Proverbs 21:31. The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.
God should get the credit.
That’s what Solomon is teaching us in this proverb. The king is using an illustration that would make sense in his own life, horses and battles. King Solomon seems to have owned a lot of horses. Archeologists have unearthed ancient stables from around the time of Solomon. These stables have room for hundreds of horses and chariots. Both archeology and the stories of the Old Testament reveal how the kings of Israel built up large armies for themselves. Armies with lots of horses, the F-16 of its day.
But long before Israel had a king, way back when Moses was leading Israel to the edge of the Promised Land, God told his people to not have an army with many horses. Here it is in the book of Deuteronomy:
Deuteronomy 17:16. [The king] must not acquire many horses for himself.
Why not? Why wouldn’t God want his people to have the biggest and most powerful army in the world, including battle horses and chariots? The same reason God told Gideon to fight the Midianites with just 300 men with pitchers and torches. The same reason God told Jehoshaphat and his army to just stand there and not fight when a horde of Ammonites, Moabites, and Mount Seirians came against them. Because of what the second half of our proverb says – the victory belongs to the Lord.
We know that an army without horses and chariots can’t defeat an army with horses and chariots. But the victory belongs to the Lord.
We know that half of all marriages end in divorce. But the victory belongs to the Lord.
We know that addictions irreversibly destroy lives. But the victory belongs to the Lord.
We know that our fears are debilitating at times. But the victory belongs to the Lord.
We know that a king can acquire thousands of battle-tested horses and hundreds of chariots so as to win every war. But the victory belongs to the Lord.
We know that it is our hard work that got us where we are in the company. But the victory belongs to the Lord.
We know that we raised our kids right. But the victory belongs to the Lord.
We know that we have poured our soul into the ministry. But the victory belongs to the Lord.
Christian do you trust that victory belongs to the Lord? That trusting in man’s power is an exercise in futility and fruitlessness. God never has and never will use the power of man to win the war. Quite the opposite. He will oppose the power of Satan with the weakness of man. The weakness of the man of sorrow on the cross. The weakness that is the most powerful force in the world. The force of sacrificial love and mercy that now lives in us.
You: Does God get the credit in your life, or does it go to your “horses?”
You in Christ: What does it mean that, in Christ, weakness is strength?
Christ in you: What victory do you need to give God the credit for? Start with your salvation.
Pray: Father, the victory is yours! And that victory came through weakness, not strength. Help me to apply this principle in my daily life. Amen.
To Live is Christ 