout the scriptures the horse speaks of Human Resources. I. The Force Horses in ancient times were almost never used for domestic purposes. They were not plowed nor hitched to carts nor generally ridden by the common people. For one reason, they were very expensive. See 1 Kings 10:29. There were two primary uses of the horse in Bible times. It was used as the conveyance of royalty (Esther 6:7-10) and the concorse of the Military. There were dozens of reference of the horse in this regard in the Bible. As the animal of the military might the horse was noted for its: 1) Strength - Job 39:19-25 2) Speed - Jer. 4:13 It must be realized that human resources as horses have certain capabilities. II. The Futility Yet for all the capability of human resources we are admonished not to trust, that is place our dependence upon what we are able to do or what others are able to do for us. See Ps. 147:10,11; Ps. 20:7. The grave danger for the king and for us is that we begin to trust in human resources instead of trusting in the Lord. The Lord is the giver of human resources and is greater than they all. See 1 Corth. 4:7. III. The Focus What place then do the horses of human resources have in the life of the believer? Two key passages answer that question. Prov. 26:3 - "A whip for the horse, a bridle for the ass, and a rod for the fool's back." James 3:3 - "Behold, we put bits in the horses mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body." Rather than human resources becoming a substitue for God, He wants us to harness human resources to be used for God. Rather than trusting in human resources, God wants us to trust human resources to Him for His use and glory. As it were, we are to return to Him that which He has given us in a godly stewardship. |
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