– by Sam Nobles
“When you come to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you possess it and dwell in it and then say, ‘I will set a king over me, like all the nations that are around me,’ you may indeed set a king over you whom the LORD your God will choose. One from among your brothers you shall set as king over you. You may not put a foreigner over you, who is not your brother. Only 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 17:14-16 ESV)
God instructed Israel, when they obtained a king, that he was not to amass horses for himself or get people to acquire horses from Egypt. Why? One reason that God might have commanded Israel not to accumulate horses, especially for battle, is because he intended to give victory to Israel through their dependence on him and not their military strength like the Egyptians and other contemporary nations did. God’s plan for Israel did not include them becoming a world power through aggressive battles with other nations. God’s plan for Israel was to occupy the land he had already given them.
According to Genesis 15:18 and Joshua 1:4, the land God gave to Israel stretched from the Nile River in Egypt to Lebanon (south to north) and everything from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River (west to east). This was more than enough land for Israel to be responsible for maintaining.
The idea is that Israel was to be about what God had called them to do and not worry about being, having, or becoming that which was outside of their God-given boundaries. This is a good word for us as well. Find what God has called you to be about and give it your all. Do not be concerned with what you don’t have or can’t do, simply be a good steward of what God has given you.
This just makes good horse sense!
Scripture to Claim:
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalms 20:7 ESV)
