Of Chariots & Horses, Trust & Obey
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. ”
Psalm 20 is composed by King David. It begins with an earnest prayer of petition. David beseeched the LORD to help him and intervene in a time of trouble. In the second part of his prayer, David expressed confidence that God would surely answer his prayer and save him. Then, David made a remarkable statement – “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” He expressed his trust in God alone.
Chariots and horses were important military hardware in ancient warfare. They were like the armoured tanks and heavy artilleries in our modern time. An army with these formidable war machines would stand a better chance of winning in the battlefield.
David was not just a psalmist. He was a king and a warrior. Since his famous victory over Goliath, David had been a fighting man. He was a soldier in King Saul’s army and then a fugitive fighting guerrilla warfare against Saul. Then, as the king over all of Israel, he was the commander-in-chief that led Israel into victorious conquests of the enemies still left in the Promised Land. An astute military strategist and accomplished fighter, under his leadership Israel’s eastern border stretched all the way to the Euphrates River.
David Trusted in God Alone
I said all that to point out that David certainly knew the importance of chariots and horses in the battlefield. Yet, he claimed that his trust was not in these military assets, but in the LORD God alone. It is an amazing statement.
Is that statement mere rhetoric? Or is it just an appropriate thing to say in composing a psalm?
I believe that David meant what he said.
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That is precisely the point.
David was reminding himself and the Israelites
that their trust must rest on God alone
and not on chariots and horses.
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In a big battle, David defeated Hadadezer, king of Zobah-Hamath, at the Euphrates River. It was a major victory for Israel. David took from Hadadezer 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot-soldiers. Then, David did something very strange. He hamstrung all the chariot horses but left enough for 100 chariots (1 Chronicles 18:4).
Why would David hamstring the chariot horses?
No kings would do that. David’s generals and fighting men must be stunned by his action. Apart from being cruel, these chariot horses were a prized capture and they were useful in the battlefield. 1,000 more chariots would boost their already formidable armed forces. It would greatly increase their military might and scare the wits out of their enemies.
That is precisely the point. David was reminding himself and the Israelites that their trust must rest on God alone and not on chariots and horses.
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He had to do his part,
but he knew that ultimately,
victory depends on the LORD alone.
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We do not know whether David composed Psalm 20 before or after this incident. But we can be sure that David had been living by this principle of total trust and dependency on God. He had to do his part, but he knew that ultimately, victory depends on the LORD alone.
Joshua Trusted & Obeyed God
David was following an obscure precedence that took place about 400 years before.
In their northern campaign to take the Promised Land, Joshua and the Israelites were confronted by an alliance of kings. This is the size of the forces that they were going up against - “They came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots” (Joshua 11:4).
But God assured Joshua of a swift and decisive victory by noon the next day. That was another miracle in the making because Israel was greatly outnumbered and poorly equipped to fight. God’s promise came with an instruction – “You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire” (Joshua 11:6).
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But Joshua unquestionably obeyed the
command of the LORD without any hesitation.
His obedience was immediate.
It demonstrated his complete trust and dependency in God.
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The Israelites won a resounding victory the next day just as the LORD had promised. Immediately, “Joshua did to them just as the LORD said to him; he hamstrung their horses and burned their chariots with fire” (Joshua 11:9).
It must be tempting to question the wisdom of destroying the chariots and horses. I do not think the Israelites had any chariots. There were more battles ahead. Surely, they desperately needed this military hardware. It made no sense to destroy them. What a waste! But Joshua unquestionably obeyed the command of the LORD without any hesitation. His obedience was immediate. It demonstrated his complete trust and dependency in God.
The Way of Faith & Obedience
God’s ways are certainly not our ways. He wanted the Israelites to know that the battle belonged to Him, and He would give them victory so long as they trusted in Him.
Exercising faith is a challenging task. Especially in a life and death situation like in a battlefield. So, full credit to Joshua and David. They were courageous to believe God at His word. They were also courageous to stand up against the objection of the people they led. Nothing is mentioned, but you can expect some of the Israelites to question Joshua and David’s decision to obey by faith. I can imagine the Israelites accusing them of foolhardiness and recklessness. Leadership demands courage and the willingness to be misunderstood.
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Exercising faith is a challenging task…
I can imagine the Israelites accusing them
of foolhardiness and recklessness.
Leadership demands courage and the willingness to be misunderstood.
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Learning to Trust & Obey
Do you trust and obey God like David and Joshua?
Trust and obey ought to be the basic spiritual posture for every Christian. These are the first things young believers need to learn. But it is not easy. Some Christians just do not learn. It is to their loss. God cannot accomplish the works that He wants to do in our life if we do not trust and obey Him.
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Trust and obey ought to be the basic spiritual posture
for every Christian…
God cannot accomplish the works that
He wants to do
in our life if we do not trust and obey Him.
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This coronavirus situation is an opportune time for us to learn to trust and obey. Believe God that He will protect you and your family when you pray. When you claim the covering with the blood of Christ, our Passover Lamb, and the promises of Psalm 91 for your protection, you must believe. Do not doubt. Of course, you exercise wisdom and take all the necessary precautions.
Recently, I heard a well-known American pastor warning that while you can pray for protection, there is no guarantee that God will answer your prayer. According to this pastor, the bible as well as experience tell you that God does not answer your prayers all the time. Christians also get infected and some died. Therefore, to tell Christians that you can claim Psalm 91 for divine protection may bring disappointment.
This pastor is not totally wrong in what he said. However, if you live by his line of reasoning, then, you cannot, and you should not claim any promise in the bible. Not even one of them because you will certainly be disappointed when God does not answer your prayer. Then, you might as well don’t pray, or when you pray, there is no room to exercise faith. That is an intellectual argument with no understanding of faith.
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Our faith posture ought to be such that
when we pray,
we believe with all our heart that God
will answer our prayer,
but we leave the outcome to Him.
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Our faith posture ought to be such that when we pray, we believe with all our heart that God will answer our prayer, but we leave the outcome to Him. We trust that God has our best interest at heart and He knows His perfect plan for us.
Besides, if you read Psalm 91 carefully, you would observe the confidence and trust of the psalmist in his prayer and declaration. The psalmist is not hesitant, wavering between faith and doubt, saying something like, “O Lord, if it is your will, protect me from the plague and pestilence.” No, he prayed with faith believing that God would answer his prayer.
Let us adopt the same posture of faith in our prayer.
Remember to obey God. You cannot expect protection if you have not been walking in obedience to God. You cannot claim a promise as if it is a magic formula. The promise of Psalm 91, just like all the promises in the bible, is for those who abide in Christ.
Trust and obey. There is no other way.
Pastors Leslie & Adeline Chua