1 Kings 10:26
“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.”
INSIGHT
-Horse in Hebrew is written as sus which is derived from the word yehôshûa which means God rescues or Yahweh saves. Horses were mostly used for military purposes in Biblical times unlike today where that are used for sports, entertainment & other activities. There is a wide variety of horses classified by their types & breeds, & registered according to the country of origin & bloodline, & are grouped differently from ponies & mules.
-King Solomon imported horses from Egypt & all other countries (2 Chr 9:28). Most of these horses were procured for military purposes & Israel had a massive & established army with a concoction of horses & chariots; maintained in different cities. The horses from Egypt were considered strong & beautiful, & King Solomon applied charming word in imagery to address his darling & likened her to a mare among Pharaoh’s chariot horses (Song of Songs 1:9). Probably Solomon learnt from his father David who established a force full of horses & chariots even capturing such after successful conquests (2 Sam 8:4). Like the men of Beth Togarmah who exchanged chariot horses, cavalry horses & mules for your merchandise (Eze 27:14), Solomon is also believed to have traded his horses with other nations. Throughout Biblical history; we see that even with a strong military force full of powerful horses & beautiful chariots like the ones Egyptians had during the time of Israel deliverance from bondage, Gods’ purpose still prevailed; for all the Egyptian armies, horses & chariots were swallowed by the waters of the Red Sea as Israelites prevailed.
PRAYER
We thank You Lord our Father for Your goodness & mercy upon our lives & for the grace to see this beautiful day, all the glory & praise belongs to You. Some trust in horses, some trust in chariots; but we put our complete trust in You our Lord & Saviour. Cover us with Your precious blood merciful Father & cleanse us from all our sins. Protect us Lord by Your hedge of fire & bless the work of our hands. In You only Lord our hearts rejoice, as we wait upon You in hope that You may guide & direct us in family life, business, work, school, spiritual growth, ministry, service to others, leadership & all other purposes for Your glory. You have given us Your everlasting love Father, there is nothing we shall want. All authority & strength belongs to You Jesus, now & forever. Amen
2 Kings 2:11
“Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.”
INSIGHT
-It was known that Elijah would be taken by the horses & chariots of the Lord & the people including Elijah kept reminding Elisha that the time had come to stop following him. Elisha remained focused on his prayer & stuck to Elijah’s side foreseeing Gods’ glory. Elijah struck the river Jordan which split into two & they both crossed just like the time of the Israelites deliverance from bondage in Egypt where Moses parted the Red Sea; which served as a reminder that Yahweh saves & immediately after crossing, Elisha made his request. Elisha’s perseverance informs us that persistence in prayer yields fruit as his request for a double portion was honored after the horses & chariot of fire raptured Elijah into heaven. Gods’ sovereign power was yet again displayed over nature & creation as He sent horses & a chariot of fire to take up Elijah in a whirlwind into His glory in heaven.
PRAYER
You are holy Lord our God Almighty Who was Who is & Who is to come, we adore & glorify You. Your servant Elijah did not face death for You triumphed gloriously over death, we believe that we shall not die but live to proclaim Your salvation Lord. Many deaths have recently occurred in our nation & in other nations including Indonesia, we rebuke the spirit of premature death over us, over our families, over our generations & over all the people in the world for victory belongs to You Jesus. Protect us & cover us by Your precious blood & hedge of fire King of glory that no evil snare will overtake us Jesus. Your grace is sufficient for us Lord, hear our prayers loving Father. Amen
Psalm 33:16-19
“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.”
INSIGHT
-Battle & war was fashionable during the Old Testament times & the nation which conquered were deemed the greatest. Imperialism was adopted afterwards; during the colonial times & powers which colonized most nations conquered the world. Such need for conquest has entered the hearts of men & the need to rule over others by exercising oppressive rule has become common. We are also told that no warrior escapes by his great strength, & many who have financial & political power feel the need to carry guns, drive bullet proof vehicles & hire highly advanced security. These are also likened to war horses which offer vain hope for deliverance. Only God has sovereignty over life & death & reminds us that His eyes are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death & keep them alive in famine.
PRAYER
Salvation belongs to You only Jesus for You have saved the world. Deliver us from all forms of idolatry & pride, we place all our trust in You Lord. Horses are made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests upon You Lord. Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we will fear no evil, for You are with us Lord; & Your rod & staff comforts us. Fill our hearts with Your love, wisdom & faith, so that we may fully rely on You to deliver us from death & to sustain us during the time of famine. Take control of our lives, our families, our economy, our nation & restore us gracious Father. Salvation belongs to You Jesus now & forever. Amen
Zechariah 6:1-3
“Then I turned and raised my eyes and looked, and behold, four chariots were coming from between two mountains, and the mountains were mountains of bronze. With the first chariot were red horses, with the second chariot black horses, with the third chariot white horses, and with the fourth chariot dappled horses—strong steeds.”
INSIGHT
-Zechariah saw a vision of four chariots powered by horses having different colors. An angel then revealed that these chariots represent four spirits of heaven, who go out from their station before the Lord to all parts of the earth. The one ferried by the black horses went to the north country, the one with the white horses followed them & the one with the dappled horses went to the south country. Through this vision, we find mountains of bronze that are unshaken; which can be likened to the two bronze pillars which stood at the entrance to the Jerusalem temple vestibule (1 Kin 7:15) that lead us to our merciful God. Further, according to Revelation chapter 6 the red horse symbolize war, the black horse exemplify death, the dappled horses represent famine & misery while the white horses signify victory & peace. The victory of Christ over death is yet again expressed clearly through the spirit in the chariot with white horses which brings peace & defeats the black one that causes death. Christ reminds us that He will judge the whole world & vengeance belongs to Him, we should therefore run to Him in repentance & faith, & He will secure us peacefully through His everlasting love. Jesus obtained eternal victory over death & through His everlasting love we receive the fruit of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us now & forever when He comes again.
PRAYER
You are good Lord & Your mercy endures forever. You overcame famine, war & death, & through You Jesus we obtain victory over all evil, have mercy on us & bring all people & nations to the fear of You. We thank You Jesus for You have good plans for us, plans to prosper us & not to harm us, plans to give us hope & a future, we exult Your holy name. Guide us Holy Spirit throughout this day & help us to always be devoted to You in faith & love which You have bestowed into our hearts. Remember also Father all the students who are preparing for their national exams, that You may grant them victory & good success. All victory & power belongs to You Jesus now & forever. Amen
Revelation 19:11-13
“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.”
INSIGHT
-John saw a vision of Jesus Christ riding a white horse which was a common practice among kings & emperors. As the Prince of peace, High Priest, King of kings & Lord of lords; Christ will come like a thief to judge righteously & bring conquest by covenant through His blood evident on His robe & crowns on His head. This is the eternal covenant He made with us through His blood that has power over all evil, all sickness, sins & the devil himself who will be chained by archangel Michael through the power of the blood of the Lamb (Rev 12:11). Christ reminds us that He is the Word of God; intimating that His Word is true & we should not speculate but take heed to obey Him for everything written in it will come to pass according to His will; in order to fulfill His purpose.
SUMMARY
The theme horse has consistently reveals evidence of war all through the Word & at the same time revelation of Christ as our Saviour for victory belongs to Him. It also reveals the salvation of the Lord depicted as a passage/door through the bronze mountains in Zechariah’s vision, separation of waters of river Jordan by prophet Elijah just like Moses did during the deliverance of the Israelites from bondage, all these events reminding us that Christ is the Door to eternal life. The theme also manifests that Christ is the Word of God & through His blood shed for all mankind on the cross we receive power & deliverance from all sins, war, famine, death & all battles of the enemy who comes to kill, steal & destroy. All these events of war yielding peace inform us that God is Just & His word will come to pass. Christ also reveals to us that He does not take pleasure in the death of anyone, & reminds us to repent & live (Ezek 18:32). Christ is the Door & through His blood we obtain salvation & eternal life with Him forever. We are called to let him reign in our hearts for we are His temples & submit all things to Him; for He is full of mercy & His love for us endures forever.
PRAYER
You are worthy Jesus to take the scroll & open its seals for You were slain & have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every tribe, tongue, people & nation. You have made us kings & priests to our God & we shall reign on earth, receive all the glory & praise. You are Sovereign Lord for You created the heavens & the earth, & died for our sins, cleanse us from all sins, cover us with Your blood Jesus & give us the grace to forgive those who trespass against us. Deliver us, our families, friends, leaders & nation from all evil, sicknesses, weaknesses, sins, burdens & help us to submit to Your holy will & seek You first in all things. All victory, honor & strength belongs to You Jesus; now & forever. Amen